Page 40 of Remind Me
“We are legally out of options, so this is on you. Cash and I are going to head back in and tell him that he is free to go. After that, our hands are clean and it’s all up to you. We know nothing.” I nodded. I knew what he was telling me without saying the words. They couldn’t be caught up in this. I got back in the car and told the guys to park across the road. We still had view of the front door so we could follow when he left. About half an hour later, Felix and Cash got in their car and left. Not long after that, Dale and his piece of shit lawyer walked out. I remember him from the courtrooms when he was on trial for what he had done to Belle. They got into a car and left, us following them. My guys were good, keeping a safe distance between us. We kept at a distance to make it look like they weren’t being followed though. We needed to wait until they were separated before we could make our move. That was fine. I had all night.
A few hours later, we pulled over. They had finally stopped somewhere. We watched as Dale got out of the car and moved over to another one. Waiting to see if they split up, which they did, we followed the car that Dale was now driving. We drove for another hour before he pulled over at a motel. This guy was a fucking idiot. We were in the middle of nowhere and he was making it way too easy.
“Make your move.” The guys gave me a nod and got out of the car. They walked over to him, and as he got out of his car they grabbed his arm, one of them muffling him as they walked back toward me. Opening the back door, they shoved him in beside me and closed the door. Getting back in the front, they started to drive again.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Shut up, Dale. You don’t get to ask questions.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Oh, how quickly you forget the people you have fucked over in your life. Does the name Lily spark your memory? Or Jake?” His face went white. “That’s what I thought. Well, Dale, your time is up. You have screwed people over for the last time.”
“They are both dead.”
“No, only one of them is. You have only seen one dead body. Should really be more careful what you leave behind, but you know this. You don’t really know how close you actually were to her.”
“You’re lucky because I would have actually killed her.”
“Unfortunately for you, you will never get the chance. You should have stayed away, Dale because now you are going to die.”
“They’ll know it was you.”
“My hands will be clean, and I will be sleeping peacefully at night.”
“People will come for her.”
“No, they won’t get anywhere near her. My daughter is protected. You underestimate who I am.”
“Who do you think you are? God?”
“No, I am a lot worse than that. Gods feel remorse. I feel nothing. I suggest you stop wasting your oxygen.” He went to open his mouth again, but I held my hand up. “Shut up or I will silence you. Don’t test me right now, Dale. You are only alive because I couldn’t get my hands on you. There is nothing stopping me now.” For the first time in his miserable life, he did as directed and shut up for the rest of the car trip. It was a few hours later when the car finally came to a stop. The front doors opened, and my guys got out. They dragged Dale out of the car. I gave it a minute before I got out and took the gloves from Bennett. Putting them on, I took the gun from him too. Turning, I saw Xander tying Dale’s hands behind his back. When Xander moved away, I stepped forward and aimed the gun at his head.
“You have hurt my family long enough. It is now time for Lily to get her peace. No longer will you harm another person. Rot in hell, Dale.” Pulling the trigger, I put a bullet between his eyes. Bennett took the gun from me and moved back to the car. Opening the trunk, I pulled out a tarp.
“We’ve got this, boss. Get back in the car.” He took the tarp from me, and I got back in the car. Now, I could leave and know that my daughter would be safe. I trusted Beau and Cash with her life. Now if I could rid this world of her mother, everything would be perfect.
Epilogue
Austin
The final few days before I officially opened the shop, I tried to relax as much as I could. The last time, I was full of nerves and didn’t get to enjoy it, so I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. I honestly couldn’t thank Vannah enough for giving me the shop beside hers. It made sense to have us both in the same part of town. I could help the girls out with anything they needed when I was quiet, so they didn’t have to wait for Cash or Beau to have a day off and come and do it for them. I could also help Belle with any of the boxes that she struggled with. To be honest though, I was really missing tattooing. Not being able to do it while we were rebuilding was messing with my creative vibes. I also had nothing to distract me from thinking about Holly’s death. I just didn’t know how to feel. Her father had reached out to me and told me that I was not to go to the funeral, and I was fine with that. I respected their wishes and didn’t want to make this time harder on them than it had to be.
Deciding to get out of my head, I grabbed my sketch book and a coffee and sat on one of the couches in the studio and started to draw for a while. Both the girls stuck their heads in to say hello but left me to it. About an hour later, Vannah came in and sat beside me.
“That’s looking really good!”
“Thanks! Guess I am in the zone today.”
“That’s a good thing! I’ve been worried about you.” I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into my side.
“Thanks, but I’m good. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m good, bubba. I do have a big favor to ask of my favorite little brother though.” I gave her a look.
“What are you crawling for, Vannah? How can I help?”
“Well, you see there is this new bakery that I am craving something from, but I have a meeting I need to go to. Would you be able to go and pick up something for us? I would be eternally grateful.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.
