Invincible (3 page)

Of course, it was Luke calling.

I grabbed the phone, yawning, and answered it.

“
Luke
…
it
’
s the mid-
”

“
Don
’
t you even leave the fucking room, Rose! You understand me?
”

“
What are you talking about? I
’
m in bed.
”

“
Get under the bed. In the closet. Something. You understand?
”

“
No, I don
’
t! I
’
m tired of this Luke!
”

The phone went silent for a few seconds. I could hear my brother breathing. He was angry. Very angry. He wanted to hurt me, I could sense it through the phone. Yet at the same time he protected me because I was something of a prize to him.

“
Rose, listen to me carefully. You hide in that fucking room until I tell you not to.
”

“
Give me one good reason,
”
I said, tired and cocky.

Luke did just that
…

“
Because they
’
re coming to kill you, Rose.
Tonight.
”

4.

(Wes)

I drank myself drunk for days after the fight. Each time I shut my eyes or tried to sleep, all I could see was Shane. Except Shane was Johnny, or Johnny was Shane. It was Shane
’
s face but the giant eagle tattoo from Johnny on his body. Shane on the ground, begging for his life. Reaching back into his own head, pulling out his brains, showing them to me. Then he
’
d ask me why, over and over until I woke up.

I put a bucket next to my bed because each time I woke up, I puked my guts out. I wasn
’
t sure if it was from the booze or the dream of brains.

Thinking about it made my fingers tingle.

I had put one mission on my life and that was to find the guy who killed Shane and get revenge. All I knew - and all Aton told me - was that the fighter was called
the assassin
. He didn
’
t fight under a name, simply called
the assassin
. He always wore a black mask when he fought. Rumor had it that the fight -
the fucking murder
- with Shane had been his last one.

I licked my lips and reached for the bottle.

It was empty.

Another bottle gone.

I dropped it to the floor and swung my feet off the edge of the bed. I ran my hands through my hair and looked around the room. I was hungry. I was horny. I wanted to fight something, someone.

Falling to the floor, I dug under the bed and found another bottle. I had walked into the liquor store a few days ago and put down more than enough money to buy all I needed to drink myself to death. Only I kept doing it wrong. I
’
d get drunk and pass out. I
’
d never push myself over that edge.

“
Fucking pussy,
”
I whispered.

I twisted the top off the bottle and took a swig. The sudden taste of chocolate made my stomach turn. I swallowed and then it all came back up. My face was in a trashcan, the smell of rotten vomit making me throw up even more. Through my hazy eyes I saw the bottle was goddamn chocolate vodka. I had no idea how the fuck that happened.

I heard the door to my apartment open.

Most people would get freaked out, right?

I didn
’
t care.

My bedroom door then opened and two men stood there, holding guns.

They were Aton
’
s guys.

I put my hands up, my fingers like guns, like I used to do with Shane when we were kids.

“
Pow! Pow!
”
I said.

“
Jesus Christ,
”
one of the guys said.
“
It stinks in here.
”

I saw Aton push through and his nose wrinkled at the odor.
“
Goddamn, Wes. I figured it would stink in here, but I thought it was going to be your body decomposing. Thought you were dead.
”

“
I am dead,
”
I said.

“
No, you
’
re not. And we need to talk.
”
Aton waved his hand in front of his nose.
“
Get him in a cold shower. I
’
ll go make some coffee. Back to business, right now.
”

I grabbed at the bed and tried to stand up. I kicked the bucket of vomit over. One of the guys, standing about seven feet tall, grabbed his stomach and started to dry heave.

“
Toughen up,
”
Aton said.
“
Get him cleaned up.
”

Next thing I knew the two guys were grabbing me by the arms. They dragged me out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. They tossed me into the shower and turned on the water. One of them turned on the shower and the ice cold water hit me. My body stiffened and I screamed for a second. I propped myself up on my hands and knees and threw up again. So I just stayed there, letting the water hit me.

“
Squirt him with soap,
”
one of the guys said.

They drew a line of shampoo from my head down to my ass, even though I was wearing clothes.

They then argued over who was going to clean up my room.

I looked up and let the cold water pound on my face. I reached up and started to pull myself up. I got to my feet, put my hands to the wall, and stood there. My stomach was empty. My heart was empty. My head was full of memories. I pushed from the wall and stood on my own. I grabbed my shirt and peeled it off my body. I dropped my jeans, boxers, and left all my clothes. I stepped back into the cold water and washed myself.

I left the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. The smell of coffee filtered through the apartment. If Aton was setting me up to die, he was really playing into it. Normally if Aton wanted someone gone, they
’
d be gone. He had the connections and the muscle to make it happen.

In my bedroom, one of Aton
’
s guys was on his knees, his tie over his nose and mouth, cleaning the floor. The other guy had the window open, waving a pillow, trying to get the smell out. I dropped the towel and grabbed some clothes to put on. I ran my hands through my hair a few times and that was it for me. That
’
s as much as I had ever gotten ready in my life.

Aton stood, waiting for me. He had two mugs of coffee poured.

“
Sit,
”
he said.
“
Drink.
”

“
Got any whiskey for the coffee?
”
I asked with a grin.

“
Don
’
t be a fucking smart ass,
”
Aton said.

I sat down and sipped the coffee. Aton sat across from me. He folded his hands. He had no intention of drinking his coffee. He just stared at me.

