The Absolution of Aidan (The Syndicate Series Book 3) (25 page)

Hate lies at the destructive end of the spectrum while love lies at the positive side. My love is more powerful, more meaningful, and this low life, who both hates and loves himself, has tipped that scale in the right direction for me and the wrong one for him.

I know exactly where he’s taking us. I’ve traveled this road before. He’s taking us to my land. The land he will never get. I made damn sure he would never get it if anything were to happen to me. Those papers I signed at Calla’s office were papers signing this land over to Roan. Junior may have said he didn’t want it, but he’s a damn liar. He’s bringing us here to set about whatever fucked-up plans he has in his head to try and destroy me. Only, I have plans of my own. I may take my last breath in a few hours, who the hell knows, but it sure as hell won’t be without making sure he swallows his right along with me.

“Aidan.” I feel Anna nudge me, move her body closer to mine. The phone wedged in my pants keeps going off, vibrating against my skin. I can’t get to it.

When she tells me not to move no matter what she does, and her tiny little, cold hands meet my sweaty skin, I know exactly what she is trying to do. Although she cannot pull this phone out. I tell her so. Feel her pressing her fingers against the screen until it finally stops moving.

I hold my breath, hoping like hell she hit the right button and whoever has been trying to call can hear the words that escape from her mouth. She’s brilliant. In control. Which is more than I can say for myself right now. This beaten woman is smart, intelligent, and if I could pull my head out of my ass and get my hands out of these motherfucking cuffs, I would hug her right the fuck now, help her in the same way she is trying to do me.

I listen to her try and get him to tell us where we are going. My mouth is glued shut to let her finish whatever plan she has mustered up. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out she is egging him on by lashing out at him. She’s trying to put more attention on herself. Only I know Junior. He may despise her, think she has stolen money that he believes rightfully belongs to him, but his plan is to basically kill her. However, the blueprint he has sketched out is to make me watch, to see me suffer as he snuffs out the lives of the people I care about.

On the inside, I laugh as Anna insults him over and over, his egotistical self-love for himself being placed into a meat grinder, mixed and finely chopped until there’s nothing left but tiny morsels of crumbs.

The instant he says he will kill her first, I am pulled back to reality, paying attention to the brave woman, who is burying her fear inside of her. Her entire body trembles from the notion of his slaying words. It doesn’t make her shut up though. She eggs him on more.

“That’s where you’re wrong, you pussy ass. You will be the first one to die. Then your lost little puppies following your orders will die. You’re a stupid man by following this piece of shit around.” Her gaze drifts to our driver. I follow her gaze. Struck dumb as fuck when I finally recognize who he is. Jesus. He’s been working the night shift since the first day I met Deidre. Fucking idiot. Junior will dispose of him. Stupid fucking greedy people who have no reason even to live. They have no idea how precious life is. Who gives a fuck if he dies? I sure the hell don’t.

“You don’t have a lot of room to talk right now, little lady. I’m the one behind this wheel. While you’re the one trying to piss me off by running your mouth. You don’t see my hands tied up. Keep talking all you want, I’m finding you quite entertaining.” He cranks the wheel, which takes us down the road to my land. I catch his eyes in the rearview mirror. He may not be able to see me, but I hope like hell he can feel me. I’m sending the fucker a warning. Letting him know that these plans they may have calculated out will not go as easily as they think they will.

“I’m not afraid to die. Are you, Junior?” Anna doesn’t even wait for his reply. She twists the screw on the grinder into his back even more. “I think you are. I think you’re probably even shitting yourself right now. Stinking up your self-righteous little ass even more.” I may not be saying a word right now, but I have my reasons for it. I want this fucker to think he’s broken me. The minute I have the opportunity to strike at him, I’m taking it.

“Stop the vehicle,” Junior demands. His voice is thick with reassurance.
Big mistake, Junior. I know every part of this land. Open this back door, I’m begging you to.

“I don’t need this cunt anymore. Kill her. Then tell Matthew to back his vehicle up. I’m going to run over her dead body back and forth until she is pummeled into the motherfucking ground.”

“Oh, no.” I block out Anna’s frantic words, her trembling body, and her ragged gasp for breath as I wait for them to exit. We have no time to waste. One door slams, then the other.

