Page 94 of Together We Burn
“Chris was never a part of this,” I seethed. “She’s a kindergarten teacher, for fuck’s sake, Will. A single mom living in bum fuck nowhere, taking care of her son. She wasn’t mixed up in this until you fucked up.”
“I’m sorry, my mind’s made up,” Will continued, as if none of us had said a word. “As soon as we know where Emilia is holding Chris, my men will storm and breach.”
Alex pounced, launching himself over Will’s desk, his fist meeting his jaw with a deafening crunch. The pair toppled to the ground, causing Alex to tumble off his brother. He jumped up, ready to fight, but Will remained on the ground, knocked out cold by one single punch.
I spun to check on Nate. His emerald green eyes were wide in horror as he witnessed his uncle lose his shit and pummel his brother. I glanced at Jake, frantically thinking of how to explain what had happened.
Jake, ever perceptive, made his way to the boy and tucked his arm around his shoulder.
“Let’s take Rocky out for a walk, huh?” he asked, hustling him toward the door. “Leave Uncle Alex and Aunt Stefy to wake Mr. Jones up.”
Nate nodded, trying to turn back to look at Will sprawled out on the ground, but Jake’s large arm blocked the view.
“Fuck,” Alex said, scraping a hand down his face. “I didn’t mean to do that in front of the kid.” He grimaced, looking at his brother. “What now?”
“Let’s tie him up.”
“What?” Alex exclaimed.
“No one is going to be in until Monday; that gives us about thirty-six hours until Maria’s back in the office,” I said, going to the cupboards by the wall and rummaging through them for anything to tie him up with. Cable ties, elastic bands, anything I could use as a makeshift rope.
I slammed one door closed as I tore open another, pulling out useless crap in search of things that would work. Alex grunted, and then a heavy thud sounded as he rightened his brother’s chair, lifted him off the ground, and unceremoniously dumped him on top.
Finally, I stumbled across duct tape, cable ties, and that wire stuff that went around boxes containing reams of paper. Pushing off my knees, I carried the materials back to Will’s desk and pulled at the end of the tape with an almighty rip. Alex’s forehead creased as he stood, watching me position one hand on the handrail and begin to wrap the tape around his wrist, securing him down.
“Don’t stand there like a spare part, Alex,” I scolded, passing the tape under his arm once more, then used my teeth to tear it from the roll. “Cable tie his legs together and then to the spindle of the chair.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Alex, he is going to let Chris die just to kill my mom,” I said, straightening my back after checking out my handiwork. “I’m done following blindly after him. I will take whatever punishment he wants to give me when this is over, but he’s not calling the shots on this one.”
I moved to Will’s other side and repeated the process, fastening him to his chair and ensuring he couldn’t get out. Tossing the empty cardboard ring onto his desk, I grabbed two spare cable ties, locking them around the tape just in case.
Alex tugged at his brother’s legs, but there was no give. The man was well and truly stuck to his fancy office chair until someone–Maria, most likely–came to his rescue Monday morning.
We were just about to leave when I quickly turned and jogged to his wet bar, opened the mini fridge, and pulled out a bottle of water. At least you couldn’t say Will wasn’t prepared for any eventuality; he even had straws tucked away next to a cocktail shaker.
Cracking open the lid, I plopped the straw in the bottle and set it on his desk in reach of him.
“Don’t say I’m not a nice person,” I muttered, lingering longer than I should as I stared down at the man currently unconscious.
Disappointment sat heavy in my bones. I might never have been as close to Will as the other boys, but I still felt a surge of familial love for him. Now, staring at the man I killed for, his head lulled to the side and eyes closed, something uncomfortable swirled in my stomach.
This Will was not the Will I’d known. This Will was cold and closed off; he didn’t care who he hurt as long as he got his desired result. Over the years, you could see the strain this job had on him. No one envied him–the decisions he had to make, the options he had to choose–but that Will would never have sacrificed an innocent. Especially an innocent who was family.
Flicking my eyes across his binds once more, I grabbed a set of keys from his desk and ran toward the door Alex held open. Outside in the foyer, silence, and something that felt similar to regret, settled around us. I looked into Alex’s soulful brown eyes and nodded.
This was the only way.
With a click, I locked the door, leaving the key in the lock, and made my way to the elevator. Ready to finish this once and for all.
Chapter thirty-seven
Stevie
ScepticismlinedJake’sfaceas Alex and I exited the revolving doors onto the street. Nate played with Rocky as Jake leaned against the back of a bench, arms folded across his chest.
Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, “Everything alright?”
