Sinner’s Redemption by Rebecca Joyce
Chapter Eighteen
Montana
“Oh, this is rich,” Kansas laughed at my expense, as I glared at the fucker across the room. From the moment he arrived and learned of my predicament, Kansas wouldn’t shut up about it.
Baby Brother was cruzin’ for a bruzin’.
I needed to fix this shit fast before my woman fucking walked out the door. As it was, she was avoiding me. She wouldn’t even look me in the eye.
“Why the fuck are you even here? Go stay at a fucking hotel.”
Kansas grinned, taking a seat. “Hell no. I wouldn’t miss this shit for anything.”
“Won’t think it’s fun when Malice corners your ass.”
That shut little brother up fast. “Why?”
Rubbing my hands down my face, I sighed. “Because so far everyone I’ve been with has checked out. The board is now digging deeper into my past.”
“And just how far back are they digging?”
“Until they find the bitch,” I stated, picking up an envelope holding it out for him. “This came this morning.”
Kansas took it and read the contents.
His head snapped to mine. All laughter gone. “Is this some fucking joke?”
I shook my head. “No. Dad called Arizona. He’s flying in immediately.”
“What about Dakota?”
“He’s working a protection detail for the club. He can’t leave his post.”
Kansas huffed, shaking his head. “You sure about that? Because last I knew, Dakota does exactly what the fuck he wants. Besides, this happened twenty years ago. What the fuck is going on?”
That was the million-dollar question.
“I haven’t discussed this with the board yet because I wanted to speak to you first. As far as I’m concerned this is a family matter. I would prefer we kept it that way.”
Kansas placed the envelope and the contents on my desk. “As far as I’m concerned there is nothing to discuss. It was an accident. She died.”
“You didn’t think that when I showed up in Oklahoma?”
“That was before I damn near lost Kali. Kind of put shit into prospective for me. Montana, I know I blamed you for years for something that was out of your control. I want to apologize for that. You were a kid. Hell, we all were. It was a shit show, and you did your best.”
Fuck. I waited damn near twenty years to hear my baby brother say those very words. It’s all I ever wanted. Now, I wasn’t so sure I deserved them because I needed to tell him the truth about that day and when I told him, I would lose him forever.
When the second the envelope arrived, a nagging suspicion took root. It was so outrageous it had to be impossible. Why, after all these years, would someone send me something about that day? It made no sense. We were all kids back then. What happened was an accident.
“Kansas, I need to tell you something about Amy.”
“What about her?”
“About that day.”
Kansas narrowed his eyes and growled. “What?”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and remembered that bitter day in December.
“Come on Arizona. We’re going to be late!” Kansas shouted, jumping into the backseat of my candy apple red 1972 Plymouth Duster. I loved my car. It wasn’t very often I drove it, but knowing my brothers would be with me, Mom insisted I drive the car because the weather forecast was expecting snow later tonight. Snow was nothing new in New York City.
The big apple.
My hometown.
I loved everything about the city, from the excitement to the shitty people, but right now, I was about to lose my shit if my brother, Arizona, didn’t get his ass in gear.
Honking my horn, I yelled, “Hurry the fuck up, dick cheese!”
“Jesus, Montana, chill the fuck out,” Dakota sighed, sitting next to me. “So what if we miss kickoff?”
“It’s the Giants versus the Patriots man. I’ve got money on this damn game.”
“Oh, can I get in on that action?” my baby brother, Kansas, piped up from the back seat.
“NO!” Dakota and I yelled at the same time.
“Jeez, you fuckers. No need to yell,” Kansas sulked, sitting back. “Don’t forget, Montana, we need to pick up Amy.”
Growling, I muttered. “I know.”
Laying on the horn again, I took a quick look at Kansas and shook my head. My brother was in over his head with that chick.
Amy Lansing.
The sister of my best friend, August Lansing, Amy, was a total fucking slut. I tried persuading Kansas to just hit it and quit it, but my baby brother fell in love and, like the idiot I was, I didn’t have the heart to break his. So, I kept my mouth shut and did everything I could to make sure Kansas never found out about Amy’s nocturnal activities. The fact of the matter was Amy slept with everyone and anyone. Including me when I fucked her raw at Kansas birthday party two months ago.
