Page 97 of Endure the Pain

“We got one,” Brenna announced as she approached Dean and I. She was talking about an Aryan.

“So did I,” Asher said.

Dean tilted his head at the van. “We have one alive. She killed the other.”

I eyed Brenna. “Three will do.”

Dean opened the back of the van and pulled out another black bag. He opened it and pulled out three ski masks. He handed them to Asher and Finn, who each put them on.

Dean shoved his mask on and with the black bag in hand, he shut the van’s door. “Let’s get this over with.”

The three of them began making their way toward the Whiskey Bandit, while Brenna and I climbed into the van.

“There’s binoculars in the glove compartment,” I told her.

She opened it and pulled out two pairs. She handed one to me, and the two of us did our job as the lookouts while the guys set up the last bomb under the bar in the Whiskey Bandit.

We took the Aryans to the family’s warehouse on Stone Street—the one where I had killed Zack and Tyson and where Samuel had been hiding all the money he had been stealing from the family. Vincent had disabled the cameras and alarm. The only other security this place had was a chain-link fence that was locked with a padlock. Some bolt cutters took care of that.

The guys tied the three unconscious Aryans to chairs, and then it became a waiting game. They each had been given a sedative and it would be a while before they woke.

It was midafternoon when the first Aryan opened his eyes, groaning. Like a domino effect, the other two did the same. I stood in front of them, waiting. I knew theyrecognized me because as they became fully conscious, I was met with either surprise or loathing. They were all gagged, so they couldn’t spew their detestation, but two of them still grumbled incoherently around their gags.

I didn’t say anything to them. I just wanted them to see me—to understand why they were about to die.

Dean, Asher, Finn, and Brenna were standing behind me, silently watching. I pulled my gun from its holster and turned to look at Brenna. I held my gun out to her.

Her hands hanging at her sides clenched before she stepped forward and took the gun from me. This was a test I wished I didn’t have to give her. However, if she wanted to be part of this life, she needed to be able to kill.

She stared, blankly, at the three Aryans for the longest time. They stared back at her, then me, their confusion apparent.

I waited, patiently. Brenna could take all the time she needed.

“She’s not ready,” Finn said from behind us.

I was about to give him a look that would warn him to shut the fuck up, but Brenna aimed the gun.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

She shot them one after another right between the eyes. The girl was very quick and had amazing aim. Even the guys appeared impressed.

She held out my gun and I took it. She turned to face Finn, gave him the dirtiest look, and held out her middle finger. He accepted it all with a proud smirk. She walked away after that and none of us followed, understanding that she needed a minute.

“Help me untie them and get their shirts off,” I asked the guys and pulled a Sharpie from my back pocket. Their bodies were going to serve as a message to Buck and the rest of the Aryans. I was coming for them.

At five minutes until midnight, the streets weren’t as busy. It made it easier to go unnoticed as we pulled over to the side on one of New Haven’s bridges. Just in case, though, we were all wearing ski masks and Vincent, per usual, took care of the street cameras.

Asher opened the van’s side door and Brenna and I jumped out, pulling four ropes from inside to tie them on the bridge’s railing. Dean, Asher, and Finn worked together to get the now four dead Aryans from the van, each bearing a large shamrock—the same shamrock I'ddrawn on the mirror in the bathroom of the Whiskey Bandit after I'd killed Dustin Peters—on their chests. After Brenna and I were done tying the four ropes, we went to help the guys.

“One minute until midnight,” Vincent announced into our ears.

Brenna and I dragged one body while the guys took one each over to the railing. We all had to work together to lift the bodies over the edge. After the first body was thrown off the bridge, a loud crack of the rope snapping the dead Aryan’s neck traveled up to us.

“Gross,” Brenna whispered.

Asher and Finn chuckled, and we continued on to the next body.

Four explosions went off in the distance when we were lifting the fourth body over the railing.