Page 28 of Before the Fall
“Now shut the fuck up before I have to show you what’s really up.”
This guy is the worst at one liners, for sure, but he’s got a hell of a punch. Thankfully, I haven’t had anything to eat for so long that there was nothing to dislodge when his fist slammed into my body. Too bad, though. I would have liked to have covered him in some projectile puke.
I sit imaging the gag flying out of my mouth followed by vomit covering this douchebag for a few minutes, content to at least have that fantasy to sustain myself with for the time being. It’s better than thinking about Tia.
Did the ambulance find her in time? Jesus, I hope to God the EMTs got to her before it was too late. She’s tough. She doesn’t think so, but she’s dealt with me, so she can get through anything.
As thoughts of her resting comfortably in some hospital somewhere make me happy, I hear the door behind me open. Is it another jackass underling like the one who’s been pacing across the room for the past hour, or has Victor Varens finally decided to grace me with his presence?
I get my answer a few seconds later when my uncle’s face comes into view as he walks around the chair and stops in front of me. Jesus, he looks like shit. Like the poster child for some fucking sexually transmitted disease. I guess that’s what your face turns into when your entire family has abandoned you. And fuck, he’s gotten fat. Too much good living for him has made him look like goddamned Humpty Dumpty.
Wait until I tell Ryker and Cason about this.
He just stares at me for a long time, so to get the ball rolling, I tilt my chin up to remind him I’m still gagged and say, “If you’ve come to talk, how about removing this thing first?”
Of course, he doesn’t understand what I say since the fucking rag is in the way, but unlike his minion who’s standing on the other side of the room now, he doesn’t require me to insult him before he yanks the damn thing from between my lips. Thrilled I can finally take a deep breath in, I open my mouth wide and fill my lungs, letting it out slowly so as to not aggravate my ribs after that jackass probably bruised a few.
“Good to see you again, Jaxon. Life been treating you well?” Victor asks, acting like we’re at some fucking cocktail party and we need to catch up.
“I’d say the same to you, but I’d rather be anywhere else but right here looking up at your ugly mug. Dude, what the fuck has happened to you? Is this what my future looks like? Because if it is, I’m going fucking vegan as of this very moment.”
My uncle has always liked my smartass attitude, so I’m not surprised when he simply smiles and pulls up a chair to sit down in front of me. Victor is a dick of the highest order, but he appreciates the way I am.
He shrugs, but the smile never leaves his face. “Life is something you have to wear on the outside, Jaxon. Wait until you’re my age. You’ll get old, just like everyone else. Nothing you can do about that.”
“Well, I do like a good New York strip from time to time, so I guess I’ll be bagging that whole vegan thing.”
“So, let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?” he asks, and all I can think is nobody uses the word shall anymore. Or brass tacks.
I don’t bother telling him that, though, and nod my agreement since sitting here with my hands tied behind my back is getting old. “Yes, let’s.”
“That brother of mine seems to think he should take over the family business. Don’t bother pretending that isn’t what he’s thinking. I know Ryker far too well to not see the signs.”
Again, I nod. “True.”
“What baffles me is why he hasn’t made a move yet. Can you explain that to me? Because if it was me, I would have taken care of business the moment the idea to take over popped into my head.”
He’s full of shit, and he knows it as well as I do. If that were truly the case, he would have put a hit out on Ryker by now and he would have had his own son killed. He can’t be okay knowing Cason is working with the man who wants to see him gone from this world.
Now’s not the moment to discuss that, though.
“You know Ryker. He’s all about family.”
Victor smiles before rolling his eyes. “It always was his weakness. How’s that woman and the baby doing for him? I thought he’d be single forever, to be honest. Good to see him finally doing what he should have years ago.”
“They’re fine. He’s all about that little boy. A son. You know how it is.”
I watch as a darkness passes over his expression for a brief moment before disappearing. Of course, he knows. He had two sons. Michael’s dead, and Cason now works with his enemy. Not exactly the track record of a great father.
“And Cason? How is he?”
“Good. He and Lily are expecting their second kid to give Lukas a brother or sister.”
Why he’s asking me these questions is beyond me since he must know the answers. It’s not like he doesn’t have people watching us like we have watching him.
“Hmmm. Not sure I like the idea of being a grandfather again, but I guess I don’t get a say in that,” Victor says in a voice full of what sounds like regret.
For what, I have no idea. He’s done some pretty shitty stuff in his life, so I can’t think being a grandfather is that bad.