Chapter thirty-five #3
It’s amazing what having the right people on hand can do in a complicated situation.”
He walks around as he speaks, enjoying all the attention being on him.
Hunter, plainly bored, leans back against the wall. Aiden stops to glare at him.
“Continue,” Hunter says, glancing up. “This truly is an interesting story. I had forgotten what a good storyteller you are, Marley. Do keep going before I fall to fucking sleep.”
“This man,” Aiden says, gesturing to my father, “I owe him the world, and I would do anything to save him. My business dealings on British soil grew to surpass my U.S. assets only because of his connections and support. Finding him a liver and avenging against those who wronged him was inevitable.”
“Why the fuck are we here?” I demand, and my father laughs. His whole body vibrates before he coughs violently.
“Is it not obvious, boy? Or are you still the dense piece of shit you always were? This is revenge, plain and simple. I survive, and you get to watch it happen. And the bonus is you getting to watch your brother die.”
Marley touches my father’s shoulder, a gesture filled with empathy I’ve never seen from either of them.
“You’ve always felt responsible for him, Russell. And I know Connor dying because you failed to save him will be the best punishment for you. Your death would be too kind. Initially, I was taken with the idea of your liver, but then I think of your teenage years.
It probably doesn’t have long left itself.”
“Touch him and…” I trail off as the doctor walks in behind them, Bryan by her side. She doesn’t look at me. Her gaze is directed at the floor.
“We’re ready,” she whispers, and I swear a sob escapes her lips. Bryan stands at her side, staring blankly ahead. I look at them, and all I want to do is wring their fucking necks.
Have they both been part of this damn thing since the beginning?
Did me using my connections to get Samantha’s traineeship throw us all in the firing line, or would this have all happened anyway?
It’s so twisted, I have no idea. Hunter is still leaning against the wall, now cleaning under his fingernails with a piece of smashed tile he found somewhere, seemingly unperturbed by anything going on.
“Thank you, doctor. Please proceed,” Aiden says. He strides over and grabs her arm, pulling her hard against his chest. Nasty eyes stare down, locking on fast. “This is the most important operation of your career. Your team better be ready.”
When I glance back over my shoulder, Connor’s room is filled with other medical staff, maybe a dozen.
They have pulled back his sheets, and a tray of implements has been wheeled into the room.
I recognize one doctor as one named Winslow from Harbridges Medical Center in Mayfair; his picture and name had been shared in The Level months ago when all this came to light.
Josephine turns away, moving to leave.
“What the hell did you do, Josie?” I snarl, and she stops dead.
“Saved my husband,” she whispers, her voice devastated. “I’m sorry.” With that, she walks away toward Connor, closing the doors behind her.
“Well, son,” my father says, diverting my attention to him. “It’s time to say goodbye to your brother. Today, he saves my life, but in doing so, he loses his own. And I know for a fact, Russell, the knowledge you couldn’t stop it will eat you alive from the inside.”
I step forward and he wags a wrinkled finger.
“You were always a conundrum. Violent and hot-headed, but fiercely loyal to your siblings. If they knew how many beatings you took for them as children, they would never feel as though they could repay their debt. I’ve never met another man so selfish but selfless at the same time.”
The person I’ve been suppressing for years comes forward. All my days pushing the anger down burst through; all I see is blood red. I look from my father to Marley, two men who take joy in hurting those around them in any way they can.
“You can’t be saved if you’re already dead,” I snarl, lunging forward.
Hunter comes to my side, pushing Aiden backward as I grab for my father.
An unseen blow knocks me sideways. I stagger, then fall to the floor, and one of the henchmen throws himself on top of me; heavy hands pummel my face.
I grasp for his throat, trying to stop him.
I hear the wails of men. When I look up, Hunter has grabbed a scalpel from the prepared medical tray and is slicing at his opponents wildly.
But there’s only one of him and many of them.
A gunshot rings out, but I have no idea where it came from.
Frantically, I kick and push my assailant.
I reach on impulse for the hidden gun in my waistband; it’s gone, of course.
So I grab the next best thing, a small stool, and slam it against his face.
His expression goes blank, then he falls to the side.
When I clamber to my feet, the chaos continues. I grab the man’s gun.
Hunter fights off Aiden plus another henchman. My father attempts to move off his bed away from the danger, but his old body doesn’t comply. He’s left sitting like a duck waiting to be shot.
I glance into Connor’s room. Damon is pinning what looks like a doctor to the wall while Harrison points his weapon at Josephine Rivera. The other medics are pushing each other out of the door. Damon raises his gun and fires again. Everyone stops.