Page 68 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

“You duplicitous little bastard! You have no idea what you’ve cost me with your games.”

“Dad! Just listen to what we have to say.”

“I don’t have time for this. I’m here for one thing only and I intend to get it.”

Sasha, who has so far been quietly watching from the desk, walks slowly towards Elder Covington. His hand shakes a little as he holds the file he prepared out to him. Okay, so maybe he hasn’t double crossed us after all.

“Mr. Covington, please calm down. This is a negotiation; it doesn’t need to get violent if you cooperate. I have evidence of all your crimes. If you don’t walk away and leave Jake alone, we will give these to police. Your pockets run deep, but you don’t own every cop out there. I will show them where every single body is buried.”

Mr. Covington looks through the files in disbelief, becoming increasingly outraged.

“Are you on their side now, then? I should have known. You’ve always been too soft for your own good.”

“You should not have asked me to kill your son,” he says simply. “I don’t hurt innocent people. Ever. Here is what is going to happen. You will leave this hotel without a fuss and never come back. Otherwise, I think the world will be very interested in what is in this file. You will lose everything, and then you’ll have no protection. Rich people don’t like having their money stolen from them, right? What will your friends do when they find out what you’ve been doing with their charity money? Please listen to reason. You do not need this hotel. If you leave quietly, no one will ever find this out.”

Mr. Covington shakes his head, looking devastated. I bet he’s never looked at Jake like that. “You were like a son to me, Sasha. I gave you everything. Why are you doing this? Why now?”

"I know, but I’m tired of the life you chose for me. I want to do the right thing for once. This hotel, these people, are the right thing. Jake and Alex are building a legitimate business, and I want to be part of that, if they’ll allow."

Mr. Covington shakes his head, laughing, but there’s no humor in the sound. “I’ll tell you what I learned a long time ago, son.” He pauses, studying the papers in his hands. “Everyone likes to pretend they have some version of a moral code, that they would always do the right thing, given the chance. But this world wasn’t built on morality. Every institution, every corporation, everything you’ve ever had—” he pauses, looking pointedly at Jake. “It all exists because someone was willing to get their hands dirty. Without me, you’d have nothing. Be nothing. You think I’m going to let you take me down? I was willing to let you play at hotel owner for a while, hoping you’d wise up and come home. But you keep causing me new headaches.”

He lets the folder drop, papers scattering all over the floor, a look of resignation on his face.

Mr. Covington moves towards Sasha, who realizes too late what he’s planning to do. Mr. Covington grabs him by the back of the head, his touch almost a caress, before whipping a taser out of his jacket pocket and jabbing Sasha in the neck with it. He seizes up and hits the floor, convulsing. Mr. Covington crouches down and tases him again in the side, gently petting his hair before slamming his head into the ground. “You’ve always been weak, but I’ve tried to protect you. Stay down.” He drops the taser and steps over Sasha's unmoving body, walking towards Jake, who takes an involuntary step back.

Oh, shit. This just got real.

“Why the fuck do you have a taser?” I screech.

“Sometimes dogs need to be put in their place, boy,” Mr. Covington says with a sneer. “As these two well know. You’re a mouthy little thing, your father clearly failed you.”

Fuck, this was not how this was supposed to go! I look at Jake nervously, unsure what to do. Sure, I’ve planned this out a thousand different ways in my journal but carrying it out is a whole different ball game. Why did I think I could do this? With Sasha down, I’m freaking out.

Nothing has ever scared me as much as looking into the cold, dead eyes of Elder Covington and finding nothing in their depths. He radiates pure malice as he turns his attention to us, a cornered animal with nothing left to lose. For the first time, I feel all my courage evaporate.

***

Jake

Before I can do anything, my father pulls out a gun and points it at my chest. My hands fly up, as if that’ll protect me from a bullet. Sasha was right, he really has lost his mind.

“I should have known I’d have to do this myself,” he says. “I will not let you destroy this family. Your only option is to come home and marry Katerina, and give me the hotel, so I can fix the mess you’ve caused me. If you refuse, don’t think I’ll just let you walk away.”

“I’m dead, dad. Put down the gun, it isn’t going to kill me,” I say, though I don’t actually know if that’s true. I just know I don’t want to find out.

He sneers at me, face turning red. “I don’t know what you are, what you think you are, but this gun is loaded with silver plated bullets. If I put a round in you, you aren’t getting back up.”

He looks at Alex’s necklace around my neck. The only reason I have the courage to stand in front of my father right now and defy him.

“You’re an abomination,” he says. I look around frantically, eyes locking on Alex. He looks as terrified as I feel.

“Please don’t do this. Just leave, let us live our life. Find someplace else to launder your money, I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”

He shakes his head. “You’ve always been such a disappointment, son. Do you know how you made me look to my peers? How embarrassing it was to have you prancing around, openly disobeying me at every turn? Even in death you continue to be a thorn in my side.”

Alex takes a step towards me, and my dad swings the gun over to him. “Stay back you little freak.” I don’t even think before darting in front of him, pushing him behind me so my father can’t hurt him.

Sasha groans from where he’s sprawled out on the floor, clutching his neck. “I cannot believe you’ve done this,” he says with a glare at my father. He starts to stand but my father walks back over to him and kicks him in the stomach, making him gasp and curl in a protective ball.