I had known Aton for a long time. I first met him because of Shane. Aton helped Shane get out of some legal troubles, which Shane repaid back by becoming a fighter. Shane showed me how to throw a solid right fist, which I used to take down four guys on the high school football team when I saw them trying to push around some girl. That got my ass booted out of school and Aton was there to bring me into his world. That girl, however, never learned her lesson. She ended up getting attacked and got herself hooked on drugs and she killed herself.

Those were the memories I had in my mind. Not about finding my dream present under the Christmas tree. My memories were two guys holding that girl
’
s arms while two other guys were touching her, taking her clothes off. My first fight. My first win. I stood there and looked around at the destruction I had caused with my fists.

And you know what?

I fucking loved the feeling.

Aton slid a hand across the table and grabbed my hand.
“
Wes. Wesley.
”

“
Don
’
t call me that,
”
I said.

Aton grinned.
“
I had to skip town for personal matters. Went to New York. We had a little rat problem there. At a restaurant. Get it?
”

I nodded.

Rat problem
meant someone was talking too much or not paying up enough. Whoever it was, they were long gone now.

“
Yeah,
”
I said.
“
Glad you
’
re back in town.
”

“
I
’
ve been back for days, Wes. You haven
’
t returned my calls.
”

“
I
’
ve been busy.
”

“
I see that. Listen, I am sorry about that fight. I should have looked at the calendar. But it had to happen.
”

“
One day a year, Aton. That
’
s all I ask for.
”

“
I think a lot of people ask for that,
”
Aton said.
“
That
’
s not how it works.
”
Aton took his hand back. He reached into his suit jacket and took out a gun.
“
This is all business, Wes.
”

“
Just like the night Shane was killed?
”

“
I
’
ve lost a lot of people I loved,
”
Aton said.
“
It
’
s just life. At least you
’
re alive.
”

I nodded to the gun and sipped my coffee. Then I said,
“
For now, right?
”

“
I
’
m not going to kill you, Wes. You
’
re too valuable to me. But I have to teach you a lesson. I have to show you what it
’
s like out there. What my other guys do. You
’
re worried about a fight here and there? Let
’
s talk about taking out real fucking problems.
”

I looked at the gun again.
“
Taking out problems?
”

“
See, I have something going down tonight. I need a little protection for it. You
’
re the protection.
”

“
Me.
”

“
You, Wes. In case something happens, I need your fists ready to go.
”

“
Is this a hit?
”

Aton grinned.

My stomach flipped again. I stood up and hurried to the kitchen sink and my stomach let loose again. I gasped for air as I held the edge of the sink.

Murder?

“
Wes, I don
’
t know how you view life, but you
’
re not going to be a fighter for the rest of your life. You
’
re going to get old. Weak. You
’
re going to lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really lose.
”

I looked at Aton and gritted my teeth.

He was talking about Shane.

I took a few deep breaths and stood back up. I ran my hand through my hair. Right then I told myself I
’
d never touch a drop of booze again. I knew that was a fucking lie though.

“
Would you like to hear what I have in mind for you?
”
Aton asked.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
I just want to fight, Aton. I want to be in the middle of the circle. If that
’
s where I end, then so be it. I
’
ll go down like Shane.
”

Aton nodded and stood up. He left the gun on the table. He slipped his hands into his pockets.
“
Let me put it to you this way, Wes. Since you
’
re so fucking cocky right now. Your brother was an asshole. He had no respect for the fights. Near the end, he would drink, smoke, show up high and wanting to go at it. I lost money on him. I didn
’
t know what to do with him.
”

My blood started to boil.
“
Is this where you tell me you set him up to fight? To die? You let it all happen?
”

“
No,
”
Aton said.
“
That entire thing was out of my control. Nobody is supposed to die like that. I didn
’
t give the command on any of it. I tried to stop him. I tried to stop it all. He insisted on taking on
the assassin
, wanting to cement his name forever. I guess he did that because
the assassin
never fought again. Nobody heard from him again. He just disappeared.
”

“
Did you kill him?
”

Aton smiled.
“
No.
”

Part of me wished Aton would have lied. He could have told me he killed
the assassin
in Shane
’
s honor.

“
So my brother was an asshole. He drank too much, got high, got killed. I
’
m following right in those footsteps.
”

“
No, you
’
re not. You
’
re going out on a run with Tommy.
”

“
Tommy? Who the fuck is Tommy?
”

“
I
’
m Tommy.
”

The guy who had dry heaved when he smelled my room stood there. His face was a little pale. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.

“
You?
”

“
Yeah,
”
he said.
“
Got a fucking problem?
”

“
Hey now,
”
Aton said. He patted Tommy
’
s shoulder.
“
We
’
re all good here. Tommy has the brains for fire. Bombs. That kind of thing. He can make cars have accidents. Or he can wire them a certain way
…”

“
Christ,
”
I whispered.

“
So you and him are going out later. I need you to take care of something for me. We have a situation that needs to be
…”

“
Taken care of,
”
I said.
“
I get it.
”

“
Tommy is going to get everything set up. You need to be the lookout for him. Make sure things go, and stay, smooth.
”
Aton put both hands to my shoulders.
“
I
’
m doing this for you. To show you what else is out there. You can get into that circle anytime you want to make some cash, Wes. You
’
re a smart and capable fighter. But there
’
s more you can do for me. For us. For my family. We can never take you in. You stink like an Irishman, and not just because of the vomit and booze.
”
Aton slapped my face.
“
Don
’
t fuck anything up, Wes. I
’
m trying to make things right.
”