The Absolution of Aidan (The Syndicate Series Book 3) (23 page)

“He knows there’s a rat. Call him. Inform him about this,” I spit out. I have my eyes trained in every direction. There are people still milling about. There always are in this damn city that never fucking sleeps.

I vaguely hear Stefano’s short-clipped, to the point words slipping out of his mouth. In that particular moment I hear a groan from the alley we just stumbled upon.

Both of us stop, our necks craning in the direction of the dimly lit alley. “Fuck.” I run toward the faint sound . The closer I approach the slumbered form lying on the cement, the more acute his groans become. Deep, heavy, gasping-for-air breaths.

“Mother. Fucker. Dilan. Jesus Christ. Call an ambulance, Stefano,” I yell. You would think with all these people walking around, someone would have heard him back here. Fuck me.

“Son of a bitch. It hurts,” Dilan spittles out. “Where are you hit, man?” He starts rambling shit I cannot understand. I grab my phone, switching on the flashlight. “Jesus Christ, Dilan.” There’s blood everywhere. “Fucking hell,” Stefano says, then adds more light with his phone. “They’re on their way.” His eyes meet mine, both of unsure what the hell to do. The blood is pooling around our legs.

“Apply pressure to the wound on his stomach. I got the shoulder.” I address the wound with my hand. Dilan’s entire body jerks off the goddamn ground when I apply more pressure. The warm blood is flowing through my fingers. “Take off your shirt. It will soak up some of the blood.” No matter how hard I try after removing my shirt, the blood keeps coming. His breathing becomes less audible. “Come on, man. Hang in there.” Out of nowhere, I hear another gunshot. My head whips up and I watch in slow motion as Stefano’s body lurches backward onto the cold, damp ground. “Stefano!” I yell. His body is lying lifeless several feet away. I shrink down, my eyes scanning for the shooter and somewhere to hide. Except there isn’t anywhere for me to go. I’m trapped. He’s behind me. If I run to try and save my own life, I know damn well he’ll shoot me in the back. That’s not even an option. No way would I leave my two friends here to die.

The sound of people screaming, telling others to run for cover, call the cops, all that shit someone should have done for my friend, who is dying literally in the palm of my hands, echoes loudly in my ears, right along with the resounding effects of the bullet that pierced through Stefano.

“Back away from him, motherfucker.” My phone clatters to the ground. I look down at the lit-up screen showing my background photo; the one I snuck of Deidre holding Diesel, rocking him to sleep.

Son of a bitch. That voice I’ve hated since the day the little prick was born strains my ears. Fuck him. I keep applying the pressure to my friend’s wound, ignoring his demand once again. “I’ll kill you right the fuck here.” I feel the butt of the gun at the back of my skull. “Do it, you fucking pussy.” The gun clicks. I close my eyes, prepared to die right here. Nothing happens for several seconds. The lighting is vague without my phone. I lift one hand off of Dilan’s still body, grab Stefano’s phone that lies face down on Dilan’s bloody stomach, and shove it into the front of my pants. I then laugh at the coward until I’m yanked up from behind and shoved face first into the side of a brick wall.

My hands are snapped securely with cuffs behind my back before I can even try and fight back. Pain is surging through my wrist and upper arms. I will not let this fucker know I’m in pain.

“Get him in the van. We need to get the hell out of here,” Junior snarls at my unknown attacker.

“Where is she, Ryan Drexler?” I yell his name as loud as I can, praying like a motherfucker someone hears me. “Shut him up.” I’m dragged like a heavy box toward a dark-colored van behind the building. I resist, making his movements slow down. I hear the faint glitter of a siren in the distance. With every step this asshole takes, I poke and jab my feet forcefully in the opposite direction, doing everything I can to stall, to resist.

The sirens become louder, he pulls harder. “You cocksucker.” I twist out of the bastard’s hold and face my demented attacker. “You always had a dirty mouth, Aidan. I wonder how dirty it would be if I blew your goddamn brains out?” I spit in his face. “Do it. You’ll still never get what you want.” He says nothing as he wipes my spit from his nasty face.

I react, head-butting the piece of shit. Bones crunch. Blood spills out of his nose. “Shit. Get him in the goddamn van.” Fuck that. I’m not going down as easily as he may think. I kick him in his balls. Ram my head into his chest, knocking him off balance. Shots ring out in the air as he crumbles to the ground.

