by J B Reding
I realize that Nixon has been staring at me this whole time, as is my dad. “Are you taking him to the basement?” I ask.
Nixon smirks as if to say, of course you know about the basement. “Yeah. Let me get him down there and then I’ll come talk to you.”
They drag Samuel to the end of the hall, past the security room, where it's darkest. I’ve always avoided going too far down that hall. Now I know it was for good reasons.
I turn back to see Liz has joined us in the foyer and Mazy and Anton are in a stare off. So, I introduce them. “Uh, Mazy this is Anton, Anton this is Mazy.”
“Oh, I know.” Anton says with a smirk on his face.
Mazy looks like she's about to kill him. And from what I’ve gathered, she would probably succeed. Thankfully, Nixon comes back upstairs quickly before things escalate. “Let’s all move to the living room, shall we?”
Dad is the first to make a move, then Liz and we all follow behind her.
Everyone takes a seat. Anton and Mazy on complete opposite sides of the room and I feel another love hate relationship coming on. Hopefully, I'm wrong. This family has had enough hate.
“So, what's going on?” I ask.
“Today Samuel dies.” He pauses, staring at me intently. “But I need to know what you want.”
“What do you mean, what I want? I want him dead.”
“But do you want to be there when it happens, or even take part?” He asks carefully. My dad starts to protest but I speak up.
“I want to see him suffer.” I pause. But to what extent? I don't know if I can handle watching it all go down, even if I hate him fiercely. I’ve never seen a dead body and don’t really want to either. Protecting myself is one thing, but I don’t think I’m capable of more. Plus, I refuse to give Samuel any more pull on me than he already has. I’m sure watching him be tortured and killed is enough to give me nightmares. “I want to see if he has anything to say. I trust you to handle the rest.”
Nixon nods while Dad sighs, resigned but understanding. I'm sure if he had his way, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Samuel after everything that has been revealed. I think finding out the man he once considered a friend murdered his wife and best friend as well as planned to sell his beloved daughter to sex traffickers has really messed him up. Nixon finally shared with me what my father revealed about our parents and him. It makes me a little sad, but I get it. I still have hope that one day Dad will find the love he deserves. After all, he is only in his fifties.
I get out of my head and stand, gesturing at Nixon to lead the way. He grabs my hand but pauses. “Anton, take these two home, yeah?”
Anton and Mazy protest. There’s definitely a story there.
“It wasn’t a question.” Nixon corrects then pulls me towards the basement. “At any point you want to leave, do it. You don't need to say anything, just go.”
I nod my head in affirmation. As we get closer to the basement, I hear footsteps behind me. I turn to see my dad following behind us. I guess this is closure for all of us.
21. The End
I had a feeling Ember would want to be a part of this. However, it's her father I'm worried about. He can’t handle anymore stress and knowing Samuel, he’ll cause just that.
I push open the door and lead Ember down the stairs. Her father following close behind us. When we reach the bottom, I lead Ember down the hallway to the second door. I hold her back with a hand on her arm. “I need to speak to your father before we go in.”
She nods.
I gesture for Charles to follow me back to the stairs away from Ember and speak in a low tone so she can’t hear me. “Are you sure you can handle this? He might say some shit that will upset you.”
“I'm fine, boy. I need to hear what he has to say.” His tone reminds me of when he used to be boss. But it doesn’t scare me anymore.
“We don't know what we're walking into.” I try again. I don’t think Charles can handle much more stress.
“I know this. I may be out of the business, but this was my life for several decades.” I can tell he’s starting to get agitated with me.
I nod my head, and we walk back over to Ember. “Remember, if at any point you need to leave just do it.”
“I know.” She smiles softly.
I press a kiss to her forehead and open the door. We’re immediately assaulted with the smell of bleach
Samuel sits in the middle of the concrete room tied to the chair for now, a hook hanging above him for later.
