“One more.” The cowboy grabbed his left hand.
Chaz shook his head violently, bloody spittle spraying from his swollen lips. Panicked whimpers squeezed from his mouth and nose. His left hand yanked viciously against the restraints and the cowboy’s grip, but there was no escape.
The left finger came off more quickly, but with all that pain coursing through him, Chaz couldn’t tell whether the quick snip hurt anyless—only that itfucking hurt.
Chaz sagged forward, his chest nearly touching his thighs, as his body twitched and spasmed in pain. His mouth hung slack, a steady stream of bloody saliva dripping from his lips, mingling with his tears in a puddle on the floor. Both hands were shaking, the two stumps bleeding down the armrests.
The cowboy stood and tossed the bloody shears onto the table with an echoingclack, landing among the other tools of torture. Fingers sank into Chaz’s hair, and he was hauled upright in the chair, the beast behind him holding him in place. Through watery, blurred vision, he watched the cowboy draw his gun. His eyes crossed slightly as the man pressed the barrel’s tip to Chaz’s forehead.
Shaking with sobs, Chaz pushed his head against the weapon and squeezed his eyes shut.Do it… please do it… make the pain STOP.He waited for the click of the trigger, theexplosionthat would release him from this unbearable agony.
Silence. Then…
“You want to die?” the cowboy drawled. His southern-tinged voice sounded thick and faraway.
Chaz trembled and nodded.
“Those two boys wanted tolive. Theirfamilieswanted them to live. They didn’t get what they wanted.” The gun slowly pulled back from his head. “Why should you?”
Chaz’s eyes snapped open, and hot tears flooded his face. He looked desperately at the cowboy, choking on his sobs.No… No… kill me… KILL ME! PLEASE!!
The cowboy held out his hand, and the beast handed over his large blade. Sinking to his heels, the cowboy stared into Chaz’s bloodshot eyes. “You wished the boy would die. He did. You don’t get another wish.” He pointed the knife at Chaz’s face. “I ain’t your fuckingfairy godmother.”
Pleas blubbered from Chaz around his severed tongue, blood bubbling in his mouth.
“I think you need to sit here andthinkabout all the pain and chaos you’ve caused,” the cowboy murmured. His face twitched. “Thinkabout those two families and what you took from them.” He touched the blade’s tip to Chaz’s quivering gut. “Thinkabout that boy youhopedwould die.” Chaz gasped as the cowboy shoved the blade into his stomach, not too deep, not enough to kill him too quickly. “And after all thatthinking… maybe you’ll feel someremorse.” He pulled out the knife, rose to his feet, and wiped Chaz’s blood on his pants before returning the weapon to his large friend. “When I come back to check on you, if I see remorse… maybe I’ll kill you.” The cowboy adjusted his hat. “Maybe.”
Chaz choked on desperate cries as the two men walked to the thick metal door.No—don’t leave me like this! Please! Just kill me! Just fucking KILL ME! PLEEAASE!!
The men left, and the heavy door closed behind them with a scrapingthud, leaving Chaz to die a slow, excruciating death inside thistomb.
CHAPTER 16
When Wil Jordan explained the events in the morgue, Axel felt a small measure of the hope he had heard in Wil’s voice. The two families had come together in forgiveness and understanding. Dan Brown had even gone on live television and exonerated the young man who had hit his son, explaining the extenuating circumstances and placing blame on the true guilty party—the drive-by shooter.
Axel hadn’t asked Clint for details about the shooter’s “final moments.” What mattered was that he was gone, one less threat in the world.
On the morning of the funeral services, Axel dressed in the only suit he owned. The families were holding a joint graveside service, and the two boys would be buried next to each other. Wil and Frank had been invited to the services and had been asked by the families to extend the invitation to Clint and Axel. Devlin and Abel would also be there.
When Clint emerged from the bedroom in a suit, Axel felt a chill. Not a‘damn, he’s handsome’chill—though he was—but an eerie chill, as if they were preparing to attend their own child’s funeral. The thought made him feel sick. He couldn’t imagine what the two families were going through today.
“You okay?” Clint murmured as Axel just stared at him.
“Not really,” Axel admitted, his voice thick. “Except for the day it happened, this is going to be the worst day of their lives. I want to offer my condolences, but I don’t know what to say.” His eyes stung. “SayingI’m sorry for your lossfeels so generic. I wish…” He lowered his eyes as his vision blurred, then cleared his throat. “I wish there were something I could say that actually… helped.”
Clint walked over and hugged him. “If it were our child,” he murmured, “is there anything anyone could say to make this day hurt less?”
Axel rested his head on the cowboy’s shoulder, tears sliding down his face. “No.”
“No.” Clint held him tighter. “There isn’t.” He kissed his head. “Just being there, showing them that their kids’ lives mattered—even to strangers—I think that will mean more to them than any words of sympathy.”
Rita Healy entered the bedroom to find Connor standing before the mirror, his hands trembling as he struggled with his tie, tears in his eyes. She went to him and took over. He raised his chin and stared at some distant point across the room, his jaw tight and his throat working as he battled his emotions.
“There,” Rita whispered, finishing the tie. She helped him into his suit jacket and smoothed the lapels. “You look real nice.”
He stared at his reflection, his eyes vacant, glossy with tears. “I don’t want to go, Mom.” His chin trembled, and tears slipped free. “I don’t…” He bit his lower lip as a sob caught in his throat. “I don’t want to… say goodbye.”
“I don’t either, sweetheart.” Rita let out a slow, shaky breath. It took everything she had not to break down. They had a long day ahead, and if she broke now, she would never make it through. “But not saying goodbye isn’t going to bring him back. I know it’s hard.” She felt cracks forming as her eyes filled. “But we need to do this so he can rest in peace.”