Reaction is a curious motherfucker. I’m ready to stomp him in his fucked-up face when the lights from the ambulance quickly approach. I’m lifted off of my feet by his crazy man and tossed into the back of the van, the solid steel doors slamming in my face.

“Fuck,” I yell. The front doors slam shut. My body is whipping around, slamming into… “Jesus, what have you done to her?” Anna is bound and gagged, beaten nearly half to death.

“Shut your mouth, Aidan,” the belittling little asshole barks through his busted-up face. He is going to have to do a hell of a lot more that make idle threats if he wants me to shut up.

“I’ve always known you were worthless, but hell, man, I never thought you had it in you to kill anyone, let alone your dad. You had me fooled. I mean, Christ, I always thought you had a pussy instead of a dick, you know?” I shrug even though he can’t see me.

I’m met with silence. I watch him as he busily does his best to clean himself up. The dashboard lights from the van show off just enough light. He’s pissed. Good. I enjoy a good game of antagonizing the prick!

“Aidan,” Anna gurgles my name. “Anna. Can you sit up? Let me look at you.” I scooch in her direction. “My hands are cuffed.” I twist my body around so she can see. If she can see anything at all. Her face is so messed up. God. I will kill him if I have the chance. I swear to god I will beat him to death with my own hands.

“He’s crazy. He… he shot Dilan,” she whispers. Tears are streaming down her face. “I know. I found him. Stefano called an ambulance. He’s going to be fine.” Her eyes flutter closed briefly. She exhales deeply, like the woman had been holding her breath the entire time, more concerned about Dilan than herself. She’s one tough woman. I’m not about to add any more to her pain by telling her Dilan may die.

She may have the blood of a selfish son of a bitch running through her veins, but she is nothing like him. She’s caring. After she gets her dainty little self up, she holds on to the side of her ribs, wincing and trying to clamp in those cries of pain. Her hands are tied in the front, scraped and bleeding. Christ, my gut spins, sticks on autopilot at the sight of her. Guilt claws at my throat. I let out a deep breath. Everything inside of me is struggling within themselves. God, I’ve failed once again to protect someone. And then there are Dilan and Stefano. Will they make it? If they don’t… My mind cannot go there. They fucking have to make it.

Deidre will never survive losing both her dad and me. Or either one of us. And my son. Fuck, I need to find a way to get us out of here. How in the hell can I reach for this phone when my fucking hands are jacked behind my back? All I can do is pray to god that Salvatore has a tracking device on Stefano’s phone like he does on all the rest of ours. Not that he doesn’t trust us. It’s for our own safety. Too much shit has gone down with his family and close friends in the past couple of years. This is his way of protecting us.

The guilt begins to strangle me while we bounce and rattle over these streets. My eyes drift from Anna’s marred frame to the view in front of me. I know exactly where we are. Not too far from where we were, to be precise. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would say we’re going around the same block over and over.

“Go ahead, little sister, tell him where we’re going. Better yet, let’s drive for a bit. Have a family reunion. After all, I’ve never been in the same room, let alone the same vehicle, as my two favorite siblings before. It’s a shame, really.” He widens his snarl into a grin. Fuckhead.

If possible, his attitude got cockier. He may think he has the upper hand here, but fuck him. I know good and well that Roan, Cain, and Jackson are all well on their way to either the hospital or Deidre’s apartment. I’m no religious man. It’s a damn shame.
If you are listening to me up there, let them be alive, safe, and soon to be surrounded by family. Let Stefano and Dilan live, so if I die, they can come back and kill this prick.

“You’re not my family. You’re nothing but a mooch, a scumbag, and a fucking pervert,” Anna strikes out. “Let’s not forget a killer,” I surge forward with my words before thinking. Shit, she probably doesn’t know.

“Way to go, brother. She has no idea. And ouch, Annabelle. That struck me right here.” He gives his head a slight nod and places his hand over his heart. His face is busted all to hell. I’d give anything to crack it in half, wipe that smug smile off of his face.