My brother had just turned eighteen. He had his whole life ahead of him and I didn’t want him shackled to some piece like Amy. Had love for the girl, but she wasn’t wife or ol’ lady material. I knew if shit got too serious, I could go to dad and he would take care of it, but I hoped Kansas would come to his senses.
“About time,” Dakota said, as Arizona came running up with a shit-eating grin on his face. Jumping into the back seat, he said, “Got the booze!”
Before Dakota could complain, I put my car in reverse and peeled out of the driveway.
After picking up Amy, we all headed to the game.
The snow started falling as we made our way towards Gillette Stadium. It was going to be a great night. I couldn’t wait to cash in when the Patriots beat the fuck out of the Giants. I had plans for my winnings.
“Jesus, Montana,” Dakota shouted, gripping the dashboard. “Slow the fuck down.”
“Stop yelling, asshole. This shit is coming down fast.”
“Then slow down!” Arizona yelled, punching the back of my seat, and that’s when shit went sideways and downhill fast.
The second Arizona’s fist connected with my seat, I jerked the wheel, causing me to lose control of my car. Before I could correct the vehicle, we were falling. Covering my face, the windshield of my car shattered, blowing glass backwards as my brothers yelled and Amy screamed.
What I felt next chilled me to the bone.
We were sinking fast as ice cold water quickly filled the cab of my car.
Looking next to me, I saw Dakota leaning forward, not moving as blood dripped down his face. Turning around, I saw Kansas leaning against the frame of my car, eyes closed. Amy lay between Dakota and me, not moving. Placing my finger at her throat, I jerked back when I didn’t feel anything when I heard Arizona moan, “What the fuck happened?”
Snapping out of it, I shouted, “We need to get the fuck out!”. Hurrying to unbuckle my seatbelt, I tried to release Dakota’s belt, but it was stuck.
Turning around in my seat, I reached in the back and shook Kansas. “Wake up, Kansas! Come on, dude. Wake the fuck up!”
“He’s out cold, man,” Arizona moaned groggily.
“What happened?” Dakota groaned.
“We’re in the river. We have to get out of here. The car’s sinking!”
“My head hurts,” Dakota barely said.
“Come on, Kansas. Wake the fuck up!”
When Kansas didn’t respond, I checked his pulse. I sighed when I found it. He was alive.
“Arizona, he’s hurt. We need to get him out of here.”
“What about Amy?”
“She’s dead. Leave the fucking bitch. Get Kansas and get the fuck out.”
Turning back around, I reached into my jeans for my pocketknife. Slipping it open, I cut Dakota’s seatbelt. Once free, Dakota turned to check on Kansas and Arizona, who was trying to get Kansas out of the seat.
“His foot is stuck!” Arizona shouted. “I can’t get to it. Amy’s in the way.”
“I’ll move the bitch!” I roared, grabbing her, then shoving her through the window. Seeing her body float to the top, I grabbed Dakota and said, “GO! I’ll get them out!”
“Ain’t leaving you Montana!”
“You have to. We’re running out of time. Go!” I shouted, pushing Dakota out the window. The cab was filling fast. We were running out of air. If I didn’t move fast, I would lose both of my brothers.
Without thinking, I yanked Arizona forward, pushing him out the window after Dakota, ignoring his cries.
Arizona made his escape right before the car disappeared beneath the surface. Holding my breath, I stuck my arm under the seat and, after feeling around, I discovered Kansas shoe was stuck.
Hurriedly, I unlaced his shoe and yanked his foot free. Grabbing my baby brother, I pulled him from the backseat, holding him close as I maneuvered us both through the windshield of my car.
I swam with Kansas in my arms until we reached the surface, his body dead weight in my arms. Cresting the surface, I gasped for air, as I swam one armed, with my brother to the shore where Arizona and a groggy Dakota were waiting for me.
“We need to call the police,” Arizona slurred, his teeth chattering.
Laying Kansas down on the bank, I felt his pulse again.
Not finding one, I started CPR.
After a few breaths and chest pumps, my baby brother started coughing up water as Arizona and I rolled him to his side.
Sitting down, I grabbed Kansas and held him to me as I took my first real breath. I watched as the last remnant of my car disappeared under the water.
Amy’s body floated motionless on top of the water.
