Chapter 21 #3
I’d barely managed to keep my wits about me, though I did seize the moment and planted my fingerprints on that jar of hearts stationery for her to witness, not only throwing a wrench into any sort of timeline Keegan may have deciphered, but also destroying his ability to use it against me.
A silver lining amidst the entire ordeal.
I owe my innate survival instincts for reacting swiftly, my knack for recognizing opportunities, and capitalizing on them.
Instincts forged from a life lived under constant threat…
Yet there I was…condemning Vanna and her unborn child to threatening circumstances of my own design…
I hated her for stirring up a storm of conflict within me. My warring emotions clashed with all of my carefully laid plans.
I’d clung to the mask of cool indifference as though our lives depended on it. I knew even then, they did. I played off the entire scenario as if my abrupt departure had simply been about avoiding Keegan’s clutches a bit longer while awaiting other chips to fall into place.
Reaper wasted no time confronting me upon my immediate return, barging into my office as Vanna did, demanding answers of his own. “Why’d you let her go? She falls right into our laps, and you let him bust in here and walk her right back out the front door!”
“We aren’t ready for that phase of the plan yet,” I’d snapped.
“That really it?” he pressed me, and my ever-waning patience.
Reaper and I had shared a mutual respect in the past. However, since our relocation, and more pointedly, since he’d developed somewhat of a soft spot for my little plaything , I’d begun to suspect a strain on that mutual respect.
“Asmodeus is concerned that you may have taken too much of a liking to Keegan’s woman. ”
I turned to face him, glaring. “And where could he possibly have conceived of such a notion?”
“She ain’t hard to look at.”
“No. She isn’t. That isn’t what I asked you.”
A tense moment passed between us while Reaper’s dark eyes made a study of my demeanor before he spoke. “He wanted an update…from another… perspective .”
“Yours?”
His affirmative nod heated my blood.
“ Interesting .” I pulled out my cell and brought up my brother’s number.
Reaper and I watched each other while the phone rang.
To turn from him would have been a sign of weakness, and perceived weakness to the men around me would have equated to an open wound while swimming with sharks.
These men were greedy, power-hungry, and were growing more impatient by the day.
A garbled grunt answered the line, and I wasted no time with meaningless greetings.
“ I am the one in the trenches calling the shots here . The next time you attempt to undermine me from the desert will be the last. You wanted total annihilation, that takes time! Tedious planning!” I hissed, fighting the urge to grimace at the sound of my brother sucking saliva back into his mouth.
The image of him dabbing that ever-present handkerchief to his malformed, drooling lip, eternally burned into my memory.
I narrowed my glare on Reaper, simultaneously warning them both, “Do it again… and I will eliminate the temptation!”
“Damien… Damien… calm down … So quick with that murderous rage of yours,” Asmodeus taunted.
The Adam’s apple bobbed in Reaper’s throat as perspiration percolated on his skin. Fantasies of slicing a Sicilian necktie into that throat had been oh so tempting.
“I haven’t lost my faith in you, little brother…”
I hung up on Asmodeus, shoved the phone in my cut pocket, and stepped closer to Reaper. “And just what tales have you been tattling to Asmodeus?”
“We had her free and clear, and you let her go.” Reaper watched curiously as I pulled at the collar of my shirt, exposing the base of my neck.
“My, my… Didn’t waste any time, did you?” I sneered, dragging my finger along the fabric to pull it aside, giving him a clear view of the tattoos embedded in my flesh. I tapped my finger on one in particular—the Sigil of Asmodeus just below my clavicle.
“He asked, all I did was report back.”
“There is only one thing left in this world I care about... One. Thing.” I released the collar of my shirt and readjusted myself, granting him time to allow my words to sink in.
“ Can you say the same?” When he didn’t reply, I held him under my hostile gaze a moment longer.
“Interfere with my plans again, Reaper , and you’ll beg me to arrange your introduction to your namesake. ”
“ I t seems you’ve fallen short on a few of those promises.” Keegan’s needling pulls me back to the present.
“Oh, he’s at the top of my hit list,” I assure him.
“He’s no longer going by the road name Reaper and has most assuredly established a new legal identity of which few are privy to.
I suspect he saw to that immediately after the night in the warehouse.
I have no doubt word must have gotten back to him regarding the fulfillment of my promises .
