Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again Book 2) by M Comley (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

That day was the last time she saw her mother.

Nadia woke from the dream in a cold sweat. She hadn’t had it for years, why now? Why all of a sudden should it prick her conscience and resurface? Why, after all these years? What was the meaning to this?

8

Robin Hewitt left the venue and got in his vehicle. Not far from his home, the car behind flashed him several times. He peered at the driver and noticed a hand pointing to the side of the road. Thinking there must be something wrong with his car, he indicated and pulled over. The car stopped a few feet behind him. He got out of his vehicle and approached the driver to see what the problem was. The driver lowered the window.

He bent down to speak to the stranger. “Is there something wrong?”

The driver pointed at the rear of Robin’s car. He took a few steps towards his vehicle and removed his mobile from his pocket. Using the torch, he examined every last inch of the car but found nothing out of place.

The door opened behind him.

“I can’t see anything. Can you tell me what it was?” he asked without turning around.

Soft footsteps came from behind, and then something hard cracked him on the back of the head. His hand instinctively reached up to investigate the wound. Sticky fluid covered his palm.

“What the fu—?”

Before he could finish his question, another blow struck him. This time it was harder, sending him to his knees.

“Good, that’s just where I want you. Start begging for your life.”

Dazed with confusion, his vision blurred, he held out a hand. “Please, don’t hurt me. Why are you doing this?”

“Out of necessity. You’re a worthless, no-good individual and deserve to die for what you did.”

“What? I think you’ve made a mistake. I haven’t done anything wrong. Never.”

“How easily dickheads like you forget.” The stranger raised the metal bar again, and it came down heavily on the top of his head.

Robin curled up into a ball. Something had cracked with the final blow; he hadn’t liked the sound of that. “Please, no more. Tell me what you want. Take my wallet, there’s not much in it, but take what I have.”

“Ha. I don’t want your money. I want to see you suffer. To plead with me to save you, and then I want to see the light in your eyes vanish as you take your final insipid breath.”

“Why? Why are you punishing me like this for something I haven’t done?”

“Oh, you did it all right. That night, you were just as responsible as the others. That poor woman. She didn’t deserve to die, not at the hands of you bastards, just out to get a cheap thrill.”

His head turned slowly to look at the dark figure, hiding behind the hoodie. “Who are you?”

“What’s the problem, don’t you recognise me?” the singsong voice replied, taunting him.

“I can’t see you. Reveal yourself to me. Let’s discuss this.”

“What’s to discuss? I’m here to avenge the heinous crime you committed. You and your so-called chums. Not once, not twice, but numerous times until things went too far.”

“Who are you? How do you know about this?”

“How do I know? I was there. I witnessed first-hand what you and your disgusting mates did all those years ago.”

“Why now? After all this time? I’ve changed, I have a new life. I haven’t thought about what happened that night for years.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of what you’ve become. I’ve been keeping an eye on you for months. Gone off the female sex, have you? Suddenly realised that deep down you’re gay? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Nick knows exactly what type of man you were at your funeral. I’ll take pleasure in giving him all the details of what went on that night and the frequent nights before that. In the end, he’ll be glad you’re dead, feel relieved that he’d only had the misfortune to spend a few miserable nights with you.”

“No, you don’t know what you’re saying, we’re devoted to each other. He won’t believe you. It’s in the past. Why revisit the incident after all these years?” His head throbbed, his speech now affected due to the whacks on the head, his words coming out slurred.

“The time has come for…retribution. You will all be punished for the sins of your past. For the way you treated that woman, many times over. Why? Why disrespect her the way you did?”

“I’m sorry, I never wanted to be involved. It was the others, they forced me to do it.”

His attacker lowered and looked him directly in the face. He cowered, and the stranger’s hot breath bathed the side of his face.

“Don’t lie. I was there, remember. I’m well aware of what happened back then. Not once did you show any form of reluctance to joining in. You were a willing participant, so don’t bullshit me.”

“I wasn’t. I objected numerous times, but the others threatened to do all sorts to me if I didn’t join in.” Another swipe with the bar, this time to the side of his face, and more bones crunched. He cried out, his jaw slack when he touched it, his voice muffled when he said, “You broke my jaw. Please, no more.”

“Or what? How are you going to prevent the inevitable? I know you go to church. You’re such a frigging hypocrite, begging for God’s forgiveness after what you did. The world will be a better place without you. I’ll make sure Nick knows all about your filthy little secret. He’ll end up being forever in my debt for disposing of you.”

“No. You don’t know what you’re saying. After what went on that night, I turned to God, and He forgave me. If He’d wanted to have punished me, He would’ve struck me down by now.”

“What, like I have? Maybe I’m God. You can’t see my face; how do you know I’m not your saviour?”

“My God wouldn’t punish me the way you are. He