Invincible(8)

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 f*cking 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 f*cking cocky right now. Your brother was an *. 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 *. 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 f*ck 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 f*cking 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 f*ck anything up, Wes. I’m trying to make things right.”

“Where’s Danny? I’d love to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Don’t worry about Danny. He’s not involved with this one. It’s you and Tommy. You two go out there for me. I’m asking you, for me. Set this thing up, help out my family, and we’ll go from there. You walked away from a fight that wasn’t called the right way. I’m not sure who to blame on it. I’m getting heat, Wes. A lot of money was spread around and wasted. Purposely breaking a man’s ankle and shattering his knees is one thing… but letting him quit? We don’t quit in fights, Wes.”

Aton nodded and backed away. He retrieved his gun and then pointed to the front door. He and his guys left.

I stood there for a few seconds before I turned and heaved into the kitchen sink again.

I had gone from blowing up my own life to now having to blow up someone else’s.



~



I sat in the passenger seat, Tommy next to me in all black. No suit for the guy tonight. His eyes were intense as he stared at the little blue car parked next to a garage.

“See, they tried to f*cking hide it,” Tommy said. “It was supposed to be in the restaurant parking lot. That would have been much better because it would cause a lot more damage. Sending a bigger message. I swear, there’s rats all around us.”

“Good to know,” I said.

Rats.

That shit came from friends and from trusting people. That’s why I didn’t trust anyone. I had no business trusting anyone. It was better for me to stand and walk alone. To have the appearance of being invincible.