Chapter 65 — Begin
-Blake's POV-
I watched from afar with my hands clenching my gun as my brother walked towards Dominic's house, ready to start our plan.
I was bothered. Really bothered. It was bad enough that Dominic and I have been on off terms because of this whole situation but it was worse that she and Jake had gotten closer as we drifted. She seemed to be more comfortable with him than she used to be, and it really bothered me. Why?
I knew it was bad to think of my brother as someone who would hurt me. I knew that the trust he had from me was well deserved and he wouldn't do anything to tarnish that but...why?
Why were they meeting more frequently while we're in a situation so chaotic? Why was Jake acting distant towards us now? Why was he acting different and on guard whilst also acting as if he deeply cared? Acting as if it was our safety on the line?
Why did it have to be him who was chosen to be this piece in our plan?
-Flashback-
"We need someone to be inside with her while we're preparing outside. We can't have her getting away last minute." Nick looked around the room at each one of us, passing me before landing on my brother. "Jake, will you do it?" "Absolutely." He replied quickly. He noticed my gaze and tensed but didn't turn to face me.
"Why not me?" I asked interrupting them from explaining Jake's role. Both Arthur and Jake looked to Nick for an answer as well, making Nick sigh and stare back at me.
"I need both my gunmen outside. Plus, Jake is a hand to hand, so he'll be able to stall her if push comes to shove. We're not going in to kill her remember, we're doing this for her protection. That and the fact that you and sis have argued over this matter way too many times, she probably won't feel at ease knowing you guys aren't on the same page." He then put a hand on Jake's shoulder, smiling at him before looking back at me again "Jake is good with people and he and Dominic are close friends so he's our best shot"
"But Nick " I tried interjecting, "NO."
I stood shook for a second. Nick's eyes had turned dark. It scared me how much he was able to change his demeanour in such a short amount of time. "Jake will do this job, is that clear?"
-End of Flashback-
Goddamnit. I was starting to hate this. I couldn't believe we were putting up arms against the girl I loved and our leader's sister. It's not like Dominic wasn't logical. I'm sure if we just listened to each other more, talked to each other more, this could have been avoided. This was crazy and now starting to get stupid. But it was too late for change. I'd just have to accept that.
The door opened, and Jake greeted Dominic with a hug which she had returned. It wasn't a long hug, but it was long enough for me to wish I was the one receiving it.
"There's four of them inside. We know there's Jake, Dominic and probably Xavier, but who could the other person be?" I heard from my earpiece (we all had one), "Also I don't hear anything from Jake's line" Jason continues which made me facepalm.
Zack seemed to realize the same thing I did too since I heard his laugh from over the line, "He probably forgot. We all know he never remembers to put this thing on," I sighed and shook my head before checking and loading my guns. Regardless of anything now, everything will start at five and all I could do was pray no one would get hurt.
-Arthur's POV-
I stood at my spot, a few metres away from Dominic's dining room window. All of her windows were shut, and blinds were down so there was no way of looking inside. It would have been weird, and I would have been worried they'd figured out our plan, but I shook that thought out of my head. No, Dominic was always cautious. Xavier and I brought her up to be that way, so this behaviour was normal.
Even while she was in prison and I had disguised myself as one of the jail guards to look over her, despite being so kind to her, she wouldn't let her guard down.
Thinking back to that time made me remember something I still blame myself for. When she had the boiling water thrown on her, I wasn't close enough to stop it. She got hurt and she still has the scars even though she tries so hard to hide them. I knew, and I swore I'd never let something like that happen to her again.
Not long past and I saw her shadow coming into the dining room where the other three were. They talked for a bit, about what I didn't know, before one of them took out a deck of cards and dealt them out. Nothing looked out of the ordinary except I had never really seen her play cards before. I shrugged this off though, she probably played with Xavier at the bar.
"They're playing some sort of card game, they don't suspect us," I said into our communication devices.
"Any clue on what they could be talking about?" I heard Nick as. Hearing his voice suddenly saddened me. During all of this scheming, I had got to spend a lot of time with Nick. We grew closer to each other and I couldn't help but see him as a younger brother. One that I would have stood to protect if it wasn't for my situation. Leading him like this now made me feel nothing but guilt.
"No, the house is soundproof," I answer like it was nothing, but it didn't seem like nothing to those who heard it.
"It is?!" Zack asked astonished which made me chuckle.
"Yeah, Xavier installed it a couple of years ago,"
"Gives me the shivers, what do you think they were doing in there to need soundproof systems? Are they killing people? HIDING THEIR SCREAMS?!" There were a bunch of chuckles that followed his questions, I smiled before replying, "Their training is loud and was scaring a lot of neighbours, most of them are old. Dominic got annoyed by the complaints, so she asked for them to be installed." Realising that I knew more than I thought I did, "It worries me how much information you have about her," Blake's low toned voice came in which allowed me to refocus.
"Yeah, well, I did spend years of my life tasked with watching her-"
I then stopped, shock and sadness shot up my body like an electric current.
She had taken out a box from her trouser pocket and put a cigarette in her mouth. It was true, what Jake had said, she really wasn't getting better. What was worse was that no one around her looked they were saying anything against it, in fact, they looked like they were laughing. What the hell?
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Her head didn't turn my way but as she played the game, I couldn't stop thinking about it. "She'll die before she heals," I mumbled, distraught
"Did you say something Arthur?" Nick's voice came in, but I answered a soft, 'no,' and kept watching. After her second cigarette, my eyes started to tear up. What was the point? She was already a wreck. Protect her? I had been making things
worse.
I looked at my hands which were giving up their grip on the guns held in them but before I could fully give in, I got a call.
Picking up the phone, already knowing who it was, I temporarily switched off the communication device and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Are they in place?" It was the boss.
The people that Dominic had killed were only part of the gang. This guy was the actual leader and the gang was much larger than thought by the Skulls and Bones. If only I could tell them that.
"Yes sir, they're all around the house and will be going in at five."
"Good, make sure they stay there, we'll finish them off in her own home," he said with amusement before hanging up. I kept the phone by ear for a second, still looking forward before letting my hand drop entirely.
As Dominic took out the third cigarette, I had realised the full extent of the damage that I had caused and was going to cause. I regretted it. I regretted everything I had ever done. I regretted what I had become. I regretted what I made her become.
Today the Skulls and Bones gang was going to die, and It would be my fault.
I looked down at my phone.
Five O'clock.