Page 92 of Heartless
A quick death by a gunshot seemed almost too merciful after what he did to Mari. Some part of me felt gleeful at the expression he’d wear if I took my time cutting him up—to embroil him in the same horrors that gave him all those scars. I didn’t know the full story, but I got the gist. Shadow couldn’t feel pain, so using a knife to kill him would be more psychological torture than anything.
Mari deserved justice. Shewouldforgive me for what I had to do. She had to. There were plenty of things about MC life she didn’t care for, but accepted. She knew Python’s death, and the manner in which he died, was necessary.
This one would be too, even if Shadow was nothing like Python.
“Fuck, man.” I slid the knife into its sheath and tossed it away, picking up my handgun.
Shadow had been loyal, obedient, and efficient. His artistry created the symbol of the Steel Demons and he inked it onto every one of us. He followed me everywhere, and I knew he would continue to do so. He took things so literally, living and breathing by our code, including to never harm another Steel Demon outside of Fight Night, unless it was in self-defense.
Until he took my wife to bed with him and put her in a neck brace.
I’d never wanted to kill anyone so badly, while at the same time wished there was another way.
Mari begged me not to, and fuck me, Iwantedto give in. I yearned to tell her yes, I would spare him and we’d find another way to handle this. But then I’d see that thing around her neck, the cuts and bruising on her nose and forehead, her fingernails broken and splintered from how she scratched at him, and the white-hot rage would consume me.
Fuck that it was an accident. Fuck him being unmedicated. She nearly lost her life for no fucking reason.
And then there was the club I had to consider. What kind of leader would I be if I let my old lady’s attacker get off with no consequence? While proving myself to them was the least of my worries, it still factored into my decision.
I slammed my clip into the gun, holstered my weapon and left the bedroom, Hades following dutifully at my side. He’d been silent since the day Eduardo stabbed me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Not that it mattered. I didn’t need a god to tell me Shadow’s life was mine to take.
Gunner supported me in this. Jandro probably didn’t, but he would fall in line. Mari…
Forgive me, beautiful,I thought as I sat on my bike and turned the ignition.I have to do this. For you.
The ride to the jail felt both torturously long and far too short, my gun heavy and hot on my hip. Pulling up in front of the low brick building, I still couldn’t decide if I wanted to drag this out or get it over with quickly.
Word might have spread at this point, but I wasn’t about to make this a public display. I made the decision never to humiliate a man again like I did with Python. This would be taken care of quietly, a president avenging his old lady and handling business.
My boots felt like lead as I walked inside, the click Hades’ nails echoing over the concrete floor. Shadow didn’t move at my approach. He sat like a statue on the edge of a cot in the far-right cell, forearms on his thighs and his head hanging low.
I paused in front of his cell door, waiting to see if he’d react to my presence at all. After a long silence, he spoke in a weak whisper, “I can do it myself, if you’d rather not carry that burden, Reaper.”
“You’ll address me as president,” I said. “And it will be my pleasure to take your life with my own hands.” A lie for him just as much as for me.
His head moved in the slightest nod. “Then I will accept your judgment, president.”
My hand drifted to my holster, thumb flicking off the safety. “Any last words?”
“Just…I’m sorry.” His white eye caught the sliver of light from the single bulb in the room as he looked up. “I wish I’d never hurt her. And…I hope she heals. And spends the rest of her life happy.”
Shadow looked more broken down and beaten in that cell than when Jandro first brought him home. Like a caged animal waiting to die. I hesitated, fingers hovering over the pistol. Mari was the probably the best thing to walk into his life, aside from the club. Hell, she was the best thing in all of our lives. But Shadow never had family, friends, or the freedom of being a human until he came to live with us.
He had been dealt a shit hand in life and that was unfortunate. Ending his story here was sad from every angle, but a shitty upbringing didn’t excuse him from abusing a defenseless woman. I brought the heartbreaking image of Mari in her hospital bed to mind, drawing on it for strength as my fingers wrapped around the pistol grip.
“I’ll tell her you were remorseful,” I said, pulling the gun from my holster. “And that you wish her well.”
Shadow lowered his head. “Thank you, president.” He said nothing else—no begging or pleading for his life. He truly believed this was what he deserved. That made this a little easier.
And yet, so much fucking harder.
I raised the gun, aiming it at his head. This close, one shot would be enough. But I’d take three just to be sure. With a deep breath, I squeezed around the trigger.
You will not reap.
My breath froze in my chest. I looked down at Hades, meeting those dark eyes looking straight through me.
His life is not yours to take. Do not reap.
