by Nicole Fox
The thing was, I wasn’t exactly sure how we were supposed to work our way out of this one. It didn’t matter that I got my money back from Rossi, or that King was out there getting vengeance on his crew. None of that mattered if King was just going to be killed. We had to do something to convince Romano that keeping King alive was in his best interests.
It didn’t slip my attention that I was still thinking, ‘we,’ and, ‘us,’ despite King not even there. I knew what it meant, and I knew how I felt.
King and I had long ago passed the fucking stage, and we both knew it. We weren’t even friends at the beginning, but our entire relationship had changed. We were both out, risking our lives and doing what we could for the other. Maybe he didn’t consider us in a relationship, but that’s definitely what we were. Either that, or we’d somehow moved into the strange zone of best friends who have sex.
I wouldn’t need a lot of convincing to enter a relationship with King. Hadn’t we been through hell together already? Surely every argument we would ever have would pale in comparison to what we had gone through. At that moment, I didn’t even know if we’d both come out the other end alive.
Romano was the main variable in the equation. We didn’t know enough about him to know how he would react to certain things, what deals he would make, and how he’d enforce them. All we really knew about him was that he was a serious businessman who didn’t mess around. Maybe that was all we really needed to know about him.
Regardless, Romano expected either Rossi or King to turn up dead in a few days, and, I knew King wouldn’t be killing anyone. He’d had the opportunity back at the club, and he hadn’t taken it. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to do it in front of me, or maybe he had wanted to come back after he’d taken care of his crew, but, for some reason, I had a very strong feeling that King wouldn’t be going after Rossi again. That only left the option of Rossi killing King, but, again, I didn’t think he would let that happen either.
If I knew King like I thought I did, then somewhere in that strange brain of his was the idea that he would still be leaving town after all of this, so that he wouldn’t become a murderer, and so that he would live. It was exactly the kind of thing King would do, and he probably wouldn’t even tell me until it was too late to stop him.
Maybe I was overreacting or thinking too hard, but King was definitely a Plan C kind of man, and, unless he had another idea that he hadn’t told me about, I didn’t know what would be happening to him.
An image of King’s cold, lifeless body flashed before my eyes, and I let out an involuntary shudder. No, I wouldn’t let King be killed, and especially not by Rossi.
But what could I do about it?
There was only one way to change Romano’s mind. I wasn’t sure if it was ridiculous, or just plain stupid, but it was the only option I had at that moment, and I was just crazy enough to follow through with it.
I wasn’t entirely certain, but I thought that Romano had a bit of a soft spot for me. Maybe I could use that to my advantage and offer my life for King’s. It was a crazy idea, but I was willing to do it.
If sacrificing my life for King’s was what it took to keep him alive, then it wasn’t even a question. Of course, I would do it.
My only problem, then, was wondering if Romano would go for it. He seemed like a reasonable man, and one that would understand loyalty. He would understand why I would want to offer my life, if it would mean that King’s would be spared. I knew he would understand it, and respect it even. It was my decision, and, for once, I was glad that King wasn’t here to talk me out of it.
If King were here, he would definitely give me the whole talk about impulsiveness and doing things that I didn’t need to do. It wouldn’t matter, though, even if he were here. This was something I had to do, and nobody would be able to change my mind about it. It wasn’t as if I was walking to my death, because I had an inkling that Romano liked me a little too much to kill me. King wouldn’t understand that, but he wasn’t here right now, and my mind was already made up.
Surely, considering how King had wanted to leave town to spare me, as well as his generally noble and chivalrous attitude, I didn’t think it was too far a stretch for him to understand. Maybe he wouldn’t like it, but he would definitely understand. He would understand that I cared about him enough that I wanted nothing more than to protect him.
King would surely come back and be angrier than I’d ever seen him before. That wouldn’t come as a shock. But I wouldn’t change my mind. This was just something I had to do. I could only hope one day that he’d forgive me, regardless of the outcome, because I knew I sure as hell wasn’t going to get permission.
Chapter Twenty-Four
King
For the first and only time since I’d known Rossi, I was grateful for something he’d done. Even though it was completely under duress, Rossi had still told me where to find my old crew, and, without him, I would still be aimlessly searching for them.
The address that I’d arrived at, an old and partially dilapidated house on the outskirts of town, was a place that I wouldn’t have found on my own, even though, now that I arrived, I immediately recognized it as someplace my old friends would likely occupy. It was a general rule of the crew to only ever occupy places that didn’t look like much on the outside and that were uninviting enough that they wouldn’t draw any attention, apart from pitiful looks and the casual comment every so often as someone walked by. It was in the perfect location, too. It was not suspiciously isolated, but not crowded enough that someone might start to pay too much attention.
