Chapter 59
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
GRIFFIN
A mos was right, and I hate that.
But she’s here. Scarlett is here.
Time has done more than just age Scarlett. It seems to have also brought about the same delusional traits her father possesses.
Scarlett’s dressed in expensive-looking tight jeans and a low-cut tank. Her appearance is put together and composed. She doesn’t look like she’s been living on the streets, suffering, but more like she’s been living it up in Malibu.
Her painted makeup and styled blonde hair try to hide her raving hysteria, but they’re not fooling anyone. Her eyes are cold and proud, and the gun in her hands doesn’t waiver for even a moment.
But if she faked her death all those years ago, why is she here now?
Raven’s mouth hangs open. “Ruby?”
The wild laugh that comes out of Scarlett’s mouth is enough to give the boogeyman chills. “Aww, honey. I knew you weren’t the brightest tool in the shed when I met you, but I didn’t think you’d be that dumb.”
“Excuse me?” Raven spits back.
Knox shoves Raven behind him. “That’s enough, Scarlett.”
Scarlett’s eyes soften on him. “Knoxy, baby. Didn’t you miss me?”
“You’re not serious, are you?” Knox’s ridicule isn’t received well.
She nods her head, confusing the three of us. But that dissipates when Raven is grabbed from behind.
Raven shouts and kicks as a man grunts, taking the brunt of her thrashing. “Stop your fussin’, Raven.”
Knox and I step in their direction to help Raven, but the man has a gun of his own and points it at Raven.
I’m getting sick and tired of people pointing guns, knives, and bombs at my woman.
“Let me go, you creepy sack of shit!”
He cocks his gun, causing Raven to freeze. “You should’ve taken what I offered in the first place.” He drags her the rest of the way to Scarlett’s side.
“Not even if I was blind, Jed,” Raven grits out.
The guy Raven went on a date with?
Focusing closer, I note his eyes are the same amber shade as my own. Wait, how…“Trey?”
Trey sneers at Knox and me. “Hello, little brothers.”
Knox stares in horror. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Scarlett gibes with deceptive eyes. “I’m here for you.”
Bile rises in my throat as my lips pull into a repulsed frown.
Trey’s mouth opens, affronted. “But you said?—”
Scarlett cuts him off, “Shut up, Trey! You’re so damn gullible. I flash you my boobs, and you do anything I want, just like every other man who ever existed. Always thinking with your dick.”
She has lost her mind. This bitch is insane.
My brows tip up. “Scarlett, honestly. Why are you here?”
Scarlett crosses the short distance between us, invading my personal space.
The barrel of her gun juts into my ribs as she reaches for Knox and brings him to my side.
She softens her voice to a seductive timbre.
“I told you. I’m here for you. Don’t you believe me?
” Her fingertips trace my jaw and over my lips.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you both. ”
A ripple of unease travels through me.
It’s as if she’s a minefield. One wrong step will set her off, and I don’t want Raven in the blast radius when that happens. I have to tread lightly.
As I try to choose my words carefully, Scarlett becomes impatient. “This girl is just a passing ship. A piece of ass that kept you satisfied while I was away. I waited for you. I did all of this for you.” Her words are directed at both of us.
Trying to decipher her implication, my eyes narrow. “What is ‘all of this’?”
She looks at me like I should already know the answer. “My friends. They were supposed to get rid of her for us.”
“The man with the grenades at the library. The woman who almost threw Noah out the window. The man with the bomb who almost blew us all up. That was you?” My voice resonates louder with each word from my mouth.
“Of course it was me, silly. Who else would it be?” She chuckles.
Another thought pops into my mind. “Did you visit Amos in prison?”
She nods. “That was fun. You should’ve seen the look on his face when he realized it was me.” She sighs to herself as if it’s a fond memory. “Priceless.”
I can’t hide the horror on my face, but she doesn’t take notice.
“And Daddy had to pay for everything he’s done. He would hurt me all the time. And then I found out he had terminal cancer, and I couldn’t just let him die like that. It had to be me. Don’t you understand? I was protecting us.”
I’m not sure I believe her. She’s twisted reality so much and convinced herself of her own lies. She talks as if we wanted her to kill Raven.
I stare intently into her eyes, searching for a semblance of truth. “If he was hurting you back then, why not tell us?”
Scarlett pouts. “I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me.”
Lie.
