Revenge

by E M Courier

  “You did it on purpose,” he wrinkles his nose in disgust, Atticus smells like sweat and blood.

  “What?” His says muffled with a mouth full of pie. He sets his fork down. “What are you talking about?”

  “You killed Gavin when I went upstairs to get you water.”

  He groans rolling his eyes. “So what if I did? We should be celebrating, the bastard who killed Ellie is finally dead!” He cheers.

  Alexander grabs Atticus’ plate and throws it against the wall creating a mess. “You ruined everything! I never should have brought you here.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Atticus stands. “You’re a mess, Alex. I mean for fucks sake, you’ve been obsessed with this revenge thing. You’re acting crazy.”

  “And you weren’t? You tortured him.”

  “Yeah and I also killed him. You would have kept him down there until he died of old age. Snap out of it. It’s over with. Move on with your life. I did you a favor.”

  Alexander runs his hands through his hair. “He deserves worse!”

  “Worse than death? Alex…” Pity rings in his voice. “He didn’t deserve to live longer than he did. Ellie died young, it’s only right that his life was shortened, too. I’m not sorry for what I did. I’d rather have become a murderer than you. I’ve done some shit, seen some shit. I’m already fucked up—so are you—but there's still a chance for redemption. I saw it the second you told me about Scarlett. She can save you, Alex.”

  “You just expect me to move on?!”

  “Yes,” his little brother says simply.

  How could he move on?

  Atticus was right. What is he going to do with a life without revenge? What is left for him? What purpose is there?

  Scarlett.

  She’ll never love him. Never like him. Not after he is responsible for the death of her father. Not after the way he treated her after they had sex. He was cruel and he wanted to push her away. He thought it was the right thing to do, but not anymore. There’s no way to make it up to her. No way to have his sins forgiven.

  There is no life after revenge.

  There is no purpose.

  “Talk to her,” Atticus breaks him from his deep thought.

  “What’s done is done. She’s free to go.”

  ***

  Scarlett’s father is dead.

  She overheard a strange masculine voice cheer, Gavin is dead, let’s celebrate!

  Rosie has unlocked her door and escorted he out of her room for lunch. Scarlett has been having a lot more liberties since the day Alexander and her had sex. He’s been avoiding her which means she’s got to spend more time outside her room by herself. Occasionally eating meals alone. There’s no way of escaping. She tried the front door—locked. Even if it wasn’t there is no doubt men guarding the gates around the mansion. It’s been a routine for the past week, Rosie unlocks her door and Scarlett knows enough to go to the dining room.

  There’s nowhere else she’d rather explore. Not while she’s starving. Three meals a day didn’t seem enough, her stomach rumbling in between, craving a snack.

  Walking into the dining room she could hear talking in the kitchen. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she caught a glimpse of Alexander looking thoroughly pissed off. When she got closer she heard the horrible words—Gavin is dead.

  With no appetite left, she quickly ran upstairs to her room. Suppressing a sob until she got behind closed doors. She screams out in agony. Her only family, gone. Although Alexander didn’t promise the day she asked him to keep her father alive, a part of her trusted he would respect her wishes. A part of her though he cared enough to silently promise it.

  They haven’t been on good terms. Not since that day. Not since he treated her so coldly. She’s been lonely and depressed wandering around lost with no hope of ever being free any time soon. Looking at him is painful, so at meals when she did see him, she kept her eyes lowered. She didn’t want to have a conversation either—afraid he would insult her further or worse. Worse he would apologize and make her fall for him all over again. With her naivety it wouldn’t be hard, and especially not while he still holds a piece of her. A piece she can never get back.

  Scarlett continues to hyperventilate, hand over her fast beating heart, and head dizzy and discombobulated. She can’t think straight—can’t see straight. The only thing she knows in this moment is that she needs to escape. She needs to leave. A migraine spikes causing the room to spin, she falls to her knees grabbing her head staggering with pain. Groaning, she forces herself out onto the hallways.