It worried me that I could still fall so easily back into the mindset of my crew, but, then again, I used to be one of them.
Though I’d been preparing for this moment since I had learned that they had betrayed me, I hadn’t specifically planned out what I would actually do once I found them. I felt a little like Christy, impulsively making plans without arranging all the details. Standing outside the old house, I let my anger build inside me and act as a motivator to go in. I finally stepped inside, completely set on getting vengeance, though still not entirely sure how.
I wasn’t sure why the inside of the house shocked me as much as it did. From the outside of the house, I should have been able to predict what I would see inside, but I hadn’t. It had nothing to do with the house, either, and everything to do with the people in it.
It was definitely my old crew in the house, that much was for certain. The moment I stepped past the threshold, I spotted a sleeping or unconscious Sammy to the right of me. A few more steps in, and there was Joseph, sitting absently in a chair and seeming totally transfixed by the blank wall in front of him. Further in, there was Danny, Ryan, and Tim, all in various stages of unconsciousness. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the use of drugs from my past, but never like this. A strong odor lingered in the air and seemed to hand heavily over them all.
It was amazing how quickly the bulk of my anger began to dissipate at the sight of them, as I kept walking through the house. At the end of the room, sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, was Dane. I approached him carefully, wondering if he was asleep, unconscious, resting, or the last option that I couldn’t even imagine.
“Dane?” I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a light shake.
“King?” he called out uncertainly. “Hey, man! Good to see you!” I didn’t know how he could sound so cheerful and look so depleted.
“Don, what’s going on?” I didn’t want to waste time, when any idiot could see that there was something really wrong with the situation that I had stepped into.
“What do you mean? I’m so glad to see you. Hey, everyone! It’s King!”
Though there was no response, Don acted as if a large cheer had sounded out and was grinning goofily up at me. He reminded me of a child seeking approval from an adult, but the worst part was that I was meant to be the adult in the situation. How had Done ended up like this?
I felt my entire viewpoint shift as I stare
d down at the shell of a human being before me. I’d never seen any of my friends as bad off as they were now. It was hard to believe that they were all hooked on drugs, every single one of them. How did I not notice that the last time I saw them? They looked completely different, from their skin to their eyes. I should’ve noticed something was wrong. Maybe I would have, if I hadn’t felt so monumentally betrayed.
Don pushed himself off the stairs shakily and wobbled a little on his feet, but managed to lean forward and place his mouth at my ear. I almost drew back at the vile odor coming off of him, but I held my ground, wanting to hear the apology that I was sure was coming.
“King. King. I know you can help us. Do you have a little money you wanna throw our way?” He gave me a wide smile that I thought he intended to be convincing, but I just stared back in disgust and disbelief.
So, this was what my friends’ lives had come to. They were hooked on an arsenal of drugs and desperate for money. I didn’t know how to react, or how to process. All I’d come here for was to get even for their betrayal, but I might not even be able to do that; not when any revenge I got would either not be worth it or be too extreme.
“Don, you and the crew betrayed me. I’m not helping you,” I said angrily. That much I was sure of. There was no way I was fueling their problem. Not when it was so obviously already out of hand.
“Oh, man! That’s not fair. We feel bad about it. We really do! But the money, man. It was so much.”
I realized, in that moment, that the man standing before me wasn’t the Dane I knew. He was a shell of the man that had once been my friend. Selling me out for more money for drugs? That wasn’t something I could ever forgive. But, strangely, all desire for revenge had completely left me, and so I was just able to stand there in shock and disappointment.
I’d never said or felt it before, but I was incredibly glad I wasn’t part of the crew anymore, now that I’d taken a good, long look at them. Why would I be part of a bunch of drugged up criminals, a group of people who would willingly betray one of their own, if it meant they could get money to further their drug habit. No, I was glad I was on the outs, even if I never thought I would see the day when I was.
How could I even think about revenge on them, being as they were? Would I even get any satisfaction out of it? Half of them barely realized I was there, and the rest probably wouldn’t even notice after I’d come and gone. After searching for so long, waiting so long for answers, and trying my hardest to control the overwhelming sense of betrayal that had been hanging heavily over my head for quite some time, I felt a strange sense of freedom wash over me. Not because I had finally found them, or because I finally understood how they could’ve done something like that. I felt freedom because I knew there was nothing to get revenge on. I could just walk away and feel confident in the fact that they had already punished themselves enough. In a way, they were their own worst enemies.
“Do you want to come meet everyone again?” Dane asked, not waiting for a response before walking away and speaking with a person lying face down on the floor. The man lying there didn’t even attempt to respond, but Dane continued carrying on a conversation anyway, most of it sounding like nothing more than incoherent gabble.
