Death by Espresso by PHE Ink

DEATH By Espresso A short by TL James

Text Copyright © 2008 by TL James TL James 9597 Jones Rd #213 Houston, TX 77065 www.AuthorTLJames.com This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance of actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. {1. Death – Fiction. 2. Four Horsemen – Fiction 3. Family Saga – Fiction 4.Austin, TX -- Fiction} Genre: Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction/Family Drama

Chapter One

Mallory’s eyes flickered opened as the last drops of the medication flowed through his veins and metabolized in his system. He was very woozy, but each day he forced himself to build up the resistance to the drugs. Although Mallory was so week, the anger of him being stuck at the psychiatric hospital fueled his anger and strength. What started out as a three-day outpatient visited turned into a never-ending horrific nightmare. With the occasional bouts of consciousness, Mallory recalled that he received hardly any visitors. His uncles never showed up. He remembered Marek and Marlon coming by once – maybe twice. He couldn’t recall if his wife showed up but he remembered the day, that Marc finally made his presence known at the hospital. That was the day that Mallory found himself slipping more out of consciousness. He started 3

feeling out control and suffered from severe bouts of suicidal thoughts. The only thing that was keeping him alive was that he was drugged and couldn’t move. As Mallory fighting hard to regain consciousness, abrasive bickering outside his hospital door disturbed his catatonic state. He attempted to move his pain ridden frail body when he recognized the voices on the other side, but he couldn’t. Mallory slowed his shallow breaths, so he could listen to the conversation. It was Marc and his doctor, Dr. Gallegos. “MARC!” The doctor shouted. “That’s not possible. I can lose my license.” “I’m not asking you to kill him. Just keep him safe so he can’t harm himself. You said he that suffered from night terrors.” “I think that was a bad allergy to a medication. I fixed that now. I think we need to focus on him getting better, not keeping him that… that state.” “I want him in that state… he needs to stay in that state!” Marc shouted out. “Like I told you,” The doctor lowered his voice to reduce attention to the conversation. “You’ll need either a court order or two family members’ signatures of consent in order for me to legally hold him. He not actually registered as a patient here.” 4

“I don’t want the hassle of going through the red tape and I don’t want a paper trail. And there are no other family members willing to sign.” His stupid wife, Marc huffed in thought, rubbing his jaw. I’ll take care of that bitch as soon as I leave here. “Doc, this is what I have. I have one signature and a million dollars in cash I can give you tonight.” There was a silent pause. Mallory’s shallow breaths accelerated, as he feared his freedom was in danger. He held his breath, waiting to hear the doctor’s response. “Marc look, if you can’t find anyone to sign by tomorrow night,” Dr. Gallegos paused, “I’ll take you up on your offer. But for now, I’ll misplace his file in the computer again.” “That’s all I asked, DOC!” Marc answered back before opening the door for the nurse. He closely followed her in, and then settled on the left side of Mallory’s bed. He stood ominously over Mallory. He watched as the nurse filled the syringe with Droperidol, and then he looked down at Mallory. “You know Daddy was a burden to me when he was alive. I won’t let you be my burden.” Small streams of tears rolled down Mallory’s face as he locked stares with Marc’s cold calculating eyes. “Oh poor thing. Don’t cry… oh baby don’t cry!” Marc grabbed a tissue and softly wiped the tears from his face. “It’s so sad. You think I’m a mean son-of-a-bitch, don’t you?” Marc paused a moment before his 5

tone turned rough. “Well, you’re right. I’m the meanest son-of-a bitch that you will ever run across!” It took all of Marc’s reserve not to hit him across the face this time. The last time he smacked him so hard, that it left a bruise on the left side of Mallory’s face. He had the pay the nurse off so that she won’t report it. He didn’t know this nurse and he felt that she couldn’t be bought or bribed with sex. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD! How dare you survive and take my mother away from me! Putting my life – my childhood was in shambles.” Marc screamed so loudly that his voice crack with pain. “I HATE YOU SO MUCH. And the one thing I hate the most about you is you are a constant reminder of what Daddy did to me.” Mallory’s eyes twitched as if to say, “Are you serious? Daddy hurt you too?” He was pleading for any sympathy from Marc. But the pleadings were in vain. Marc’s heart and patience grew old and intolerable. “Oh you think you were the only one Daddy touched? Well, he took it a little further with you. You two were fuck buddies.” He leaned down and whispered in a darker tone, “Something tells me that you liked it. You like fucking Daddy? Huh? You do don’t you?” More tears streamed down Mallory’s face but he never took his eyes off Marc. “Yes you did! YOU NASTY BASTARD!” 6

