by J. M. Walker
“What are you going to do?” I asked, my voice small.
“Don’t worry about it, pet.” Luther’s big body shook. “But I will warn you. I won’t be the same after. I’ll need your help to get me through it.”
“To get you through what?” I asked even though I already knew.
Luther closed the distance between us and cupped my face. “To get me through killing my best friend.”
Luther
“WE’RE BROTHERS.”
My eyes shot up as Georgio sat beside me. “Not by blood.”
He scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. You’re the closest thing I have to a family anyway. Even though being in a mafia family is fucked up.”
I grunted. “We’re not mafia.”
“Your dad is a powerful businessman who has his hands in everyone’s pockets. Sounds like mafia to me.”
I only rolled my eyes. We weren’t mafia, the mob, or anything of that sort. Just power driven and hungry for more.
“Do you think we’ll always be brothers?” Georgio asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” Maybe I was being paranoid, but his question threw me off. My father had taught me to be cautious. Georgio and I had been best friends for the past five years. We were now pushing eighteen. My father also taught me that the only person I could trust completely, was myself.
“No.” Georgio’s dark gaze met mine. He shook his head. “You’re too much like your father.”
“Thank you.” My father hadn’t been the easiest person to get along with, but he taught me everything I knew.
Georgio grunted. “That wasn’t a compliment.”
I knew that. Even though my father had taken Georgio under his wing, there was still some tension there. I never knew why though. On the outside, you would think nothing was wrong. Or if you didn’t know either of them like I did, you wouldn’t be able to tell. But I could. I could feel it. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
“Do you have training today?” Georgio asked, changing the subject.
“I do.” I stood, closing the journal my father had given me.
“Where you off to?”
“I have to get ready. I’ll see you later this evening at dinner.” Without waiting for a response from him, I left the study and headed to my bedroom to get ready for the training that would eventually break me.
I slipped the leather-bound journal back onto the bookshelf in my father’s study. I had used this room as my own personal office ever since he had died, but it never truly felt like mine. So many years had gone by where I wondered if maybe I was doing the wrong thing. Making poor choices all because I trusted the one man who was supposed to be there for me. My father had been right. I couldn’t trust anyone but myself. I trusted Lexi in the beginning and look what happened.
Letting out a hard sigh, I stroked a finger over the spine of the journal. So many passages written by my father on his life in our family. In our fucked-up world. I had ignored the journal for so long, I forgot what it had said. But something about today reminded me that it was there. That my father had spoken to me through his words.
My chest tightened.
A soft knock sounded on the door. “Luther?”
I turned, finding Lexi coming toward me with a tumbler of amber liquid. “I haven’t seen you since this afternoon. Vanessa left. She needed some time alone.” She handed me the glass. “You okay?”
“No.” I took it from her and downed the drink in one gulp. The burn of the liquor settled deep in the pit of my stomach. It did nothing to curb this itch. This need for more. This need to fight and survive. Georgio was mine. I just had to find him first.
I would make him pay for the shit he did. For the pain he had caused both my sister and girlfriend.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Lexi said, running her hand down my arm before linking our fingers. “I really am.”
“I know, pet.” I placed a soft peck on her forehead. “I need to find Georgio. Will you excuse me?”
She nodded. “Of course,” she said and left my office.
I went to my desk, picking up the phone and dialed one on the speed dial. When a click sounded, indicating that someone had picked up, a slow grin spread on my face. “It’s time,” I said and disconnected the call.
I popped the collar of my suit jacket and went in search of Lexi. “Lexi,” I called out. This house was too damn big.
Once I reached the living room, Lexi came down the hall that headed to the kitchen.
“Hey.” She smiled at me. “I heard you call my name. What’s up?”
“I have to head out for a bit,” I said, closing the distance between us. “But when I get back…”
She frowned. “You’re going to look for Georgio, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but I’m not going to dwell on it. If I can’t find him tonight, I’ll look tomorrow and then the next day. Either I find him or he’ll show up himself.” I shrugged. “He’s a pussy that way.” If it were me, I would have left the country already.
“I feel like I don’t know everything,” Lexi said, her voice small.
I cupped her face, leaning down and placing a soft peck on her mouth. “You will. In time. Both you and my sister will know, but right now I need to do this.”
“Come back to me,” Lexi said, her voice firm. “Come back to me the way you are. Not as a changed man.”
“Pet.” I tilted her head back. “I’ve done this before.”
“I know but it has never involved your best friend.”
I pulled her against me, pushing my face into the crook of her neck. “I’ll explain everything and answer all of your questions. In time.”
“I know you will,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Come back to me, Luther.”
***
“Do they know anything?”
I grunted. “No. And you’re lucky I like you or else this shit would have been exposed already.”
“Aww.” Charlie batted his green eyes. “You do love me.”
“No but my girlfriend and sister do. That’s the only reason I agreed to this in the first place.”
