His Saint, His Jewel ✔️

66. Loyalty

"Who was that? We heard some grumbling." Petey said, appearing from behind me with Avalon in tag.

"That was Archie. Jack wants to meet me right now." I told them.

"Shit! This doesn't sound good. Want us to come?" He asked.

"No, I'm going alone. You two stay here." I said.

"No way, Michael! We're your friends! We're coming with!" Avalon said firmly. There's no way I'm convincing them not to.

"Get in the car." I told them. They both raced out the door, pushing each other.

After they both fought over the passenger seat, and Petey coming victorious, we drove a few miles over to Jack's. His house is of moderate size, compared to mine. His parents are almost never home because they're gambling addicts who spend most of their time in other places.

Jacks' house was already full of other cars belonging to other members. My nerves started going up when I realized I wasn't going to be having a one-on-one conversation with Jack. But in front of others who already were disgusted by me.

"Michael," Petey said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "No matter what, we got your back." He smiled at me.

"Thanks. Let's get this over with." I said. The three of us hopped out of the car and walked towards the open garage.

I could already see members standing around. Their conversations became silent when I walked past them with Avalon and Petey in tow. I even saw someone clutch their rosary when I walked by.

"Jack?" I asked. He sat in his chair, brandishing a knife. I noticed his face was covered in small bruises and his left fingers were wrapped in bloody bandages. His blonde hair was a bit messy. This is Jack's moment of weakness. I've never seen him this way before.

"Michael Lexington. Your loyalty to the Jewels has been in question for the past few days." He set the knife aside and turned to us. "You slept with the enemy and most likely shared confidential information. So I must ask you, are you a Jewel?" He asked me.

I stood in silence, not knowing how to respond. All eyes were on me. A bead of sweat rolled down my head.

"I- I- I don't know." I replied.

"Based off what I've seen, you have proven yourself not to be. Your allegiance has been in question." Jack said.

"What about the years prior? I helped revive what it means to be a Jewel! I helped you become what you are today! I could've easily taken your spot! But I put you there!" I snapped at Jack.

"But at least I never made out with a Saint, let alone a guy." Jack said. A few snickered behind me.

Jack then reached under his table. He rummaged around until he pulled out a gun in his hands.

"It's a beauty, aint it?" He asked, admiring the gun in his hands.

"Watch where you point that." I told him calmly.

"Should I?" He asked. He then held out the gun and pointed it at me.

"Woah! Jack! That's going too far!" Kevin said from the side.

"I really thought you were on our side. I saw you as a God. And if I'm being honest, I had some sort of affinity towards you. But seeing those pictures, it felt like meeting your hero and them being an asshole." Jack leaned in, the gun pointing at my head.

"Are you heartbroken? Is that why you wanna shoot me? Then do it! You don't have the balls." I sneered at him.

"You know why I've always wanted to be leader of the Jewels? Cause then it means we're equal to the Saints. Don't you remember what they did to my sister?" Jack asked. I tried to remember.

"No, I don't. Enlighten me." I told him.

He kept the gun to my head. "6 years ago, my older sister was coming back from a dance with her boyfriend. That's when up comes Manuel and his gang, who jump both of them." He explained. His eyes began to water. "They beat them both to the edge of death. And those damn wetbacks left them there! Bleeding in the cold. It was by sheer luck that a police patrol stopped by." He said.

I stared at Jack. I remembered he had a sister but that she...

"But it was too late. Her boyfriend died in the hospital while my sister barely made it out. She was heartbroken that the love of her life was killed. She tried pleading that Manuel was responsible, but that fucker had several alibis and he was never charged." Jack then pressed the gun harder into my head.

"My sister became insane. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. And a few months later, she became so crazy she tried to kill herself and was sent to a hospital states away. Now I only see her during Christmas and summer. And every day, I only wish to get revenge on Manuel." Jack finished.

He then lowered the gun and handed it towards me.

"Here." He said. "You'll do the job for me." He explained.

I looked at him like he was insane.

"You want me to kill Manuel? You're insane!" I objected.

"No, I don't want you to kill Manuel." He lowered and stared into my eyes. His eyes were full of anger. "I want you to kill Antonio!" He said.

"Antonio?! Hell no! He has nothing to do with whatever happened to your sister! Leave him out!" I yelled at Jack.

"You wanna know what I hear everytime I visit my sister? 'Where's Jeremy? Can I see him? Is he going to visit me?'. Can you imagine her cries when we have to tell her everytime that her boyfriend died? Even years later, she never forgets him. I don't want to kill Manuel. Oh no, that's letting him off too easy. I've found that hurting someone the best is by hitting them where it hurts most." Jack said with pure anger in his eyes.

"You want to kill Antonio to get back at Manuel?" I furiously asked.

"No, I want you to kill Antonio to get back at Manuel." He replied. I froze, staring at Jack. This vindictive shit.

I grabbed the gun off his hands and pointed it at his head.

"Ballsy." He chuckled. "You can kill me if you want and protect your boy toy. But know this, if you kill me, I'll order the kill of Antonio and have his corpse thrown into the ocean. You'll never see him again." He replied.

"Jack! This is enough! You can't be serious! Killing someone? Just let it go!" Avalon said from behind me.

"Shut your hole, Brandenburg. This is a guy's talk." Jack replied. "Here's the deal, Mike. You kill Antonio and get to say goodbye to him, or we'll do it, and you'll never see him again."

The gun was pointed on his head. He looked like he was reaching his high from telling me to kill someone.

I lowered the gun and my head.

"I'll do it." I said. My eyes looked down and never turned up.

"Atta boy! I expect this to be done soon. If you fail, both you and Antonio will be on the chopping block." Jack said.

"Understood." I replied in a blank voice.

"You can go now. See you soon." He chuckled lightly.

I turned around and began walking down the driveway, with Petey and Avalon behind me not saying anything.

I climbed into the car and set the gun on Petey's lap.

"What do we do now?" Avalon asked from behind me.

"I don't know." I replied.

Truth was that I didn't know what to do nor did I have any idea. Shoot my love or have him and me killed. It wouldn't be so bad if both of us die. But I refuse to let Ant and I go down like this. We deserve a happy ending!

------

<3 thx for reading!