The Isle Of Sin And Shadows - Keri Lake Page 0,184
hands. A quick examination shows a small slice across her throat, where the blade must’ve slipped before he dropped it.
“It’s okay,” she says in a frail voice, pushing to her feet. “I think it’s just a cut.”
Perhaps still weak from the drugs, she sways on her feet as we stagger up the stairwell. Screams and stirring from behind must be the others climbing over the rubble, desperate for escape. Glancing over my shoulder, I catch sight of an unmasked member trailing behind.
Samuel Lawson. My fucking high school football coach.
“Thierry! Wait!” he shouts, scrambling up the winding stairwell after us.
I kick through the red door and, urging Céleste through first, slam it shut behind me. The door heaves against my weight, but I hold it shut and flick my fingers for the key still strung around Céleste’s neck. When she hands it over, I lock it, trapping all of them in with the flame.
The sound of pounding and muffled screams comes from the other side. “Thierry! Please! Open the door! Open the fucking door, Thierry!”
Instead, I back away, helping Céleste out of the house. After settling her in the front seat of my truck, I turn around to see the fire has already breached the small chamber, working its way through the rest of the house. By the time I climb into the driver’s seat, the entire place is engulfed in flames.
As I drive down the long dirt path, in the rearview mirror, I watch the raging fire lick the night sky.
49
Thierry
One week later …
Julio sits in the chair across from me, sipping tequila. His tongue sweeps over his lips as he holds up the glass. “Reposado.”
“You condemned me,” I say, setting my glass of half-sipped whiskey on his desk. “You manipulated me into a life I didn’t want.”
“And yet, look at you. You’re successful. You’ve got the woman.” He shrugs. “And, best of all, you’re still alive.”
“I want out.”
“Impossible.”
“Is it? Perhaps I underestimated your power.”
Pointing a finger at me, he chuckles. “Manipulation will get you nowhere with me, my friend.
“The son you chose, right? And you’re the devil.”
“Diablo. Demonio. Lucifer. What’s in a name, you know?” With a shrug, he takes another sip of his tequila and shakes his head. “So smooth, this liquor. It’s almost a shame it turns into piss.”
“The Goatman. Is that you, as well?”
“The Goatman is merely an idea perpetuated by those who need to believe in something. He’s like a scapegoat for their shit lives. They sacrifice for him, believing that success will be theirs. Blah blah blah. Faith is a very powerful thing. Even when it’s not entirely based in fact.”
“What is your connection to Jude?”
Brows winged up, he sighs. “She came to me years ago. Asked me to get rid of her husband. He was a bit too powerful for her alone. Kinky woman, Jude. Into that daddy shit during sex.”
“And what about Verónica? You gave her away to them. Why?”
“Her father couldn’t pay the price for his success. He was given a choice between himself and his daughter. What the hell was I going to do with a girl like that?”
“He was your employer.”
A crooked smile stretches his lips. “Do you know what makes men powerful?” He doesn’t give me the chance to respond before he says, “Fear. Men who run cartels are only in power because so many fear them. You strip away their terrifying masks and all you find is flesh and blood, like any other man. Pathetic, really.”
“Except you.”
“I do not love; therefore, I have nothing to fear. Verónica’s father knows this better than anyone. He is my brother, after all. And not even he would be spared from my wrath.”
“Why me?”
“I will tell you this. Had I ever been capable of such a thing as love, well …” He lifts his glass as if to toast. “You were always favored in my eyes.”
“Why?”
“Do you remember the day in the woods? When you found your father with the gun in his mouth?”
My skin turns ice cold at the question. The only two in the woods at the time, as far as I was aware, was my father and me.
“Tell me, what thought crossed your mind, when you watched him contemplate his own suicide?”
Frowning, I admitted, “I questioned the existence of God.”
His eye flinches at that, lips stretching to a smile. “So bold. And how about when your father left you.”
“I cursed Him.”
“Yes. And when you watched those men rape your mother, you rejected Him altogether, didn’t you?”