Our steps echo off the concrete walls, some empty and others holding tools for getting answers. I find it's a good motivator having everything laid out for them to see. Samuel, however, doesn’t look concerned. But that's okay, he’ll be screaming soon enough.
“Ah, everyone is here now.” He says, his nasally voice grating on my nerves. “Wait aren't we missing someone? Yes, the playboy. Heard he's great at the torture thing, so sad he couldn't make it. Guess I'm stuck with you three.” He pauses and tries to look around me. “Oh, is little Ember here to watch. Always knew she was a fucked-up child. That's why I was forced to punish her.” He looks to Charles. “Did she tell Daddy what I did to her? Little bitch was hard to resist, let me tell you. Not touching her was getting harder and harder. No pun intended.” He laughs. I watch as Charles face turns red with anger. I never told him what Ember revealed. I'm sure he's not happy finding out this way, but I made a promise. “Had to lock her in that closet just to keep myself away, now her mother on the other hand.”
Suddenly the knife attached to my belt is snatched from me and Ember is striding towards him. She plunges the knife into his thigh. His scream echoes off the concrete walls.
It’s fucking glorious.
She’s glorious.
“Fuck. You.” She states fiercely, staring him dead in the eye. “I hope you fucking suffer.”
She turns around, leaving the knife in place, and walks out the door. I resist the urge to go after her. She’s strong and will be okay until we're done here.
I turn back around at the sound of flesh hitting flesh to find Charles punching Samuel. “What did you do to them?”
“Can you elaborate? I’ve done a lot of things too many people.” He smirks, an evil gleam in his eye. With the way he’s trying to push everyone's buttons, you would think he wasn't strapped to a chair, bleeding.
“You know who.” Charles grits out, taking a step back. I let out the breath I was holding. He can’t lose his anger like that. While he’s been taking care of his body, working out, watching what he's eating, everything the doctor said, he still needs to keep the stress on his heart low.
“Well, I would lock sweet little Ember in a closet for days on end until I couldn't handle not having our nightly visits. Sad I never got to touch her. Her Mommy though. I enjoyed her body, even more so when she fought. I beat her ass more often than not to be honest. The dumb bitch didn't know how to follow rules. Always sticking her nose where it didn't belong. I was going to kill her, eventually. She just bumped it up when she ran, taking information she shouldn't have, with her. Thank god that stupid hitman grabbed the laptop. Shit head almost fucked everything up leaving Ember there. Told him to grab her, too, but nope. Didn't matter, anyway. Thought I handled everything until I realized Mary had a partner. Fucking Marcus. Literally. You know they were fucking behind your back? That’s rough. Guess that's why you divorced her. Can't have a boss with a cheating wife. Makes you look weak.” He laughs. “But you are fucking weak. Never wanted to get into the more lucrative business. The trafficking. Child trafficking is where all the money is. That's why I stole money from you and framed someone else. So, I could get in on that venture. I'm sure you all already know all this, though. And now we’re back to Marcus, fucker just couldn't keep shit to himself. Had to get revenge.” He rolls his eyes. “Anyway, is that everything you wanted to hear?”
Charles takes one last look at him, then turns to me with a nod, before heading out the door.
Samuel laughs mania
cally.
“You never knew how to keep your mouth shut. I'm not surprised everyone has left you to the wolves. However, now it's time for you to pay.” I grin and take a step towards him when the door opens again. I look to see Anton has joined the party, when I turn back, Samuel’s face has gone pale. That's right fucker, you better be scared.
~***~
Stabbing Samuel felt good and a part of me wishes I could watch him suffer more. Regardless, I refuse to subject myself to something that will haunt me, especially when he’s the catalyst.
A few minutes after I take a seat in the living room, Anton walks in. He pokes his head through the doorway, sees me alone, nods his head and walks back out. My dad replaces him a few moments later.