  She tries every single room. Two of them locked and a few others plain spare bedrooms with minimal amount of furniture, locked windows, and no phones. The room furthest from her room is open, it looks just like the spare rooms but the different is an overnight bag on the floor with clothes scattered around it.

  Entering the room, she shuts the door quietly behind her. A sharp stab to her left temple makes her nauseous, the migraine consuming her whole. Her vision spots and she loses her balance causing her to fall to the floor with a thud.

  A vibrating noise against her ear forces her to open her eyes. Her head is laying on a pile of clothes in the overnight bag that is zipper opened. The noise is coming from inside the bag. She searches until she finds the source—

  A cell phone.

  Liam is the call tag. She quickly answers.

  “Liam!” She whisper-shouts the second the call goes through.

  There’s a slight pause before an answer. “Who is this?” He says warily. The familiar voice almost makes her cry.

  “Liam, it’s Scarlett,” she breathes out. Desperation ringing in her tone.

  “Scarlett? Why are you with Atticus?”

  “I’m not. I’m at Alexander’s mansion. He’s kidnapped me. You have to help!” She cries.

  “Okay. Okay,” he tries to calm her down. “I’ve been to Alexander’s penthouse no one has been there—”

  “No, it’s a secluded mansion. I don’t know the address. It’s outside the city.”

  “Listen to me carefully, go into Atticus’ phone, go to my text messages with Atticus, when you’re there click on my contact name at the top, click the info button. There you’ll see share my location and send my location. I want you to do both.”

  Scarlett does as she’s told while still on the phone. She sends her location to Liam and just as quickly he says, “Got it.”

  “The place is guarded. Even if they let you through Alexander will never let me go.”

  “Don’t worry about him. I’ll figure something out. Hang tight, I’ll be there soon.” The phone clicks.

  She puts the phone in the pocket of her robe and tries her best to make it across the hall and back into her room without getting caught. She’s both scared and anxious for Liam. Freedom can’t be this close. Freedom for the past few weeks has seemed impossible. Can it really be so easy? He’ll come and get her like a knight on a white horse?

  Can it really be so easy to escape Alexander?

  What will he do? What will he think?

  What will she do?

  She has no family anymore. No job. She doesn’t even know what Jo is doing—maybe she’s looking for Scarlett or maybe she thought the worst and moved out. Even if she moved back to her apartment with Jo, Alexander knows the address. He could easily show up one night and take her away. When Liam saves her—if Liam saves her—she has nowhere to go.

  Nothing will be the same.

  ***

  Liam calls Olive after he hangs up with Scarlett to ask for her help. She’ll know what to do. Out of all the siblings, Olive and Alexander are closest. She knows him best. Not to mention the smartest person he’s ever known—she’ll figure out how to help Scarlett escape.

  It’s better than any plans Liam’s come up with. His plan includes driving to the mansion, storming inside, grabbing Scarlett, and walking out with her in his arms. Of course Liam isn’t accounting for whatever guards he has at the perimeter, and just
how stubborn Alexander is once he sets his mind to something.

  And there’s no doubt he’s set his mind to keeping Scarlett.

  Dialing Olive’s number, he grabs his car keys exiting his penthouse. It doesn’t take long before his big sister picks up.

  “I need your help,” he cuts to the chase.

  “Hello to you, too,” she scoffs.

  “I found Alexander.” Liam frantically presses the elevator button to take him down to the parking ramp for his apartment building.

  “What? Where is he?”

  “The Hamptons.”

  “What the hell is he doing there?”

  “I don’t know, he must’ve bought it without telling anyone. Atticus is there with him now. Scarlett just called me from his phone.”

  “Woah, woah, woah,” she pauses. “What? Scarlett? So we were right, she’s with him?”

  When their father told them Alexander would be taking a leave of absence they knew exactly what for. All four of his siblings knew how obsessed he’s been with catching the man that was driving when Ellie died in a car accident. They all knew exactly why Scarlett was hired, too. Alexander finally found Gavin MacIntyre.