Marc wanted the grab his face and bash his head in the mattress but he eyes shifted up to the nurse who want watching him like a hawk. So, he grabbed the rail of the bed and squeezed hard until his knuckles turned white. Marc watched the nurse stick the bag and inserted the drug in Mallory’s IV, then shifted his eyes back to Mallory, who was still nonverbally pleading with his eldest brother to stop. “Don’t worry. They’ll take good care of you in here. I’m doing this for your own good. I’m trying to hide you from the board. You know they want you dead.” He looked up at her the nurse again and asked, “With his new medication, is he going to remember this? Will he able to move?” The nurse shifted her weight to send a message that she was annoyed with his presence. While rolling her eyes, she nodded ‘No’ before walking out of the room. The medication dripped through Mallory’s veins causing his body to stiffen. He slowly closed his eyes and cried. Before he knew it, he was medically restrained to his bed again, alone to fight his mental nightmares in silence. Marc quickly closed the door then walked over to the corner of the room and flipped opened his cell phone. He dialed the number to a board member, “Hello? It’s Marc. I found him. He’s in the Psychiatric Emergency Center… the one at Ben Taub General Hospital… in Houston’s Medical Center.” He 7

annoyingly seethed through the phone. “Yeah! He won’t be a threat because he’s sedated to the hills. He can’t even move. So you should be able to take him out with ease. Can you do that?” There was a pause. “Okay. Make it happen… Okay…or I’ll just smother his ass now with a pillow.”

Chapter Two

Mallory kept his eyes closed even after he heard Marc leave the room. He was so hurt but he couldn’t will himself to get up. The suicidal thoughts began creeping in his mind. Marc ordered his death and the board was coming at any minute. Mallory, being medically restrained, couldn’t protect himself and time was against him. To make matters worst, he knew the second nurse was coming in to administer another drug that would make him sleepy and it was a possibility that he might not wake up this time. He wondered why Marc would treat him so badly and why would his brothers allow this to happen. In the midst of the heated mental battles, Mallory’s anxiety level elevated to the point where he could hear his heartbeats booming through his ears like African bass drums. The beats seem to crescendo and echo throughout his hospital 9

room. All of a sudden, Mallory’s heart stopped when he heard his door creep open. He squeezed his eyes shut with anticipation of his demise as he heard footsteps coming closer to him. When the footsteps stopped and a dark shadow casted over his body, Mallory involuntarily screamed out mentally, “GOD PLEASE HELP ME!” “Mallory?” A male southern voice rang out, “Dis can’t be you.” Mallory felt a piece of paper touch his face. “My God it is you. I told little Chuckie that I thought I saw your name and I’m glad he sent me dis here pitcha. You remember little Chuckie, don’t you?” The guy rambled on while Mallory took a deep breath. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or frightened, but he kept his eyes shut. Mallory started thinking through his life trying to remember if he knew a little Chuckie. But nothing came to mind, until he caught the tail end of the man’s rambling. Mallory’s eyes finally flew open. “You remember little Chuckie? Well he wasn’t little to you. He went by Charles Fontaine, or Chuck for short. He changed his name again to Charlie. He used to work for you in some HIP-O program. Boy, you made an impression on him. Every time he came home, he was talking about Mallory did this, Mallory said that… He loved you!”

Mallory remembered Chuck. Charles Fontaine work at Towneson Financial as a High-Potential analyst after graduating top in his class in college. It was just luck that he accompanied Mallory to a convention where things turned a little personal – romantic to say the least. Mallory never saw it as a romance, just a convenient substitute for his estranged Matthew. But for Chuck, he fell head over heals and hit his head hard. After four months, the love-smitten boy who followed Mallory around went through his own mental breakdown. “I was just talkin’ to Chuckie when I saw yo file on dat der computer. I printed it out and read it to him. Chuckie begged me to help you. He said you don’t belong here. I had to promise him that I would help you or he was on his way to git chu.” The man pulled out some papers from his overalls. “I don’t know if you do and I don’t know if you don’t… but I do know that you can leave anytime you want.” Mallory’s body twitched and startled the man. “You woke up?” The man walked over to Mallory. He could clearly see that Mallory was trying to say something. “What’s keeping you here, boy? You know you can go home anytime you want.” Mallory looked over at the IV bag.

