“I never would…I swear!”
“You did.”
“I wouldn’t have told them anything important. All they wanted to know was simple stuff. They didn’t give me a choice!”
“Your choice was to keep your fucking mouth shut. Now they know the name of our supplier.”
“I knew they’d never be able to use it!” he says. “Your business partners are loyal, and they’d never work with the Ramsays! That’s why I gave them the name.”
“That sounds a lot like a confession to me,” I say softly.
“I have to agree.” Antony takes a step back and then circles the chair until he’s standing next to me.
“I had my doubts,” I say. I nod at Antony, and he reaches down to snap yet another finger on Jack’s right hand. I slowly shake my head as Jack screams and cries. “When you wanted to marry my sister, I knew there was greed in your heart. If I had known you’d take that greed and use it against us, I would have ripped your heart out right there on the altar.”
“Fucking prick deserves to have it cut out of his chest right now.” My father’s voice comes from over my left shoulder. I can feel his hot, demanding presence close behind me.
“Yes. Yes, he does.”
“He does what?” Antony asks, eyes narrowed.
My shoulders tense as I stare at the man we’d welcomed into my sister’s life. We should have been more careful. Yes, we needed a wedding, but it didn’t have to be Jack. It didn’t have to be Nora’s wedding. I’m in charge now, and I have to do what’s best for my family.
I ignore Antony, release Jack’s head with a rough jerk, and turn to Threes.
“Give me that knife over there. The big one.”
Threes hands me a large hunting knife with a jagged edge. I look it over carefully, run my thumb over the tip, and toss it from one hand to the other.
“You studied anatomy, didn’t you, Antony?”
“Sure did, boss.”
“So how do you do that thing, you know, where you cut out the heart fast enough so they can watch it beat the last time but before they bleed to death?”
“You just gotta avoid that big artery at the top until the last moment. You still gotta get through the ribs though. That’s a little tricky.”
“Good point. I knew you were the brains around here. Threes?” I take a step back and Threes moves in front of Jack, flexing his biceps as he moves into position.
Three sharp cracks follow three quick punches to Jack’s chest. More screaming and incomprehensible sobbing comes from his mouth as Threes moves away, and I hold up the knife.
“You could have had it all, Jack.” I lean in close and press the tip of the knife over his broken ribs. “We brought you in, gave you a job, and my sister gave you her love and her trust. You understand that all of this is your own doing, don’t you?”
“Yes! Yes! I’m sorry! I’m sorry—please! I’ll never do anything against the family again! I swear!”
“Oh, I know you won’t.”
This is it. I tighten my grip on the knife to keep my hand from visibly shaking. I’d beaten the shit out of plenty of people, but I’ve never done this before—never taken a life. I’d watched Micha and Threes do it—even Antony once—but never by my own hand.
Show no weakness.
I stroke the top of his head with my free hand and smile sadly as I shove the knife into his chest. Hot blood spurts out, pouring over my arm and then erupting again in a wide arc. I jump back, yanking the knife out as I retreat from the mess.
“Aw, shit, boss! I think you hit that artery.”
Jack slumps over, eyes staring blankly at the bloody floor.
“Oh, well.” I kick at his chest, sending the body and chair to the floor. “Better luck next time, right? Threes, will you get rid of this asshole, please?”
“You got it, boss.”
Antony hands me a towel, which does very little to remove the blood from my hands but is better than nothing. My stomach is queasy, and I want this shit off of me.
“Nora is going to have a shit fit.”
“I know.”
“Do you want me to go find her? Explain everything?”
“If you see her, sure,” I reply. “She’ll figure it out soon enough, so don’t go out of your way.”
“You might want to consider a flak jacket,” Antony says with a smirk.
Leave it to my cousin to use humor in a situation like this and have it actually work on me.
“I just might.” I laugh and clasp him on the shoulder before returning to the car. Pops is already in the passenger seat.
“You did good, Nate. There is hope for you yet.”
I feel the agitation leaving my body. My stomach calms, and warmth covers me.
“Thanks, Pops.”
I take the long way home, driving all the way around the lake and reflecting on the first violent act of my regime. I might have preferred not to start out like this, but I have to do everything I can for the sake of my family, and loyalty is the most important part of that. Loyalty is what makes everything flow together, and I couldn’t risk allowing a traitor to live. If I had, I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone, not even family.
My sister is going to be furious, but I know she’ll get over it. She’s flighty, and she’ll probably find another man to fawn over before the end of the month. Nora has always gone from one man to another quickly, seemingly unable to just be by herself for any length of time. She always has to have a plus one, quite the opposite of me.
I’ve had my share of women, but I’ve rarely dated. High school, sure. Even a bit during my brief time in college but nothing serious. I’ve never been able to take any woman in Cascade Falls seriously. They all knew who I am, who my family is, and what I am capable of doing. I’m going to have to put that aside now and find someone suitable. As it stands, my firstborn child will inherit the family business.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. Who would want to bring a kid up in this life? It’s dirty and gritty and violent. It’s also the only life I know. Maybe everyone’s lives are full of dirt and grit, and I just never bothered to look.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts. The drive has helped, but I can’t hide in the car forever. I pull up to the front of the Orso estate, throw the car into park, and then head straight to the shower. Once I’ve cleaned all the blood off of me, I return to my office. I close the door behind me and breathe deeply for a few moments.
I glance at the clock. If I’m going to get to the club at a decent time, I need to start getting ready. I’m not feeling it, but I’m expected to be there, so I’ll go. It’s not like I’m going to go to sleep early or anything—I’ve barely slept at all for the past month. Maybe I’ll just be fashionably late to the club. That’s acceptable.
I need to relax for a few more minutes first, and I look at the large, comfortable desk chair—my chair—though I’m not sure it will ever feel right.
Before I manage to sit down, the door to my office bursts open.
Ah, shit.
“You really did it, didn’t you?”
I take an involuntary step backward as my sister approaches, eyes blazing. She marches straight up to me and slaps me across the face.