My finger lied on the trigger. I was ready to pull it. Ready to end his screams and his life.
But I couldn't.
Something inside me wouldn't let it happen. I was able to kill Kyle, but not Brandon. I'm couldn't really tell why. All I knew was that Brandon would live to see another day.
I concealed my pistol and put my hand out.
"Come on, get up."
He moved away and picked himself off the ground.
"You're not gonna shoot me?"
"No. But you can't come back. If Cain sees you, he'll come after you. You need to leave the city."
"What? No, I can't."
"Brandon, it's the only way you can continue to live. If you stay here, you'll be killed within the next few days anyway."
"What about my gang?"
"I'm gonna tell them that you didn't make it."
"No... I'm gonna come back."
"Brandon, if you come back, I'm gonna have to find you again, and I won't be showing mercy this time. Accept the chance you got now."
"You wouldn't shoot me."
"Yes I would. I don't know if you heard, but I killed Kyle and shot two of his members. I really don't have a problem with it."
Ah but I did. Nothing kept me from shooting Kyle, but something kept me from shooting Brandon. I can't really explain it, I just know that I couldn't go through with it.
He sighed. "Alright Danny. I'll leave the city."
"Good. Now I need your cell phone."
"What for?"
"You're gonna have to break contact with everyone you know. You're dead to them."
"You can't be serious."
"I'm dead serious, Brandon. Give me your cell phone."
He took his cell phone out of his pocket. I took it from him and threw it on the ground before repeatedly stomping on it until it was completely crushed.
"My phone..."
"Alright Brandon. Before you go, I want you to know that if you come back, I'll have no choice but to kill you. I really don't want it to come to that, so promise me you'll leave, okay?"
"Okay."
"Alright. Where you go doesn't matter. It just can't be here."
"Alright, I get it."
"Well then get going."
He got into his truck and I got into Cain's. When we left the off road trail, we headed in opposite directions. I probably should've followed him out of the city, but I trusted that he was smart enough to leave on his own. I drove back to the Blood Angel hangout and parked Cain's truck in front. I headed inside and met up with Cain, who was it usual spot at the table.
"Danny, how'd it go?"
"I took him out, just like you wanted."
"Ah well done then." He looked at one of the members. "Tommy! Get me my suitcase."
"Is there anything else you need," I asked.
"You're good for now."
"Alright then, I'll see you later then."
"Wait, your reward!"
"Reward?"
"Yeah! You killed Brandon, so I'm gonna pay you for it."
The member came back with the suit case. Cain opened it and gave me five hundred dollars.
"Well uh, thanks Cain."
"Of course. Hey, do you need a ride home? I saw that you came in Brandon's truck."
"Oh yeah, I'd appreciate that."
I handed Cain his keys and we got into his truck. On the way, I told him to take me to Brandon's gang hangout since my car was there.
"Alright then. But how's their gang gonna react when they find out you killed Brandon?"
"They won't find out until a long time later. They thought he was gonna reason with you, remember?"
"Right, right. And uh, what about his truck?"
"What about it?"
"Where is it?"
"Oh uh, I had some friends go and pick it up. They're gonna strip it and sell it in parts. We don't want any trace of Brandon, whether it be him or his belongings."
"Ah I see, that's smart."
We soon got to the hangout.
"Alright Cain. I'll see you later, alright?"
"Of course. And hey, don't worry if Brandon's gang finds out about his death. The Blood Angels got your back."
"Thanks."
He drove off. I got into my car and headed back to my house. When I got there, it was already 7:30.
I entered my house and saw no one in the living room. I assumed they were in their rooms. I headed to the guest room and found Yuri reading her book.
"Hey Yuri."
She looked at me and smiled. "Hey Danny."
"What have you been up to?"
"Just reading, really. What have you been doing?"
"Ah well, I was just helping a friend deal with another friend. Nothing big really, just some arguments and such." I sat on the bed. "But I'm really up for a movie right now, how about you?"
She closed her book on her dollar. "I could go for a movie."
I opened some cabinets and let Yuri choose a movie. I was hoping that she'd choose something romantic that we could cuddle through, but she chose The Conjuring. It wasn't that I didn't like scary movies, but the scary part would tend to make me jump and I really didn't want Yuri to see me in fear...
I went ahead and put the movie on anyway. Maybe it wasn't as scary as it seemed?
Holy crap, I was wrong. When we were only a couple of minutes in, I kept finding myself gripping onto one of the pillows. Yuri however, seemed really into the movie. She didn't really seem scared at all, just curious. Soon, the movie did something that caused me to jump. As I started to catch my breath, Yuri put her arm around me.
"You okay?"
I gently moved her arm away. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's barely scary at all."
Something suddenly happened that made me jump once again.
"Holy shit!"
Yuri giggled and moved closer to me. "It's alright, Danny. I don't mind if you're scared."
I leaned my head on her and continued to watch the movie. When I jumped from yet another scene, she hugged me. Whenever something scary happened on the screen, she'd hug me tighter. It seemed that she could tell when I was feeling uneasy, even when I wasn't jumping out of fear.
Later through the night, the movie finished. Yuri got up and put the movie back in its box.
"Did you like the movie?" She looked at me with a smile, but it suddenly turned into a look of surprise. "Danny, are you shaking?"
"W-what? No!"
I looked at my hand. Dammit, I was shaking. Come on Danny, don't be a wuss.
Yuri sat on the bed with me. "I take it you're not into horror movies?"
"Well no it's not that. I'm just easily surprised I g-guess."
"Ah, I understand. It's not my favorite kind of horror, but it does get the blood rushing, wouldn't you agree?"
"Ah well, I guess."
"I mean, I usually prefer a build up in horror. Something that'll slowly scare you and put fear into you instead of just randomly throwing it at you. But I do enjoy my fair share of jump scares."
"I guess I'm not a fan of them really."
She giggled. "It's okay. We can watch something else next time." She yawned. "But right now, I'm feeling kind of tired."
"You're gonna go to sleep, already?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Oh uh, well, okay..."
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, of course! I just uh..."
She hugged me. "It's okay Danny, you don't need to be scared. You're not alone, we're sleeping together."
She got up and turned off the light. I lied on the bed and she lied next to me. She lied her head on my chest and got comfortable. I could feel myself calming down as I cuddled with Yuri. I was even calm enough to fall asleep.
And soon, I did.