The man continued to ramble. “Boy, little Chuckie loved you.” The man walked over to the IV bag. “You know after his coo-coo time, he went on ova dere to that Harvard and got him an M-B-A. I don’t know that is… then he ended up taking a job at an Oil and Gas Company and now he’s heading a department.” He gently pulled out the long needle and slowly wrapped Mallory’s arm with white bandages. “He’s some fancy to do VP of something. I can’t remember... all I know is that he paid off Mom and Dad’s ranch and paid me back for his schooling. Today’s my last day. After tonight, I’m a retired millionaire. He taught me how to trade. Thanks to you, I guess.” Mallory exhaled a deep cleansing breath. Mallory was truly convinced that there were such things as Angels and Chuckie was one of them. Mallory startled him again when he grabbed for his arm. “Yeah, little Chuckie loved you. I think he loved you more than we cared to know about but he did and we had to respect him for that choice. He getting married you know… some guy named Winston – a Welsh fellow. I guess he gotta thing for old men with funny accents. Anywoo… He wanted me to tell you something. He said, ‘Don’t live life through obligations. Don’t wait for the fight, bring it!’” The man walked to his cart and pulled out Mallory’s suit then hung on the door. Then he laid out some of Mallory’s accessories. And before walking out, he said, “I don’t know what you did to little 12

Chuckie, but thank you for everything. Well, I guess I’m off to the next room… I’m always cleaning. Good night.” He wasn’t the bloody nurse? A voice floated in Mallory's head. Mallory released a huge anxiety releasing breath as he mustered all his anger to sit up. For the first time in three weeks, Mallory could move. No thanks to Marc. He’s on our list. The voice shouted jolting Mallory's memory about Marc ordering his death. He had no idea when the board was coming and he had to act fast. He went to stand up but a sharp pain pierced his heart as he heard the voice scream out, Why wait for the party? We’re coming to you. Mallory shrugged off the voice because his throat was dry and he was dying for was a drink of water, but he was too paranoid to drink from the ice cup that the nurse left. But when he looked over the bureau and saw an unopened bottle of water, sitting next to his accessories, he thought back to Chuck and his brother, the janitor. He was right, little Chuckie did love us. He thought, and then the voice said. If nothing else, he knew us. “Us?” Mallory asked aloud but no one answered back, not even in his mind.

Chapter Three

Mallory managed to stand up and slowly put on his clothes. He paused every time he heard a noise. He knew he had to hurry and get out of the hospital before the board came. He opened the door and peeked out. The floor seemed abandoned. He quickly darted his way to the stairs. He was amazed that the alarms didn’t go off, but then he noticed that his hospital band was removed. As he stepped out into the outside air, Mallory felt long awaited freedom. His renewed feeling of freedom and peace was short lived, when his buildup of anger took over his body. As Mallory stood on the corner of the Outer Loop and Fannin, he declared War. Turning right on Fannin, Mallory mentally plotted his journey back home to Austin, Texas to reclaim his life. With each step fueling his anger, Mallory was hell-bent on walking all the way to face his 14

brother and the board. His War already started and he was ready. As he veered toward San Jacinto, he knew it was time for him to return home and kick some ass. Kill people if he had to! With each step he took, the acidic anger bellowed up and burned Mallory’s throat, almost choking him. He was angry with his father for abandoning and abusing him. He was angry with Marc for hating him and mostly, he was angry with himself for allowing these people who he called family to manipulate and ultimately destroy his life. And with everything else that was going wrong, he was on trial for the murder of his father, Malcolm. How did he get here? It was not quite fourteen years ago, when Mallory was summoned to leave his peaceful home in London, England to reunited with his estranged family in Austin, Texas USA. He deracinated his financial company and lavish lifestyle to join his three older brothers in The Family Business – not knowing what The Family Business was. Most of the experience was pleasant. He bonded with two cool older brothers, Marek and Marlon. Marek possessed a strong, vibrant, fiery spirit. Mallory loved that about him. After a while, he and Marek became a deadly combination, a force to be reckoned with. His third older brother Marlon appeared to be a happy go-lucky fellow. In the beginning, Mallory thought that he was 15

