Page 53 of Wicked Oath
“I killed Finian because he acted rashly. He went after my wife and tried to maim her. If I hadn’t acted fast, he would never have stopped coming after her. And … I knew I could use Finian’s death as a way to take the heat off of my back. You all know I can’t let Patrick Donovan find out what we’re doing. I blamed the fire in his warehouse on Finian, and he’s none the wiser that I was a part of it.”
“That’s bullshit!” Jacob shouts.
“Hey,” I say sharply. “You all know that the more I take from Donovan, the more powerful we all become. I had to do what I had to do.”
“You didn’t need to let Finian take the fall for it,” Zach mutters.
“Oh? AndIwas supposed to do so? If I’m out of the picture, you’ll get nothing. Don’t be fucking stupid.”
“It’s stupid you killed Finian to protect your precious little wife. Why was he going after her in the first place?”
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. “Her brother found some evidence that Finian was seen at the warehouse. She recognized his face. I convinced her it wasn’t him, but I mentioned it to Finian, and he wanted to silence her to make sure she couldn’t tell her dad and brother the truth.”
Jacob shrugs. “Why not just let him kill her?”
I stare at him before I lung and jerk him toward me. Jacob flinches back. “Are you,” I say in a calm voice, “suggesting I should have let my wife die?”
“No, no, boss.” Now he’s stuttering. Where’s all that bravado from before? Pathetic little wuss. “I’m just saying that if she were out of the picture, then there would be no risk of anyone exposing your secret plan.”
“See, to me, that sounds like you’re suggesting I kill her.”
Jacob shakes his head no at a frenzied pace.
I shake my head in a mock reaction to him. “No? No? Then, Jacob, shut the ever livingfuckup.” I toss him back so hard he stumbles and falls on his ass. A couple of guys laugh. “And let it be clear,” I say to the rest of my men. “That I will not be killing my wife. She’s the only reason I’m able to get so close to Patrick in the first place. But after what Finian did, I’m starting to realize that going after Patrick is a wasted effort. I think we pull back on our plan.”
Zach stares at me open-mouthed. “But this plan was all you could talk about for weeks! And you promised us that if we take down Donovan, then we’d all be rich beyond our wildest dreams.”
“Yeah!” A chorus of their voices rings out.
Shit, this is getting out of hand. I knew they wouldn’t take kindly to me suggesting we back out, but I had to say it anyway.
After my fight at the ring a few nights ago, where I lost my cool because my growing feelings for Olivia distracted me, I realized I wanted to choose her.
I don’t want to lose my wife, and if I continue to progress down this path of trying to take down her father, I’ll do just that. I might gain more riches, but at what cost? Olivia hating me?
Olivia dead?
I can’t risk it.
But now, staring out over the outraged faces of my men, I know I’ve gone in too deep. And one of their friends is dead, and I’m trying to call off the plan. This isn’t what they want.
“Think it over,” I say. “I know I said we’d be richer if we took down Donovan, but too much is at risk. If I’m caught, all of you are going down with me. And I’ve come too close to getting caught. We have a good thing going here. Let’s not ruin it by getting too ambitious.”
“But you were the one who put the idea in our heads in the first place!” Jacob points his finger in my face. I just swat it away.
“I know, and I’m sorry that I have to go back on our plan. But as your boss, I call the shots, and it’s the best course of action. For all of us.”
“No.” Jacob’s getting more and more riled up. “No. You promised us more money, and you’re going to deliver.”
“This is ridiculous.” I jerk Jacob toward me again. “You want to fight me for power, little man? Go ahead.” I toss him back. “Fight me. Right here, right now. If you win, you get to become the boss and dictate what to do. But we both know you can’t beat me.”
Jacob spits near my feet.
The other men break into chatter that echoes throughout the room.
“Hey,” Zach says, placing a hand on Jacob’s chest. “Take it easy, man. James is right. You can’t beat him in a fight.”
I nod. “There. Now, this meeting is over. Do as I say, and we won’t have any problems.”
