Page 78 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
“I saved your life, and you left me to die—to never see my wife or my little girl again? What kind of a friend does that?”
Arek’s reality shifted, and he was suddenly staring down into Scooter’s face, staring into his eyes as he pulled the trigger. “Ah,” Arek grabbed at his head as ringing erupted in his head, each image more painful than the next.
“‘Don’t leave me here,’ I called out to you,” the man said.
Arek knew the guy was moving, he was able to see him through the flashes of his past, but he was powerless to stop him, or to stop the images that plagued his mind. Overtaken with the split reality, he gasped and tried to push the memories away.
A shadow cast over him, the cool feel of metal being pressed to his forehead. “You always thought you were such a big shot, you and your brother. The infallible and perfect twins of death. What a load of shit.” The metal bit into his skin as the gun was pressed harder. Another flash exploded like the building behind his eyes. He clenched his eyes shut trying to force his brain to behave, to fucking pull itself out of the muddy depths of hell. His body shook violently and then, as quick as they came, the images disappeared. Opening his eyes Arek stared up at the man that had so easily gotten the upper hand. He took a deep steadying breath, the cool metal, helping him refocus. “The Righteous is nothing. It’s a figment of your imagination, nothing more than something for you to cling your pathetic existence to.”
The man’s face was contorted in rage as he stood over Arek, but his hand didn’t shake.
“You’re not Scooter,” Arek said, his voice strained as he fought his rage to not make the move the man wanted him too. Swallowing he could hear Trev in his head,stay calm soldier and regain the upper hand. He flicked his eyes up to lock with the gaze of the man, trying to make him think he was insane.
The images of his friend’s head leaking all over the floor was vivid in his mind. He didn’t dream all of that—he didn’t leave his friend to suffocate in his blood as he was slowly crushed to death. Scooter’s soft blue eyes had stared at him with earnest and tears streaking down his cheeks as his tattooed left forearm with his daughter’s name gripped his hand. Those two things alone told him that this man was a liar.
The man sneered, a sick laugh coming from his mouth.
“No, no. I’m not, but your mental scars are so fun and easy to pick at—one by one, the little scabs can be lifted to make you bleed all over again. Do you think I haven’t noticed your twitches, your triggers? You were always so weak. That’s why you needed your brother to take care of you.”
“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to stand, but the gun was pressed harder into his forehead.
“I wouldn’t do that, Arek. It’s not a good idea. You were always running around half-cocked, and Trevor was always swooping in and saving you. Do you even know how much we all despised you? How much we all laughed at you behind your back?”
“If it’s me you hate so much, why is it Trev that you have the shrine around?”
“Because Trev is my ultimate trophy. The one that caused me months in hell while I was tortured within an inch of my life. He was the one that left me behind. You, well, you are one of the best ways to get to your brother. I have to admit. I was fairly annoyed that Alejandro almost ruined my plans. I thought you would do what you’d always do when your brother gave you orders and would track down Alejandro yourself. I never considered Trevor to be the one to go in alone.”
The man backed off enough that the gun no longer touched Arek’s skin. His finger rubbed at the trigger of his gun, but he didn’t think he could mask his movement enough to get a shot off. His mind raced as he continued to try and figure out who this man was.
“It was me you wanted to be tortured, not Trev.”
“Very good. The whole twin thing does have its downside. I was hoping he’d kill you and display your body in one of his favorite horrific fashions. Piece by piece, take everything away from the golden boy until he had nothing left.”
There was a maniacal tone to the guy’s voice. A giddy vibration that Arek understood better than most. How many times had he made that same sound when he killed those he hunted? The one difference was the unstable factor. The way his eye flinched at the corner, and his jaw clenched in his cheek. It spoke volumes and told him all he needed not to know about his chances of survival. Whatever make-believe story this man had cooked up in his brain about himself and Trev, he believed it.
“And the arcade? Was that a fluke, or did you set that up as well?”
The man looked like the fucking Joker as he smiled and cocked his head to the side. There was something about the way he moved that clicked familiar in Arek’s mind, a memory that was just out of reach.
“That was what you call God smiling down on me.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t smiling down on your fucking crazy ass.” The knee caught him in the chin, slamming his jaw closed and his head back. “Fuck,” he groaned as he fell back onto the chair. Arek rubbed at his jaw and glared up at the freak in front of him.
“Such a smartass, always with the jokes. You never knew when to fucking shut up. I think that’s what I hated most about you besides your arrogance of course. Maybe I’ll start with cutting out your tongue, send the infallible Crosshairs one rotting piece of his Sandman at a time. I’d pay money to see the look on his face as each box arrived. The knowledge that his precious twin was dead and each found memento a new level of torture.” The man shuddered and smiled through the thick beard. “It was a mistake to leave me behind, a big fucking mistake.”
“Wait a minute. Trev didn’t order anyone to be left behind on any mission.”
“Is that what you think? Your brother is not as perfect as he lets everyone believe. He left me for dead, and I have been planning my payback ever since.” The guy twisted his neck, his neck cracking as he did so. “I should be thanking the two of you. It was because of you that I found my true calling. The Righteous has fallen, and you will be next. Now get on your knees, hands behind your head.”
Arek didn’t move until the man yelled, his hand shaking as he did. He was out of options, and for once, he couldn’t calculate or muscle his way out of this.
“You don’t have to do this. Whatever wrong you think was done, we can make it right. I have a kid on the way, man. Don’t make my child grow up without a father.”
“Your kid will be better off without you in their life.” The guy’s finger slowly pressed on the trigger, and Arek prepared for his only shot to make it out of this. Once he was on his knees, he was done. “I’ve been looking forward to this for so long I just want to savor the look on your face a little longer,” The man snorted a giddy sort of sound. “Okay, I’m good now.”
The man sighed like he’d taken a sip of a cool drink on a hot day, his eyes eerily relaxed. “Get on your fucking knees, Arek, at least die like a man.”
Arek clenched the arms of the chair, his muscles twitching to dive off to the side. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting, not on his knees.
