King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

446
Stephen
We’d found a nursing home several hours away from the city to take Armando in. It was nice. It had all the amenities that he was never going to use, but we felt like his money would be put to good use there. I left the penthouse early one morning to deliver him to his new forever home
It was a strange drive to the nursing home. Armando was in the backseat, completely awake, but he never uttered a sound. Since I had broken him, he hadn’t slept. I guess he hadn’t needed to. He just sits in the same position all day, staring blankly in front of him. The guards that were on him would make him he down at night, but they said he’d just lie there, staring at the ceiling all night long.
He would eat, but he needed help to do so. He’d lost weight already since we had him. Most of his muscle was gone by the time I broke him. He looked like a shell of his former self. I would catch myself delighting in that fact often.
Should I feel guilty about being happy that this is how his life turned out?
Maybe.
Did I feel guilty about being happy that this is how his life turned out?
Not one bit.

That’s the beauty of Karma. He brought this on himself. He got a much better end to his life than his buddies Anthony and Lorenzo. I was slightly disappointed and somewhat worried that their souls were going to be returning at some point. I thought about that often.
I wondered how long it took souls to come back in a new body. Would I still be around when Anthony and Lorenzo came back? Would I get a second chance to break them in their next life? Chances are, they were going to make the same mistakes over again. They’d be just as evil in the next life as they were in this one. Maybe I’d be able to find them and break the cycle.
On those days where I caught myself contemplating whether I should feel guilty about Armando’s fate, I tried to remind myself that I really was breaking the cycle. Evil spread. Like a network. One less individual in the network. Get rid of enough individuals in the network and it weakens the entire thing. Anthony, Lorenzo, and Massimo were the beginning of weakening the network. Armando was a bigger blow to the network. The remaining four didn’t stand a chance.
I kept glancing at Armando in the backseat as we got closer to the nursing home. His expression never changed. He never gave any indication that he was aware of anything going on around him. I wondered if this was how my sisters were now. I hadn’t spoken to my parents since my mother called me after my sisters returned home.
I was sure my youngest sister would have been moved back to live with my parents. I was willing to bet good money that my middle sister’s husband would divorce her. I’d never met this one, but I’m sure he wouldn’t want to take care of a catatonic wife for the rest of her life. My oldest sister could talk, but my mother said she barely did. I would often wonder if her condition worsened after she got home. Maybe they were all three with my
parents.
Maybe I felt slightly guilty about burdening my parents with that. But at the same time, I’d tried to tell my mother what was happening. She never listened. She never believed me. They loved my sisters more than me. Even my father. My sisters could get anything they wanted. It was the opposite
for me.
That’s partly why I left home as early as I did. I’d lied about my age so I could join the military early. I just wanted to be away from that house, from my sisters. The military is where I discovered my accuracy in marksmanship. I was always the best shot. It didn’t matter who was at the gun range with me, I hit the mark every single time. I got fast tracked to sn*per school before I even finished my basic training.
For a kid who rarely spoke, becoming a sn*per was like a dream come true. I was already observant, so studying my targets was second nature. I could be patient and wait however long it took until I found the right opportunity. And not a single person ever saw me. It was ideal.
Boss had heard about me and came to me to see if I was looking for a job after I got out of the military. Viktor still had contacts in the military, one of whom was my commanding officer. He knew Viktor had a sweet deal with Boss, even without knowing the details. There were lots of military guys that wanted to get into private security after they got out. Boss explained his situation, gave me his card, and told me to call him when I got out.
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I didn’t want to go back home, so the day after I got out of the military, I gave him a call. He flew me to the city, told me to give him a month to see if it would work out on both sides, and I haven’t been home since.
The other guys were welcoming from the start. They didn’t care that I was quiet. They let me keep to myself as much as I wanted. I showed up to work each day. That’s what they cared about. I was more comfortable with them by the time Sephie came into our lives, but it’s really because of her that I’m as close to them as I am now.)