“Hey, Dad.” I greet somberly. I should probably be happier about the fact that everything has been taken care of with Samuel, that he's finally been caught, and all his secrets revealed, but I can't help but feel like the other shoe hasn't dropped yet.
“Hey, honey.” He says, walking in and taking a seat in his designated high-back chair. His eyes are tortured as he stares at me. “Why did you never tell me what he did to you?”
“I didn't want you to feel more regret. After you came to visit, it stopped, so in a way you still saved me.”
He nods his head, his eyes distant. He still looks pale, and I get that feeling again, like something’s not right.
“Dad, are you okay?” I ask.
He nods his head again, but a sweat breaks out on his forehead and his hand slams against his chest as his breath comes out panting.
“Dad?!” I get up and rush over to him, falling to my knees in front of him when his face twists with anguish. I yell out to one of the guards I know is around here. One comes running in, “Call an ambulance. NOW!”
I stand and run to get Nixon, flying down the stairs and bursting into the room, vaguely comprehending Saumel hanging from a hook in his back like a fish. “Something's wrong with Dad!”
Everyone turns to me. Nixon detects the panic on my face and acts swiftly. He pulls out his gun and shoots Samuel. A perfect hole enters his head and he’s dead. I don't have time to feel relieved or question the fact that I just watch Nixon kill someone.
I rush back up the stairs to find Liz has come down and they’ve moved dad to the floor with a man tending to him. “What’s going on?” I demand.
I go over to him and find he's still awake.
“I'm okay.” He pants.
“He’s having a heart attack. We need to get him in the car and to the hospital. The ambulance will take too long to get here.” The man answers.
I nod and move toward him only to be pushed back as Nixon and Maddox arrive to help lift him to his feet. I vaguely remember Anton being covered in blood and assume that's why he's not up here right now.
Liz and I follow them out as they help him to the car. Gently placing him in just as Anton comes up on the other side of me. He places his arm, now free of the blood that was on it earlier, around my shoulders. “Everything will be fine.”
I hope so.
22. Family
We make it to the hospital in record time, mostly by breaking several traffic laws. But honestly, who gives a shit? They take Dad back right away and we’re left to wait. The longer we wait, the more hope I have, because that means he’s still alive. I pace the length of the waiting room, my arms crossed over my chest. I look at everyone seated in the chairs and can’t help but notice Nixon looks torn. “Nixon?”
He looks up at me, his face guarded. It pains me to see it, it's not something I’ve seen since that night we first got together.
“What's going on?” I ask walking over to him.
He sighs. “Your dad stepped down as boss because he found out he had high blood pressure. The doctor told him he needed to lessen the stress in his life, and with having a high-stress job, it was the best course of action. Ever since then he’s been managing it. But with everything going on with you and Samuel in the past week, it's been too much for his heart. Hearing what Samuel did to you was the final straw.”
“Why did he never tell me?” I take a seat next to him so our conversation is more private.
“Same reason you didn't tell him certain things. He didn't want to worry you.” He says in a low tone.
“Why do you always look so scared to tell me anything?” I’ve found the look of worry is always present when he’s revealing something new to me. Like he thinks I’ll break down or blow up at the slightest mention of him keeping something from me. But you see, with Nixon, I’ve learned that he will tell me the things I need to know, eventually. I have faith in him. And while some may see it as him keeping secrets, I see it as him just trying to protect me from things that may upset me. Yes, it can annoy me, but I can never stay mad at him for long.
He looks taken aback for a second before he lets out a laugh. “I’m not scared for me. I only worry about how what I say will affect you.”
“Well, stop worrying. And you don’t have to keep things from me just because you think you know how I will react. I have a feeling that I never react the way you expect, anyway.” I smile, trying to show him I’m not mad, but just as serious.
“No, but I think it’s because I underestimate you. I’ll try to stop doing that.” He proclaims, laying a hand on my knee and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Good.” I nod my head decisively. I’m glad we had this talk. I feel like it was a long time coming, but never the right moment. Probably because there’s no such thing as the right moment. You just have to do it.
