Colby looked at Jessie, his head in his hands.
She was gone. Just like Skye. Both of them cursed, victims of injustice.
Good, bad, it didn’t matter. Life was different now. As the truck made its way back through the streets, out of Arcata and around the bay, Colby thought back to the day John Boone was cornered by his father. He’d been there, watched from afar as his father and eight others had confronted him outside a bar. After giving him a good beating, they’d gotten him on his knees but instead of shooting him in the head, his father had taken out a long blade and stuck it in his mouth and cut from the corner of his mouth back to his ear.
His scream was still as clear as the day he heard it.
This was his legacy. This was his nightmare.
Now this was his fight.
Chapter Fifteen
He wanted someone to blame.
Jessie lunged at Asher, firing off a right hook that landed with jaw-breaking power. He soared back, coming off his feet and landing on his back. Not even Kenzo intervened initially. He knew better. They hadn’t been inside the gate more than a few minutes when they were approached by Asher and several officers. He was all smiles. He had no idea. Although Kenzo was in charge of the group outside the boundaries of the city, Asher was responsible for the decision to pursue. He’d shown up expecting to see Reilly and crew in custody. He got more than he bargained for as Jessie wailed blows down on him. It completely blindsided him. He’d only managed to spit the words “Where are they?” when Jessie launched his attack.
It was chaotic.
As officers tried to pull Jessie off and began beating him, Zeke came to his aid, kicking one of them in the back of the leg and donkey punching another in the head. “She would be alive if it wasn’t for you!” Jessie bellowed. A natural response to seeing his father beaten, Kenzo dove into the thick of it. Fists flew. Threats were made.
Colby yelled for Zeke and Jessie to pull back but they weren’t listening. They wanted Asher to suffer for making the call to send them out. Jessie was like a wildcat. Even as they dragged him back, he held on to Asher’s collar, kicking and punching him multiple times. He elbowed an officer in the eye, kicked one in the shins and bit the ear off another before he was taken down. It took three more volunteers getting involved to finally bring the brawl to an end.
Colby fully expected Asher to demand that Jessie be arrested but he didn’t. He cowered away, nursing cut lips and a swollen eye. Still, he didn’t expect him to let that slide. No doubt it would be brought to Johnson’s attention or discussed at the next meeting. With the jail being emptied, would they start using it again for locals?
Asher didn’t strike him as a man that would let bygones be bygones. He came across as someone who wanted recognition, needed it. He wanted to be heard, he wanted his views to be embraced more than others’. How long would it take before they imposed a rule that prevented anyone from going against the council?
Once the crowd of curious onlookers dispersed, Colby took Dylan to get his shoulder seen to at the hospital. He’d been the only one who hadn’t gotten involved. Dylan was in too much pain. Colby was about to tell Alicia he wanted to chat with her when he noticed she was gone. Everything about the way she was acting was out of character. Was it him? Was it fear? Was it this place? Surely she couldn’t have gotten all bent out of shape over his decision to remain.
After leaving Dylan in the capable hands of a doctor and several nurses, he headed over to the Carson Mansion. Zeke had told him that he would take Jessie there, keep an eye on him and whatnot. Losing Skye had nearly destroyed Colby so if anyone was able to relate to Jessie’s loss it was him. Entering the home, he called out, “Zeke. You around?”
He heard them upstairs.
Before heading up, he ventured into the kitchen and scooped up a bottle of bourbon. After what they’d been through, he needed a stiff drink. He took a pack of cigarettes, and lit one before making his way up. Zeke and Jessie were on the second floor, sitting by the stained-glass window. Zeke had his arm around his brother and was consoling him. Jessie looked up for a second, his eyes red and swollen. He was holding a bottle of Jack Daniel’s that was almost empty. A wave of sadness enveloped Colby as he thought about all that Nina had endured. Being forced to lose the baby. Being abandoned by her own family. It wasn’t fair but then nothing about this new world was.
It was awkward trying to know what to say. What could be said? The killing of eleven people had been a senseless act. Why they had chosen to kill them and leave the rest of them alive was even stranger.
“Why her?” Jessie said, shaking his head and staring at the carpet. “Me, I could understand. I’ve hurt people. I’ve done terrible things, Colby, but Nina… she was a good person.”
“She was,” Colby said.
“The best,” Zeke added.
“This is karma, isn’t it?” He lifted his eyes to Colby. “Payback for killing Skye.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true, Colby.” He shook his head then took another direct hit from the bottle. “I don’t deserve to be alive. All these years I wondered what it