“I shouldn’t have made that video, but I was worried Georgio would actually kill me. So, I guess I was covering my ass,” he said, not that I ever asked him to explain. He never needed to. I got it. He was covering his tracks. Making it look believable.
Charlie sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I know and they’re going to kick my ass when they find out.”
“Yup. As they should.”
“They’re going to kick your ass too you know,” Charlie so eloquently pointed out.
“Don’t care. This was all your idea anyway.” I leaned forward, my brows narrowing. We had been sitting outside of Georgio’s condo for the past hour and nothing, absolutely nothing was happening. “He probably knows we’re here.”
“As fucking if.”
I shot Charlie a glance at his choice of words.
“What?” He shrugged. “Anyway, Georgio may be a sneaky bastard but he’s not the smartest. He didn’t even know that I wasn’t dead. You would think he would have checked my pulse or shot me in the head.” Charlie shook his head. “That’s what I would have done.”
“Georgio was desperate,” I told him. “That’s probably why he never checked. He’s a messy fucker.” Although he never used to be.
“You know, you owe me.”
I turned. “How do you figure?”
Charlie rubbed his jaw, faint bruises marred his skin. “I still fucking hurt from that beating.”
“We had to make it look real.” I was brought back to the first time I met Charlie. After I kicked his ass and followed him home only to find the woman that I would eventually fall in love with. “Did you know that Lexi was going to be there that night?”
“Yeah.” Charlie dropped his hands in his lap. “She’s always either home or at the deli. She works too damn much but I’m glad, as much as it hurt, that sh
e met you.”
My heart swelled. “I’m glad too. But…” My blood boiled through me. “I hate fucking waiting.”
“I know.” Charlie leaned forward. “I think something’s going on.”
I followed his gaze.
The front light lit up, the door to the house opening shortly after. A woman dressed in a black trench coat exited, stopped, and turned back toward the house.
Georgio appeared, grabbed her hand, and pulled her against him before slamming his mouth down on hers.
“So I guess the thought of being with my sister, no longer exists.” Fucking asshole.
Charlie’s head whipped around, his gaze burning into me. “He better never fucking touch her again.”
“Trust me, Charlie. She only wants you.” And my girlfriend if I weren’t in the picture, but that was a conversation for another time. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
“That fucker…”
I glanced at Charlie then. “She loves you. Most of the time, I’m not sure why. But she does.”
“Yeah, well, she might not love me too much when she finds out that I’m in fact very much alive.”
“Semantics.” I turned back around. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.” I knew Lexi was going to be pissed. But it had to be done to protect her. To protect both of them. Georgio took advantage of my girlfriend and killed her brother. Even though it was all a set up, it didn’t mean shit to me. “How did the laundry service treat you?”
“Good. But being put in a body bag is not something I want to experience ever again.” Charlie shook himself.
I could respect that. I had called the laundry service ahead of time, letting them know to be gentle with Charlie’s body and I also paid off the coroner to keep the fact that he was alive, on the down-low.
“You think our girls will forgive us?” Charlie asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.
My jaw clenched. I wasn’t sure, so I couldn’t answer. But either way, I would spend the rest of my life making it up to Lexi. Whether she forgave me or not, putting men like Georgio to justice, would be worth it.
“I’m done waiting.” I slipped from my vehicle, quietly shutting the door behind me.
“This is a bad idea,” Charlie said, coming up beside me. “We should wait. Especially until that woman leaves.”
“I don’t give a shit anymore.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked toward the house.
Georgio and the woman had gone back inside the house, clearly for round two or however many times he decided to get his dick wet before he died.
I was normally cool and collected. I always had my shit together but now I was on the verge of snapping. I needed this night to be done and over with. We needed all of our secrets revealed, so we could all move on. Then I could begin the process of doing everything I could to make Lexi forgive me.
“Luther.” Charlie cupped my shoulder, stopping me. He nodded toward the house. “Is that…”
I followed his line of sight. My brows narrowed. Lexi was walking up the street, toward us. Her head was bowed, her shoulders slumped like she had the weight of the world resting on her small body.
My jaw clenched, my hands tightened into fists at my sides. “What the hell is she doing here?”
Did she come to warn Georgio? No. She wouldn’t. Would she? I wasn’t sure anymore, but I needed to stop her before she did something stupid. Georgio was a ticking time bomb and once all was revealed, I would bet my life savings that he would snap.
“Should I go back to the car?” Charlie murmured.
“No.” I braced myself for Lexi’s wrath and picked up my pace. I stopped in her path and waited.
***
(Lexi)
I wasn’t sure what I was doing. After Luther left, I couldn’t stop pacing back and forth. I called Vanessa but she wouldn’t take my calls. I understood that, but it also pissed me off at the same time. I knew Luther was meeting Georgio to take him out. I also knew that I shouldn’t be here, but I was a part of this just as much as him. Luther would need me after, and I was willing to do anything to help him through this. Even if this was a bad idea. Luther was going to be pissed.
Something moved in the corner of my eye. My head lifted. I stopped suddenly.
