Because I've Lost Everything

Chapter Seven

Caleb Grimm

Thursday: October 22, 2015

"I just don't know what to do, Xaphan. We don't even know who Ghost is. No one does. How can we find Laura if we don't know who the hell we're looking for?" I asked.

Xaphan shrugged without looking at me. Instead, he continued to test the elasticity of the skin on his palm with the tip of his Bowie knife. "Who's to say Ghost has her?"

"No one else wants to hurt me bad enough to hurt someone innocent," I said.

"I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Caleb, but anyone will hurt a innocent if they want revenge bad enough," he said.

"I wouldn't." I frowned. "Anyone with a conscience of any kind wouldn't hurt an innocent. Laura, she is an innocent. Hurting her would be beyond unfair," I said. I did everything I could to keep my voice from shaking.

"Okay. But that doesn't change the fact that someone took her, someone that, most likely, wanted revenge on you. So, let's look at all the people you've screwed over." Xaphan tapped the point of his knife against his temple very lightly. "Hmm. Let's see... Aww, shucks. It appears there are way too many people and monsters to keep track of, seeming as you have screwed over every single one of them," he said.

"You helped," I said through my teeth.

He chuckled. "Very true, dear. Very, very true."

"You're not helping, like, at all," I said.

"Sorry." He offered a shrug. "I really don't know what you expect from me, Caleb. She isn't my problem. Do I hate myself for saying that? Yes, of course. But it doesn't change the fact that it's true. And you know I'm right," he said.

I let out a long sigh. "I'm aware of that. But it's not the point," I said.

"You're right. But I don't know what you want me to do. You and I, we've made a lot of people mad, a lot of monsters mad. If they're not alive, their children are. Either way, someone is still running all of companies that want revenge on us. We've got a big target over our heads, you and me. They haven't found a way to get back at me, but they sure found a way to get back at you." He pointed the knife at me. "You let yourself get weak, Caleb."

"It's not my fault that I love her," I said through clenched teeth.

"You know how it goes. Us mafia men? We can't have normal relationships. There's always going to be way too much risk," he said. I nodded.

He was right.

I had brought this on myself.

I had brought this on Laura.