Chapter 7 - TWO BROTHERS AND ONE CHOICEAdrian laughed when Liam told him.
They sat across from each other in an abandoned restaurant.
Neutral territory.
Both had armed men outside.
“Let me understand.”
Adrian leaned back.
“You want my bone marrow to save your girlfriend’s little brother?”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to help?”
“I’m asking.”
“That must hurt.”
“More than the gunshot.”
Adrian smiled.
“What do I get?”
“Nothing.”
His smile disappeared.
“Then no.”
Liam stood.
Adrian looked surprised.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You’re not threatening me?”
“No.”
“Not kidnapping me?”
“No.”
“Who are you?”
Liam almost smiled.
“Working on that.”
He turned.
Adrian spoke.
“Why does the kid matter?”
Liam stopped.
“Because he matters to Clara.”
“That woman made you soft.”
Liam looked back.
“No.”
“She made me realize I was already weak.”
Adrian frowned.
“I needed everybody afraid of me. Needed control over every room, every person.”
Liam looked at his brother.
“So did Dad.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Don’t.”
“We spent our whole lives becoming him.”
“I’m nothing like him.”
“We’re exactly like him.”
Silence.
Liam walked away.
Behind him, Adrian said, “I’ll test.”
Liam stopped.
Adrian looked furious with himself.
“I said I’ll test.”
He was a match.
The transplant happened three weeks later.
Adrian donated anonymously at first.
Tommy discovered the truth anyway.
When Adrian visited, Tommy stared at him.
“You kidnapped me.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re saving my life.”
“Apparently.”
“That’s weird.”
“Extremely.”
Tommy held out his fist.
Adrian stared at it.
Then bumped it.
Clara watched from the doorway.
Liam stood beside her.
“People are complicated,” she whispered.
“Some more than others.”
She took his hand.
Adrian did not become good overnight.
He faced charges.
He gave evidence against parts of the Mercer organization.
So did Liam.
Together, the brothers dismantled what their father had created.
It cost them money.
Power.
Men they had believed were friends.
Leo remained.
When Liam asked why, Leo shrugged.
“Somebody has to stop you from doing stupid things.”
Clara called that the most accurate job description in America.
Tommy’s transplant worked.
Slowly.
At day thirty, his numbers improved.
At day sixty, doctors became cautiously optimistic.
At day one hundred, Clara finally allowed herself to believe.
She found Liam in the hospital chapel.
“You pray?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
He looked embarrassed.
“I was negotiating.”
“With God?”
“Yes.”
“How’d that go?”
“Poorly. He has terrible customer service.”
Clara laughed.
Then sat beside him.
“The doctors think Tommy’s going to make it.”
Liam closed his eyes.
His shoulders dropped.
Clara realized he had been carrying the fear as heavily as she had.
She kissed his cheek.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Staying.”
He looked at her.
“That’s your line.”
“I’m stealing it.”
He smiled.
Then reached into his pocket.
Clara saw the ring.
Her eyes widened.
“Liam.”
He immediately put it away.
“Bad timing?”
“Terrible.”
“Right.”
She started laughing.
“You were going to propose in a hospital chapel?”
“It seemed meaningful.”
“It smells like disinfectant.”
“I didn’t notice.”
“You’re hopeless.”
He looked genuinely disappointed.
Clara touched his face.
“Ask me later.”
His eyes sharpened.
“That isn’t a no?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
Then alarms erupted outside.
A nurse ran past.
Clara stood instantly.
“What happened?”
Another nurse entered.
May you like
“Tommy’s crashing.”
The world disappeared.
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