He’s taken precautions…built a perimeter of defense around himself in anticipation of my eventual return.
I’m not surprised. Reaper saw the same potential I did regarding this region, and there’s always a power vacuum. ”
“Always some scumbag ready to pick up where the last one left off,” Keegan concurs with notable hostility. “What’s he going by now?”
“He’s known only as… Legion .”
Viking lets out an amused chortle while Keegan’s expression remains a steady glare.
“I assure you, despite my reputation, I am not omnipresent . I do, however, find the imposter’s bold move amusing .” Actually, it’s quite cunning.
“You certainly made a name for yourself among the dregs,” Keegan says. “I see the logic in claiming your infamous name for himself. There are probably many who don’t know what really happened at our showdown.”
“Indeed.” Without the collapse of the infrastructure I had intended, my throne was there for the taking. Why wouldn’t he simply become me ? I’d have done the same if presented with the opportunity in his circumstances. Hell, I’ve done far worse in the pursuit of power and money.
Keegan folds his arms, scowling at me once again. “The fulfillment of your promises must have gotten back to him at some point… Is Reaper aware of your obsession with my wife?”
“Yes,” I begrudgingly admit, the resurging memory making my jaw tick again.
“Then he’s been expecting your return. Is Reaper the reason you want our protection?”
“ I don’t fear the Reaper , Keegan… Everything I’ve done since learning the truth about my brother has been for you and your wife. To keep us all alive. I will dismantle this threat as well. You have my word, but a little motivated backup never hurt anybody .”
“Well, I’m motivated, but it isn’t to help you.” Viking shoots me a stony glare before he sets off, storming across the lot toward the street. “I’m hungry and this bullshit is cutting into supper time.”
Keegan and I exchange a quick glance before we both catch up to him.
“You want to run whatever your plan is by us?” Keegan presses.
“You go upstairs and check on the hooker. Legion and I will let this prick in the parking lot know venturing into this county is hazardous to his health.” Viking glances at me. “You got a bandana on you?”
“I do.”
“When we get over there, bust open his gas cap and shove it inside. When I tell you to, light it.”
“Pump the brakes, you fuckin’ lunatics!” Keegan says, nearly panicked. “We’re not murdering anyone, especially not across the street from a gas station that probably has cameras!”
Familiar with Viking’s occasional volatile nature and at times, abrasive, adolescent humor, I’m unable to decipher whether or not he’s simply fucking with us.
I feel compelled to inform him of his error.
“I mean no offense, considering your impressive physique and the fact that you could snap me like a twig, but Hollywood exaggerates the effectiveness of this scenario. Fuel tanks are designed to contain the vapors and are sealed to prevent leaks. The odds of this plan resulting in an explosion are significantly low.”
“Even if he knows all that, low still isn’t zero .” Viking grins. “Gotta admit, it’s still a fear-inducing visual. My money is on him shitting himself and never coming back.”
“ And on the off chance it does blow up ?” Keegan shakes his head at his overzealous Sergeant at Arms incredulously.
“You’ll be standing right next to it! This is half-baked bullshit.
This is what got you in trouble that night with Axel.
” Keegan shoots me a brief but damning glare before shifting his attention back to Viking.
“What about getting information out of him?”
Viking lets out a gruff sigh. “It isn’t like Legion drove his murder van over here and we can take him somewhere to interrogate him.”
“Well, it’s Stan’s van.” I shrug.
“Stan?” Viking quirks a brow.
“The man in the van.”
“ The man in the van’s name is Stan?” Viking chuckles.
Keegan quickens his pace to step in front of him, halting our progression toward the motel. “Would you stop and think this over!” Keegan’s increasing desperation calls to my deviant nature, and I can’t help but throw a little more proverbial fuel on the fire.
“ Devil’s advocate ,” I begin, but Viking interrupts with a snide remark.
“ There’s a shocker .”
I brush off the comment and continue. “Anyone setting up an operation across the street from a gas station probably made sure there aren’t cameras.
At least not functional ones. And Viking has a point, this would make a fast, lingering impression, akin to lighting a rather gargantuan candle under his ass. ”
“Exactly,” Viking concurs, then slaps the side of Keegan’s arm before stepping around him. “It’ll be fun. YOLO.”
“ YOLO is my fucking point , asshole!” Keegan stresses, pacing alongside us again.