Free Blood Abandon (Donald Holley Book 1) by Avery Stites Page A

bluish white. His face changed; something inside him seemed to break.
    “Donnie, you remember that time we rode our bikes out to the pond when we were little and went fishing? You said that day, when I was sad about dad that you would always take care of me.”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “You said you would watch out for me.”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “You said you would never hurt me.”
    “You are right, I did.”
    “Then why are you hurting me now?” he asked.
    “I’m not hurting you, Bit. I’m helping you.”
    He hung his head, nodded, and shuffled away from the car. Once his hands were free, he walked out a few yards toward the border and the stopped.
    “You are forgetting the money I offered,” I said.
    He turned around and looked at me. “I can’t go to Mexico. And I’m not going to let you do it.” Then Gerald took the knife turned it toward himself and plunged it into his chest. His eyes fluttered; his steps staggered, and he dropped to his knees. He swayed back and forth for a few seconds, and then fell backward onto his back, his knees in the air. I walked over to him and kneeled down, looking at his face. His normally tanned face had lost color, and dark blood bubbled from his lips. He looked in my eyes, his breathing labored and slowing down. For the smallest of moments, I felt a sharp pang of heartbreak, and then it was gone. He took a few ragged, slow breaths.
    “Goodbye, Gerald,” I said , putting my hand to the side of his face.
    “I’m sorry,” he rasped. “Forgive...me…”
    And then he exhaled his last breath.
     
    Chapter Fourteen
    I made the return drive back to Los Angeles in just over two hours. My brother’s body was in the rear of the vehicle. Once in Los Angeles, I drove to an abandoned seafood warehouse district in Santa Monica. It was nearly four a.m., and I didn’t have much time before the sun came up in order to finish the task.
    I pulled up in between a row of large loading docks. I put on my second set of latex gloves, and spent the next hour removing all the VIN number emblems from the Tahoe, as well as any paperwork or information that it had ever been my vehicle. I emptied all the supplies out onto the ground next to the vehicle, as well as the money. I picked Gerald’s lifeless body up out of the back; he was starting to stiffen, so I moved quickly to get him into the driver’s seat. I pushed the seat all the way back and wedged him in. I grabbed the can of gasoline, poured it all over him, the interior and exterior of the vehicle. I dipped a piece of nylon twine in the remaining gasoline, lit it, tossed into the vehicle, and closed the door. For a few moments, I watched my brother’s body and the vehicle burn, my mind flashing back to my mom telling me about how our father had been found in a burned vehicle in Nebraska. Like father, like son, I thought. Someday, it would be my turn to go. But right now was not it.
    I picked up the bag of cash and walked back toward the road. I hailed the first cab I saw, and shortly before the sun rose, I grabbed my rental car and headed to get breakfast. After that, I had one more errand to run before catching my flight home.
     
    ***
    I got home from the airport around midnight. I took a shower, and collapsed into my bed. As tired as I was, I couldn’t sleep at all.
    The following afternoon, a Saturday, the box arrived in the mail, next day air from UPS. My last stop in Los Angeles had been at a UPS store. I had to ship the cash and the gun home for obvious reasons. I opened the box, pulled out the bag of money, and counted it correctly. There was nine-hundred and eighty thousand dollars left. I separated it into even piles, then put half back in the bag, and drove it out to Kate and Marie’s home.
     
    ***
    Gerald’s ex-wife Kate met me at the door. She smiled, hugged me around the neck and the looked at the bag, concern on her face. “It’s okay,” I said.
    She invited me in, and poured me a cup of coffee. She sat down with me