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“You tried to blackmail me with that shit, and now, you have nothing ! Your friendship with one of the mafia bigshots is blown to hell, your relationship with Sarah, my mama, is on the rocks ’cause of you interfering in my life, your prized little public reputation is on the line, and word is spreadin’ that you ask for support and get the people that help you with those favors fucked up or killed!

You’re coming across as a man who can’t be trusted…

How ’bout that, old man?” He wiggled the gun against the old man’s head.

“How’s it feel to be on the losing end for a change? !”

“Kage… Fuck! What the hell do you want from me?!”

“You know what the fuck I want, dickhead! I want out of that trumped up contract. Do you hear me?! I wouldn’t work for you if I didn’t have a mothafuckin’ dime to my name!

I swear, so help me God, if you don’t stop this shit right now, tryna ruin my life with all of these games, schemes, lies, and guest appearances from exes of Christmas past, I will snap your fuckin’ neck right here, right now, and say the hell with it!

God has got me trapped between a rock and a hard place.

I don’t want my daughter or son to be raised without me, and I want my family intact, but what type of father would I be workin’ for the likes of you?

! What type of example would I be to my child if she or he saw me bowin’ down to a motherfucker that I hate ?

! A man who laughed at news of my father’s murder? !

“If you won’t turn me loose, what choice do I have but to snuff your ass out?

I might as well risk it all and end your existence right now.

I can’t work for you and keep my dignity!

My wife would never respect me! I can’t be a good father while under your shadow.

I need you out of my life, and if you can’t do that, well hell, I might as well kill you any ol’ way, Cyrus So here goes nothin’! ” He clicked the gun.

“…Kage… Kage!”

“Oh? You want it hands on? Yeah…WHY SHOULDN’T I SNAP YOUR FUCKING NECK?

! Finish the job that Roman started!” Kage slipped the gun quickly back into his pocket and started to reach for his grandfather’s throat.

Cyrus looked into his eyes and screamed.

He screamed like he’d seen a ghost; some spook out to get him.

“Your eyes are black! They’re pitch black! You’re a monster! NO! Kage… Kage… NO! please…”

“I WANT OUT! DO YOU AGREE TO LET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKIN’ CONTRACT, AND TO LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE SO I DON’T HAVE TO KILL YOU?!”

“Yes… YES!”

“Tell me who killed my fucking father?!”

“Kage, I know you won’t believe me, but I don’t even know his name! The guy called me out the blue wantin’ money, and—”

Kage pulled out his gun and banged it into Grandpa’s mouth, busting his lips. Blood trickled down the old man’s chin and colored his beard red.

“You’re so full of shit. All you do is fuckin’ lie.

” He laughed sadly. “You know that information is the only thing left that I want from you, but you won’t give it to me, because to you, it’s the one bullet left in the chamber.

One more thing that you can use against me.

Come on!” He marched his grandfather back to his truck, jerking him around by the jacket.

After strapping the piece of shit to the passenger’s seat, he bound his ankles.

He drove to the tune of Joe Walsh’s, ‘Rocky Mountain Way.’ Kage lit a cigarette and rolled the window down, letting the breeze blow through and chill Grandpa’s wet body to the bone.

“…And if you were wondering why’d I’d trust a slick talkin’ fucker like Francesco, well, I didn’t.

He wanted me out of his hair, fearin’ I wasn’t done after our last run-in, and he wanted you gone, too.

He wants to wash his hands of you and all of your kin.

Including me.” Kage took a drag of his cigarette, then blew out the smoke.

“In order for us to strike a deal, he had to agree to my demands. One of them was a huge donation to a children’s mental health charity of my choice, a donation for bikers’ family members in need of financial support to cover the costs of a loved one’s funeral, and an agreement that I was going to blow up some shit of his, and have some of his people that he valued and loved killed, if he double-crossed me—even if he had one of his ass-kissers to do it, should he think attempting to murder me was a good idea.

“I made it abundantly clear that I have assistance when I need it, and besides, I was worth more to him alive than dead, so we worked it out. Oh, and he really did sympathize with me a little once I filled him in on the type of motherfucker you really are, what you did to me personally, and what you’ve been doin’ to this family for years.

And the sanctuary? He donated to that today, too.

Wasn’t that nice of him? My very first animal preservation contribution.

” He smiled at Grandpa, but the old man looked straight ahead, as if he hadn’t heard a single word.

“You may be wonderin’ what Francesco got out of the deal?

Well, he wanted me to kill you, Grandpa, but told me he’d settle for you being scared straight and gettin’ your ass kicked.

” Kage chortled. “He knows the repercussions of takin’ out someone like you is far too risky for a man in his position.

You practically own Houston. To do such a thing is hard, grimy work.

You’ve got too many corrupt motherfuckers in your workforce.

Too many dogs would come sniffin’ around, ya know, so he didn’t want to have to get his hands dirty.

But a motherfucker like me?” He pointed to himself.

“I wouldn’t mind at all,” he stated in a bright and chipper tone.

“Life is changin’ fast for me though, ol’ Cyrus.

I take bein’ a husband and father soon, seriously.

For one, the torture chamber has to go.” He sighed with regret.

“I already started dismantling it. I can’t have shit like that hidden in the house with a wife and baby comin’. If you think about it, you’re a kind of a torture chamber. I need to be rid of you completely, too. I never want to talk to you again. I hope I’ve made myself perfectly clear.”

“…You have. The contract will be burned,” Grandpa stated dryly, while still not making eye contact.

“If you ever, and I mean ever , try to blackmail me, hurt my family, includin’ my mama, I’m going to take you the fuck out. Nothin’ will stop me. You’re still alive only because of an answered prayer.”

Their gazes hooked for a fleeting second.

“You better thank your unborn great grandchild for savin’ your miserable life.

” He slowed down, reached over his grandfather, slapped another piece of tape over his mouth, then unbuckled him.

“…Because if it wasn’t for my child growin’ inside of my fiancée as we speak, you’d be floatin’ down the river in your own blood, and bloatin’ up like a blimp. This is your stop, motherfucker.”

He unlocked the passenger side door, swung it open, and pushed him hard.

Then he swung around and kicked him with both booted feet, forcing the old bastard to topple out of the truck.

As soon as Grandpa landed on the asphalt in a loud thud, he took off down the road.

When he looked back in the rear view mirror, Grandpa was still lying there, barely moving.

Soon, he was merely a speck in the distance. Kage tossed out his cigarette.

“That’s the last cigarette I’m going to smoke. I got a baby comin’!” Tears of joy filled his eyes. “Gotta keep the air clean around my child, and break this habit. I want to live a long time for my wife and child. I’ve got a lot to live for!”

He turned up the tunes. Jefferson Airplane’s, ‘White Rabbit’ played. He smiled as the breeze blew through his hair. Stone had lived to see another day…