Chapter 14- Before the Funeral
Puff agonized and paced for hours before coming to a decision and then he changed his mind once again. He didn't know if he could do what he was thinking of doing. Clay was the closest thing that he had to family and if he did this.....
The funeral was just beginning so he still had some time to agonize over his choices. If he killed Clay he would have to leave Pittsburgh and could never return and he would be hunted. He would have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder as Clay had contacts everywhere. Fortunately money wouldn't be a problem, he wouldn't be able to live as he was now but he wouldn't suffer either.
He had already planned for this moment, not the killing of Clay but the moment when he would have to leave at a moment's notice. He had always known that it was going to happen but not under these circumstances. His packed bag sat next to the door of his bedroom, his available cash-$10,000 was in side of his jacket pocket and the rest of his money was sitting safely in a bank account that no one other than himself knew about and it was under a different name.
"Am I really going to do this?" he asked himself for the thousandth time, "Is she worth giving up my life for?" Puff closed his eyes and opened them again as he wondered not for the first time what it was that Kevyn knew that Clay that he would want her killed. It was more than that he realized, it was the man and the issue wasn't his race, it was the fact that he had managed to do what Clay hadn't been able to do- obtain Kevyn's love and loyalty.
He found himself glad that he kept his romantic endeavors to a minimum even though he wanted nothing more than to find a nice woman to settle down with and to leave this life. He had visions of moving to someplace warm and where he and his wife could sit on the porch in January sipping drinks while people in the east froze their asses off but he had never met that woman, well he had but....
Clay tried to set him up with cousins and sisters of friends but it never went anywhere beyond a first date. It wasn't that they weren't beautiful and intelligent; they just did nothing for him. There was one woman who did and he was considering killing his best friend for her even though she was out of his grasp and always had been.
He walked over to the closet, took down a carry on bag and carried it to the bed. After unzipping it he pulled out a 9mm automatic glock and laid it on the bed. He looked at the gun for several long minutes before reaching inside to take out the 9mm regular bullets that he was planning to use instead of the hollow point rounds.
Puff sat on the bed and wondered if he just shouldn't just get his get his ass out of dodge but then Kevyn would still be in danger. Clay would just get someone else to do it and he would rather be the one to do it.... "Fuck!" he whispered. He was actually considering doing what Clay ordered, he was really thinking about killing the one person that he knew to be a good person and didn't deserve to die."
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Gene took one drink and then another followed by another until he began to feel a slight buzz. If he didn't do something, they would be planning another funeral and this one would be his fault. He would also have what he wanted.... Control and what he didn't want, Patrick Sinclaire up his ass. Puff and Clay weren't the only ones who sensed the power that radiated from Patrick, Gene sensed and felt it too and it scared him.
That Patrick loved his sister was clear, that he also cared for Louise was just as obvious and he wondered why. He acknowledged that of all of them, Louise was probably the only one without an agenda. She stayed out of the family drama as much as she could instead concentrating on her job and their mother. Even Barb who lived in Connecticut had an agenda even though she tried to hide it. As soon as she heard about Kevyn's rich man she started packing and was out of the door within the hour.
Gene blew out a breath and resisted having another drink. It was bad enough that he was slightly buzzed but he would never hear the end of it if he showed up at the funeral drunk. He looked at the program for the services, opened and then flung it across the room when he saw Patrick's name listed as family. His anger rose as he thought about the repast and where it was going to be. Never in his wildest dreams could he have afforded a place like that and here this... this interloper comes and makes him look bad.
But still... Kevyn was his sister and she loved the man as much as he loved her and was as protective of Louise as Patrick was growing to be. He hadn't missed the accusatory glance that Kevyn gave him when Patrick was patching up Lou's hand. She always knew when he was involved in something but to her credit she didn't ask about it, but she knew.
Gene walked over to a locked cabinet and looked at it for several minutes before taking out the key to unlock it. He looked at the 9mm automatic Glock, closed the cabinet and locked it again. He bought the gun for protection but he hadn't touched it since he took the classes on how to use it. He couldn't believe that he was considering using it now, not on himself but on whom? Clay? Patrick? Kevyn? Who?
Against his better judgment Gene mixed himself another drink and downed it in one gulp. If he got caught....he stopped himself, to think along those lines meant that he had decided and he hadn't or had he? Gene sat the glass down and headed for the shower, suddenly he wasn't feeling too well.
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Clay said one of his many prayers for protection and forgiveness for what he was about to do but it came down his safety. The funeral was a few hours away and he would take the opportunity to say a final goodbye to Kevyn, after tonight he wouldn't see her again until her funeral. The thought saddened him beyond belief but he wouldn't and couldn't change his mind. His heart hurt for the family that they would have to bury another loved one so soon but it couldn't be helped.
He wondered how Puff was holding up. He had known for years that Puff harbored feelings for Kevyn but had never acted on them out of respect for him. In the end though, Puff's loyalty to him would win out. He might feel remorse and anger but he would do as he was told.
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Louise looked around the house where she and her mother passed away so many hours watching the cooking channel. It felt different now and she had no desire to stay here. She meant it when she told Gene that he could have the house, she wanted to leave with nothing but her clothing and a few small trinkets that their mother had given her. She wondered if Kevyn was busy, she really wanted to talk to her about going back with them.
As she straightened up the living room and unplugged everything electrical as their mother had done every time she left the house. Louise choked back a sob of fear, pain and loneliness; she was the one other than Kevyn who would miss her the most.
As she finished picking up and unplugging things she went to the kitchen thinking about Kevyn. She wondered if she would be as lucky as Kevyn in finding someone to love her. She could care less about money, she just wanted to be cared for and about and she had to get away from Pittsburgh.
She made her decision and picked up the phone.
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Kevyn looked at the outfit that she bought for the service, it hung in the closet next to the dark suit that Patrick had bought to wear. Because her mother wished it, Kevyn's outfit wasn't black but cream colored. Even at her father's funeral her mother refused to let any of them wear black. To her it symbolized a final goodbye whereas the lighter colors symbolized a new beginning.
Patrick stood behind her with his arms around her not knowing how to make any of it better. The only consolation was that soon it would be over and he would spend every minute with her as she mourned and then they could move forward. They had a few hours before the funeral and she needed to rest even if she didn't think that she did.
"Come on baby, you need to rest." Patrick said as he pulled her toward the bed pulling harder when she resisted. He sat her on the side of the bed and gently pushed her back until she was lying down and then lay down next to her. Kevyn snuggled into him and closed her eyes, he was right, she was exhausted. She was almost asleep when her phone rang.
Patrick almost silenced it but thought better of it and answered it.
"Ummm is Kevyn there?" a soft shy voice asked.
"Louise? It's Patrick, are you alright?"
"I.... I just wanted to talk to Kevyn, is she there?"
Kevyn took the phone from Patrick and listened for several minutes before saying anything.
"Of course you can come back with us! I was planning to ask you but something always got in the way. Yes you can give notice effective immediately. No, don.... Lou, it's alright really. Alright, I'll see you tonight, get some rest."
After she hung up, Kevyn realized that she just unilaterally invited Lou to live with them without talking to Patrick about it.
"I'm so sorry...."
Patrick shushed her, "if you weren't going to ask her I was."
"Really?" Kevyn asked surprised.
"Really and you never have to ask my permission to have someone stay with us." he replied.