“That’s where you’re wrong, dickface. I know you killed my dad. I also know why. It was all over money and land that was never rightfully yours in the first place. Your entire life you’ve been mooching from him, you’ve never been man enough to do anything on your own. He knew that, too. In fact, he used to tell me all the time how much he wished you were more like Aidan and me. And when he finally told you to give up on getting your hands on Aidan’s land, you flipped what little bit of your needle dick brain you have left. You disgusted him, did you know that?” She begins to cough. Her little hands joined together splayed across what has to be hurting her in a bad way right now.

“I see.” Junior shifts around more in his seat. His eyes focus on Anna’s tiny frame. “You really think you knew him? He was just like me. The old man had you fooled, little girl, but hey, if you want to remember the man as your hero, by all means, remember him that way. At least I don’t have a mother who fucked around with a married man, then had a bastard child with him.” She gasps loudly at his harsh words. And yet, stands on her own two feet, even though she’s sitting down. “Oh, please,” she stammers out, her breathing becoming more difficult. “Your mother just fucked anything with two legs. Hell, she’s such a whore, it’s no wonder he went out and looked for someone else.”

“That’s enough. Not another word. I don’t need you as much as I need him for what I have planned. Don’t fucking say another word or I will end you, you little bitch.” He’s clearly dangerous with his vigorous threats of wanting to kill. Then why the fuck hasn’t he done it?

His head stays in the same position, but his seedy, little eyeballs slant to me. I shrug nonchalantly at the idiot.

“I know you’re hiding our mother somewhere. I suppose you think you know everything like this cunt thinks, yeah? Let me tell you something you don’t know, you little fuckers. I win. It’s as simple as that. I will kill you both and anyone who gets in my way of me getting what I want. I couldn’t care less about your land anymore. I want the goddamn money he left to her. And to our cunt of a mother!” he screams obsessively while flashing his gun all around.

All I can hear ringing in my head is the word ‘cunt.’ Flashbacks run like a herd of cattle through my head of the night I called Deidre that name. A night she forgave me for.
I have to get the hell out of here
, I repeat to myself.
I need to get home, to my family.

“If you’re so hell bent on killing us, the why haven’t you done it already? A professional pulls the trigger right away, he doesn’t drive around in circles while people are out looking for him. Are you sure you’ve done your homework there, Junior? Because man, the way I see it, if you get caught by my friends, they will make an exception out of you. And fuck, I’ve seen some of their work, it ain’t pretty.” I imagine John coming out of retirement to use his expertise on making this no-good-waste-of-air suffer and scream like a pig who finally realizes he’s about to be slaughtered. Before that happens, his hands and feet are cut off. He’s squirming, shrieking, and begging for them to stop.

“I’m not scared of your mob friends, Aiden. We will be long gone before they even get here. Ah. Here we are. No need to inform him where we’re going, sister dear.” I try to move to see out the passenger side window.

“What the fuck? You rotten son of a bitch!” I lurch forward, only to be shoved back by whoever the fuck this man is who hasn’t said a goddamn word the entire time.

“Aidan, are you all right?” Anna scoots closer to me, the pain etched on her cute little face visible the closer she gets to me.

“Matthew. Bring them all out,” he snips sharply into his phone. God, no. Matthew. He’s worked for Salvatore for years. He’s Beth’s bodyguard. How in the fuck did he get messed up with Junior? I feel sick. My entire life is in that building. My eyes stay trained to the doorway leading to the apartment building where Deidre and my son are. Just as I see the shadows of people walking through the corridor, a vibration pulses against my lower abdomen. The phone. Someone is calling. I stay still, barely breathing, pulse pounding, until I see them. Deidre holding my son, her eyes flocking all around, scared, helpless, clinging to him like the protective mother she is. Beth and Grace’s hands bound behind their backs. Two guns in the hands of Matthew, pointed directly at each of their heads.

Junior may think his plan will work. There’s no sign of Roan or Cain, which leads me to believe Salvatore directed them to the hospital. That means he’s called in John. Or one of his other hitmen. I pray like hell it’s John. Like I’ve said before, the man despises people who lay their hands on the innocent. If he gets hold of these men, hell will be a welcome compared to what he will do to them.

“You’re going to die slowly, motherfucker.” Venom mixed with the truth ejects from my erratic mouth. “No. They are, Aidan. And you’re going to watch.”

DEIDRE

Something feels off. A nagging feeling creeps into my gut. Aidan and my dad have been gone too long. Anna and Dilan obviously longer. Something outrageous is happening.