Jett got out of the car and walked around to my side, opened my door, and pulled me out of my seat. He wrapped his arms around me and embraced me as I cried into his shoulder. It was too early for onlookers, but even if there had been people milling about, I wouldn’t have cared. The life I once knew was finally evaporating and for once, in a very long time, I could see light at the end of the tunnel. The old Kace, the demon-riddled Kace, was dying.

Linda had released a part of me. She’d lifted my burden and let me breathe. It took me a bit to accept it, but speaking the words out loud to Jett, I realized my wrongdoings had been a blessing in disguise. They gave me a second life, a second chance, a chance I refused to waste.

Pulling away, I looked at Jett and realized we were both crying. I smirked as I wiped my eyes and said, “Fuck, we look like a couple of dickheads.”

“The hell if I care,” Jett said, pulling me into his embrace again.

He was my brother, the one person who had been by my side during the darkest of my days, guiding me and protecting me. “I would do it again,” I admitted. “I would put up with the guilt, the shame, the sins just to know that in the end, Madeline and Linda would be protected.”

“I would too,” Jett admitted. “Tell me it’s over, Kace. Tell me you’re moving on. Tell me this fucking nightmare is done.” Jett was pleading. I could tell he wanted his best friend back, the man he used to know. It would take some time, but I was ready to move on.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment to be free, and I’m fucking taking it. I just have one more thing to do.”

A giant smile spread across Jett’s face from my confession. I could see the hope, the happiness that ensued him. Not only was I setting myself free, but I was giving my best friend one of the things he needed the most, besides Goldie; I was giving him his brother back.

“What’s the next step, then?” Jett asked.

From the very beginning, this hadn’t only been my journey. It had been his as well, and it was about time we ended it together.

“Time to bid the fucker goodbye,” I answered and walked toward the cemetery, Jett falling in beside me.

I knew where the grave was. The image of Linda standing over it with Madeline was burned in my mind. Now that I thought about it, she’d looked pale and rigid that day, covered from head to toe in clothing that probably hid her bruises. She must have been wearing a heavy amount of makeup to hide her husband’s brutality because I didn’t remember seeing any kind of abuse on her face.

Passing gravestones and old flowers, we finally made it to Marshall’s grave. The urge to take a sledgehammer to the stone itched as I stared down at the inscription.

Beloved husband and father. 

“The man got off too easy,” I said while staring down at the grave.  If I had known who he really was, what he used to do to Linda, I would have taken my time on him in that bar, making him feel every last blow instead of ending his life so quickly. I would have tortured him, I would have ripped him to shreds and then ended it.” Malice was heavy in my voice. “I’ve never despised someone so much in my life, Jett.”

“Me too,” Jett seethed.

“He took years from my life. He took Madeline’s innocence, Linda’s freedom.”

“And now he’s paying for it,” Jett countered.

Nodding, I crouched and spoke to Marshall directly, letting him know that the inscription on his grave was a lie.

“You spent your years on this earth intimidating Linda, taking advantage of your role as a father and interrogating complete strangers. You dismissed a life you should have been proud of. You threw away a chance to watch Madeline grow up into the beautiful, spicy little girl she is today, and you abused a vibrant woman who cowered under her marriage to you. You’re a coward. You’re the monster, not me, and I will never regret my decision of taking you down ever again. I owe you nothing besides a thank-you for bringing Madeline and Linda into my life. I will be the man they need, the man you never were, and will protect them from men like you, instead of men like me.” Standing up, I patted his grave. “Have a fun time rotting in hell, you sick fuck.”

I stepped back and looked at Jett. He was happy. Bending down to the level of the grave, Jett said, “Thank you for being a beast of a man because you not only strengthened my bond with my brother, but you also proved that justice will always prevail.”

An orange light started to brighten the sky as the sun rose. Jett clasped my shoulder. “Ready?”

“Ready,” I replied. “I have one more stop. Would you mind coming with me?”

“You know I would go anywhere with you, bud.”

We walked away, leaving my demons behind. For once in my fucking life, I was leaving them behind. With each step, I felt lighter, freer, like I was finally starting a new chapter in my life rather than reading the same one over and over again. It was time to turn the page, to move on.

It was time for me to live.

Chapter Thirty One

My present…

“I think the beignets were smart,” Jett said as I parked the car.

“Yeah, thanks for picking up the bill.” I smirked.

“And why did I do that again?” he asked. “After that little bank statement I saw, I would say you’re set for a bit. At least a nice down payment on a house.”

“I can’t take that money,” I responded. “I wouldn’t feel right.”

“Linda isn’t going to take it. It’s yours, Kace. You’ve suffered enough. You lost everything that night, you gave up everything. You deserve to put your life back in order. You deserve that money.”

“I just don’t feel right about it. I want to at least help pay for Madeline’s college.”

“An admirable thought,” Jett said. He looked down at the pastry box and then back up at me. “You ready for this?”

I nodded, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and said, “Let’s do it.”

We got out of the car and surveyed the little home that belonged to Linda and Madeline. It was still early in the morning, so condensation kissed the grass and a light fog was in the air, which would soon be burned off by the Louisiana heat. The street was quiet, neighbors only starting to wake.

To someone else, it might be too early in the morning, it might look like a dreary day with the fog still blocking the view of the neighbor’s houses, but to me, it was a new dawn, a new day, a new beginning. I felt invigorated for the first time in a while.

Nodding at each other, we walked to the front of the house and gently knocked on the door for the first time. I’d been on this stoop before. I’d wondered what kind of life the residents led, if they hated me, if they despised me, but this time, I was confident I would be accepted with open arms into this quaint little home.

After a few moments of silence, the click of locks opening echoed in the silent morning and then Linda opened the door wearing a long terrycloth robe, her hair in a ponytail. Bunny slippers covered her feet and a pair of polka-dot pajama pants peeked out from under her robe. When she saw me, she flew into my arms and hugged me.

She was warm, friendly. She allowed me to relax. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the gesture. She cried into my shoulder as her hold on me grew stronger. Jett stood to the side, observing like he always did.

I’d never once believed I would be standing on Linda’s doorstep with her arms wrapped around my waist, happy to see me. It was hard to believe because I’d spent the last few years instilling in my head that this woman hated me, that she would celebrate the day I died for what I had taken away from her. Instead, I was celebrated as a hero, as a protector, as a savior. Words I never would have used to describe myself.