slow due to a brain injury sustained when he was eight. The other brothers would bypass Marlon and dump everything on Mallory. After a couple of occasions when Marlon would secretly bail him out, Mallory realized that Marlon had been playing them for fools. Marc was an acquired taste that Mallory was still working on. There was a destructive riff between his two oldest brothers, Marc and Marek. Mallory couldn’t make out the underlying problem, but it was apparent that there was some deep seeded anger between the two. Marc was a very hateful, manipulative man who possessed little to no compassion or remorse. Mallory quickly learned the hard way that Marc would stop at nothing to break a person down. Mallory was forever in his crosshairs, because he wasn’t easily broken. With each complication, grew more complications. And then there was Matthew. Matthew… My supposed Greatest Love! He bonded with some strange but cool uncles. In the beginning, life was great. What started out as an exciting and fun reunion turned vicious and violent. After three years of moderate abrasive abuse, Mallory joined the Family Business and he reluctantly took his place as Death, the forth horseman. With that task, he was forced to unite and work with his father. Well, it really wasn’t forced. Mallory loved his father and often felt that their estranged relationship was coming 16

together. Mallory thought that their relationship was building into a solid foundation. But he was wrong, so wrong. How could he be so wrong? Before Mallory knew it, he was at the corner of San Jacinto and Gray. He glanced down both sides of the road, seeing homeless vagrants to his left and a BMW dealership to the right. In that moment, Mallory felt his life being robbed and he was on a slippery slope of becoming a homeless vagrant, if he wasn’t already dead. As he waited for the walk light to signal his safe crossing, he looked down and saw a flyer that was stuck to his foot. He picked up the flyer and read it.

Espresso

Confessions

Presents

SUSPECT:

Confessional Anthology Discussion featuring LMB, Holloway and James He snickered to himself as his mind briefly derailed from his family pain to a more pleasant thought. Lena James was the owner of Espresso Confessions and the perfect woman who slipped through his hands. She was more mature and stable than his first finance, Elysee or estranged wife, Stacy, but a milder vibrant version of his executive assistant, Melody. He remembered the times when they were a brief item. When Mallory answered the summons to return home, he moved to Houston to assess the situation. There, he met Lena at a play that was showing at the Alley Theatre. They both had single seats, 17

which allowed them to sit next to each other at the play. It was instant attraction. They had so much in common. However, with him being so busy creating his company and she being so busy establishing her dream, their timing was never right, although their dreams for family and love were identical. Mallory felt safe in her presence. Thinking about her brought a smile to his face, as he found himself walking in the direction of her shop. He remembered the night that changed everything for them. He planned to meet her at the shop after an all-day meeting with the board at Enron. She closed the shop early and prepared a beautiful gourmet meal. When he walked in, he saw that she decorated the place with sandalwood candles and red and white rose petals. His anticipation of seeing her captured his breath. When their eyes met, she couldn’t contain her smile. He loved her with all his capacity, which bothered her a bit. She didn’t mind that he was seven years younger than she was. He knew how to cater to her dedicate needs and her exquisite taste. She was concerned more about his ability to commit. Mallory was so nervous because he decided that morning that he was going to make an official commitment to her. He found his soul mate. He was going to move his company to Houston, not Austin, to be with her. However, the universe 18

didn’t agree with that decision. Being with her and she being an owner of a coffee shop was like she being a drug dealer and Mallory was a crack head. That night, as he stood there nervously looking for the words to tell her how he felt, he anxiously grabbed her cup of coffee and finished it. TABOO! The night went downhill from there. What happened next was a scary scene from a badly directed B-movie. “I owe her an apology.” He crossed the street and head in the direction of the shop. Mallory finally took a moment to check his watch. It was 2:37AM. “I wonder if she is still there.”

Chapter Four

Mallory was standing at the entrance of Espresso Confessions. There was only one light on but the door was unlocked. He opened the door and started to walk in but he remembered that Lena was pistol happy. As a Brit, Mallory never understood the reason for carrying a gun, because it was illegal over there. But like most Texans Mallory ran across, Lena was the type who always packed, she would shoot first and only ask questions if needed. He knew that if he were shot, it wouldn’t be the pinprick from the tiny bullet that would kill him; it would be him laughing to death. Although the thought of him being wounded brightened his mood, a thought shouted to him, we just left one hospital; we don’t need any reason to go to another.

