Page 64 of Vendetta

“You’re not a killer, Leighton,” he says, his condescending tone pissing me off further. He probably doesn’t know I just killed a man.

Oh my God, I just killed a man.

“How do you know what I am, George?” I ask, buying myself some time. What the hell do I do now? My finger hesitates over the trigger and then I make the mistake of looking into his eyes. I’ve known this man my whole life. He's right; I can't kill him.

Suddenly, the gun is knocked out of my hand. It clatters to the floor, the sound echoing ominously against the walls.

“Fucking bitch,” Stevie yells, twisting my arm. I cry out in pain, sure that he’s about to break it. George comes forward, kicking the gun away from me.

“Should have taken that shot,” he says.

17

DEVON

“Okay, talk.”

Frank looks around the room, as if drawing inspiration, but I know he's just avoiding looking at me.

I wince in pain as I reach for the glass of water, getting his attention. My uncle looks pointedly between me and the pill bottle on the bedside table, but I ignore him. I'm not taking anything they give me until I get an explanation of what's going on.

If the pills knock me out, there's no way of getting out of bed, either. And Leighton is out there...

Finally, he makes eye contact. “Eleven years ago, my—” he begins, then swallows hard, looking away. “Your father called me to tell me we're finally out.”

My father wanted out? But that’s ridiculous. The only way out is in a coffin.

When he doesn't say anything else, I nod, urging him to continue.

“He didn't want this life for you kids. Hell, he didn't want this life for me. Our parents died young in a car accident, and he wasleft, barely legal, to take care of me. Joe didn’t want the legacy of our father, or to end up the same way he did.”

I frown, thinking how familiar that story is. My dad was a kid taking care of a kid.

“He wasalwaystaking care of me.” He smiles affectionately, his features taking on a boyish appearance. Then his eyes go blank. “All my life I resented him for sending me away, away to boarding schools, away to travel abroad, away to college... until I got it. When he did the same to you, I got that he didn't hate me or didn'tnotwant me around.”

This also sounds awfully familiar. My mother liked to travel, or so I thought, always taking me with her wherever she went, and we would be gone for so, so long. Dad was always busy, had work, and he never came with us.

When I was ten, I was told I was going to an all-boys school. I remember the temper tantrum I threw, like a spoiled little brat, punching air and slamming doors. Joey was just born, and I thought they were getting rid of me because they got a new kid. The jealousy was eating me up.

My father wasn't a man that showed emotion. He did things, rather than said them, to make you feel loved. A new toy, a pat on the head, letting me play in his office. And when he said I'd only ever be home during school breaks, well, I thought it said a lot about their love. Child logic.

“Your mother knew what he was doing when she married him, but after you came, she wanted out as well. So, he did what he had to do, and he made it happen. Almost. He worked out a deal with Keith Moore.”

“A deal with Keith Moore,” I repeat, disbelieving.

“Yes. When he told me I didn't actually think it would happen. For so long our family has been in thebusiness—” He makes air quotes and it strikes me as so out of character when it comes to him. "—the idea of getting out was just impossible.Once you’re in, you’re in. He made it happen for me. He sent me away and I had a normal life, for the most part. I got through college and had a bright future ahead. Mac—Hayley’s father, he helped, but still.” His voice turns sad, almost wistful. He shakes his head, as if to clear it.

No wonder he resented me. I pulled him out of his life, even though it wasn't my fault.

“What kind of a deal did he make?”

“He would just hand it all over, and in return he'd get protection for his family,” he says, as if that explains it all.

Then it dawns on me. The warehouses in Chelsea. It's definitely something a Moore would bargain for with an Andre, if only to prove they were right. That, and giving up all that power. The lesser the players in this game are, the more powerful you are.

“That's all there was to it,” he continues. “We had money, dirty as it was, but we were good with that. All we needed was for everyone to know we've got the Moore protection.”

“And what of our men?” Because I know with all of them set loose, there would have been anarchy, free, out-of-control players doing whatever the hell they wanted.

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