One Last Rainy Day: The Legacy of a Prince(109)
I’m still reeling about the fact that I’m going to be a father.
As the exhilaration of that knowledge flits in, it’s overridden by another—he’ll never know my son or daughter.
Feeling the weight of the loss start to cripple me, I silently step into the foyer to see birds gathering—one by one from different directions as the rest file in from the porch. Corpses lay scattered around us, blood seeping into the floors, bullet holes littering the walls. It’s a fucking bloodbath, but I can only be thankful that most of what’s been spilled isn’t ours.
Russell joins Tyler and me where we stand next to the front door, equally assessing. Sean appears to my right and joins us at the foot of the stairs as Tyler looks over to me. “Compound ready?”
I nod before asking my own question. “They broke through one of our borders?”
He nods in reply. “Four birds gone. They didn’t have time to send a warning.”
“Any other company coming today?” I ask.
“We think this is all of them for now, but we’re going to make fucking sure.” He elevates his voice to everyone gathered. “No head hits a pillow until we are. I want every fucking bird and their closest at Denny’s within the hour,” he jerks his chin toward me. “No fucking exceptions.”
Wordless nods and chin dips are all we can convey as we all glance around at the carnage.
It’s when Russell looks up to the second floor and freezes that I follow his line of sight and still—chest seizing. Tobias stands at the top of the stairs, Dom’s lifeless body cradled in his arms, drawing every eye to him before he slowly starts to descend. An anguished mewl erupts from Sean before he hits his knees, palming the top of his head, body bent as if taking cover while his grief echoes around us.
One by one, heads start to bow as Tobias draws closer, face twisted in agony, tears spilling from his lifeless eyes.
My own eyes spill over as Tyler clips out a hoarse request. “Russell, grab your—”
“On it,” he says, turning and making a beeline for his car.
When Tobias hits the bottom of the stairs, we all step back, giving him a wide berth. Unable to look away, I lift my head just as Tobias passes, staring straight ahead as he walks down the porch steps. It’s the sight of Dom’s limp hand that has my throat closing as Sean’s agonized grunts fill the air. With the slam of Russell’s car door, the morning birds begin to sing as if our whole world didn’t just fucking stop.
My only friend.
Tyler
The wind kicks up, the breeze rustling the trees above, creating a calming atmosphere just as the sun peeks out, highlighting the solid white casket before us. The roaring in my chest emanates in unison with the grief of every single one of us gathered—inked arms motionless at their sides.
No one speaks. No one wants to. There is no ceremony because our brother would have hated it. We don’t need words spoken because I’m certain we’re all lost somewhere in time with him. Our individual memories flooding us—a comfort to some, excruciating for others.
I’m the latter.
Most of us are banged up, bandaged, or in physical pain in some form or another due to the battle that started the minute Dom lost his. A fight we all lost, no matter how many of us escaped breathing because the aftermath is fucking excruciating.
Our new reality surreal.
One in which our magnet no longer exists.
Flashes of my brother shutter in. The day we met. Our first late-night bike ride. Sharing our first stolen beer. Coughing through our first joint. Our high school homeroom theatrics. The shared pains of growing from boys to men.
Homing in, I attach myself to a few that stick out. One being the day Sean, Dom, and I stood outside the newly purchased garage—rattling inside with the inkling that we were on the precipice of something bigger, better than the simplicity of our current lives. The wordless looks we shared before we stared up at the building. The satisfaction in Dom’s eyes when he fixed his first car. The day he left for Boston, hesitating briefly with his duffle on his shoulder—not turning back to face any of us, the same way I hesitated the day I left to train as a marine. Because we knew we wouldn’t be able to take another step forward if we did.
Staring at my brother’s grave, I travel through rips in time between us all, and the tie that bound us—brought us all back together. Our bond first and always before our purpose, reason, and agenda. It’s the very thing that made us that feels as though it’s breaking us now.
In my peripheral, I catch the slow lift of Sean’s head and turn to see his watering eyes zeroing in on Tobias, filled with a contempt I never imagined I would witness. Tobias stands on the other side of the coffin, dressed in an immaculate black suit, not a hair out of place, his expression that of a man utterly destroyed. Feeling Sean’s gaze, he lifts his eyes to meet his judgment. As they stare across Dom’s casket, I feel the true break set in between them, along with the knowledge that they will never be the same.
That crippling realization lodges a thick ball in my throat. Next to me, Delphine squeezes my hand, having missed none of it. Needing her, I grip hers just as tightly as Dom’s casket starts to lower. It’s with that finality that Jeremy bursts where he stands, grunts of pain leaving him as his tears flow freely. With Jeremy’s break, grief starts to disperse in spurts throughout the crowd. It’s then Tobias visibly fractures from the weight before turning abruptly and stalking toward his Jag.