Page 108 of Don't Let Go
I pulled out of the parking lot onto the street. I tried to look but couldn’t see what piqued his interest. “What?”
Tyler shook his head. “No.”
“What?” I asked, more alarmed than before.
“Over there in the parking lot.” He nodded out the window. “That’s Jacob.”
I hit the brake. We were on the edge of the parking lot near the street. “Do you want to get out?”
“I don’t know. I want answers, but if he killed my parents, I might…” he trailed off, shoving the heels of his hands into his eyes.
“Snap and kill him?” I finished.
He let out a sharp breath. “Yeah.”
My thumbs tapped on the steering wheel. “It’s time to spin that Russian roulette wheel. Are you going to confront him now or never?”
He balled his hands into fists and pressed them against his forehead. “Yes. I want to look him in the eye and ask him why.”
I turned around and stopped a couple of yards from Jacob and the wall of a man leading him toward the warehouse. I knew him as Big Bruce, and he enjoyed cutting people’s heads off who didn’t keep their promises to the mob.
Tyler opened his door and shouted, “Jacob!”
Big Bruce stopped and put a hand up to Tyler. I got out of the car and nodded at Tyler, letting Big Bruce know it was okay for them to talk.
Tyler shook his arms out as if he was about to get into a fight. He moved in front of Jacob, and the coward could only look down at his shoes. I moved closer in case I needed to drag Tyler away so he didn’t get punched out by Big Bruce.
“You snake. My father trusted you! I trusted you! You murdered my parents. Why? Why did you kill them?” Tyler spat on the ground.
Jacob stood mute for a moment then he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry for what I did. Your parents shouldn't be dead. I was tricked…”
Tyler shoved Jacob’s shoulder, making him fall back into Big Bruce, who pushed Jacob forward with his massive chest. “You’re pathetic. You can’t own up to your actions and push the blame on someone else.”
Jacob’s head shot up as if he was hit by lightning. “I was tricked! Paolo claimed the orders were true. I didn’t double-check. I just…” He managed to look at Tyler’s face. “I’m terribly sorry.”
Paolo was good at manipulation, but killing someone on iffy orders wasn’t something anyone could believe. Deep down, Jacob wanted Senator Winston and his wife dead, and only he knew why.
“I don’t forgive you. I hope your death is long and painful.”
Big Bruce thrusted Jacob forward, saying, “That’s where he’s headed now.”
A small smile curled on my lips. I understood Big Bruce’s pun. Jacob was about to lose his head.
“Come on, Ty. You said your peace. Let’s go home.” I touched Tyler’s arm, breaking him from the stare-down he was giving Jacob.
“Yeah, okay.” Tyler hit Jacob in the gut twice with his fist, making Jacob wince forward in pain. “That’s for my parents, you asshole.”
I hooked my arm with Tyler’s, dragging him to the car to keep him from assaulting Jacob further. Big Bruce laughed at Jacob’s expense as they walked toward the warehouse.
Tyler was quiet for the rest of the ride to the hospital. I could only imagine what was going through his mind, seeing the man who killed his parents and knowing he was someone his papà thought of as a colleague and friend.
A little while later, we found our way back to the ICU to visit my mamma again so she could see for herself I wasn’t murdered, not yet anyway.
I put on a happy face for my siblings to hide my worries. I had become an expert in changing masks to conceal my true feelings.
“I’ll let you visit with your mom. I’m going to find some coffee,” Tyler said as we stood in front of her room.
“Okay. I’ll see you later,” I said, hugging him close. Tyler kissed my cheek before releasing me.