  When Alexander disappeared from his penthouse and Scarlett no longer came to work, he knew it was normal for her not to show up seeing as she was Alexander’s secretary. However it wasn’t normal to find out when going to Scarlett’s apartment her roommate Jo said she hasn’t seen her. Day after day Scarlett has been missing. He’d always assumed she was involved with whatever Alexander was doing to achieve his revenge—now it’s confirmed.

  “Things sounded bad, she was begging me to save her.”

  “If they have Gavin and Scarlett and Atticus is with them…it doesn’t sound good.”

  Atticus has been known for trouble. At ten years old he committed various crimes and had ties with some organized crime syndicates. His parents murdered leaving him an orphan. His parents did his best to raise Atticus to be kind and respectful, but the difference between all the kids their parents adopted and Atticus—Atticus was much much older.

  Their little brother has a knack for violence, constantly getting into fights. First it started off with fighting on school grounds ending with suspension and then it turned into fights in bars ending with being thrown in jail. Alexander was always the first to bail Atticus out.

  “That’s why I’m on my way to get her.”

  “Liam, no! Are you stupid? You think Alexander or Atticus are just going to let you take her?”

  “That’s where I need you to come in, sis,” he says annoyed. Hoping into his Mercedes Benz he starts the engine, revving before flying out of the parking ramp with urgency. “It’ll take me awhile to get there, I’m leaving now. I need you to come up with a plan. Get both of them out of the house.”

  Liam knows his brother well, he’s looked up to Alexander ever since he was a kid. He was the best big brother anyone could ask for. He always made time for each of his siblings, he was popular, athletic, smart, and always made things fun. Liam wanted to be around his brother as much as possible, he loved him to death.

  The day Ellie died, Alexander changed. His parents tried to get him to go to therapy. There were many night's Liam sat at the stairs and listened to his mother cry to his father about how she didn’t want to lose another sibling. Liam was barely a teenager, scared hearing those words. Parents are supposed to be the brave one, supposed to be the ones that make everything better and protect you from the world. Hearing his parents crying over losing Alexander made Liam panicked. He didn’t want to lose his big brother, but he saw what Ellie’s death did to him.

  Alexander lost his mind. His siblings became more careful and considerate around him. They avoided certain subject around him, they frequently check up on him, and always invite him to get out of his penthouse. But Alexander never found happiness again, his coping became unhealthy the minute he decided to hunt down Gavin. The only reasons no one put a stop to it because for the first time since Ellie’s he was ambitious and motivated to get out of bed. Everyday he worked hard just to find Gavin—and that’s when they got a sliver of their brother back.

  Liam is scared to think what Alexander is capable of. If Gavin and Scarlett are in Alexander’s care, he’s sickened to think of all the horrible things that have been done. He’s always thought of his brother as a good man—depressed and lost—but still a good man. One who follows the law. But throwing Ellie’s murderer into the mix, Liam just hopes no irreversible damage has been done.

  Olive and Liam have been trying for the past month to talk Alexander out of finding Gavin. They especially warned him about using Scarlett—an innocent girl—to finish his quest. Alexander wouldn’t hear it, he just recited that he was going to get his revenge.

  The word revenge scared Liam, Olive, and Kai, they don’t want their brother to become a murderer. They don’t want to lose what little is left of the man they love. Alexander is still in there, he’s still grieving and needs help, but his mind is not too far gone. His family is afraid that something such as killing or torturing Gavin will permanently scar him or ruin him in a way there’s no coming back from.

  ***

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Alexander calls his first contact; Dorian.

  Dorian is David’s partner. David, Alexander’s private investigator, was notoriously fired for being a dirty cop. He didn’t play by the rules, he found out clues in an unorthodox way, and that is what intrigued Alexander to hire David. Dorian is David’s little brother who specializes in cleaning services.

  He doesn’t mean clean your carpet. Dorian will take care of dead bodies of all kinds—from simple to bloody to chopped into too many pieces. Dorian will remove all traces of blood from the crime scene so it’s as if the victim was never there in the first place. Then he takes care of the identification of the corpse such as ripping out of all its teeth. If anyone were to discover the body, which they won’t he’s that good, they’ll have no DNA to identify.