My nails dig into the palm of my hands as I tighten them into fists and lean to look directly at Trey. “And you helped?”
Trey’s voice is ruthlessly hard. “You two were always the favorites. I joined the military, I worked my way up to be a demolitions expert, I even made lieutenant colonel. But not once did either of you, Amos, or Jed ever give me the recognition I deserved.”
I will not take the blame for something that isn’t my fault.
“We haven’t heard from you since you left! How were we supposed to know?”
The vein in Knox’s forehead beats faster. “And what about our dad, Amos? Why did you have to frame him? He’s been innocent this whole time.”
Scarlett’s words are cold and exact. “Amos Montgomery is a pervert. He was always trying to touch me when you weren’t looking. And I know what he did to you. Always hitting you with a belt.”
There’s no way she could’ve known that. We never told her, and Amos was smart about where he hit us.
“I did it for you,” she repeats again.
Keeping her gun on me, Scarlett leans into Knox. “I’m so sorry they ruined your pretty face. I know a good plastic surgeon in LA that can fix you up.”
Knox winces. It’s imperceptible to everyone else, but I see it. I know him. And no one treats my brother like that.
“What about Noah? He’s just a kid, and you almost had him killed.” My words are ground out in a strangled tone.
My shoulders pull back as a menacing heat pulses through me. Knox is the one with a short fuse, but it’s me who loses it. Bitter resentment spews from my mouth. “Fuck. You.”
Scarlett rears back as if I slapped her.
“I know you haven’t been waiting for us in the sense that you implied. You weren’t even faithful to us when we were all sixteen. You use your body to manipulate and get what you want. It’s not going to work here.” I look her up and down with a scowl. “Been there, done that. I’ll pass.”
Scarlett’s face turns an ugly shade of red as her breaths become strained.
“We don’t want you.” I slow the delivery of my words so they’re unmistakable.
Scarlett screams with fury and slams the butt of her gun in the side of my head. Her blow, hitting the perfect spot, causes me to fall to my knees. My hand covers the injury, and I feel something wet and slippery.
Raven releases an outraged cry and thrusts her head backward into Trey’s face.
Her attempt glances off his jaw, but Trey still lashes out.
He spins Raven around and throws a punch right into her gut.
Raven bends over, groaning and clutching her stomach.
But Trey isn’t satisfied with the punishment he’s dished out.
He cocks his fist back and sends it flying into the side of Raven’s head.
I don’t hear my own roar as I watch Raven’s eyes close and her body fall to the ground. Shoving Scarlett aside, Knox and I bolt.
The whites of Trey’s eyes become visible all the way around as he sees us coming for him. He points his gun at us and fires off a few shots as he runs in the opposite direction, but all his bullets go wide.
I lift the hem of my shirt, reaching for my gun where it’s holstered at my back as Knox does the same.
I squeeze the trigger of my gun three times, but none of my bullets hit him.
Knox and I push our bodies hard as we chase Trey through the maze of booths.
When Trey is out of bullets, he tosses his gun to the side.
Tired of the cat and mouse game, I stop and aim. Knox does the same with me. With both eyes open, I line up Trey in my sights.
Knox calls his shot. “Arm.”
“Calf.”
We pull the trigger at the same time, and Trey’s body jolts in each spot. He falls like a sack of potatoes.
Knox and I approach with our guns still drawn. He goes right, and I go left.
Trey’s body shakes with the force of his breathing. One hand is trapped under his body, and the other is balled in a fist. He glowers up at us, shooting us with a different kind of bullet. But they have no effect.
“Fuck you guys!”
Knox shakes his head. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
Trey’s hidden hand swings out. The hanging lights glint off the side of the sharp blade. Trey slashes out at Knox.
Our reaction is pure reflex. We unload the rest of the bullets in our magazines into Trey’s back. He’s riddled with bullet holes, and his eyes remain open, unseeing.
I should feel something after just killing my brother, but I can’t muster up even a drop of guilt or sorrow.
Trey ceased being our brother when he abandoned us.
He didn’t want to be the family we needed, and that’s fine.
But he couldn’t let it go. He chose to come back with a chip on his shoulder and a loaded gun.
Trey threw down the gauntlet, and he lost.
“Isn’t the saying ‘don’t bring a knife to a gun fight?’” Knox scratches the back of his head.
I grunt my affirmation.
Knox sighs. “What an idiot.”