Dylan_Dent

Aaron Hughes thought he escaped the worst of Chicago’s underworld—until a Polaroid of his tortured friend and a bloodstained chess piece pull him back into the grip of Bishop, the sadistic crime lord who once shattered his life. Reuniting with a violent ex-enforcer and a broken brother who may no longer be on his side, Aaron leads a desperate war against a man who doesn’t kill his enemies—he owns them.

But vengeance isn’t clean.
And Bishop doesn’t need to survive.
He just needs to be remembered.

Ashes Of Vengeance

It was raining the first time they ran through the Bone Yard.

Not pouring—just that thin, grimy Chicago drizzle that soaked your bones and never left. The kind that made the world feel moldy. Used.

Aaron was twenty-three. Shirt ripped, one eye swollen from a bar fight he didn't start. Matt was laughing too hard to breathe, cradling a six-pack like it was sacred scripture.

"Jesus, Crane, that guy had a knife," Aaron barked, limping across the tracks.

Matt grinned, teeth red with blood and beer. "And I had a brick. Who brings a knife to a brick fight?"

They collapsed behind an overturned freight car, panting, drenched. Matt cracked open a beer and handed it to Aaron like communion.

"You know this place used to move meat?" Matt asked, wiping his mouth. "Cows, pigs, whatever. Cold cars, steel rails. Then it all died."

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You reading plaques again?"

Matt shrugged. "Places like this feel honest, don't they? No pretense. Just rot."

Aaron looked around. Broken rail ties. Needles. A pair of boots sticking out from under a tarp.

Matt leaned back, head against rusted steel. "One day, man… we're gonna get out. Just drive. South. Anywhere. Leave this city behind like a bad trip."

Aaron didn't answer. He wanted to believe that. He did. But part of him already knew: this place wasn't just a backdrop.

And somehow, he and Matt were already dead men running.

Flashback - Hollow Laughter