Bo crawled forward on his hands and knees, blood trickling from a cut on his cheek. I wheeled my chair back, afraid he might try to attack me.
“Sir, I can make it right. You know we still have a couple more years here.” He glanced at me, hatred peeking through his fear. “Some of the old members would love seeing him in action again.”
Mr. White looked away in thought, rubbing his chin. I gripped the armrests of my wheelchair, hating Bo with every fiber of my being.
“Sir,” Samuel said, “you can’t trust him.”
Mr. White nodded. “You’re right. Bo, I explained to you how crucial trust is for this role.”
“I know, but—”
“I had to have a LAPD detective kidnapped because of your recklessness.”
“But it’s done, sir. We have him!”
“What wehaveis a helicopter flying overhead, and God knows who else is coming.”
“We can hide them until it blows over. We…” I followed the direction of his gaze as it landed on Mr. White’s cane. After all these years, I knew how to read Bo, so I wasn’t surprised when he sprang forward and snatched the cane. Still on his knees, he swung it toward Mr. White’s head, but I was close enough to grab it before it could land.
My palm burned with the impact, but I didn’t let go. Samuel pulled Bo back, forcing him to let go of the cane. I looked at the beautiful wooden stick with the golden handle, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. With a level of clarity I didn’t know I possessed, I thrust the tip of the cane into Bo’s right eye.
Once more, I watched him writhing on the floor, holding his face as his remaining eye bled out.
“Pathetic.” Mr. White took the cane from my hand. “Samuel, put the man out of his misery before I get a headache.”
Samuel dragged screaming Bo out of my line of sight. Even though I braced myself, I still jolted at the deafening sound ofa gunshot. My ears rang, but the world felt quieter like after a storm.
I composed myself and said, “Ask me.”
Mr. White frowned. “Ask you what?”
“What I would like as a reward. I just saved the life of a Society member, didn’t I?Again.”
He laughed. “Oh my. There’s never a dull moment with you.”
“I deserve it.”
“No, Jonah, you deserve nothing. You had your chance.” He pushed himself to his feet with the cane. “Samuel, I expect we’ll have company soon. It’s time to clean up, and quickly. Start with Jonah, then meet me at the basement. The rest will be dealt with by the explosion.”
He made his way toward the door, and I locked my gaze with Samuel, praying that I was reading the hesitation in his eyes correctly. “He won’t let you go after this,” I said, aware that every word could be my last. “You know too much.”
Mr. White turned around, smiling in amusement. “Honestly, Jonah. I take good care of my men.”
“But heisn’tlike your men.” I wheeled myself closer to Samuel, trying not to look at the gun in his hand. “He has no more use for you after this, and you know so fucking much. You saw what he’s willing to do to tie up loose ends. Let me finish this.”
“Samuel, enough with this nonsense.End him.”
Samuel raised the gun toward me. Holding my breath, I blinked in surprise, hoping I wasn’t imagining it. He offered me the grip of the gun.
“Samuel!”
I took the gun from him, my hand shaking enough to risk dropping it. I couldn’t help but remember Nathan. Like then, I had everything to lose by failing, but this time, I felt no remorse.
Mr. White sharply turned back. He tried to walk as fast as he could toward the door, and just as he was about to open it, I fired.
He fell to the ground, blood spreading across the back of his white suit. Before I could bring myself to shoot him again, he gave a final choking breath, then lay still.
I let my hand drop, my body covered in sweat. Samuel came to take the gun from me.
