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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

~ Dolly Parton

Saros

Before Em and I had slipped off to sleep, he’d wanted to know if he could go with me in the morning to see Ramsey and Shyla. As much as I wanted him as far away from his toxic keepers, I understood the need for getting answers, for making those who tried to undo you see that they lost. He needed to tell them that he’d won, and because of that he was following me down to the basement the following morning.

“Do you want to talk to them first?” I asked, waiting for his response, my hand on the knob of the second door.

“I don’t know.”

I nodded. “When you’re ready, then.”

I opened the door, and I saw that my guys had kept the three of them pretty far apart. RJ was in the cage, and from the way he was glaring at his father once I opened the door, it wasn’t a wonderful family reunion. Shyla was sweating and shaking, likely jonesing for a hit. Ramsey was in a chair, chained like we’d had RJ.

“We have a lot to cover today, and I only have a few hours. The governor arrived late last night, you see, and he’s spending time with his son, but I’m to meet him for lunch.”

I grinned at Ramsey when he glared at me. “You think I’ll be the last one to try and take you apart?”

“Yeah, I fucking do.”

“November,” Shyla said, her eyes on Em. “Baby.”

Em flinched and I nodded to Benny, who brought him over to the couch on the side. He’d still be able to see and hear, but he would be farther from them.

“You don’t talk to him unless he wants to hear your words,” I snapped at her. “You wanted to keep a child you could never love. You’re unforgivable.”

She began weeping, head bowed, shoulders shaking. I ignored her and went back to Ramsey.

“Let’s get down to business. First and foremost, all your assets, anything of value will go to Em; he’ll decide what to do with it.” Em gasped and Ramsey tried to say something, but Cosmo punched him in the mouth, silencing him.

“You’re not a boss, you have no territory, so there’s nothing to divvy, but you have property, businesses. I’ll discuss it with Em, what my ideas will be, and if he agrees, then that will settle that.”

I winked at Em, whose mouth was agape. I chuckled, loving the shock and sudden power I’d given him. He deserved to make these choices. They’d give him what he rightfully earned.

“You had a hand in the death of my parents.” I advanced on Ramsey, who sneered. “Sure, you might not have gotten your hands dirty but you knew, for years. When I took my seat and my power rose, you had an opportunity to explain everything. I told Barrett Frazee the same thing. The man who did get his hands dirty was dead, and neither of you ever tried to make it right.”

I shook my head. “That’s the first reason you’re going to die.”

“I didn’t know about that!” RJ shouted from his cage. “I didn’t know Em was my brother, I didn’t know.”

I cocked my head. “You expect me to believe that you would have been nice to him had you known? Even if your father told you not to be, you’d disobey him?”

“You can’t punish me over a what-if,” RJ countered and admittedly, it was a good comeback.

“Fair, I can’t. But you still hurt him, his whole life. A human being who did nothing to you but everything for you.”

RJ hung his head. “You’re right, I was a shit to him.”

“Your fate is yet to be determined, Junior. Maybe sit there and shut the fuck up.”

He plopped onto the mattress, and I turned to Em. “Do you want to say anything to anyone?”

Em swallowed loudly and stood. First he walked to Shyla. She was still crying, but she lifted her head as he approached.

“Why’d you keep me if you never wanted me?”

She sniffled. She had one arm free, so she wiped her nose with it. “I did want you. I tried.”

“When did you try? As far back as I can remember, you were never a mother. It wasn’t until Saros told me you were that I even knew, that’s how unmotherly you were. You only cared about the drugs, and Ramsey gave those to you, so you let him hurt me so he’d never take them from you.”

She wailed so loudly, it took a moment before Em could continue. “You’re not a mother, you’re barely a person. You’re an animal. I won’t think of you after today, and I don’t know what happens here—that’s Saros’s choice, but what’s strange is, I don’t care.” He turned away from her and walked to RJ.

“You were the son he always wanted, and you were well on your way to becoming just like him. I don’t think it matters that we share DNA, I don’t think it ever would have changed how you treated me, but I’ll never know.”

“I’m sorry, Em.” RJ spoke so softly, as if it were only for Em to hear, but I did.

“I don’t know if I believe you.” Em went to lift his hand, maybe to touch RJ’s, but he dropped it and moved to Ramsey.

“You made every second of my life horrible. A living nightmare. I didn’t question if you hated me, I knew. You made it clear every day. Every bruise, break, punishment, I felt just how much you despised that I breathed. I would pray at night that you’d die, that maybe if you did I’d be able to break free.”

“So you run from me to this monster?” he asked. Cos went to approach, but Em held up his hand.

“Saros is the killer who kept me, who loves me, who makes me feel safe for the first time in my life. While I prayed for your death, I prayed for his embrace.” He shrugged. “Seems like I’ll be getting both of those prayers answered.”

He spun on his heel over to me. “I’m gonna go upstairs now, if that’s okay?”

I leaned down and kissed him. I hoped he understood how proud I was of him, how much I did, in fact, love him.

“Okay.”

After he was gone, I approached Ramsey. “There were a few more bruises on him than the last time I saw him. Let’s even things out, shall we?” I spent the next twenty minutes making Ramsey feel every minute of the pain he’d inflicted on Em.

When I left to go upstairs to talk with the governor, he was passed out. Shyla was detoxing so badly I wasn’t sure she’d even last the rest of the day, and RJ hadn’t said a word. He simply sat on the mattress with a lost look on his face.

I had to talk with the governor before this was all put to rest. So I left the little family and made my way upstairs to clean up and talk to him.