Page 34 of Fall of Hellfire (Hellfire Society #3)
twenty-six
CASH
H olding back a few minutes, I wait for the other three to disappear into the darkness shrouding us before I start my own hunt.
I keep my pace slow and calm, not a care in the world, as I let the pitch black of the night swallow me into its embrace.
Out of all of our guests tonight, James Grant was the least injured and is more than capable of standing his ground if he so chooses.
A part of me hopes he does; I don’t want an easy win, but James has always been a coward at heart.
The further I head into the forest, the darker it seems to get.
I can hear the distant scream of a man, but I ignore it to focus on my own hunt.
Animals scatter across the forest floor as we cross paths, but I have yet to cross paths with James.
That’s fine, I have all night. A few more minutes of walking, listening, focusing and my ears pick up a loud splash of water to my left.
I turn and move quickly in that direction.
Within a second, the sound of running water is heard before I’m reaching a small, slow flowing stream.
I eye the area carefully, looking for anything that could have made the splashing sound when I spot the shoe print pressed into the mud just on the other side.
The stream is only two, maybe three feet wide and shallow enough to see rocks on the bottom.
I grin to myself, getting my first hint of prey.
Heading in that direction, I follow the few muddy prints until they disappear and only a slight water trail is left.
Once the water ends, I pause to listen again.
There. A faint huffing and puffing not too far from where I’m standing.
Seems James might be a bit out of shape these days.
“Oh Jamesssss…” I call adding in a taunting tone to his name.
I keep my feet planted where I stand and even place my hands in my pockets as I stare out into the darkness.
My eyes have adjusted to the dim moonlight above, so I can see the faint outlines of trees and branches surrounding me feet away.
When my father doesn’t move or make another sound, I let out a low, deep chuckle.
“James, I can hear how out of shape you are. All that running has you huffing and puffing for breath.” I can hear more shuffling of leaves until a shadow in the shape of a man is seen darting between trees.
Tsking, I move towards the movement as James darts in and out of trees.
“Why keep running, old man? I’m sure you’re exhausted.
Come on out and let’s get this over with.
” My voice echoes out into the night, sounding almost too loud in the silence around us as James once more darts behind a tree, this one only a few feet away.
I let out a deep sigh. This little hide-and-seek game of ours is getting boring.
I honestly thought James would be more of a man, fight back and do something more than hide like a scared child.
Minutes later, I’m still standing there, in the middle of the darkened forest surrounded by nothing but trees, waiting for my father to do something, when a gunshot in the distance catches my attention.
The sound is loud, as it echoes through the vast wildlife.
I frown for a second, trying to guess where the sound came from, because we had all agreed not to use guns unless needed.
I’m so lost in concentration that I’m blindsided by my father’s sudden attack as he tackles me to the ground.
We both go flying back, the momentum sliding us across the dirt as I try to get my bearings.
James is fumbling for one of my guns in my shoulder holster as I twist away from him.
I punch out, sending my fist flying and hitting him right in the jaw.
The hit knocked him back to allow me to roll away.
Jumping up, I immediately send my boot into his stomach, the impact followed by the sound of something cracking.
James screams out before curling in on himself with his arms across his body.
“Pathetic.” I spit, stretching out my neck from the fall.
“You’re a fucking coward.” I add, shaking my head in disgust. James sneers up at me before flinching in pain.
Seeing him in pain makes me smirk with excitement, but my smirk is short lived when James suddenly strikes out.
I didn’t notice it, but one of my blades came loose in the tackle, which James takes advantage of.
He lunges forward from his position and slams the blade down into my thigh.
I was standing too close to jump far enough away so the blade hits its mark.
The next thing I know, James is stumbling to his feet and hobbling away as my curses fill the cold night air.
Feeling more annoyed now than ever, I yank the blade out of my flesh and check the wound.
It’s bleeding, but it doesn’t feel like he hit anything important, so I can tend to it later.
“You fucked up now,” I call out as I give chase.
James didn’t get much of a head start and he was already moving pretty slow, so I spot him soon enough weaseling his way around trees in less than a minute.
This time when I’m hunting him, I make sure my steps are loud and thundering so I know he can hear me coming.
Sure enough, James turns to look over his shoulder at my approach.
His eyes are so wide in fear they appear entirely white under the dim moonlight.
I grin as our eyes meet and he stumbles in his escape, trying to pick up his fumbling pace.
He makes a sudden pivot, dodging behind a tree to change direction when he suddenly screams out.
Something making a metal-on-metal clamping noise rings out before it sounds like an animal dying.
I pick up my own pace before rounding the same tree and coming to a complete stop at what I see.
James is on the ground writhing in pain with a bear trap attached to his leg.
Blood gushes from his wounds, where the teeth of the metal jaws connect with his flesh.
The sight is nothing I expected, but everything I had wished for.
James grasps at his leg as if holding this skin together will stop him from bleeding out, but from what I can tell, he might have hit an artery.
His blood is seeping into the ground, turning the soil a dirty red color and I can’t help but watch it.
Watch the life ever so slowly drain from the man who taught me how to be a man. I bet he is wishing he hadn’t now.
James’s skin is turning a pale color the longer I stand here watching him.
“H-help me,” he hisses out. “I’m still your father,” he adds as if that would somehow help his case.
If I’m being honest, it makes this all a bit more laughable.
It’s like he forgot I’m the one that brought him out to the middle of nowhere and told him to run so I could give chase.
The side of my face tilts up in a crooked smirk before I lean down and poke at his leg.
He curses, attempting to flinch away, but can’t go far due to the trap and pain.
“Now, why would I help you if I’ve been actively trying to kill you?
” I ask. Somewhat fascinated that he is still breathing with how much blood has soaked the ground so far.
“You know I wasn’t expecting it to end like this.
” I nod to the trap, letting out a disappointed sigh.
“But I suppose I can’t be too picky when I get the same outcome either way. ”
“M-my men won’t s-stand for this.” My father starts to cough up blood as he glares up at me, trying and failing to spit his venom.
“T-t-they will revolt.” More blood spills from his lips as he stumbles over his words, his entire demeanor growing weaker.
“You-uu wil-l never be king like m-me.” His last words are more of a whisper, but I don’t care.
Quick as can be, I grip my knife and slide it across Jame’s throat.
He blinks up at me, stunned, before what’s left of his blood drains from his new hole.
No more words spill from his mouth as I watch the life finally drain from his shit brown eyes.
“You’re right, Father. I will never be the king you were,” I tell him, wiping my blade off on his dirty shirt.
I stand, keeping my eyes on my father for a second longer.
“I will be even better.” Then I’m walking away, shoving my hands in my pockets as I make the trek back to the cars.
I left my phone in the SUV, knowing I wouldn’t need it to track James.
Once I’m back, I’ll wait for the others and call the cleanup crew in.
They are expecting a call from me and already know what to do with the bodies.
The further I get, the fresher the air feels in my lungs.
Like somehow that single moment has changed everything else.
I know that getting rid of our fathers was just the first step and that we will have a lot of work ahead of us, but I’ve never felt so at peace as I do right now.
All that is left is to make sure everyone else’s hunts have gone as planned then the real work of rebuilding Hellfire starts.