Page 87 of Paths
Somewhere outside of Buffalo
I see him. He’s standing with Jeff and my dad. Trevor is off to the side with his arms crossed and looking intently at the scene in front of him.
I look back to Byron. He’s got an enormous knot on the side of his head where he’s holding ice. Besides that, I don’t see any other injuries, but I wouldn’t because I’m not looking for them, and I’m not looking because I don’t give a fuck.
They all watch me as I approach, but I don’t stop. When I get close enough, I put my hands to his chest and shove with all my might. “You went after my woman?”
Byron goes reeling, landing on his ass first before falling to his back.
I sense someone at my side and I hold my hand out to stop them before looking to my dad. “Do not fucking tell me you ordered that to happen. Do not tell me you ordered him to go after her.”
My dad’s face tightens and he looks to Byron, who’s slowly pulling himself up from the ground. “I did not.”
Byron looks worse for the wear, but even so, he looks straight at me and yells, “It needed to be done and you never talk to your Lieutenant that way! You’re a fucking mess and not held to the same rules because you’re a daddy’s boy.” He takes another couple steps toward me and puts a finger in my face. “You’re a soldier. Don’t ever question anything I do.”
I couldn’t give a shit who the fuck he is or if I’m supposed to answer to him. He made a move on Maya. I know I’ve gotta find a way to get her back and I’m in the process of making that happen. Nothing in my life has made me crazier than seeing her with him. That won’t last for long, though.
But Byron going after her on his own? No one fucking does that without answering to me. I don’t give a shit who he is.
“Did you hurt her?” I counter, hitting his hand out of my face and taking a step to get into his. I stay where I am, but turn to look at Trevor and demand, “Did you?”
Trevor’s eyes shoot to me and his face tightens. His chest is rising and falling, but I don’t give a fuck. I can tell by the look in his eyes something happened.
I pull my gun out of the back of my pants, point it at Trevor, and shout, “Fucking answer me. Did you hurt her?”
“Weston!” my dad bellows at the same time Jeff yells, “Stand down!”
But I don’t take my eyes off Trevor. His hands come out, palms up as he lowers his voice, even though it holds steady. “I took my order and did what I was told. I tried to be careful, but there was a scuffle. Other than some scrapes, she looked fine.”
“Put the gun down. That’s an order,” Jeff warns again.
I don’t give a shit if he was trying to be careful, I barely move my gun a centimeter and squeeze the trigger. Trevor falls to the ground, but not because I hit him.
“What the fuck?” he yells from the ground where he fell for cover, and scrambles back to his feet.
“Weston!” my dad growls.
“That’s a warning,” I seethe, glaring straight into Trevor’s eyes. “If Maya ever gets so much as a scratch on her again and you’re involved, you’re dead.”
Only because he’s a recruit and I know he was taking an order from my shithead Lieutenant, do I take a step back and swing my arm around to Byron.
“Weston!” I barely hear Jeff yell for the rage ringing in my ears.
“What’re you gonna do, pretty boy?” Byron eggs me on. “You’ll pay for this. You’re a soldier, nothing more. Don’t forget you report to me. You don’t take a stand against your superior. Ever. I don’t give a fuck what your last name is.”
I lower my voice and look at him through the sight of my 9mm. “You hurt what’s mine. No one goes after what’s mine. I’ll get her back, but in my own way.”
“She knows about us. It was necessary, she’s a liabili—”
Without moving my gun, I shout, “No one calls her a liability!”
“Put the fucking gun down,” Jeff demands.
“Weston,” my dad calls for me.
I ignore them both.
“I’ll get her back on my own and get rid of that other guy in the process,” I inform Byron. “Don’t ever think about her again. She’d better not even enter your fucking brain.”
