MY BLOOD FEELS like fire running through my veins. My feet can’t move fast enough as I shimmy down the ladder, skipping the last three steps and jumping down. I see him immediately. Stanley Crane lying in a fetal position with a few spots of blood on his side. He’s holding his shoulder, knees to his chest.
The toe of my boot strikes his back. “Wake the fuck up.”
He grumbles and moans a few inaudible words, but his eyes remain closed, so I kick him again. “I said, wake the fuck up!”
When he still doesn’t wake up, I grab the collar of his shirt and jerk his head off the floor. “It’s doomsday, you son of a bitch, and I’m going to fucking destroy you!”
His eyes flutter open and I give him a second to register who’s looking back at him. “Lev?” he croaks.
“That’s right. Now take a good, long look at my face because it’s going to be the last one you ever see.” I throw him back down and his head ricochets off the concrete floor.
He wails in agony while curling his body into a ball, as if that will protect him from what’s coming.
The sound of the others coming down the ladder grabs my attention, but I ignore their presence as I swing my leg back and kick this asshole right in the face.
“Stop it!” Riley cries out as I position myself to kick him again. “Please, don’t do this, Lev.”
With my foot hanging in midair like an unhinged beast, I glance to the left to see her covering her face with her hands in disbelief.
She takes two steps toward me and reaches her hand out. “Not like this. Please.”
A sense of calm washes over me. Just looking at her makes everything better. I put my hand in hers and say, “Go back up the ladder. I don’t want you to see this.” My eyes dart over her shoulder to Maddox and Ridge. “All of you. Just go.”
“Not yet,” Ridge says. “You’ll get your revenge and he will pay, but let’s do it the right way. You don’t need The Elders gunning for you, and we still need to officially clear Riley’s name.”
“No!” I shout, my eyes back on the piece of shit at my feet while my hands tremble with rage. “We do this my way!”
“Lev,” Maddox says all too calmly, always the peacemaker. Except there’s no peace to be had here. My eyes land on a gun sticking out of the front of his jeans. It’s tempting to grab it from him and shoot the piece of shit lying on the ground.
I nod toward the gun. “Where’d you get that?”
“It’s my dad’s. Took it from the house before I came out here.”
“Give it to me,” I demand, knowing the poetic justice of him dying by his own fucking weapon.
“Not yet, man.” He places a hand on my back. “In about thirty minutes, you can do whatever the hell you want with him. We just need him to stay alive a little bit longer.”
I scoff. “For what? So someone can come down here and drag his ass to a hospital where he’ll live to see another day? No. Fuck that!”
“My mom’s on her way,” Maddox whispers. “She deserves her peace, too.” There’s pain in his words, and suddenly, I feel like the selfish asshole in the room. Of course Maddox and his mom deserve peace. I wasn’t the only one affected by this man’s heinous acts.
“Then what?” I ask, needing to hear the plan so that I believe him. I need to believe I’ll finally get to make the man pay that took away my entire family, that ruined my whole fucking life.
“My parents are on their way, too,” Riley says and my eyes connect with hers, knowing that she can ground me. “Maddox told them there’s proof he was working with Cade and killed him, and that he killed Lev’s family. He also told them he has a verbal confession of him talking about how the governor knew his secrets and how he killed the governor’s wife. It’s enough motivation for him to also be punished for the governor’s murder. As a Chapter chairman, he’s getting approval to appoint your duty as a Punisher. Your first assignment—Stanley Crane.”
My already wide eyes stretch in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
They all nod in response. I roll my eyes to Stanley. “You hear that, dipshit?” I crouch down to where he’s sobbing uncontrollably. “You’re gonna be punished, and I get to do whatever the fuck I want with you.” A maniacal grin splits across my face as I watch his eyes widen in pure fear.
