Page 30 of Before the Fall
Strangely, my uncle can’t seem to control his own emotions and rage practically explodes out of him when he answers me. “I did, but the people who I assigned to kill your girlfriend’s father couldn’t handle the job. Too bad. They would have had a future in my organization. Now all they have is a mouthful of fucking dirt where I had the two of them buried.”
Too bad for Dash. Poor fuck. I only met him that one time in Ryker’s office, but he seemed okay. I didn’t know the other one, but that’s what happens when you get mixed up with the likes of Victor Varens.
“So do I have Dickie put a bullet in your fucking brain, or are you going to man up and do this one last job for me so you can go live the bucolic life full of gardens and playdates for future rugrats? The choice is yours, Jaxon.”
For a few seconds, I wonder if I can kill Tia’s father. If she’s gone, then her parents will be despondent. Maybe it would be a favor to them and put them out of their misery. It’s not like I’d have to look hard to find them either. They’re still in Italy on my dime.
“Okay. I’ll do it. I have to say, Victor. I feel like you’ve gotten soft in your old age. Going after nine-to-fivers now? What happened to aiming for the big fish in our world?”
He stares down at me and smiles. “You mean like my brother? It’s not something I even consider lightly, believe it or not. Family is off limits, usually. For Ryker, though, I may have to make an exception.”
Fucking Ryker should have killed this motherfucker months ago. If he had, I wouldn’t be sitting here with the tang of my own blood in my mouth and Tia’s father’s life wouldn’t be in danger.
But most of all, Tia would still be alive and mine.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jaxon
The gates to the entrance of Ryker’s estate loom large in front of me after I had to walk here. Fucking Victor! I have no idea where my cell or my gun are, and I didn’t have a goddamned dollar on me when he and that Dickie asshole tossed me out the back door of his town car about a mile away from his house.
He didn’t kill me, but he might as well have now that he’s saddled me with the job of killing Tia’s father. How the hell am I going to do that?
The guard looks me up and down like I’m some bum off the street, but before I can say a word, he finally recognizes me. “Jaxon? Is that you?”
I run my hand through my hair and exhale my disgust that even the guard at Ryker’s house looks at me like I’m a fucking mess. “Yeah. I need to get in there to see Ryker.”
The guard, whose name I can’t remember right now, waves me through, and I start walking up to the main house looking like ten bags of smacked ass. Not surprisingly, Ryker comes hurrying toward me, followed by Cason and Kane not far behind.
“Come to see the shitshow?” I ask as they stop to meet me.
“What happened to you?” Ryker asks and tries to put his arm around my shoulder.
No fucking way. If he had done what he should have before now, none of us would be in this position. I’m not interested in having a family reunion with him after what I’ve been through.
Pushing him away from me, I say as I continue walking toward the house, “Well, your safe house is anything but safe, asshole. That chef you liked is dead, but you already know that. Thanks for nothing. One of Victor’s idiot minions ran us off the road. A guy named Dickie, if you can believe that shit. I got to spend a nice few hours getting my ass beat by said minion, and then I got to hang out with your brother, who if you had handled your business before this, none of this would have happened. So even though I came here to see you, this is more to tell you fuck you, Ryker.”
I glance back and see my uncle standing a few yards back like he’s shocked I said any of that. Kane and Cason look equally as surprised.
Well, fuck all of them. They didn’t take care of business, and I’ve had to pay the most for their feet dragging.
“Jaxon, wait!” he calls out, but I’m not listening.
I’ve heard enough of his excuses. Now I have to do a job that’s tearing me up because he couldn’t kill his own brother, a man who would certainly put a bullet in his brain if he had the chance.
Behind me, I hear the three of them grumbling about something, and it takes every ounce of strength I possess to not spin around and bitch them all out. I’d probably say something I’d regret later, though, since this part of my family I actually like, so I keep my mouth shut and storm up the drive to the front door where Kaia is staring at me in horror.
I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the windows as I walk toward her and realize I look much worse than I thought. No wonder the guard barely recognized me. The left side of my face is all swollen, and my right eye looks like someone pressed an unbaked biscuit into my eye socket. Dried blood sits under my nose and around my mouth, and my neck looks like someone’s had their hands wrapped around it trying to kill me.
Not exactly my best look, but I don’t care. I just want a hot shower, some food, and a bed where I can sleep for a few hours before I figure out what the hell I’m going to do to get Victor off my fucking back.
“Oh, Jaxon! You look like you’ve been dancing with the devil,” Kaia says in that sweet way that usually makes me smile.
Now, it’s the last thing I want to do as I pass by her. “Not now, okay? Your husband’s inability to handle his shit has made my life hell, so I know I’m being a bit of a dick here since it’s your house, but could you and everyone else just leave me alone for a while? It’s been a rough day.”
“But…”
I wave her off as I climb the stairs to that room where I slept the other night. God, that seems like it was forever ago when we were all drinking and having a good time.