Page 53 of Resurrect Me

Chapter 27

Aris

He’s sitting in the chair, his back towards me, ankles tied to the legs. In the same chair that I fucked my wife in just a few days ago. The plastic sheets are slippery, but not with oil…with blood. There’s a gash on the back of his head that is actively bleeding. I step over the threshold and shut the door behind me.

I clear my throat. “I never thought after all we’ve been through that it’d be you in here.”

He looks at me. His eyes are bloodshot. There’s another gash on his forehead above his right brow and his lip is so swollen and busted it looks like a mashed cocktail sausage.

“I shouldn’t be in here,” he grumbles. A gurgle escapes his throat, as if blood was pooling in there that he needed to clear. “That’s why you don’t feel right about it.”

I pull up a chair directly in front of him and survey his bonds. His hands are in cuffs behind his back and chest also strapped to the chair. His white tank top is no longer white, but a mildewy pink color with splotches of brown. My stomach turns at the thought of the torture he’s endured at the hands of people he once called friends.

“Explain to me how that is true, Reggie,” I say and fold my arms across my chest. I sit tall and await his response.

Another gurgle and then, “I’ve infiltrated The Org. I’ve been going deep into that hole for the last year, since they tried to kill you. Pretended to be a henchman for the high table.”

I pause and blink. Trying to gather my thoughts and make sense of what he’s saying. “You’re trying to tell me you’re a fucking double agent, Reg?”

He nods. The fluorescent light reflects off his dark pupils. I’ve never seen him this wounded. This downtrodden. This hopeless. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, Lazaris.”

“Why wouldn’t you have let us in on your little side operation, then? How can I trust you’re on our side and not theirs?”

The light bulb buzzes above us matching the buzzing in my chest. Anger. No. Frustration. And sorrow. Mourning a friendship I once had. Mourning the trust I’ve lost.

“How can you even ask me that?” He asks and affixes his widening eyes on me. “Recall I’m the one who pulled you from the god damn bay and performed CPR on you. I’m the one who brought you back to life when you were basically dead. Why would I have saved you if I was one of them? I would’ve let you drown that day. They wanted you dead, Aris.” Tears form in the corners of his eyes. He seems so genuine. “They wanted your lungs filled with shit water, see your bloated body sunk to the bottom of the bay. I fucking saved you. If you’re Lazaris and you’re back from the dead, then I’m fucking Jesus. I’m your savior, Aris. I brought you back from the Underworld.”

“I know. I know, Reggie. It doesn’t make sense to me, Brother.” I inhale sharply and lean back in the seat. I want to believe him. I really do. “Here’s the fucking problem. You ratted us out to your men over there and we lost our shipment. And it wasn’t just any shipment…it was the biggest one to date. We needed those fucking weapons, Reggie. You knew that.”

“I had to give them the intel. They needed some kind of insurance that I was on their side too. Declan was onto me. Heand his goons were sniffing around my house, the office, around my boyfriend. I had to gain their trust. And this seemed the most efficient and least risky move.”

“But you gave away our FUCKING GUNS, Reggie!” I stand and slam my fist into the wall behind me. My face is red hot and now my fist is on fire. “I don’t know when we’re going to get another deal like that. Even if you are on our side, which was a stupid fucking decision, and you know it.”

Reggie’s nostrils flare and he rocks against the seat of the chair, as if this small movement might free him. “I’m telling you; I’m fucking innocent. I’m a mole. And I’m on your team. I’m ready to take these mother fuckers down once and for all, but I can’t do it strapped to this chair.”

I growl and punch the wall again, this time hitting it so hard my knuckle cracks and a piece of concrete block falls to the floor behind the plastic sheet. “You know I can’t let you go. You know too much. And I can’t risk you returning to them and spilling the rest of the plan.”

“I won’t. I swear it.”

I turn to leave, but the look in his eyes stops me in my tracks. Is it honesty? Or simply desperation that I’m seeing? How could he do this to me after all we’ve been through? As friends…as brothers. As part of The Rebellis.

I clear my throat and wipe my bleeding knuckle on my shirt. “How do I know what you’re saying is true? How can I trust you after this?”

“Let me prove it to you.”

“Sure. But how? I won’t cut those ties until I have some sort of guarantee.”

“Easy. I’ll give you the CEO’s address.”

“That’s not a guarantee. We all fucking know where The Org’s stronghold is.”

“No,” he says and sighs. “The CEO’shomeaddress.”

“You know who he is?”

Reggie nods and wipes his forehead on his shoulder. “Yes, I know who she is.”

“I’m…I’m sorry. Did you say she?” I ask.

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