Mallory stuck his head in and called out her name. He heard movement but no one answered back. “Lena, love? It’s me… Mallory. Are you here?” He heard rumbling again. “Lena? Is anyone here? Lena?” He called out to her again. She not answering made him antsy. He walked over to the movement and saw a short pudgy man piddling around behind the counter. He appeared to be singing to himself. “Excuse me?” Mallory shouted. The man quickly turned around. He had a broad smile that plastered all over his warm well-rounded caramel face. He sung his greeting, “Welcome to Espresso Confessions, bring onto me your burdened desires. May I help you, my son?” but clearly saw that Mallory was disturbed and was in no mood to be pleasantries. “Where’s Lena?” “Oh I told her to go home and I would close up for her tonight. She hosted a big literary event called Confessionals.” He answered with a song in his voice. “I saw the flyer - with LMB, Holloway and James.” Mallory’s tired mind drifted off again. “That Holloway woman scares me. I stopped going on late picnics and eating artichoke hearts after reading some scenes and the other book with Mr. 21

Turquoise Eye – Jack. I’m glad he was going after women. Let’s just say with my net worth, I’ll end up cut up in several piece, dead and stuffed in a drum.” Mallory said, and then a reassuring thought floated in his mind, Ohh, thank God we’re a man. “You’re welcome.” The pudgy man answered with a smile, which had Mallory crossed. “Yeah, it was a big event. Beautiful women, bantering on about books. Oh and they can banter!” He laughed hardly, like a warm jolly Santa Claus. “Boy, I did good when I created Eve. I don’t know why Adam can’t see that.” “You created?” Mallory asked. “Yeah, my best work ever! Anyhoo! What can I do you for?” Mallory masked his guilty expression and ordered, “Can I get a Venti Double Shot with four shots on the side?” “Wow! Now that’s a drink.” “It sounds strong but…” Mallory wanted to recant his order. “Can you make that?” The man asked which confused Mallory more. “Seriously can you make that drink?” “As in, come back there and make my own coffee?” Mallory’s guilt transformed into anger when he asked before reluctantly walking behind the counter. 22

“Actually, make two cups. Thank you.” He removed his apron and anxiously handed it to Mallory, who quickly dismissed it and tossed it on the counter. “I know I shouldn’t drink this late, but I don’t get down here much and I always want to take time and enjoy the finer things.” Mallory thought he heard the man correctly, as he grabbed the pot and slowly began making the coffee. He grinded the Sumatra whole beans, he noticed the man dancing and humming to himself. He looked up at the ceiling to see if there was an intercom, but there was no sound coming out. He looked at the man again, who possessed a familiar look. As Mallory continued making the coffee, he went back through his life events trying to remember how and when he would have had an encounter with this man. The coffee finished brewing and Mallory pour a hot cup. He went to hand him the cup when he remembered him. “I know you who you are. You’re the Great I Am.” Mallory said with a bit of anger in his voice. “I’m glad that you remember me, son.” The man answered with a smile, before grabbing the coveted beverage. “Why are you here?” “I came down for you.”

“Bloody hell, they brought in the big guns. I should’ve known that you can’t kill people in Texas. It’s not like you can kill Death easily. You gotta bring God in the mix. I’m in trouble now.” “No worries.” He inhaled the extra bold aroma before slowing sipping his coveted drink. “Good cup of Joe. Thanks.” He continued humming. “What are you doing?” “Oh sorry, I have a new theme song and can’t get in out of my head.” “Care to share?” Mallory said, as he poured his cup. “Sure!” The man discreetly touched Mallory’s cup and turned it into a strong seeped Jasmine and Chamomile blended tea. “It’s by Ja-Tang? Dr. Z? Jay Dre? Ru-Twins? Bout-it Bout-it Boys? I’m not good with names these days.” “Carry a tune for me?” “I’m not always there when you call, but I’m always on time.” He sung nicely. “Ja-Rule.” “Yes, Yes. Its one of my many favorite songs, you know. Oh, I love that hip-pity hop music. It gets me all tingly inside.” His smile melted when he read Mallory’s tortured facial expression. “Why are you so sad, son?” 24

