Perfect Judgement

Perfect Judgement
Damien’s POV

We slipped out of the G-Wagon like shadows as soon as we got to the safe spot, no words needed. Andre’s plan clicked into place perfectly.

Andre ghosted first…belly-crawling like a professional spy along the riverbank, disappearing into the dark. Jaxon scaled the ladder to the overpass, rifle ready for overwatch. Jace and I strolled casually from the east service road, hands visible, looking bored.

Carlos’s crew…five guys total…were clustered loose around the SUVs, smoking, joking, like they are not supposed to be hiding from the cops.

So they never saw it coming.

Andre struck silent…two suppressed pops, outer guards folding without a yelp. Then he was in their blind spot, slashing fuel lines, flattening tires. No rides out.

Jaxon’s rifle barked once from above…clean shot, one guy down screaming in the leg.

Heads snapped around. Shouts. Panic.

We closed the net at that point.

Andre rose behind their own vehicles. Jaxon pinned from high. Jace and I stepped into the light, guns raised.

It was a rout. Over in minutes…disarmed, zip-tied, facedown on gravel. A couple needed Jace’s fists to cooperate. They weren’t even good at throwing fists or defending themselves.

All that remained was Carlos.

It ended that easily? I expected more drama.

He stood there, nose gushing, lip split from Jace’s warm-up hit, blood dripping onto his shirt. But the bastard was still smirking, wiping his mouth slow like he had all night.

Jace charged again before Carlos could move.

His fist cracked across Carlos’s jaw. “This is for Agnes, you piece of shit!”

Another punch landed on his ribs within seconds and Carlos doubled over, gasping.

“For kidnapping her!” Crack! Another punch landed on his nose, fresh blood spray.

“For making her scream in that warehouse!” Uppercut that rocked his head back.

Carlos staggered, coughing red, but Jace kept swinging, rage pouring out.

The guy punches harder than he looks. I guess all those training he talked about paid off. At this point, he would kill Carlos before I even get to vent my own anger.

I grabbed Jace’s arm mid-swing, yanked him back hard. “My turn. Guys, give me a minute alone with this asshole.”

Jace stepped away, chest heaving, knuckles raw and shining with blood. Then he shot one more deadly glance at Carlos before leaving with the others.

It was just Carlos, and me.

I got nose-to-nose with him, grabbed his collar, slammed him against an SUV hood.

“You destroyed my family,” I snarled, voice shaking with everything I’d buried for years. “Your greed and selfishness pulled the trigger that led to the death of my parents. You stole the company my father bled to build from nothing. And then…then…you put your hands on Isabella. My woman. Made her bleed on that warehouse floor. Put Agnes through hell. You think you get to walk away from that? Tonight you pay for every scream, every drop of blood. Reckoning’s here, Carlos. Right fucking now.”

He laughed…wet, choking, but loud. Spat blood inches from my face. “You’re still that scared little boy crying over coffins. Pathetic. You can’t touch me. I already won, Voss. Cops are coming… You see… I called them myself. Surrendered nice and legal like a good citizen. I’ll do a few years max, then walk like a free and reformed man. I control the bigger players now, kid. You? You’re nothing. I’ll destroy it all back…your company, your girl, everything. You’ll beg me to end you by the time I’m done.”

I leaned closer, voice ice-cold, deadly quiet. “You’re not making it to jail, Carlos. That’s a promise. Shatter whatever delusion you’ve got about surviving this. Your wife? Your daughter? They sold everything to me…signed it over days ago. Packed up and left the country to start over. Your wife’s already wearing Liam’s ring…one of my guys. You’ve got no empire left. No family. Nothing but a grave waiting. You die tonight…a broke, lonely old loser who never learned to quit. Isn’t that a better version?”

The smirk cracked. Fear flashed raw in his eyes…wide, desperate, like a cornered animal finally seeing the trap. He swallowed hard, tried to bury it under bravado, but it was there, eating him alive.

Then he moved fast…hand scooping gravel and sand, hurling it straight into my face.

Agony exploded…burning, blinding. I screamed in anger, “Son of a bitch!” Stumbling back, clawing at my eyes, tears streaming.

By the time I could blink shapes, Carlos was bolting…out from the viaduct shadows, out of the exit in an instant and into the open alley, bursting onto the busy street.

Horns blared while headlights flared as cars drove by.

A black sedan screamed around the corner…no brakes, and full speed.

Impact.

Then a loud thud echoed through the night. Body ragdolling over the hood, smashing asphalt. The car gunned it, vanishing into traffic without stopping.

A hit and run.

From where I stood, I saw Carlos on the ground. Blood spread fast under the streetlamps, dark and thick as people began to gather.

I lunged forward…had to check, had to make sure.

Jace clamped my arm like a vice instantly. “Stop! We can’t go near him. You want cops pinning us to this scene? Cameras? Questions we can’t answer?”

Fists clenched so tight my nails drew blood. He was right. Any further encounter with the police and I might just lock them all up in their own cell.

Sirens wailed closer…red and blue strobing down the block. Someone must have called it in.

We melted back, watching from the dark as the scene unfolded. I didn’t even get to throw just one single punch at him.

But maybe, this is the universe's way of telling me to step back and watch.

Cops flooded within seconds. Ambulance screaming behind. They cuffed Carlos to the stretcher…still twitching, barely…wheeled him toward the doors.

I climbed in the G-Wagon. “We have to follow them from a safe distance. I need to see the end.”

Andre nodded and pulled out smoothly.

We tailed through the ambulance, hanging back in traffic undetected.

The ambulance stopped under the bright ER canopy…of the exact same hospital Isabella had fought her way out of days ago.

Rage boiled fresh. This place again. They want to treat him in the same hospital? Nah. He’s not worthy of it.

They yanked the stretcher out as we watched…nurses swarming, doctors shouting orders, wheeling him fast.

I watched from across the other side of the driveway, window down just enough.

The doctor ripped open his shirt, paddles ready…checked pulse, and listened.

Then shook his head and called time.

Carlos flatlined on the pavement. Didn’t even cross the threshold.

What a pathetic way to go.

I exhaled deeply, and my chest burned. Like I’d been holding my breath for years without realizing it. My hands started shaking, fingers curling into fists I didn’t remember making. My knees felt weak, useless, like they might give out if I didn’t lock them in place.

Fifteen years.

That’s how long I’d carried him. His voice. His shadow. The weight of everything he stole. And now it was leaving me all at once…rage, grief, vengeance…draining out in a way that left me hollow and light at the same time.

My eyes burned, but no tears came. Maybe they were all spent years ago. Or maybe I didn’t need them anymore.

Jace’s hand landed heavy on my shoulder. “It’s over, man.”

I stared at the body under the lights a beat longer.

“Yeah,” I said, voice rough but steady. “It’s really over.”

The night went quiet except for distant sirens.

Jace slapped my back again. “You good?”

I kept staring at the body as they covered him with a white bedsheet. Years of hate and revenge…gone.

“Yeah,” I said, voice raw. “I’m good.”

Andre cleared his voice and looked at us from the rearview mirror. “Cops will be here in two minutes. We have to leave, boss.”

I nodded as Andre started peeling out of where we parked.

Jaxon leaned back and turned. “Well. That was something. Ended so quickly.”

Jace wiped his hands, still grinning. “Best therapy session ever. Agnes is gonna lose her mind when I tell her about my heroic acts.”

I leaned my head back against the seat, and exhaled easily… like something heavy finally lifting off my chest.

Carlos Osmond is dead.

It is over.

And I was going home to the woman who made it all worth it.