Page 93 of The Thief
So, I swore an oath as I walked down that alley. An oath that I’d find a way to thank those dark angels for what they’d done. I owed them a debt, and I intended to pay, however long it took.
Chapter Thirty-Four
TYLER
Present Day
“So, think what you want of me. At this point, I really couldn’t give a shit. But I’m here to tell you, I was there to do a job that day, and I got creative. I took the abusive, child fucker out and robbed his bank at the same time. But the last person I expected to see there was you.”
Dan glared at me, but I stood my ground, glaring right back.
“You saved my brother’s life. I’ll always be indebted to you for that...”
“And you decided to pay us back by terrorising my girls? Letting them see all that fucked up shit? If you wanted to, you could’ve let them go.”
“And show fucking weakness to my crew? You saw how it went down. I kept a lid on things as best I could.”
“You fucked up,” I snarled.
“Haven’t we all at some time or other?” he shot back, then he turned to look directly at Colton. “That night, when you burned your father’s house down, I went to the police and gave you an alibi. You never knew about it, but I did.” He scanned our faces and added, “I gave you all alibis. Said you were in the pub after burying his father.”
“Most of uswerein the pub. Why should we be grateful for that?” Adam sneered back at him.
“Because life could’ve been a lot trickier for all of you if I hadn’t. And lucky for you, the pub in question had no CCTV. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for any praise or recognition. I just wanted to get a few things off my chest before shit goes down for my part in the bank robbery.”
His gaze was pinned on Adam as he took a moment, then added, “A few years ago, I was in HMP Belbroughton, doing time for robbery and assault. I was on the same wing as someone you might know... Karl Cheslin. Does that name ring any bells?”
Adam’s nostrils flared as he recalled that name; a man we’d targeted inside prison for his sick crimes, and on his release, we’d tracked the fucker down. Only, our mission to take him out hadn’t quite gone to plan, and he’d taken Liv and hurt her. Something we’ll never get over. He’d shot Adam, too. It was a job we didn’t really talk about because we didn’t want to open old wounds, but now, that evil bastard was haunting us yet again.
“If you ever mention that name again in my presence, I will cut your throat from ear to ear and watch you bleed out,” Adam threatened, his eyes narrowed with hatred, his teeth gritted tight and his jaw tense.
“And I wouldn’t blame you,” Dan replied. “He was a sickfuck for what he did to that schoolgirl. That’s why I helped in prison. That, and because I owed you. Every task you set, every torture you wanted inflicted on him, I was there for it. I did it, alongside a few others. But I knew it was you giving those orders and I asked to be in on it. I wanted to pay my dues.”
“If this is your way of asking for a get-out-of-jail card, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Devon stated, stepping forward. “We don’t work like that.”
“I know you don’t,” Dan replied calmly. “And I expect to be treated like everyone else. But I’ve watched you. I watched all of you. I know you had a neighbour you took care of,” he said, addressing Devon. “Some old guy you used to do odd jobs for, mowing his lawn and shit like that. I saw him, one day. He was coming out of the newsagents after buying his morning papers, mumbling some nonsense. A group of lads started pushing him about. Fucking cowards they were, taunting an old man. So I made it my business to step in. You’d done the same thing for my brother all those years ago. I knocked one of the fuckers out. The rest scarpered and I walked the old guy home. He had no fucking clue who I was. Kept asking me what my name was. But he remembered you, and his old job at the football club. He told me a few times about the players he used to drink with.”
My knife was by my side, and I stood rooted to the spot in front of Dan, trying to make sense of the avalanche of information he was pouring on us. Then I heard a slow clap beside me.
“Congratulations,” Adam drawled. “You aren’t as shitty a human being as we thought you were. What do you want? A fucking medal?”
“No. But when you called me, showing me what you’ddone to Anton and Rory, I thought long and hard about how to respond. And then, I figured I’d come out of the shadows. Say a proper thank you for what you did for my brother, who works in IT now, by the way, and lives a happy life. He wouldn’t have that if it wasn’t for you. You played a pretty big fucking role in my life. I guess it’s only fitting that you be a part of the end of it too. And I’m okay with that. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”
Nobody said a word. All of us mulling over what he’d said. Hating that we couldn’t fucking think straight and this case wasn’t as clean cut as we’d hoped it’d be.
As kids, we’d saved his brother, and in turn, saved his life. He’d paid us back by covering our backs, giving us alibis, helping people close to us, and doing jobs we didn’t even know he was doing. I bet if we pushed further, he’d have more stories to tell. Part of me wanted to push him. But the other part said no. My judgement was already clouded enough as it was.
How the fuck were we supposed to deal with this guy?
And then, the silence was shattered by a blood-curdling, pained scream coming from the staircase behind us.
We all spun around, and the bottom fell out of my world as I saw Jess running towards me in my sweats that drowned her tiny frame, tears streaking down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. The other girls followed behind, but all I could see was Jess. All I could hear were her cries.
“Ava’s gone,” she wailed, collapsing to the floor. “My baby. My little girl. She’s gone.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
TYLER
