Page 44 of Justice

Red pulls a picture frame out first, running his index finger over the glass surface before handing it to Tobias. “This was my wife, Lavender.”

He takes the frame from Red, turning it around so he can look at the woman who gave life to Justice. Blonde hair, resembling the silk surrounding ears of corn, frames a makeup-free face with bright blue eyes. Maybe this is a different wife, as the woman in the photo looks nothing like Justice.

“And these are the two reasons I wanted her.”

Red pulls out a second frame, much larger than the first. Two small girls sit on the back of a pony, their blonde hair matching the woman in the first. “That’s Justice.” Red points to the girl sitting behind the first. Her two front teeth are missing, but he can still see bits of the girl Marino has trapped beneath him. “She died in a fire a few years ago,” Red adds, not a lick of emotion in his voice.

“And this?” Pointing to the tiny girl up front.

“That is my Tymeless.”

“And where is she?”

Red looks from the photo to Tobias, pulling the frame out of his hand. “She’s safe, that is all you need to know.” This time the retort is full of emotion, and Tobias feels as if there is something incredibly wrong with the love Red has for his daughter.

Red looks over at Justice and Marino before reaching in and pulling out a towel covered square. He pushes the trunk to the side, gently placing the towel on the table. Carefully, he unwraps the edges, slowly unveiling the counterfeit printing plates. Tobias reaches for the squares, being careful not to drop them.

As he turns the plates over, he shoots a look to Red. “Decent plates, but it doesn’t mean shit if you don’t have the right paper lying around.”

Red reaches back into the trunk, pulling out several stacks of five and ten-dollar bills. As he reaches for the third, a photo falls to the table from between one of the stacks. Tobias reaches out, taking the photo between his thumb and index finger, his eyes falling on the single most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a smile so bright, it takes his breath away.

“Who is this, Red?”

Tobias has to know who this beauty is, find her and do anything and everything he has to in order to keep her smiling as she is in the photo. Red looks away from counting the money to the photo in his hand.

“That is my Tymeless.”

Tobias forces his eyes to leave the face of the girl he has an instant attraction for. “Your daughter from the other photo?”

“Stepdaughter, but since her mother is dead, I have plans of promoting her to my wife.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

Justice could feelMarino grow sloppy in his attention to her breasts. Not that the guy was talented in the tittie sucking department to begin with, but she was glad she hadn’t tossed the drink to Red as she had planned.

A smile crept on her face as she felt his hands slip for the third time and stay limp on the table, as his body grew heavy on hers. A strange pinging sound echoes from the opposite end of the table as she rolls Marino onto his back. The crashing sound of glass gains her attention, as she looks in Red’s direction, locking eyes with him as he falls face down on the table, his bong from earlier in a thousand pieces on the dirty floor.

“What the fuck?” Justice shouts, as the smell of gunpowder permeates the air. As she looks to the left of Red’s body, she watches in horror as Tobias lowers his gun.

“What did you do?” Tripping over the heel of her boot, she falls to her knees twice in her attempt to get to Red, her boots crunching the broken glass on the floor as she struggles to push Red’s body over to see if he’s still alive.

“Leave me be, stupid bitch.” Red moans as he pushes her away, reaching for his discarded gun on the table.

Justice reaches over and picks up the gun before Red can reach it, lining the barrel up with the side of his head. “My name is Justice, you disgusting piece of shit.” Pulling the gun back, she slams the grip against his face, causing his eyes to shut tight and a wince to leave his lips.

“Kill him, Justice, it’s what you came for. Do it quick, we need to get the fuck out of here.”

“Fuck you, Tobias! This wasn’t the plan.”

“Yeah, well, sweetheart plans change.”

Justice doesn’t care for the snotty tone he has for her. As she watches him wrap something up in a towel, she notices the photo of her sister on the table. “Where is Tymeless?” She demands, shoving Red from the table to the floor, her eyes drifting to his blood-stained crotch, a gunshot courtesy of Tobias. Placing the heel of her boot across his throat, she points the gun at his face.

“You're supposed to be dead.” Red winces, his voice rough from her foot cutting off his oxygen.

Red reaches up to grab her leg, but she shoves her boot harder against his throat. “I wouldn’t if I were you. While you were back here sitting on your fucking throne, I was learning everything I could in order to stand here and take back the life you stole from me.”

Tobias’s hand moves into her field of vision, taking the gun from her hand and replacing it with his, “Here, Justice, this one has bullets, fill his ass up with them.”

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