Page 50 of Save Us
“Fuck!” Oliver spits at the same time as the guy begins laughing almost hysterically.
“Oh, yeah,” the guy says in an amused tone of voice, “maybe you should have checked that earlier. I tell you; it really is tough to find good, honest staff these days.”
Moments later, the door is broken down, causing Oliver to jump back.
“Good evening, Governor!” the guy says, putting on a cockney accent, as though thoroughly getting into role for theatrical effect. “Where’s the Mrs?”
“Leave my wife out of it!” Oliver growls.
“Oh, Beth?” the man sing songs, but instead of scaring me, it only has me frowning with confusion; I know that voice.
“Do come out of the bathroom to join us. See, the thing is, Oliver, that poor girl is going to want to see this; to witness the downfall of the man who coerced her into a fucking torturous marriage that meant he could beat the shit out of her on a regular basis.”
“Fuck you!” Oliver spits out again.
“Beth, get out here my English Rose!”
I stand in frozen shock, just staring at the door for a moment or two, before I carefully push it all the way open and walk out with cautious footsteps. When I enter the bedroom, I find Kai standing in front of an angry looking Oliver, with his gun held straight out in front of him. Oliver immediately looks over to me with a tightly clenched jaw. As soon as he sees my wide eyes, his hand silently summons me to go to his side.
“You, you piece of shit, you ordered the hit on my father, destroyed any livelihood my family had, and forced us to New York. Do you know how much I fucking hate New York, Oliver?” Kai growls at him, now looking deadly serious, to the point of murderous.
“Beth, come here, come to me!” Oliver orders, but I can’t. I’m rooted to the spot in abject fear for my best friend.
“Course, once there, I fell into the wrong crowd and did a ton of shit that would have even you looking green, but then…” Kai sighs, before looking back up at him with a mirthless smile on his face, “…I fell in love. Can you believe that, Oliver? Me, a fucked-up kid, with no father, in the middle of a bad part of the city, falling in love? And I’m gay no less!”
“Kai,” I whisper, “what are you doing?”
“Hold on one second, Rose,” Kai says, but without looking at me. Instead, his wild, somewhat maniacal eyes, remain fixed on the man in front of him. A man he’s spent years plotting against. “But Steele, the guy you cozied up to, to get the power and the girl, killed that man. So, lo and behold, I became his successor. Along comes Jonah Fox, the best friend you screwed over, and offers me something I’ve been dying for - vengeance!”
“You really think Fox is going to look after you if you kill me? He’ll screw you over too!” Oliver growls through clenched teeth, though is now beginning to look a little worried over my friend. To be fair, he is acting the role of the unhinged murderer extremely well.
“Don’t really care what he does,” he replies with a shrug, “I just want you and Steele dead. Fox gets the power, and as for the girl? She is free…at last!”
“Kai, please, don’t do this,” I whisper, now with uncontrollable tears streaming down my cheek. “I can’t let you do this, not for me. We’re talking murder here-”
“This was always going to happen one day, Beth, you know that!” he says as he finally turns his attention back to me. His gun is still poised, ready to shoot his enemy down, but for the first time since he’s been in front of me, I can see my old friend again. It gives me the courage to slowly walk toward him, completely ignoring Oliver’s glaring at me.
“I know you’re hurting, Kai, but I know how much you care about life,” I tell him as I tentatively reach out for his hand. He shuffles on his feet as he watches my hand coming for him, so I stop and retreat it a few inches, showing him that I am no threat. “Please don’t take it for me.”
“I’m not, Beth, this is for all of us,” he says with a crack in his voice, “for you, for me, for my father, my family, your family, the list goes on and on!”
“I know, but this isn’t the way, Kai,” I try to plead with him. “I signed that contract; it was my choice to make.”
“Bullshit! You never had a choice!” he snaps with some of his anger returning to tense up his muscles with excess adrenaline. “You deserve freedom, Rose!”
“What if Oliver agreed to let me go?” I ask, knowing this will never happen, but I’m willing to use it to try and calm my beautiful friend down to a more rational level.
“Let you go? Huh,” he says with a sad smile. “We both know Mr Psycho will never let you go, Beth, not while he’s still breathing.”
“Let me live and I’ll give you my word,” Oliver says from behind me, but when I turn to look at him over my shoulder, I know from his eyes alone, he’s bluffing. Kai’s right, he will never let me be free of him.
“Beth comes out with me?” Kai asks him while I hold my breath in anticipation for his response.
“Absolutely,” Oliver replies, “I will grant her a divorce and forget she even exists.”
“S-see?” I have to pause a moment to swallow back the lump of fear in my throat. “Put the gun down and we can walk away now.”
As Kai contemplates those words, I step forward again, reaching for the gun that is beginning to fall limp with his hand. Holding my breath, I move in closer; so close, I’m almost touching it.