“I’m spent. I don’t know why I'm here.” Mallory walked over to the oversize suede sofa and sat down. “I don’t know my true purpose. I was thrown into this family and this life and I can’t breathe… I lost myself. And my dad…” Tears fell from his eyes. “I just reconnected with my dad and by the time I got to know him-he was gone…” The man sat down and handed Mallory a handkerchief. Mallory continued between sniffles. “He was so… evil and vile. I hate myself because I love my dad so much…you know? And I was so stupid because he didn’t love me and I-I couldn’t see it. I miss him…” “Don’t beat yourself up about that.” He sat the coffee down and grabbed both of Mallory’s hands. “You didn’t know. Don’t hate yourself about that. Your father not loving you is not your battle to fight; it’s not your sin to carry.” “How can you say that? I’m the one on trial for his murder.” “Do you trust in ME? Do you believe in ME?” More tears fell when Mallory mouthed, “No.” He patted Mallory on the back. “Well at least you’re honest. Good news, I can work through your problems without you believing in ME. But you believing in ME helps you heal faster.” 25

“Like I will have time to heal. Once the board finds me, I’ll be dead in minutes.” “Have some faith. It’ll all work out.” “Yeah right! Whom are you sending down here to handle this? I know you’re not handling things yourself. You don’t do wet work.” Mallory snatched his hands back and tucked them under his arms like a child. “Son, I have already taken care of this issue for you.” He raised Mallory’s face up, “I do make personal visits. People ask for my help, but sometimes they really don’t want it. They are afraid of the magnitude I work under. I have taken this battle up for you.” He stood and grabbed his coffee. Before he left, he smiled and said, “Have faith and know that what I put down in law IS LAW. Remember? The last time I did my own wet work… Noah built an Ark.” Mallory released a slight smile. “Do me a favor, lock the place up for me?” He walked out of the shop singing, “I’m not always there when you call, but I’m always on time.” Although the thought, how can we do that, we don’t have no bloody key, flashed in his mind, but he nodded his head, followed him to the door, and locked it behind him.

Chapter Five

He turned around and took a panoramic view of the shop. “She did well for herself.” He thought back to his company and how he worked tireless hours to create the perfect business models, client profiles, and financial performas. His company was a privately held Goldman Sachs. Mallory attached his faith, identity and self-worth to the existence of Towneson Financial. “And I gave it away for what? The Family?” The regret and anger in his heart started to weld up again. He could feel the rage brewing in his body. He tried to contain it by repeating what God said, “Have faith that what I put down in Law is Law.” Get over this bloody rubbish, Mallory! It’s payback time. He heard someone shouting at him. He looked around to see if anyone was there, but the only thing he saw was his 27

reflection in a mirror. He walked back over to the sofa. Before reaching his resting destination, he walked passed a bookshelf and a book titled, Deuce’s Wild, caught his eye. He pulled the book from the shelf and glanced at it. The pink and red played wicked perfect against the black bloodlike drops. Mallory was so engrossed with the positioning of the bodies that he didn’t realized that he was holding another one of Jean Holloway’s books. “That looks like my kinda book. Sounds kinky.” He chuckled, “I like kinky.” He sat on the sofa with book in hand. He slowly opened the book and read a few paragraphs about a couple raping and beating a man to inch to his life. Afterwards, they wrapped the body in black plastic. As the redheaded villainess tortured another broken man, Mallory envision his father face. The dark tortured eyes was masked behind the peaceful and happy face as she cut up pieces of her victims remembered him of the tortured facial expression that Malcolm possessed. He felt himself scream inside, pleading with his father to stop hurting him. During those violent attacks, he remembered the screams bombarding in his head, although he never mumbled a word aloud that night. As he read the violent descriptions of the beatings, he relived the rape… the violent abuse and the assault and the murder. “Woo… that sounds like a woman my dad dated.” He closed the book. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Doll. Malcolm. I guess there is more than one monster on Earth.” 28

He took a deep breath and reached for his drink, he felt a sharp pain in his chest again. He fought passed it, as the hot soothing beverage crossed his lips and oozed through his veins. Mallory felt that surge of false courage building. He knew it was fake. It was about as fake as the love and affection that his brothers had for him. Mallory gave up his life for the love and acceptance of his family. He truly believed that if he was humble and giving, they would love and accept him unconditionally. It was all a lie. Mallory was being used as a pawn for their jealous and selfish agenda. Marek only wanted to even the odds with his overbearing and controlling brother. Marlon never wanted to take responsibility and Mallory often found himself thrown under the bus behind Marlon’s lazy ways. And his oldest brother, Marc ciphered money out of his company and used it to bribe a doctor into having him committed for life. FOR LIFE! This is our life… they wasted our life. Our love… our identity. We can never get that back. “Who is that?” Mallory asked aloud. The voice angrily repeated, I AM GOD! What I put down in Law is law!