I was getting sick of this now. This wasn’t how it was meant to turn out. I’d expected, no, I’d hoped, for some semblance of my old friends. They would apologize for betraying me and give me a reason that I could understand. Finding out it was just for the money for more drugs was a low blow that would be hard to recover from.
“Don, I know who everyone is,” I interrupted tiredly.
“But I wanted everyone to be awake when I told you that we wanted to give you a job in the crew again!” he called out in a huff.
I froze at his words.
“Wouldn’t that be fun, huh? If you came back. It’d be just like old times.”
I stood shocked into stillness as I processed his words. Come back to the crew? Really?
For a moment, I considered it. I really, truly considered it, and I saw my whole life flash in front of my eyes.
They were my family. Sitting all around the room, regardless of their states of awareness, were my brothers and sisters. No matter how dysfunctional they were, they were my whole life at one point. We didn’t grow up with proper homes, proper lives, or parents who loved and cared for us. No, we grew up with nobody but each other. We made a name for ourselves, taught each other what we knew, and fought for the chance to make something out of ourselves. We grew up on the wrong side of the law and stayed that way. The story wasn’t uncommon, and we weren’t special. But we stayed together, through thick and thin. Or we had.
But I had something better now. I had something to hold on to. When my so-called ‘family’ had left me behind and moved on without a backward glance, I found myself in a better situation than I had ever dreamed. I found myself with Christy.
I never understood, really, when people described someone as a game changer. I never understood how one person could change your entire outlook on life and make you want to think better, do better, and be better. How could one person be responsible for all of that?
But then I met Christy, and I understood.
She was the one bright point in my life, through all the darkness. She was the one who would keep me going through everything I had endured. She was the one who I needed to back to at the end of the night in order to be content with the world.
Yes, I thought about Don’s offer. But families came in all shapes and sizes, and, honestly, Christy was enough for me.
“I’m not coming back, Don. But I need your help.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Christy
It was a long drive to Romano’s building, even though this time I actually knew where I was going. My eyes flicked over to the passenger seat longingly, and I wished that I could have seen King one more time before I did what I was about to do. That was an outright lie, though, since I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied, even if I saw him another hundred times.
I knew I was doing the right thing. It was the only thing that would spare King’s life. I’d come to terms with it, too, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared out of my mind. Romano was a scary man, and I was about to go ask him something crazy. I’d be worried if I wasn’t at least a little nervous.
Romano’s building stood as menacingly and isolated as it had the first time. At least this time, when I walked in, I’d know where to go and what to do. I could pretend to have an air of confidence about me. Hopefully, it would transform into the real thing. Finally arriving at the building, I boldly approached the guard, who happened to be the same man as the other day. I counted my blessings that it wasn’t an entirely different person who I had to introduce myself to. The guard took one good look at me and immediately stepped to the side, letting me pass. I supposed that proving yourself with a fight only happened the first time.
This time, nobody needed to escort me in the lift to the top floor. I wasn’t sure if the long ride up was better or worse without the company. It was over in a matter of moments, while I was still trying my hardest to dwell on anything and everything other than the meeting that was about to take place.
Unfortunately, the doors of the lift slid open far too soon when I arrived on the top floor, and I was forced to make the familiar walk to Romano’s office. I wondered absently what the place would look like in daylight, with all those windows that let the light in. Andres didn’t look even remotely surprised as I entered his office, so I assumed someone had called to warn him of my presence.
“Christy, my dear. Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Romano smiled widely at me, and I made an attempt to return it, failing horribly. There was nothing happy or joyful about the situation, and I would be hard-pressed to fake something like that.
“Andres, how are you?” I said instead, forcing the tone of my voice into the least hostile tone I could manage.
Despite my bravery in coming here, standing in front of him, I
could physically feel myself wavering underneath his gaze. How could anyone ever stand up to the man?
“Excellent. I notice that you’ve come alone tonight. What can I do for you?”
Of course, he had to mention that I was all alone and unprotected. I was concerned enough for my own safety without Romano mentioning it and scaring me further. Pushing those thoughts aside, I set my mind to focus on the task at hand.
This was where I had to be careful. Romano was an expert negotiator and strategist, and I was just a woman on a mission. He would be able to chew me up and spit me out before I even knew whose mouth I was in, so I had to be more careful than I’d ever been in my life. Though I’d come there to make sure King didn’t die by Romano’s orders, I had to worry about myself too, because, if I wasn’t careful, I could end up owing the man my life. Who knew what he would do to me then?
“I want to make you an offer,” I began, heart in my throat.