I heard sirens off in the distance.
Help was coming.
“Should we go get her?” Arizona asked, his body shaking like a leaf as snow fell all around us.
I shook my head. “No. Not losing you, too. Bitch can stay there.”
Moments later, I heard, “You boysokay?”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw a police officer rushing over.
“There is someone in the water,” I said absently. “We tried to save her.”
Before I could more, the police officer jumped into the frigid water.
Kansas moved, sitting up on his own, asking. “Where’s Amy?”
I pointed at the water, unable to move.
“YOU LEFT HER!” Kansas roared, jumping to his feet, ready to jump back into the water. Grabbing him, it took me and Arizona both to hold him back. “You have to save her. She’s pregnant with my baby!”
“She’s gone, Kansas. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt!” I shouted, ignoring the bomb Kansas had just dropped. “I had to get you out. I couldn’t lose you!”
Kansas pushed me away. “She was more important!”
I shook my head. “No, she wasn’t. No bitch is more important than my brothers.”
And that was when Kansas hauled off and punched me.
The night everything changed between us.
The night I lost my brothers. After the accident, we spent three days in the hospital. That’s when I learned Amy didn’t technically die.
Well, technically she did die twice, but now she was on a ventilator. She wasn’t wearing a seat belt when we hit the water, and the force of the motion shoved her forward into the windshield, knocking her unconscious. Dad told me the water was so damn cold, it caused her body to shut down immediately. So, when I checked for a pulse, it would’ve been hard to find. However, because she was in the water longer than the rest of us, and coupled with the trauma to her head, dad told me the doctors weren’t sure she would ever wake up.
She was technically alive, but not.
When Dad told me the news, I begged him not to tell Kansas. After explaining, he agreed. As far as Kansas was concerned, Amy died in the accident. I wasn’t going to have my baby brother pine over a bitch who spread her legs for everyone. Dad later learned she was never pregnant, which made me feel better about keeping the truth from Kansas. My brother had his whole life ahead of him. Wasn’t going to that bitch ruin his life, too.
“She’s alive!” Kansas roared, jumping to his feet.
“Technically yes,” I stated. “After the dust settled, they charged me with reckless driving, and driving under the influence because the cops found the alcohol in the car Arizona snagged. Dad finagled a deal with the Lansings and the DA, who agreed to drop the manslaughter charge on one condition.”
Kansas sneered. “What was what?”
“That dad sells twenty percent of Stone Industry to Mr. Lansing and once a month, I hand deliver twenty thousand in cash before visiting with Amy for one hour, as I retell what happened.”
Kansas stared in disbelief as he sat back down. “You mean every fucking month, you visit her and tell the same story, over and over.”
“Yes.”
“Jesus fuck, Montana. It’s been twenty years.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was the one driving. I didn’t want you burdened with the aftermath. You were already grieving. Dad and I knew if we told you, you’d never leave her side. You deserved happiness, Kansas. You were young and had your whole life ahead of you. I didn’t want my mistake to interfere with that.”
“You didn’t cause the accident, Montana. It was an accident. A shit day.”
“I was driving, brother. The blame falls on me.”
“I still don’t understand how something that happened twenty years ago applies to your current situation.”
“I didn’t think it did until the envelope arrived this morning. When I saw it, it got me thinking and after a lot of contemplating, it’s the only thing that makes sense. The woman Tessa saw in my room was older. She was older, with black hair. Tessa said as much. Storm scoured the video archives and confirmed what Tessa said.”
“But Amy is a blonde.”
I nodded. “Yes, she is, but she’s the only woman from my past that makes sense. The only one who has a reason to want to destroy me.”
“You had to miss someone. You said Amy is in a vegetive state. She’s still on the ventilators.”
“And her brother August is her doctor,” I said clearly, as I watched Kansas put the pieces together. “August never forgave me for leaving Amy. He blames me for his sister’s predicament.”
“August was always a fucking bitch. Never liked the weasel.”
“He’s also on the board at St. John’s Presbyterian Hospital.”
“Wait a minute. You think it’s August who’s blacklisting Tessa?”
I nodded. “And I think Amy is awake.”
“Well, there’s a way to find out,” Kansas grinned. “When is your next scheduled visit?”
I smiled.