Mallory tried to shake the voice and sat up then place the book on the table. He patted his pocket to find his iPhone, but when he pulled it out and started to use it, he realized that the battery was dead. He huffed, “its dead.” Just like our life! DEAD! This voice was starting to work his last nerve. He bowed his head and saw a tablet underneath the table. He quickly grabbed it and searched for a pen. His mind went back to Lena. “I still need to apologize to her.” He tore out a sheet and started writing. Lena, my love. I miss you so… your warm touch. So many nights I wanted to run back and tell how I felt…feel. I love you. I always loved you. That night I wanted to ask you to be my wife. Mallory paused after he wrote the word ‘Wife’. They took that. Now we’re stuck with some underage bitch who… “Okay stop!” Mallory shouted to stop that train of thought. Stacy’s life was disrupted because she had to stop her dreams to marry him. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost! Sharp pains shot through Mallory’s body as he folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He tore out another sheet of paper 30

then scribbled a note for Lena and placed it in the book. And in that moment, Mallory felt a part of him separate. Then he saw himself stand up and walk out of the room. He quickly followed the mirage as it went to the restroom. He stood at the door and watched this mirage of himself went into Lena’s secret drawer and pulled out her good linen towels to freshen up. The mirage washed its face and rinsed out its mouth. It straightened its suit and tie and dusted itself off, all the while repeating to itself, I am God and what I put down in Law is LAW. The mirage turned and walked out of the restroom, never making eye contact with Mallory. Mallory followed it to the counter and watched it make another cup of coffee and grab an Asiago Cheese bagel. Holding the bagel in his mouth, he patted himself down looking for his wallet. When he pulled the wallet out, he was shocked; we only have a hundred dollars to our name? The mirage finally looked up and locked eyes with Mallory. Do you see our new low? Do you see how far we’ve dropped? Do you want us to live? The mirage huffed as it pulled the money out and laid it on the counter. “Who are you?” I was your God until you replaced me with something you can’t see or feel? I am your EGO. There is no room for you to worship two Gods. “I never replace—” 31

YES YOU DID! The moment you allowed that Matthew in our lives… you began replacing me. LOOK WHERE IT GOT US! “I-I…” I-I WHAT? If you cry again, I will slit our throat. I can’t stand your sensitive passive aggressive rubbish. What happened to the man who we both admired, what happened to the man who called all the shots? What happened to Melor? “I don’t know.” I know. He joined this FAMILY! HE LOST OUR IDENTITY TRYING TO BELONG! I kept warning you that WE DON’T BELONG! This is NOT our FAMILY! A tear dropped and hit the floor, “I’m sorry.” The EGO grabbed a plastic knife and held it to Mallory’s throat. DO YOU THINK I'M KIDDING ABOUT SLITTING OUR THROAT? Mallory nodded ‘No’. You’ve made a mess of things. He lowered the knife and tapped it on the counter before dropping it. But I can get our identity back. Let me think. Mallory glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that Lena would be here soon and they needed to get going. He went 32

to the door and unlocked it so she will be able to get in. She had a special lock from the inside. He looked out the glass door when he realized that it was the first day of spring. All things start anew in spring. The EGO met Mallory at the glass door. I have an idea. But I will need your full cooperation. Then it walked again. Mallory nodded his head. The EGO took a deep breath, collected its thoughts and developed a proper plan of action. Mallory’s War still declared, but it would be on their collected terms. Are you coming? The EGO stood at the back door waiting for Mallory to catch up. As the door slammed behind them, The EGO repeated. I am God. What I put down in Law is Law. He turned to Mallory and asked. Do you trust me? Do you believe in me? While handing Mallory the coffee to finish it off and throw it in the trash. Mallory cracked his neck and back and nodded his head. As they both turned the corner heading back to the BMW dealership, the EGO chanted loudly, I am GOD. If what we put down in Law is Law, then its time for us to lay down the Law. “Our kinda LAW.” Mallory shouted with him as they both disappeared into the fog.

The Complete Saga The MPire Chronicles of the Haulm Boys (Prequels)

The MPire: In Search of the Lost The MPire: Death Cometh The MPire: The Trinity

The MPire: Resurrection – Coming 2013 To learn more about the author or to read excerpts from these books, visit www.authortljames.com.