Amidst Crimson Kisses

Chapter Forty: A Betrayal From Above

Asher's POV

Andre once told me no matter what happened; he never wanted me to fall because I was his brother. He trusts me more than a thousand pounds of gold, so when the silence grew to unimaginable heights, I thought of the kid I once knew all those years ago. I wonder if he'd recognize me with my tongue down Margo's throat or when her lips clung to mine. It was a passing fancy, but I craved every second of our final moments together. I couldn't explain it for the life of me, but our last kiss reminded me of a past life.

Andre gazes at me with curiosity flashing in his eyes, and had it not been for David kidnapping Margo; he would have spoken his mind without hesitation. Ever since he found out moments ago, he's been busy trying to figure out the madness lurking in my head. He knows my silence is far too loud, even amongst the whispers of Elijah and Mateo. I lift my raging heart to meet his unnerving scrutiny, analyzing my movements under a transparent microscope. The one quality I admire the most about Andre is his unrelenting observation and how he can read a person's mood even from across the room.

A shimmer of the truth twinkles in my irises, and for a split second, John's house fades out of my sight. Then a fog rolls into my mind and slips between the borders I've spent years trying to rebuild. Since death always found a way to follow me. The walls carried me through my mother's death, even Lynn's absence, and finally, Juliet's fatal demise. Then I just kept walking the earth with my heart locked away inside my chest. But David made sure whatever happens here today, I'd willingly follow him blindly to save Margo and to further entangle myself in Juliet's murder.

I remember all the trouble I gave Margo about the perplexity of our involvement. I knew the world wouldn't understand two souls uniting when mine was already promised to another. I laugh bitterly, realizing I'm still bound to a phantom. The truth is Margo deserves better than the elusive chaos of the Goulding's. Even if she was born into their bosom, she will never be one of them. Somehow, I think David knows Margo's never going to be another Juliet, and it scares the hell out of me.

If David doesn't need Margo, then what's to stop him from plunging a knife inside her heart, so Gwendolyn can watch her cries fade with her life. He would never use a bullet on her when the seconds would elapse far too quickly in Gwendolyn's emerald eyes. David is a man who relishes every second of his enemy's demise until they wither into oblivion. Margo is just the blueprint to his wife's decimation, so if she doesn't provoke him, then maybe he'll allow Margo to live when Gwendolyn's use expires.

"We have to get the hell out of this house," Mateo announces, walking inside the living room with a grim expression clinging to his mien. "we're sitting ducks every second we sit here feeling sorry for ourselves. Alexander's dead, the Kennedys are gone, and a squadron of misinformed DEA agents are on their way to this exact location. And in David's words, gentlemen, when they get here, we need to be somewhere in Mexico, sipping alcohol under tiny umbrellas and paying the cartel for protection."

"If you need protection, Mateo, then why don't you click your heels together and say there's no place like my daddy's five billion-dollar hospital. I mean, we all know how resourceful you are when it comes to getting whatever you want; just ask the two men on the floor. Damn, that's right, you killed them, I guess we can't ask them if David was telling the truth. Unless you can switch on down the yellow brick road to hell and find out for us." Andre questions, taking on Mateo's sarcasm as it seethes from his tone.

"I guess you got it all figured out, Smith. When the DEA agents walk through the door and trust me, they will, you'll sell me up the river to protect your family. I can respect that, but who's going to stop them from passing the threshold then walking Asher out in handcuffs. David didn't give them a name but he sure as hell gave them a parting description of his daughter's stolen car, parked right outside this house with all four of the tires slashed. So when we're surrounded by New York's finest, I might take you up on that offer; it's not like I don't already vacation there." Mateo offers, observing Andre's anger rise as he stands up, leaning against the wall.