39 #2
“I guess I forgot to say… I saw that her eyes were closed. Guess she was very tired. Or maybe, drugged. Yeah, that’s probably it.
You know, I had to pay half a million dollars to five girls, so I know all about his MO.
Drug them, start fucking them while there’s a little bit of struggle left in them, and keep going when they’re out cold.
He’s a weak son of a bitch. Didn’t I tell you?
I guess, when I said sex tape—you could also call it a rape tape.
If I were you, I’d hold onto that. Leverage, and all that shit.
And don’t forget who gave it to you, man.
Damien Wells sat on the knowledge that your girl was raped for five years.
Five whole fucking years. Maybe if you’d known, you wouldn’t have let her papa force her into marriage with her rapist. Think about that, man.
Think about whether you want to join the crew of the man who ruined your life, and your girl’s—or the man who told you the truth.
Yeah? Like I said, I’m not here to kill your girl.
I’m here to pay your debt. I’ll be seeing you, fratello. ”
He waltzes out of the room as I sit on the bed, my mind reeling from everything he’s just said.
Lia’s still on my lap, and her sobs have ceased.
She’s not shaking anymore. Or maybe it’s just that my arms have left her.
Somehow, I can’t bear to hold the girl who must need me more now than she ever has before.
I can’t bear to hold her, or even look at her. I can’t even bear to breathe.
It takes hearing the front door opening for me to startle out of my shock. I shove Lia to the side, grab my gun and run outside.
“Hey, Coltello!”
He’s at the end of the driveway, almost to his car. He turns, still smiling, and his grin only deepens when he sees the gun I’ve pointed at him.
It’s an unsettling reaction, and his ugly grin burns my retinas as I pull the trigger, over and over, until I’ve emptied my gun.
When the dust thins, I see him crumpled on the ground.
“Logan…”
I turn around to face the girl I would break a thousand bones for.
“You lied to me,” I say harshly.
She sinks to her knees in front of me, then sinks even lower, pressing her face to my shoes.
“What the fuck are you doing, Lia? Get the fuck up.”
I don’t know why I’m so angry. It’s not at her. Never at her. But all the pain, all the anguish… I lash out at the last person I’d ever want to hurt.
“Please, Logan… please… don’t look at me like that…”
“Like what?” I say, trying to calm myself, trying to sound reassuring. But I know I’m doing a terrible job of it. All I can do is stand stiffly, looking down at her.
“Like I’m… ruined…”
The word is drowned under her crying, but I still hear it. It snaps me out of my fury, and I lean down, wrapping an arm around her.
“You’re not ruined, Lia.”
“I saw the way you looked when he was… describing the tape. I saw it. Like I was soiled… filthy. I disgusted you.”
She gulps out the words between fresh sobs, but they’ve already lost their violent quality. She’s back in my lap, her head against my chest, as I cradle her.
“Shhh. You don’t disgust me, baby. You could never disgust me. I was in pain, hearing him describe it. I didn’t want to hear it, that’s all, but I didn’t know he was describing your rape. I wish I had known, Lia. I wish you had… told me.”
I try hard to keep the accusing tone out of my voice, because it’s not fair to her. But I don’t know if I’m entirely successful.
“I didn’t want you to look at me differently,” she sniffs, wiping her tear-streaked face on my shirt.
“I wouldn’t have looked at you differently. Well, yes, maybe I would’ve looked at you with less anger. I would’ve taken better care of you. I wish I could’ve taken better care of you.”
“But you did. You took very good care of me.”
I allow myself a faint smile at how unconvinced and unconvincing she sounds.
“We have a whole lifetime ahead of us anyway,” she murmurs.
“Right, Logan? You’ll take good care of me from now on.
Let’s go look for Dolores and Aurora, and then we’ll all find another safe home to live in.
And I’ll never buy you a present again. I promise.
We have a lifetime of happiness ahead of us, don’t we? ”
She glances up at me when I don’t answer right away, and she must see something in my expression because her own face turns fearful.
“Logan! Where’s Aurora? Did they get to her? Logan!”
I open my mouth to reassure her, but she continues, “Fuck! I’m a terrible mother! Fuck, fuck! I never even thought… oh, my god, what the hell is wrong with me? They’ve got Aurora, and I never thought of it, fuck! I let her get taken!”
“Shhh.”
She’s been trying to pull away, looking just as guilty and heartsick as I felt when I saw Coltello’s gun pointed at her. But I hold onto her, forcing her to stay in my arms. “It’s okay, baby. Everest has her, and she’s safe. It’s okay. I promise.”
She sags in my arms again, letting out a long shuddering breath. “How did he get here so quickly? Did Damien…”
I tense around her, and she looks up again, biting her lower lip nervously when she takes in my expression. “What is it, Logan?” She pauses, appearing to read my thoughts. “But maybe he didn’t know, Logan. Coltello was probably lying to get you on his side. Maybe he didn’t…”
He knew.
Didn’t he tell me about Coltello paying off those girls?
Didn’t he hint at the fact that Lia had been raped, too?
I don’t understand why he decided I should know the truth now, instead of when it first happened.
Then again, I’ve never really understood him, have I?
The only thing that matters is that Coltello is right.
Or rather, was right, seeing as he’s currently breathing his last breath out on the front lawn.
“Why would you have shot Coltello, if you’re not on Damien’s… crew?” hesitates Lia, repeating the word Coltello used as I stroke her hair absentmindedly.
“I’m not on Damien’s crew,” I tell her. “Nor on Coltello’s. Or Carmelo’s. Not on anyone’s. I’m on no one’s side but my own. And yours, and Aurora’s.” She smiles, snuggling closer to me, but pulls away abruptly when I add, “They don’t know it yet, but they’re dead.”
“Logan! You can’t mean… but Logan! He’s your best friend!”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You love him, Logan, and he loves you. Please, even if you don’t want to be on his side, don’t…”
My heart grows soft as I look down at my girl defending the guy she’s always loathed, just because she knows how much I care about him. But it doesn’t matter. He kept the rape to himself, and I’m going to make him pay.
Even though making him pay will kill me.
Then again, I’ll very likely be dead anyway, seeing how I have every intention of putting a bullet in at least two men’s heads tonight.
My phone buzzes, and I look down at the text message that flashes on the screen. It’s Everest.
Waiting for you at the airport with Aurora and Dolores. We need to go back to Oakley. Damien needs us. It’s war.
That’s fucking right, it’s war. And by tomorrow morning, something tells me we’ll all be dead.