“Are you okay after seeing what happened in the basement?” Nixon asks after a moment of silence. His eyes boring into mine, looking for the truth.
“I’m not sure. I think I might be in shock.” I sigh. “A lot has happened in the past several hours. Shit, days even.”
“You know I'm here when you're ready to talk.”
“I know.” I reassuringly rest my hand on his, the one that hasn’t moved from my knee.
We wait another hour before a doctor comes out to talk to us. We all stand as he speaks. “The patient had a mild heart attack but is now stable and is currently being moved into a room. We want to keep him for a few days to monitor him. The next twenty-four hours are critical, but he's in good hands. I’ll send a nurse to come grab you when he's settled. Only one or two people at a time, please.”
The doctor leaves and we sit back down. We’re all silent as we wait, each distracted by our own thoughts, once again.
Eventually, a nurse comes by and we go up a few floors. Nixon and I head toward Dad’s room while Anton, Maddox and Liz hang back in a private waiting room.
Walking into the room and seeing Dad hooked up the machines will forever be ingrained in my mind. Tears spring into my eyes as I rush towards him.
“Daddy!” I cry. My chest constricts as I carefully wrap him in my arms. “Why didn't you tell me what was wrong with you?”
“Oh, sweetheart. I didn't want to worry you. I'm okay now.” He pats my back gently before rubbing circles over it. Tears leak out of my eyes and onto his hospital gown.
“No. You’re not. You’re in a freaking hospital.” I say, standing back up to look at his face. “You’re not okay.”
“But I will be. Nothing's going to happen to me. I promise.” His hand reaches up and swipes at one of my tears, but they keep coming, making it pointless.
“Don't make promises you can’t keep, Dad.” I sniff, crossing my arms and staring him down. I make a promise to myself to ask questions instead of always putting it off. This could have been avoided if I was made aware beforehand. Maybe I could have stopped him from going down there. A part of me starts to get angry at Nixon for not doing just that. But then I realize that no one can make my father do anything he doesn’t want to.
He smiles at me, shaking his head, before asking Nixon. “How did the situation in the basement go?”
“It's been taken care of.” He answers matter-of-factly, easily slippi
ng into business mode. A surge of pride bursts through me at the man he has become. His father would be proud.
Dad nods his head solemnly.
I quickly change the subject and we talk about nothing of importance for several minutes until a nurse walks in and tells us he’s had enough visitation for now and we can come back tomorrow morning.
We say our goodbyes and I try hard not to tear up again because I know he will be okay. He has to be.
We walk out and head towards the group to fill them in. Nixon has one of his men that came with us stay here in the waiting room as a precaution. Former bosses can still be a target if they’re seen in a weak position.
The five of us drive back in silence. Even Anton stays quiet, his usual quips absent in the stale air of the car. As we get closer to the house, I’m suddenly overcome with exhaustion. I’ve been up twenty-four hours now considering Nixon and I never made it to sleep last night. Then everything with Mazy and the waiting, and then Samuel and Dad.
It’s been a lot.
As soon as we pull up to the front, I hop out and make my way to Nixon's room, knowing he probably needs to handle some things before coming to bed. I strip down to my panties and climb into bed, falling asleep immediately. Not even realizing that I’ve stopped referring to here as home.
~***~
I wake with a mouth between my legs. My eyes snap open as my hand slides into Nixon's hair.
“Good morning.” I moan.
He growls, sending vibrations against my core and making me clench. He thrusts a finger inside me and flicks my clit with his tongue, then sucks it while adding another finger. I come on a quiet moan, my body wracking with aftershocks.
“What time is it?” I ask as he moves up my body, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“One. Almost two.” He presses a kiss to my cheek, then the corner of my lips and finally my mouth, kissing me long and hard, his tongue slipping in to play with mine. I roam my hands down his abs and to his belt.