It’s unreal, staring at the man who ruined my life all those years ago. For a while, I gave up hope that I’d ever find out who did it. There was also a point in time when I didn’t even care because I was numb to all emotion. There was a time when it was nice, not feeling anything—not caring. But as I watched relationships bud around me, I was desperate to feel normal again. Once upon a time, I thought Doc Edmonds was the key to happiness, or any emotion, really. I was so certain he’d fix me. Instead, he just broke me even more.
Except now that I’m here, my boys at my side along with my girl, I realize he never stood a chance. I’m back and I’m ready to exact revenge on the man who wreaked havoc on my life. Then, I’ll finally be free to live.
“Are you okay?” Riley asks, noticing how quiet I am as I hover over Stanley.
I look up at her, my expression stoic. “I’m fucking great.”
Her lips press into a thin line. “I’m here if you need me.”
I reach up and take her hand, smiling. “Thank you.” Those words aren’t enough; they will never be for her. She has this way of bringing me back to the present. Instead of continuing to fill my head with rage and anger, she reminds me what’s real. I can see why Ridge is so obsessed with her, if she does the same thing for him too. I watched him sitting on the edge, hardly able to balance his mind, much less his temper. The lengths he goes to are utterly insane, but I can see them from a better perspective now that I know just how amazing Riley is.
Leaning down, she presses her lips to mine, then says, “I’m gonna go up and call Scar so she can fill Neo in on what’s going on. He needs to know what happened to his mom. After all this time, he might finally be able to get closure, too.”
I nod in response, thankful for that. I’m not Neo’s biggest fan, but I know how heavy the burden of unanswered questions is.
“I’ll go with her,” Maddox says. I’m glad he’s going because no one wants to see their parents endure the torture I’m about to bestow on this man, no matter how much they hate them.
Riley goes up the ladder, followed by Maddox, and once their feet leave my sight, I swing my hand back and slap Stanley hard across the face. “You’re lucky they showed up when they did or you’d be coyote food right now.”
Ridge joins my side, grinning from ear to ear. “May I?”
“Have at it,” I tell him, stepping aside so he can have a piece of the action.
He crouches down, teeth grinding as he grabs him by the shoulders, lifting his upper body off the floor. He puts emphasis on the shoulder Stanley’s been babying by digging his fingertips into his flesh. The pathetic excuse of a man cries out in pain, which only encourages Ridge to hurt him more.
“You touched my girl, Mr. Crane, and I don’t take kindly to people touching what’s mine.” He throws him to the ground and when his head hits the concrete, a sickening thud echoes throughout the room.
Stanley’s eyes close and it appears he’s lost consciousness. “That’s enough.” I grab Ridge by the shoulder and pull him back. “Let’s wait until his wife gets here. She might wanna rough him up a bit herself.”
Ridge growls and spins around to face the opposite direction. “What’s your plan? You gonna let him get medical treatment then torment him some more, or you just gonna end him the minute you get the assignment?”
“Fuck no, he’s not getting any treatment. As soon as I get the okay, he’s done for.”
Like a menace, Ridge paces the room as if it’s torture not to kill this man. I get it—I feel it, too. His eyes snap from his watch then back up. “What’s taking everyone so long?”
“Riley’s parents have a good hour drive, and who knows where Maddox’s mom was. It could be a while. Why don’t you take my car and drive Riley back to BCU, so she doesn’t have to be around this shit. It’s safe for her to return now. I’ll get a ride with Maddox.”
“Thanks, man. I think I will. She’s been through enough and this is all probably triggering for her.” Ridge heads up the ladder, stopping halfway. “You need anything before I go?”
“Actually, I do.” I walk over to the bottom of the ladder and look up at him. “I want Stanley’s gun that Maddox has. I’d bet money it’s the one he used that night, and it’s fitting he goes out with the same weapon he used to take an innocent family out with.”
“You got it. I’ll get it from Maddox before I take Riley out of here.” He disappears out the trapdoor, only to return a minute later with the gun.
With it gripped tightly in my hand, I stare at it for what feels like an eternity.
The next bullet to leave this gun is gonna be for them. Justice will finally be served.