“Listen to me. Get the phone out now.” It takes her more time than I like for her to get her shit together. When she does, she darts out of her corner and takes the phone out of my pants, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

“Wh… what are you going to do?” she stutters.

“I have no goddamn clue. Whatever I do, you take that phone and you run, Anna. You don’t stop running no matter what you hear back here. Do you understand me?”

“But what about all of you? My mom…” She’s starting to break.

“Goddamn it, Anna, fucking run. Hide. Then pray the phone’s battery isn’t dead, hit a damn button, and tell whoever you talk to we’re two miles east of Cheery Wood Lodge.” There’s no more time to say anything else. The doors swing open, the lights from the other vehicle damn near blinding me.

I strike, making my move the instant whatever the hell his name is reaches for Anna. I lift a booted foot, connecting right with the middle of his throat. He stumbles backwards, coughing, out of breath as he wheezes for air.

“Run, Anna,” I scream as I jump out of the vehicle, staggering as I try to land on my feet. I have no clue what the fuck I’m doing or if she’s even taken off. I do know Junior seems a bit stunned, then those icy orbs of his locate me and his gun aims in my direction. “Not fast enough, fucker.” I swipe his feet right from underneath him. He falls to the ground. I get one good kick into the side of his face before a gun is shoved against my temple by none other than Matthew.

“You’re going to die slowly for that. Goddamn it.” Junior stands up, the side of his face plastered with pieces of gravel.

“Fuck you,” I spit at him again. This gets me a bitch slap to the face, my head flinging to the side.

That’s when I see Beth and Grace in the other vehicle. There is no sign of Deidre or my son.

“You fuckers. Where is my son?” My eyes never leave Beth’s for one minute. She’s pointing to the back of the van, screaming. “She’s back here! She’s back here!”
God, sweet-tart, hold on, hang on, baby. Feel me.
My heart is beating inside of your chest
. Those are the words I’m trying to convey to her through my mind.

“Your son is no longer your concern, Aidan. The minute you draw your last breath right along with his slut of a mother, her mother, and if my bullet aimed right where I wanted it, her dad, too. Then it looks like the boy is mine. And since you’re going to tell me exactly where our mother is before I kill you, well, the way I see it, I’m his next of kin. Looks like I’ll be raising your boy.” His cynical words sting. Cut jaggedly through my heart. Well then, fuck it. If he wants to kill me, then bring it the fuck on.

I look at every single one of these fuckers, my head snapping from the man on his hands and knees still trying to regain his composure, to Matthew, the betrayer to Salvatore. Then to the arrogant bastard who put this plan all together. That’s when I realize Anna got away. Time for me to stall. And by doing so, I crunch my skull into Matthew’s. God that hurt. I feel the pain from my blow to his head for all of five seconds before I feel a heavier blow to the back of my head.

“What about the little bitch? You know she will tell them where the hell we are. I’m telling you now, man, there is no time to fuck around. Salvatore is one mean bastard. You need to finish them all off now.” This is coming from Matthew, whose gun is still aimed at me, while he holds his other hand over the gash on his forehead. He should be nervous. They all should be. Then it hits me. Matthew’s phone. If he has the one on him that he uses for Salvatore, then they’re closer to finding us than I thought.

I allow my ragged form to lapse the rest of the way to the ground as I roll my eyes, listening to Matthew carry on.
You should have thought about the consequences, you fucker, before you committed the ultimate sin to the family
. Death by association and all that shit.

“You’re right. I have a plane to catch, but first, I need to know where my whore of a mother is. Stan, pull your dick out of your ass and drag the bitch and her mother out of the van. He can watch them die first.” Stan? You’re going to die, Stan.

Still, I don’t move. I’m not sure if I can. Christ. This cannot be happening. It’s me against the three of them. My hands are literally fucking tied. Whoever is coming needs to get here like now, goddamn it.

I squint ever so slightly, the sound of gravel crunching from the other side of the van marking my ears like a dead man walking.

“Drop her right here. Right next to her lover.” I smell her before I see her slammed to the ground with more force than she can handle. She shutters. Then he kicks her in her stomach, her frame rolling over to face me as she sputters and coughs, clenching her stomach. Those stunning eyes I fell in love with flutter open, shocked.

