Nila padded over to Cut, her bare feet disappearing into the long grass. Kill didn’t speak as she stopped in front of my father. The wind whipped her hair around her jaw, slicing and slicking, looking like oil in the breeze.
“I said before that I forgive you.”
Cut shifted, rolling his shoulders in Kill’s grip.
“I’m not here to take that forgiveness back. I don’t even know why I’m here.” She rubbed her face, trying to re-centre herself. “I guess I wanted to say…be thankful. Your crimes have caught up with you…and I’m there to see it.” Her voice lowered as she looked back up. “I’m here to see you one last time. To know you’re just human. That you were doing what you thought was right, but now you have to pay. We all have to pay, Cut. Nothing is free in this world, and you’ve taken enough from my family that from now on, we’ve paid our dues and deserve happiness. I won’t celebrate your death. I won’t think of you with hate or cruelty. But I will be free of you, and I’ll be happy you’re no longer there to terrorize my lineage.”
Shuffling away, she smiled softly. “May God have mercy on your soul, Bryan Hawk, and for you to find redemption in whatever awaits you.”
Looking at me one last time, she moved back toward the Hall.
V and Tex hugged her, kissed her, then let her go.
Flaw appeared from the exit, jogging over to Nila and slinging an arm over her shoulders, joining her family. His possession didn’t spark jealousy; if anything, it granted peace knowing she would be cared for and protected while I was gone.
“Thank you, Flaw.” My voice travelled on the gentle wind to the Black Diamond brother. I didn’t know how much war had gone on before our arrival, but he’d managed to enlist over three-quarters of the brothers to fight on our side. I would have to debrief and investigate each member and have them swear new allegiance to me, but for now, Flaw was in charge.
He saluted me casually. “No problem.”
V guarded her while Tex looked dotingly at his children.
Switching his grip on Nila, Flaw relinquished her shoulders in favour of her hand. “I’ll take her to her quarters and make sure she’s fed and rested. Don’t worry about her.”
I smiled in gratitude.
Nila didn’t say a word as Flaw guided her around Hawksridge, leading her toward another entrance and avoiding the nastiness of the ballroom. Tex and V followed, smearing bloody hands on their black trousers.
I would never know if Flaw’s loyalty was because he trusted me or because of his steadfast friendship with Kes. Either way, he was a good man. And his actions today had prevented yet more deaths and helped those injured with his medical help.
Turning my back on the Hall, I moved alongside Kill as he shoved Cut forward, leading us away from prying eyes and looming buildings.
We didn’t talk as we traversed the lawn, circumnavigated the maintenance shed where Cut had given me the salt shaker and told me it was time for the Second Debt, and entered the woods.
Our shoes snapped twigs as we moved deeper into forest darkness.
“You sure you want to do this, Hawk?” Kill’s voice grabbed my attention. He fisted Cut around the back of his neck, shoving him forward. Two of Kill’s men flanked us, morphing from the trees where they’d been watching the Hall.
I appreciated the back-up, but I didn’t want an audience. The minute we arrived at our destination, I would send them away.
I needed to be alone in this.
Looking at the Florida-born president, I nodded. “I know what I’ll have to pay in order to get retribution. But yes, I’m sure.”
Kill grinned. “When the day comes for me to claim vengeance on my own father, I’m taking it. I don’t care how hard it will be to kill flesh and blood or how fucked-up I am afterward. I need closure. I understand you completely.”
I didn’t reply. I had no reason to. He lived the same predicament, and his approval helped fortify my resolve.
In shared brotherhood, we made our way down animal tracks and through clearings, moving ever deeper into the treeline.
The outbuilding I’d decided on existed the furthest from the Hall. This one was hidden—alone with its horrible secrets. A place I’d never been able to enter after what happened to Jasmine, no matter what Cut did to me as a child. No matter the threats and corrections. No matter the curses and pain. I’d never stepped foot into the torture chamber again, boycotting its hateful memories.
Our clothing dappled with leaf stencils, trading sunshine for shadows as we traipsed deeper and deeper. The outbuilding nestled in the woods—swallowed whole by trees doing their best to delete the terrible atrocities.
We kept moving.
Cut didn’t struggle, his breathing loud and uneven around the gag.
More flickering hallucinations played havoc with my vision. Leaves danced, turning briefly into wolves. Bracken crunched, morphing into badgers.
Goddammit, I need to rest.
My hand went to my side. The fever I’d had ever since heading to Africa hadn’t broken or grown worse. If anything, it granted a heightened sense of everything, muddying outside influences, letting me focus entirely on what I wanted. What I needed. But it came with a price. A price of withering energy and health.
Soon.
Soon, I can rest.
Breaking through a final thicket, we stepped into a small glen.
The building loomed tall and ancient. Two stories high with oaks and pine surrounding it in their morbid cage. The double barn doors remained locked with a large padlock.