  Dorian agreed to meet Alexander tomorrow afternoon. After arguing for an earlier date Dorian explains he’s in Boston taking care of other business and won’t be able to fly in until tomorrow at one-thirty. It’ll have to do. Alexander just doesn’t want anything to do with the rotting corpse in his basement anymore.

  He wants to rid his life of Gavin...even though that scares him.

  When he hangs up the phone, another call comes through. He groans when Olive’s caller ID shows up on his screen.

  “Yes?” He growls annoyed.

  “Mom needs us,” he can hardly hear her over her crying.

  “What?” He plugs the ear the phone isn’t up against. She sobbing loudly into the phone. “Olive, calm down. What happened?”

  “Mom!” She shouts.

  “What about Mom?” His heart skips a beat.

  “She’s sick, you have to come. Oh, Alexander you have to come. I’m so scared.”

  “Where are you? Where is she?” He’s already reaching for his car keys.

  “Come to Mom and Dad’s house.”

  “The house? Why not the hospital?”

  Olive stammers. “You know Mother she doesn’t want any paparazzi near her. Dad called a doctor. He’s there checking on her.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Before he can hang up, his sister’s voice shouts, “Wait! I-I can’t get ahold of Atticus. He needs to be here, too.”

  “Don’t worry, Olive. We’ll be there. Just take care of Mom and keep me updated.”

  Alexander curses loudly when he hangs up the phone. Of all the times for his mother to fall ill she picks now. Of course, of fucking course. He frantically rushed around his house grabbing things he’ll need and taking care of loose ends. He tells Rosie first to stay the night and let Scarlett come out for her three meals and that’s it. He tells her to closely monitor Scarlett and to not tell her that he is gone. Alexander then tells the guard at the gate to not let anyone in except for Dorian tomorrow, and that i
s in case he won’t be able to come and greet Dorian himself.

  Next he grabs Atticus by the collar forcing him outside and into his care. Atticus gets moody because he isn’t able to finish the rest of the pie he was devouring. Alexander scolds him telling his little brother that it’s an emergency pertaining to their mother. Past Alexander’s house and miles on the road, Atticus complains because he left his phone in the spare bedroom he was occupying. Alexander rolls his eyes saying he’s not turning back just to grab a cell phone. That makes Atticus pout even more.

  This’ll be a fun car ride.

  Halfway to their parent’s house Atticus speaks for the first time since complaining about not having his phone. “I think you should keep her.”

  He shoots his brother a dirty look. “She doesn’t like me. And aren’t you the one who told me nothing good can come out of liking a girl that I’ve kidnapped and the girl whose father I was torturing.”

  “Yes,” he rubs at the stubble on his chin. “But now her father is dead. She’ll get over it. Didn’t you tell me she was mad at him? Something about lying to her and killing her mother. She'll probably be happy.”

  “She also wanted me to promise not to kill him.”

  “Shit. Well, maybe she’ll stick around anyway.”

  “I highly doubt it.”

  “Why are you in such a bad mood,” Atticus groans. “Gavin is dead. This is what you’ve wanted. Can’t you ever be happy?”

  Could he? Could he ever be happy?

  He should be shooting rainbows out of his ass now that Gavin’s dead. He should be skipping and laughing and bursting with so much happiness but...he’s not. He feels empty. For sixteen years he’s fantasized about getting his hands on Ellie’s murderer and murdering him. His stomach churns and he starts to feel sick.

  Why isn’t he happy?

  Scarlett is the only thing he can think of at the moment. He’s dreading the moment he’ll tell her, her father is dead. Dreading the moment he’ll let her go even more. Although making Gavin suffer was top of his list, Scarlett starting becoming a priority. His fantasies of revenge turned into wet fantasies of Scarlett. Her naked body haunting him in his dreams, the feel of her soft skin against his makes him shudder.