Chapter Twenty-Five
“Freeze!” Cass shouted.
The man before him—a man who’d run damn fast for someone who’d used a cane moments before—stilled just steps away. They’d both barreled down a narrow hallway before Winston had kicked open a door and slipped into the growing darkness. The faintest hint of gold still filled the sky, giving Cass just enough light to see his uncle.
Most of the Feds were inside. Like I didn’t know Gray would swarm. His cousin could be so predictable. A good thing.
A few Feds were probably watching the periphery of the building, but there were too many exits for everything to be thoroughly covered. And Winston had just found his escape hatch. Or, the man thought that he had.
This time, though, Cass would make sure his uncle did not get away.
Winston had a gun in his hand, Cass could see it. His uncle had ditched this cane, though. Cass couldn’t help but wonder how much the use of the cane might have been for show. Always trying to throw off potential enemies, aren’t you? Making them think you are weaker than you really are.
“Why yell for me to freeze?” Winston asked, voice curious. “Why not just shoot me in the back like you did before?”
“Turn around,” he gritted out.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Winston said with no hesitation. “You see, I really need to keep going. You would be wise to keep going, too.”
Unease pricked at Cass’s nape. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
Winston looked back at him. A glance over his shoulder. “You think I couldn’t predict that you would be here? Either you would come running after that woman was dead, after Bayne had finished carving her up, or you would figure out that you’d been betrayed by Bear and you’d make an appearance with her. One way or another, though, I knew you would be in this warehouse. And I’ll be honest, I was actually betting that you would come with her. Otherwise, I would have been disappointed in you. I hate being disappointed. Your father disappointed me, you know.”
“Like I give a shit about your disappointment.” But the unease that Cass felt was getting worse. Stronger. Sharper. He’d left Agnes back in the warehouse.
“Your FBI friends came with you to the scene. They rushed to the rescue as soon as my men starting firing. I counted on that happening, you see. I suspect Gray was in there somewhere. You and Gray were always so close as children.” He still didn’t fully face Cass. “Your father wasn’t the only one who liked to keep tabs on you. I know all about your cousin, how close you were. You are. Close with the man who became such a powerhouse at the FBI while you sank into the shadows.” A brief smile teased Winston’s lips. “I never bought that you were fully in the dark. You had too many connections to the light. I blame that on your mother.”
“My dad had her killed!” Rage cracked through his control, and the hand holding the gun shook.
“No, I did that. She was one of the few people that I could never get your father to hurt. You and your mother. He had a soft spot for you both. Weaknesses. The wrong woman can truly make a man weak. You learned that with your pretty little Fed, didn’t you? She’s gotten too close and made you weak when you needed to be at your strongest.”
“She doesn’t make me weak.” Quite the opposite.
“Sure, she does. When she explodes into a million pieces—along with Gray and the rest of the Feds in there, and the poor, unfortunate idiots who swore allegiance to Bayne and to me—well, when they are all dead, you’ll shatter apart, too. That’s when the real weakness begins.” That smile again. So very cold. “You see, my vengeance doesn’t come from me killing you. Death is entirely too easy. My vengeance comes when you have to live in a world without the person you love most. When you have to suffer through every excruciating day.”
When she explodes into a million pieces. His heart had stopped at those words.
“Is the bomb I left on a timer?” Winston asked. “Or do I have the trigger on me? What do you think?”
“Turn the fuck around.” A bomb. A bomb. A bomb.
“I’ll keep running, thanks. The better not to be hit by the blast. And you should run, too. Away from the warehouse if you want to stay alive. Or to it if you want Agnes Quinn to live.”
No, fucking, no. “You’re bluffing. You’ve never blown up a damn building in your life.”
“People change. We evolve. I had to pick up some new tricks in the last few years. Oh, come on, don’t be shocked, you had to suspect the truth. The Feds were working extra hard to bring down the Twins?—”
“Because you and Bayne have been murdering people!”
“That’s just a side hobby. We’ve been making bombs. Watching the world burn. You like to do that, too, don’t you? You like?—”
Bam.
Cass had fired. He’d gotten tired of the BS, and he did not have time to waste. Not if Agnes’s life might be on the line.
Winston screamed when the bullet hit him in the back of the leg. He fell to the ground, then twisted his body, bringing his gun up and aiming it at Cass.
But Cass was already on him. He’d lunged forward in an instant. He pointed his weapon at Winston’s chest even as Winston aimed his gun at Cass.
