EMP Catastrophe - Hamilton, Grace (best books to read for beginners txt) 📗

Max had always known he wasn’t a good person. His heart was always in the right place, but his decisions never reflected that. Even though Kathleen had killed someone, it sounded as though she’d been forced to and had no other choice.

Max had made a lot of bad choices in his life. The choice to get rich quick with cocaine instead of putting his nose to the grindstone and making something of himself. The choice to face Colin instead of running away. Now, another choice lay before him: get Patton back or let the poor kid take the brunt of Colin’s wrath.

Kathleen didn’t deserve any of this. Kathleen’s family didn’t deserve this.

Maybe this time, he could make the right choice after all.

26

For Max, the sun was the ticking time counter on the bomb of his life.

That bright yellow orb crept across the sky, and with each minute, Max was suspended in a sensation of awful dread. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was his last day on earth and he was simply letting it pass him by. He fell asleep on and off, but whenever he woke, he ached with remembered pain. The bruises lining his back seemed tender now. Looking out the window, he mulled over his life and analyzed every mistake he’d ever made, every lie he’d ever told, and he realized that each time he’d put his personal desires above any collective gain. At some point, he saw his reflection looking back at him in the window, a bare hint of his profile, and he said, “You’ve done nothing but make selfish decisions and wrong choices your whole life.”

It was time for him to break the cycle.

Matthew, David, and Jade still hadn’t returned. Max didn’t know how far away the Carpenter Country was, or if they had encountered trouble on their way, but he felt sick knowing they were doing it all for him. Matthew had pointed out that if Max gave himself up to Colin, Colin would kill him. Even though Matthew had his own son to worry about, his brother-in-law had taken Max’s life into account. That level of kindness was something Max didn’t know what to do with. He didn’t know how he could return that kindness.

The sun continued to tick across the sky.

Would Matthew come back at all? He lingered on the best-case scenario. Matthew would come back successfully, with ammunition and guns. They would attack Colin. They would get Patton back. Yet even with a sharpshooter like Jade on their side, they’d all be in incredible danger. It would be easier if Max simply gave himself up. No one else would get hurt except for him. Plus, no one knew Colin like Max.

Max knew Colin had a mean streak a mile wide. He knew Colin played dirty, and that he’d do absolutely anything for the cartel. Like a loyal rabid dog, he would do everything in his power to stay in the cartel’s good graces. If that meant kidnapping an innocent kid just to get at Max, Colin would do it. Max wouldn’t put it past Colin to be hurting Patton right this minute. The guy didn’t care about promises or deals. He only cared that he got what he wanted. And Colin wanted Max.

Kathleen didn’t need to lose her son as well as her no-good brother. Matthew and his family didn’t need to put themselves in danger just to save Max’s hide. Even Jade, who had saved his life when they’d never even met before, didn’t need to face Colin. Kathleen was right. He had made his choices, and now it was time to accept the consequences. The best way to avoid massive injury or death for everyone in the Riley family was for Max to turn himself over.

The realization settled something inside of Max. No, not the realization. His final decision.

He reached over to the side table sitting next to him and opened the drawer. Old hotel stationery and a pen sat inside. He picked up both items tentatively and somehow thought it fitting that he would be writing his goodbyes on brittle paper and a mass-marketed pen. Clicking the pen open, he began to scrawl a letter to Kathleen.

Kathleen,

You’re going to think this is dramatic, and maybe it is, but that’s the kind of guy I am. By the time you find this, I will be turning myself over to Colin. I’ll fight until my final breath to make sure Patton gets out, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to escort him back to the hotel. Tell him Uncle Max is sorry for getting him stuck in such a situation. I’m so sorry for putting you all in danger, for dragging that danger with me across the state from Chicago to Galena.

You’re right, Kathy. I do think about myself too much, and this time, I’m going to make the right choice. This is the right choice, no matter what you might think. I should’ve done so much better in my life. I should’ve never joined the cartel. I should’ve never been so stupid. But you’ve always known that. It sometimes takes me a while to realize things.

I’m so sorry to everyone, but I’m sick over what you’ve gone through for me, Kathy. You’ve always looked out for me, despite the times I’ve disappointed you. This time, I won’t let you down. I love you.

Max

With a deep sigh, he folded the letter in half and wrote Kathleen’s name on the front before propping it up against the lamp on the side table. He wasn’t a man of elaborate words, but he hoped his final explanation would help soothe any ill-will she held against him. He knew Kathleen would find the letter. She’d come back to talk to him at some point and spot it. He had to get out before she did. Otherwise she might try to stop him. She’d try to convince him to wait for Matthew, and Max knew he’d crumble beneath her insistence