Page 23

Liam and I stand in the cellar, staring at the unconscious man hanging from the ceiling by his wrists.

Another warehouse was attacked and ransacked, but unfortunately for this guy, we were able to catch him. Declan is on his way to finish him off. His anger was tenfold since the hit was while he was away with Paige.

I had my way with him for a little while, but he lost consciousness before I could have some real fun.

The door bursts open and Declan’s menacing frame fills the doorway before he storms in. His eyes are trained on the man’s limp body.

“Get me my tools,” he barks, and I move to retrieve his bag that contains the various torture devices he uses.

Declan’s steps become slow and calculating as he begins circling our captive. The jab he gives to the man’s ribs sends his body jolting back and a pained wail erupts from his mouth.

“Now that you’re awake, let’s skip the formalities, shall we?” Declan’s lip curls in a snarl.

The dumbfuck spits at Declan’s feet and I chuckle, setting the bag down on the metal table at the back of the room.

Declan glances at me and Liam. “I do love it when they start this game with a fight. It makes it much more enjoyable when I break them.”

“Aye, Sir.” Liam nods.

With long strides, Declan steps up to his tool bag and begins laying out his tools. His movements are unnerving. When Declan is ready to dismember someone, he becomes inhuman.

“ Stupida feccia irlandese.” Stupid Irish scum. The man spits again on the ground, glaring between the three of us.

Italian.

My eyes meet Liam’s for a split second before we stride out of the room.

“Find out where Antonio’s last location was,” I order.

“Aye.” He nods and strides up the steps.

I rub a hand down my face before running it through my hair.

If Antonio is behind this, it means war. But what does he stand to gain? We just set a deal with him for some weapons.

None of this makes sense.

Steeling my shoulders, I step back into the cellar.

The sound of the chains rattling, and the whimpers of the man fill my ears. Declan stands by the table with a carving knife in his grasp.

I meet his eyes before moving my gaze to the man. Blood is already coating his skin and pooling beneath him. A large hook protrudes from his shoulder.

Declan is suddenly behind him and within a second, he’s slicing the Italian’s ear clean off. He tosses it to the ground, and it lands with a wet plop .

The shriek that escapes the man send electricity through my veins.

The rest of the interrogation is bloody beyond comprehension. Declan slices and dices this man’s flesh piece by agonizing piece.

When his head lulls to the side and his body goes limp, I stride to the medicine cabinet and draw up a dose of epinephrine and inject him.

His head jerks up after a few seconds.

The torture continues and again he loses consciousness.

We alternate between torturing him and keeping him alive until finally Declan steps away.

What’s left of the Italian’s body sways slowly. Skin and meat are scattered around.

It’s a miracle the man is even breathing.

“What do we do now that this fucker won’t give us information?” I ask Declan as he washes his hands and arms in the utility sink.

His eyes remain trained on his task, his lips pursed. “We know it’s the Italians; that much is obvious. What I can’t figure out is why. Antonio just struck a deal with us, so there shouldn’t be any motive for this.”

Exactly.

“What about the issue with Jackie?” I ask.

When Antonio came storming into the restaurant we went to with Sarah and Paige, he was losing his shit about Jackie falling off the wagon and using again. She went off about Declan, so Antonio placed the blame on him.

Declan shakes his head. “Nah, she’s a pain in the ass but her brother wouldn’t fuck with me over her.”

I nod. That’s true. Jackie has a lot of issues and has caused problems for Antonio many times over the years I’ve known her.

But she’s also a spiteful bitch.

“What if she’s behind this?”

The thought might not be too far-fetched. Jackie wants Declan and he literally told her to fuck off. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to stir up shit.

Declan snorts and turns to face our unconscious victim.

Scratch that. He’s definitely dead now.

“She’d better hope she’s not behind this. I’d make what we just did look like child’s play if that were the case.” He gestures with his chin toward the body.

“Have Finn and Liam drop his body off at the Romano’s estate,” he orders, then takes his phone from his pocket and strides out of the cellar.

I quickly send a text to Finn and Liam with Declan’s order.

The blood on the floor sticks to the bottom of my shoes. Each step I take makes a squelch sound.

I wordlessly circle the man’s lifeless body.

Why? I’m not entirely sure.

I was hopeful that he’d be able to give us something to work with to figure out who is after us.

Yes, Declan and his family have made many enemies over the years but right now the timing doesn’t make sense.

We don’t have any tension among anyone at the moment.

At least none that I’m aware of.

Liam and Finn step into the room, pulling me from the thoughts.

“Fuck,” Liam mutters under his breath, scanning the carnage left by Declan.

“Aren’t you glad he never found out about Emily?” I whisper when Liam steps to my side.

Liam and Declan’s sister Emily were secretly dating before her father was murdered alongside her contract fiancé.

She and Liam had some fallout that he won’t talk about and she up and left for Ireland with her ma.

It wasn’t my place to say anything to Declan, but I made it clear to Liam that he needed to tread lightly when it came to Emily.

He sends me a glare, then works with Finn to wrap the corpse in a plastic tarp. The two of them lift the body and head toward the door that leads outside.

* * *

The next hour or so is spent in the sparring gym on the estate.

Sweat coats my entire body, sliding down the ridges of my sore muscles. It burns as it drips into my eyes.

My heart races, chest rising and falling in deep pants as I try to catch my breath.

Cillian, one of our men, rises from where his body met the mat.

With all the recent attacks, Declan and I agreed to increase training sessions. The men are scattered around the ground doing target practice in the range, participating in the military-grade obstacle course. Some are here in the gym, weight training or sparring.

Wiping my brow, I scan the gym. Pride fills my chest at how focused the men are. We might be criminals, but we’re still a family.

Each loss we have, for whatever reason, is felt throughout every person here.

Declan ensures the families of our soldiers are well taken care of should any of them fall.

“Ready?” I ask Cillian.

He nods and widens his stance, holding his fists in front of his face, just slightly below his chin.

In rapid succession, I send my left fist flying into his ribcage. He grunts when the punch lands then he launches his fist into my chin.

My vision is momentarily dazed, but I shake my head to clear it.

“Good,” I praise, then kick out my leg, knocking him to the ground. The breath is knocked from his lungs.

I climb over him. Now straddling his torso, I slam my fist down into his nose. The crack is instant, and blood pools then runs down the sides of his face.

I move to stand and off my hand to help him up.

“Your nose was too easy to break.”

He scoffs, wiping at his face before gripping my palm with his own. “Sorry my anatomy isn’t up to par with your standards.”

I chuckle. “Go get cleaned up and see the doc about getting your nose fixed.”

Cillian walks to where we have clean washcloths. He presses one lightly against his face, groaning in pain, then strides out of the gym.

My phone chimes from where I left it on the bench. Pulling it from my duffle, I read the message from Declan about going to Skyline tonight with him, Paige, and Sarah.

After replying, I sling my duffle over my shoulder and head toward the showers to rinse off. I’ll finish getting ready at my penthouse, but the thought of sitting in my car with dried sweat on my skin fills me with disgust.

My chest expands with excitement that I get to lay eyes on her soon, and a smile spreads across my face.