I offer the gun to Saint, and we stare at one another. The kill shot belongs to my love, but I’ll understand if he doesn’t want to do it.
The choice is his.
Caz stomps on Sinner’s ankle, and more screams litter the air.
The sound of approaching footfalls increases the urgency.
It’s now or never.
Saint curls his fingers around the gun, and I nod. Without hesitation, and without uttering a single word, he aims the gun at his father’s head and pulls the trigger.
The screams instantly stop. Sinner’s eyes glaze over as his chest heaves his last breath, and his body stops fighting. Silence descends, blotting out all other sounds.
It’s a profound moment.
As if a calming wave has blanketed the Earth, quieting all the noise, rolling over any resistance in its path, soothing the land and restoring peace.
I hook my fingers in Saint’s, squeezing his hand, as we stare at the motionless body of the man who gave him life.
“Jesus.” Galen slams to a halt, his eyes instantly meeting Saint’s. Theo materializes beside him with Howie, Diesel, and Bry taking up the rear. We stand around Sinner’s lifeless body, staring at a man we all hated, as the realization sinks in.
He’s dead.
And we’re free.
A shuddering breath leaves me as relief floods my system. “Thank fuck, you’re all okay.”
“You killed him,” Diesel asks, glancing between Saint and me.
I nod. “We did. He had to die.”
Now it’s Diesel’s turn to nod.
“I hope he’s rotting in hell,” Galen says, viciously kicking his corpse a couple times.
“Amen to that,” Howie adds, crouching over him and punching him repeatedly in the face.
“Where were you?” I ask Diesel.
His eyes roam me from head to toe, checking I’m intact. “Dealing with a snake.”
“Randall?”
Diesel bobs his head.
“You knew he was dirty?”
“Not until recently. I—”
“This’ll have to wait,” Galen says, cutting across us. He eyeballs me with a solemn expression. “Our moms have been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I said we’d follow.”
“Okay.” I move to walk off, but Galen steps in front of me.
“Hang on. I need to check something first.” Taking my hand, he strides with purpose toward the stone box nestled alongside the freshly painted wooden bench with Theo following suit. My brows pucker, and I throw a look at Theo. His shoulders lift, his puzzled face conveying he knows as much as me.
Galen opens the lid, and expletives rip through the air.
“What is it?” Saint asks, staying where he is while Diesel, Howie, and Caz all step forward to join us.
Galen lifts a large wrinkled brown envelope from the box, spinning around to face us with a mad grin on his face. Opening it, he removes the contents. “It’s the Leydon evidence,” he confirms, holding up the clear plastic bag containing a bloody knife and a USB key.
“What the fuck, man?” Theo steps forward, shock splayed across his face.
Diesel and Howie share a grin. Bry lounges against the armrest of the bench, taking it all in.
“Mom stole it,” Galen confirms, and I almost keel over.
“Alisha had it all this time?” My tone betrays my disbelief.
Galen grins. “She told me the truth under the table before the EMTs arrived,” he explains. “She followed Sinner and his men one night. Climbed in the trunk of one of their cars. She planned to capture them doing something illegal. Something she could use as insurance, but she found this tucked under the spare tire well of the trunk. She didn’t know what it was until she watched the video footage. Then she knew she’d struck gold.”
“So why the fuck didn’t she use it to put those bastards away?” Saint blurts, his voice a little breathless.
My head whips to his, noting how he sways a little on his feet. I frown, keeping an eye on Saint. “Why didn’t she use it to save herself?” I ask.
“She was scared because she knew it was dynamite. She didn’t trust handing it to the police after what Daphne admitted on the recording. She gave away trade secrets. Secrets that would destroy a lot of powerful people. Mom decided to hide it. To keep it in reserve until she needed leverage with Sinner. She knew he’d come for me at some point, and she was going to use it to bargain for my life.”
My eyes seek out Galen’s. His gaze is brimming in emotion. He’s always thought his mom didn’t care. This gesture shows she did, in her own fucked-up way. She was trying to protect him the only way she knew how.
Silence engulfs us.
So much bloodshed could’ve been avoided if Alisha had just come to us, but I understand her concerns, and she was right not to turn it into the police, because then it would’ve just ended up in the commissioner’s hands and the corruption would’ve been buried forever.
Galen hands the evidence to Diesel. “Nail their asses to the wall, man.”
“Fuck!” Bry yells, claiming our attention. He darts forward to catch Saint as he falls. Saint’s eyes are closed, his face is pale, and there’s a thin layer of sweat on his brow. Bry holds Saint’s unconscious body in his arms, and my heart is trying to escape my rib cage. Racing over to them, I almost fall when my shoes slip in something wet on the ground. Horror washes over me as I realize it’s blood.
And it’s oozing from a large gash in Saint’s side.
CHAPTER 47
“IS HE OKAY?” I ask, jumping out of my seat the second the doctor steps into the waiting room. He stopped by before Saint was taken into the operating room to update us. I can’t believe that bastard Sinner stabbed his own son, just before I shot him, and I didn’t see.
That Saint said nothing isn’t a surprise, because martyr is basically his middle name. When he’s well enough, I’m going to slap the shit out of him for saying nothing until it was almost too late.
Walking right up to the doctor, I fold my arms, preparing for whatever the news is.
“The surgery went well, and your husband is in the recovery room now,” he says, and a layer of stress lifts off my shoulders.
“Is there any permanent damage?” Galen inquires, stepping up beside me. His arm slides low around my back, and I lean into him, welcoming his support.
“The knife missed his spleen and his liver, so I expect he’ll make a full recovery. We’ve cleaned out and stitched up the wound, and we’ll keep him here for a few days until the antibiotics are in his system and we know there’s no infection.”
I slump against Galen as relief courses through me. “He’s going to be fine?”
The doctor smiles, patting my arm. “He’ll be back to himself in no time.”
Caz chuckles. “Oh joy.”
“He’ll be brought to his private room within the hour. You can visit him then, but he’ll be very groggy for the next few hours so don’t expect much.”
“Thanks, Doctor,” Theo says, stretching his legs out and shifting his butt on the chair.
We’ve been here for hours, and it’s almost five a.m., but there’s still no sign of Howie or Diesel. Diesel promised to stop by and fill us in, but they had to attend a meeting at FBI HQ in the city.