Luther stood a few feet away.
“Luther?” I knew that he was coming to meet up with Georgio but I wasn’t expecting him to still be there. My eyes flicked to the side, finding another man coming toward him.
He caught my gaze, gave me a small smile and waved.
A sound escaped me that was a cross between a laugh and a sob.
“Charlie?” I shook my head. Was I dreaming? This didn’t make sense. How the hell could Charlie be alive? I took a step toward them, faster and faster until I stood directly in front of Luther and my brother.
Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved Charlie. “How could you do this to me? How the hell are you still alive? You were dead. You are dead. You…” Sobs wracked through me. I pushed him, landing hard blows on his chest. “I hate you.”
He didn’t say anything. He just took my wrath. Embraced it. Made it his own.
“Lexi.”
My head whipped around. “And you.” I shoved Luther, taking my wrath out on him instead. “You knew about this? You held me while I cried. You took care of me. You were there for me. And Vanessa.” I covered my face. “God.” I stabbed a finger in Charlie’s chest. “She’s fucking pregnant, asshole, and you do this shit to her?”
“I can explain,” he said softly.
“We both can.” Luther grabbed my hands, stopping me from hitting them further. “But first, you’re going to tell me why you’re here.”
“I came to offer moral support. I needed closure.” My gaze flicked to Charlie’s. “But obviously that closure is staring me right in the face.”
Charlie looked away.
Luther’s dark eyes peered down at me. “We’ll continue this later. I also don’t suggest arguing with me on the matter.”
I swallowed hard at the threat hidden in his deep voice. “Fine.” I pulled away from him and shoved past them.
“Lexi.” Charlie rushed up to my side. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I spun on him. “You shouldn’t be here either since you’re supposed to be dead. I’ve been trying to bury you but I…”
“That’s my fault,” Luther said. “I distracted you so you wouldn’t think of it. I didn’t want to bury Charlie when he was still alive.”
“Wow.” I laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “This is unreal.”
“I took a drug that slowed down my heart. I know you’re pissed and that you want answers, but this isn’t safe for you.” Charlie looked over my head. “She shouldn’t be here.”
“Sorry.” Luther walked past us. “I don’t tell her what to do.”
I scoffed.
Luther shot me a look over his shoulder. “I don’t. What happens in the bedroom is different. I don’t control you outside of it.” And with that he walked up the steps to Georgio’s house.
Charlie huffed. “I’m sorry, Lexi. I really am. I want to explain everything but he’s right, we have to wait. We need to deal with Georgio first.”
“Fine,” I said once again and followed Luther. None of this made sense. I was looking at a ghost. I didn’t give a shit if he used a drug to make it seem like he had actually died. When I found him lying there in a puddle of his own blood, it looked so real. I would never get that image out of my head and now that I knew he had been alive the whole time, that guilt I felt for how we left things when I thought he died, simmered.
Charlie had a lot of making up to do but he was right. This shit needed to end.
Tonight.
Luther
IT SHOULDN’T BE HAPPENING like this. Charlie shouldn’t be with me and Lexi sure as hell shouldn’t be with me either. But life had a funny way of changing things up on you. Keeping you on your toes and all that shit.
The sweet scent
of lemon and vanilla wafted into my nose. A gentle hand slid into mine. “I don’t understand what’s going on right now,” Lexi said softly. “But I want to.”
“I love you, Lexi,” I told her, not meeting her gaze. “I hope you remember that.” Especially when she saw what I had to do. Georgio wouldn’t make it through the night. My father had taught me that once a person had betrayed you, they would do it again and again. Although, Lexi had betrayed me once already. Should I have killed her too? No. It wasn’t her fault she was duped by the enemy.
Lifting my hand, I knocked hard twice. After a minute, I banged on the door again. “I know you’re in there, Georgio. I can smell your betrayal.”
A moment later, the lock clicked free, followed by the door opening. “I have company.”
“Make her leave,” I told him.
“Come here to kill me?” Georgio asked, passing a glance between Lexi and I. His gaze landed between us. The color drained from his face. “I killed you.”
“Yeah.” Charlie scratched his head. “You see, you weren’t actually successful. Obviously, you’re not as good as you think you are. If it were Luther, he would have shot me in the head. But you’re a pussy and you felt guilty, so you slipped up. Also, I see you’re not that upset over Vanessa not being with you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Georgio grit out.
“Make her leave,” I repeated, ignoring their banter.
“You think I’m stupid enough to do that?” Georgio laughed. “Come on, brother.”
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I growled. “Charlie, get rid of her.”
“On it.” Charlie pushed his way into the house. Muffled voices sounded followed by a door closing. Charlie came back a moment later. “She went out the back. Looks like you know how to pick them, Georgio. I gave her a hundred and she ate that shit up.” He shook his head.
Georgio’s jaw clenched.
I pushed against the door, shoving him back a step. “You’re lucky my girl is here. I had some nice plans for us this evening.”