“Aidan. Oh, my god.” Her voice is hoarse.

“Shh, Baby. It’s all right.” My strong girl loses it then, she’s no longer with me. “No. No, it’s not. They… They have him.” She bolts up, her long messy, matted hair flying wildly. “Where is he? Where is my baby?” Loud, maddening screams come from within her.

“Jesus Christ. Not this again. Bring out the kid. Just fuck it. Bring them all out. I’m done here.” My head is about to explode. The rigorousness from Junior’s squeaky, high-pitched voice alone is enough to make me want to light the damn ignition. Jesus.

My skin melts off of me when I sit up, watching as Stan drags a hysterical Grace out of the van, her fingers clawing, grasping at Stan’s hands clenched around her throat.

A taste in my mouth so bitter exudes from every fiber I have. “That’s enough, you fucking bitch. Does it make you all feel like a man to lay your hands on a woman? Because the way I see it, all three of you are fucking pussies. The only man here you have handcuffed because you all know if you un-cuffed me, I’d fucking kill you,” I fume. I honestly see sparks flying out of my mouth, that’s how angry I am. How close to the end of my tether I am to help them all.

“The way I see it, we’re the smart ones here, fuckface. None of us are about to die. None of us are about to watch those we love die, and none of us can do fuck all about it. Now, sit back and watch.” Stan turns his attention back to Grace. He lifts her up by her throat. Her eyeballs bulging, she’s choking and sobbing. I cannot sit here and watch him kill her. One of these motherfuckers can shoot me in my back.

“Oh, god. We have to do something. He’s going to kill her. Wait,” Deidre murmurs as she sticks her hand inside of her shirt, pulling out a screwdriver. “Don’t move,” she whispers. Fuck, if I could kiss her right now, I would. Fuck that. I’m marrying this woman.

It’s comical, really. She has placed my weapon in my hand. A screwdriver. The funny thing about it is, I can tell this handy tool is mine. The worn-down wooden grain of the handle tells me it was a gift from my grandfather. I’m going to pick these cuffs off in record time. “Stay close, baby,” I whisper, my eyes trained on the other side of the van where Matthew stands, watching Stan.

Her body trembles more, but she glides her back up against mine. She shakes and shivers, whimpers and cries. I jiggle and finagle, digging deep to try and get the end of this thing inside the hole. It’s no use. The hole is too small. But I’m not about to give up. I’m left with no other choice.

“Deidre, baby. You have to take this now and run and stab him in the side of the neck. Don’t argue. Don’t say a word. DO IT. If you don’t, he’s going to kill her. Aim for his jugular. Do it now.”

I drop the screwdriver into her sweaty palms. I will survive this. We all will. What my woman does next makes me fall for her even more. She sprints forward, her body lunging in the air, and she nails the maniac right in the side of his neck. The world stops for these pieces of scum who think they can control my world. Stan releases his hold, staggering backwards, blood gushing out where my screwdriver is lodged in his neck.

There’s screaming, gunshots, and dust flying. “Get up,” Junior barks in my ear and places a gun at the back of my head.

“Where is she?”

“Who?” I’m acting like I don’t know who he’s talking about.

“Our mother, asshole. Where is she?” He presses the gun in farther.

“She’s in hell, Junior. I do believe she’s been there since the day she had you.” My voice has no tone. No care. Nothing.

“All right. You want to play. I have about fifteen minutes to play. Watch, big brother.”

“Matthew, tie them all up against those trees.” I look to where all three of the women are now huddled together. All I see is her. My brave one. We’ll get out of this. I have to believe we will. This is not the time to be thinking about this, and yet I cannot help it. I love her, every part of her. I hope against hope that she is strong enough to handle what she just did. She killed a man. His dead corpse lies ten feet away from her. She’s clinging to her mom, and I stand here watching all that hope drain out of her.

“Deidre,” I call out. Her head whips in my direction. Our eyes lock for one brief moment before she is pulled out of my view.

“You won’t get away with this. Our family will find you. It won’t take them years, months, or even days to get you.” Deidre looks Junior right into his eyes. Her lips tremble slightly, there’s no happiness, no sweet, no tart, just a blank, deadly stare. She’s giving up. Her sassy spark I dove right into and fell in love with is gone.