Page 95 of Bed of Thorns

“Then why did you take my life? Why?”

“Because I had no other choice. They gave me no choice.”

“There are always choices, Pops. I can’t remember that night, at least not all of it. But you do. You know exactly what happened. Tell me.” Breathing was becoming difficult, the adrenaline too intense.

He seemed surprised, his expression more haunted than before. “What do you remember?”

“That you blamed me for the death of that man, which wasn’t the truth. Was it? Was it!”

As he rose from his desk, his body continued to sway. “You really don’t remember,” he whispered, lowering his head. When he spoke, his voice was devoid of emotion. “Mercedes walked into the office. Do you remember that?”

I tried to block the same vision I’d had, but it became impossible. A single clap of thunder pulled me back. I could see her pensive face and wide-open eyes, the image ready to destroy me. “I remember.”

“Do you remember that Damien grabbed Mercedes, putting a gun to her head? Everything happened so quickly, but he used her. You were so angry.”

I struggled with the constant flash of images, finally forced to close my eyes.

“Do you remember that he threatened to kill her?”

His voice seemed distant, the sound nothing but a garbled timbre. I was pitched into a blackened moment.

Until my vision finally cleared.

“If you want the girl to live, you’ll hand over the file you have,” Damien snarled, waving his weapon back and forth. Even though his body swaggered, his breathing labored, his hold was tight.

I jerked to my feet, the knife still in my hand. “Let her go.”

He laughed, pressing the barrel of the weapon against Mercedes’ head. “That’s not going to happen. What’ll it be, traitor? The girl or the file?”

Without hesitation, I lunged forward, jamming the knife into his neck. All three of us were pitched to the floor, the fucker knocking the blade from my hand. As Mercedes moaned, I did what I could to cover her body, Damien prepared to fire.

Pop! Pop!

The blasting sound of gunfire erupted, the roar pounding in my ears.

Then there was silence.

Stunned, I took a deep breath, lowering the weapon in my hand, my entire body shaking. “You shot him. I remember everything.”

“Then you know I had to. He would have killed Mercedes.” My father hunched over the desk, his back heaving. “I’m not a good man, son, but I couldn’t allow that asshole to kill that girl. She wasn’t blood, but she was special. Just like you were. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m just so…”

As he sobbed, I held out the gun, staring at it for several seconds. No, I wasn’t my father. I was a man determined to get back to the woman he loved. There might not be any yachts or vacations to Europe in the near future, but it wouldn’t matter as long as I was with my sweet baby, a woman who’d brought me out of the darkness. I snapped the safety into position, sliding my gun past my waistband behind my back. The Prism Group had almost won. They’d taken everything away from my family.

No more.

The silence was treacherous, my inability to find words devastating.

He moved toward the other side of his office, every move he made methodical. When he shifted a few books away from his shelf, exposing a safe, he said nothing. Then he turned to face me, his eyes locked on mine as he headed in my direction. “This is a key to a safe deposit box on Madison Place. What you’re looking for you’ll find inside. Be careful, son. The group will never let you live if they know you have this.”

While I accepted the key, I realized I had nothing left to say to him. His greed had brought him to the depths of hell, his love for my mother allowing the goodness I’d known as a child to surface in order to save Mercedes.

“Why didn’t you tell the truth?” I finally asked.

“Because this town is controlled by the group. In some crazy way, I thought I was protecting you. My biggest mistake and regrets were asking you to work with me. I know now I wanted your help in exposing them for who they were, but in your mind, I was the monster. Your refusal devastated me. I fell into their trap. I accept what I’ve done. If only I could pay for my sins.”

Accept.

Well, you can’t, Pops. Nothing will bring back my mother or all the years spent suffering.

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