Cadillac Payback: Rising Tide by AJ Elmore (the false prince .TXT) 📕

trail through my insides. I almost wish I were as cold as Frederick. She’d look real pretty with a hole in her head. But that’s not me.

I turn to walk away. I take two steps and stop again. I look at Lucas. He spooks like a startled deer.

“I fucked your girlfriend a few days ago. She came all over me just like she used to.”

Mona gasps, and Lucas’s eyes get wider. I give him a wolfish smile and a chuckle. Then I walk away.

My first order of business is to get some breakfast. Then I’ll rent a car. I’ll drive myself back to the Cape. I’ll have plenty of time to make some decisions, and if I’m honest, there’s no need to be in a hurry.

Chapter 34 Last Goodbye

Maria

I’m standing in my kitchen. Tears are streaming down my face, blurring the words I’ve already read over and over. It’s a note from Frederick that he left under the windshield wiper of the Caddy sometime last night, presumably before he turned the mansion into a massacre.

“I stashed a spare key to my apartment under the hood of the Caddy. There are guns there that I couldn’t take, including the Dragon. If you want them, they’re yours.

“You may not forgive me for what I’m about to do, but it’s the only way out I can see. If I die tonight, I’ll finally find peace. If I don’t, I’ll be gone before you read this.

“Thank you for always having faith in me. You’re the only one who ever has. Goodbye, Maria. I love you. I always have.”

A sob escapes my throat, and the paper shakes in my hand. I haven’t even begun to process that my grandmother is dead, that I’m the only member of my family left. All I can feel is losing him. In many ways, he’s been my best friend, my backup, my teacher. I never would have come this far without him.

I don’t hate him for what he did. Abuela used all of us, and she never cared if any of us died in the process, even me. She was a snake, but she was a means to the way of life I was born into.

I was taught to strive for the top, but now I can see that the top is a lonely place where you have to either kill everyone you used to love, or sacrifice them some other way. I don’t want it anymore. There’s no place for me here without the blood relation. Sure, I could try to take her place, but I would be so out of my league, and I’d probably get killed by someone else who also wants to be on top.

All hell is about to come down. The thought comes to me that, legally, I’ll probably inherit the plantation house, but what the fuck would I do with all those workers and their families? I question the wisdom of even going there to look through her stuff. And what the fuck would I do with all that shit?

I know I’ll have to make a decision soon, though. Do I follow Frederick’s lead and get the fuck out of Dodge? I grew up here. It’s a place I know and love, but would there ever be any peace this close under their noses? Would they even let me live?

Then there’s the other side of that. Where would I go? Selling drugs is all I’ve ever known. I’ve never had a real job. I don’t have a resume, no “skills” that I could put on a piece of paper. I know a hell of a lot about doing business, but that business involves having a gun. Where do I put “good with sniper rifles” on a job application?

The tears have subsided, mostly. I carefully fold up the note and set it on the table. I wipe the tears away with a sniff.

Later I’ll go to Freddy’s apartment and get his guns. There’s no reason to leave perfectly good guns to go to waste, and the Dragon has a special place in my heart. First I’m going to see Josh.

Chapter 35 Nightmares and Gunshot Wounds

Joshua

I’m staring at the TV in front of my bed, but I’m not really into it. The sound isn’t even on. I hate TVs, but I’ve exhausted my interest in the magazines that cute nurse brought me to read. The confinement is really starting to get to me.

The door pushes open, and I’m wondering what check or test we get to do now. Then I see Maria. My heart lifts, but then I realize she’s been crying. If I know anything, I know what that looks like.

“What happened?”

She’s quiet as she comes in and pulls a chair over to the bed. She studies me for a moment.

“You’ve gotten some color back. How are you feeling?” she says.

“Like I’ve been shot,” I answer, my tone accented with aggravation that she’s ignoring my question.

She frowns, then looks down at her hands. She parked within my reach, so I gently put a hand beneath her chin and bring her face back up. Her eyes land on mine, and tears rim them.

“What happened?” I say again.

She takes a shaky breath and says, “Freddy’s gone, and Abuela is dead.”

Anxiety squeezes my guts and rises like a web into my chest.

“Whoa, holy fuck. Did he…"

I can’t even finish the thought.

“He did.”

The tears drain down her cheeks.

“He took out six guards at the mansion, then disappeared.”

My stomach turns. I’ve always known he was cold, but this is brutal. My thoughts flash back to that fateful moment in the garage, his head hanging, his blood everywhere. I guess it’s no wonder he finally snapped.

Goddammit, all I want is to wrap my arms around her. I know she needs it, but I can barely move. I let go of