Page 141 of Remi's War (Four Dark Horsemen 2)

I growl, hating our complete helplessness in the current situation. Our friend has suffered enough from his mother’s wrong choices.

He cannot be put in hell again for killing that man because he sent the demon where it fucking belonged.

Clearing his throat, Santiago orders Antonio, “Delete all the footage from the camera right now.” He nods, ready to bolt, but Santiago’s words stop him. “If you ever speak to anyone about what happened tonight, you will be guilty too. Keep that in mind.” He nods again and darts away while Santiago faces us. “Any ideas how to handle it? Think fast. At this point, we’ll all be guilty of the crime. Our lawyers won’t be able to help us.”

“We need to hide the body,” Florian says, rubbing his face.

I fist my hands. “There’s blood everywhere, his DNA and fingerprints. We can’t just hide it. They’ll search for it; he’s one of the richest guys in the country. Besides, how do you plan to get rid of it anyway?” Not to mention we don’t have the professional equipment or the skills in order to do the shit people usually do in situations like this.

“I don’t know, Remi. What am I? A serial killer on the fucking hunt?” Florian spits. We stare at one another in anger, then look at Santiago when he snaps his fingers, holding our attention.

“Serial killer. We have one in the country right now, right?”

“Right. They mentioned it on the news. What does he…?” My eyes widen. “He might be the cover we need.”

Florian opens his mouth to comment, when Octavius whispers, “Florian.” He rushes to him and lands on his knees, mindful of not getting in the blood, and places his hands on Octavius’s shoulders. “What have I done, Florian?” His voice finally rings with awareness, and he looks over his shoulder at us. “What have I done?” A horrified expression crosses his face, and he shakes his head. “I killed him. Fuck, I killed him.” Tears form in his eyes. “Estella. She’ll be all alone,” he whispers the last part.

“No, we have a plan.”

“No!” he shouts, slamming his fist against his chest. “My fault. I did it. Get out. Get out, all of you, and I’ll call the cops. Turn myself in. Just promise to take care of Estella,” he tells Florian and adds, “Please.”

Florian squeezes Octavius harder, his voice turning deadly. “I’ll do anything for you, man, but not this. We’ll find a way.”

“There is no fucking way! I’m a murderer! Get out!”

I’m not surprised. Among us all, Octavius has the highest sense of morality and always admits his faults. He loves his little sister and us more than himself, so he won’t even willingly subject us all to any danger.

He is the kind of person who will sacrifice his own soul if it means saving those he loves. He’s one of a kind.

If I’m Odysseus, then he’s Hector.

And I’ll be damned if we let him do what he wants.

Santiago rolls his eyes and goes to him, then slaps Octavius hard across the face.

“The fuck, Santiago!” Florian roars, but Santiago pushes him back too, holding Octavius’s gaze that’s finally cleared, and his brown eyes comprehend information.

“No one is going to prison because of your irresponsible ass. Our future’s on the line. Now snap out of your fucking shock. We need to take care of your mess, and we have no time to console you.” Octavius blinks, and Santiago takes a deep breath, internally contemplating something, judging by the expression on his face.

He thought this assignment that requires us all to be together would put an end to our friendship once and for all, destroying our bond.

However, the assignment is just the beginning, because we have no choice right now but to work together to cover this mess and get out of this with our freedom intact.

So that’s what we do.

We organize everything and just barely manage to make it to my fight club where I perform with my injured arm.

I win the fight, and my friends stay by my side. And later when Santiago stays over and tells us what happened to him…

We ask him to teach us how to torture people the right way, so we can punish those who deserve it.

Our best friend is reluctant, but he does as we ask, and that’s how we become invincible.

Slowly, not instantly, we become an unbreakable unit, destroying anything standing in our way.

Our name alone inspires fear and awe alike in those around us.

Three days after that, Roland died of a heart attack but not before whispering my mother’s name in my ears and how she never wanted me, so her father got rid of me.

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