Page 8

8

SEAN

“Dealing with your sister is like dragging myself naked against a bed of glass shards and then going back a second time and doing it just for fun.” I take a long drag of the cigarette burning between my fingers, letting the smoke curl toward the sky. “If I could get rid of her, I would.”

Aiden rolls his eyes. “It’s been a week and half. You need to suck it up and just deal with it.”

“Oh no. I’m not the one causing the problems.” I toss the butt of the cigarette on the driveway, crushing it beneath my boot. “Ellie is the most infuriating person I’ve ever met and she always has been. I don’t know how the hell you raised that little brat.”

Aiden leads the way around the corner of his house and to the weathered doors that lead to a wine cellar. “I know you think she’s horrible, but maybe it’s time the two of you try to be friendly with each other. Ellie is a good ally to have when she trusts you.”

“I’d rather take my chances with a rabid tiger.” I follow him down the creaking steps and into the dimly lit cellar, allowing the doors to fall shut behind me.

“To be fair, you were the one who killed Dad.”

“I was only twenty-two back then. You knew I didn’t have a choice.”

“And she was ten.” Aiden’s voice is sharp as he looks at me over his shoulder. “You killed her father in front of her and now that she’s an adult, she’s got to put up with you. If there’s one person in this world I think you should cut a little slack right now, it’s her.”

I scoff, following him to the massive steel door at the back of the cellar. “If I have to go home and deal with her and her attitude for one more night, one of us is probably going to end up dead.”

Aiden whirls around fast, his hand wrapping around my throat as he shoves me back into a wall. “You might be my best friend, and she might be your wife, but she is my sister above all else, and if you so much as raise a fucking finger to her, I’ll kill you where you stand. Understood?”

“I wouldn’t hurt her.”

His grip on my throat releases, but he still looks at me like he doesn’t quite trust me.

It’s the way he’s been looking at me for sixteen years and I can’t blame him for it.

“Put your hand around my throat again and we’re going to have a big problem.” I stand to the side as Aiden unlocks the steel door. “That was the first and last time you threaten me.”

Aiden says nothing as he hauls the heavy door open and turns on the lights that line the steps descending into the darkness below. “This marriage is for the good of both families, whether you see that or not.”

“I can see that there are benefits, but I don’t understand why I have to be tortured in the first place.”

Our footsteps echo as we descend deeper beneath the house, walking down a short hall at the bottom of the stairs and coming to another door.

When we step inside, bright-white light illuminates the sterile white room. Plastic sheets cover the walls and floor. There’s a man naked and tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

A counter laid out with various weapons is to one side of the room, a big metal tub beside that, though it hasn’t been filled with any water.

I guess we’re not drowning people today.

“Who’s the man in the chair?” I jerk my chin in his direction.

Aiden nods to the man in the middle of the room. “This is Fred Rinaldo, one of the men who attacked Ellie and threatened to slaughter my entire family.”

I see red as I stand in front of the man. His eyes are bloodshot and his cheeks hollow. His gaze darts around the room as if he’s looking for an escape.

He’s not going to find one.

Aiden grabs a dagger from the counter and holds it out to me. “I figured you would want to do the honors. Get out a little of that rage my sister keeps surfacing.”

I take the knife, turning it in my hand and grinning when the blade catches the light, reflecting it straight back onto Fred. “You’re the one who threatened my wife?”

Fred glares at me, his jaw tightening. “Didn’t know she was your wife.”

Aiden clicks his tongue, his head shaking. “Now, Fred, don’t lie to us. Noah knows about the wedding, but that’s not what he’s interested in right now, is it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been lurking around my weapons warehouse.”

I trail the tip of the knife along the back of Fred’s hand, blood pooling where the skin is sliced. “You should be honest with us, Fred.”

Though I know that Fred has every intention of keeping his mouth shut, there’s a small quiver in his upper lip that gives him away.

Fred, like many others I’ve had the pleasure of speaking too, will start telling us everything we need to know once his limbs start coming off.

I keep the sharp edge of the knife pressed against Fred’s hand as I turn to Aiden. “You know, I think Ellie is planning something.”

“Yeah. She probably is.” Aiden smirks and crosses his arms, one shoulder rising and falling.

“Any advice?” I move the knife up Fred’s hand to his wrist where the ropes are.

His sharp intake of breath is enough to let me know he’s hopeful, so I skip the blade over the rope, dragging a line up his arm to his shoulder.

I sigh, digging the tip into his bicep, the sound of his pained groan music to my ears. “For dealing with Ellie, I mean. It’s clear that Fred here doesn’t need any help. He’s such a loyal little solider to a man who would kill him for breathing the wrong way.”

Aiden chuckles. “What makes you think she’s up to something?”

“She’s busting my balls less each day.” I take the tip out of Fred’s arm, using it to trace a line along the juncture between his ear and his head. “She gets home from work most days and she makes dinner before going to bed.”

Tears spring to Fred’s eyes, but he grinds his teeth together, hands tightening over the arms of the chair. “Noah is going to kill you for this.”

“Noah’s going to kill me for a thousand different reasons, so if you’re trying to intimidate me, I would try harder.” I slip the dagger between one of Fred’s fingernails.

His screams echo off the walls as I pry the fingernail from his hand. Blood pools and drips onto the plastic under my feet.

Fred lunges against the ropes holding him back. “You’re going to fucking die for this.”

Aiden hums as if he didn’t hear Fred. “The best way to deal with Ellie is to pretend you’re oblivious to her scheming. She likes to think that she’s the one in charge, but she’s not.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Fred snorts, his bloody finger curling tighter on the arm of the chair. “Sounds like you have a problem getting your bitch under control. You just need to fuck her into submission. That’s all whores need.”

“Oh, Fred,” I say, drawing out his name even though all I want to do is slit his throat. “That was a mistake.”

Nobody gets to sit here and insult my wife.

I head over to the counter and grab a butcher’s knife, grinning as I stride back over to Fred. “You see, I can complain about my wife, but you don’t get to say shit unless it’s telling us what Noah is plotting right now.”

Before he has a chance to say anything, I pull back.

Exhaling, I swing the knife down, cutting off his hand at the wrist.

Fred’s screams are piercing. They cut through the room as blood pours from his hand.

Aiden grabs the butane torch and hands it to me. “You better cauterize that. He hasn’t given us enough information yet, have you, Fred?”

I grab the torch and turn it on, adjusting the dial until the flame glows white-hot.

The smell of singed flesh fills the room as Fred screams and thrashes against the ropes.

As I turn off the torch, I glance at Aiden. “At least you bolted the chair to the ground.”

He smirks. “I learned after the last time. I think it’s time to stop playing, though, don’t you? Fred might be ready to talk.”

Fred grits his teeth, sweat covering his body. “Yes.”

I put the torch back on the counter and snag the dagger again. The machete lies on the floor as a reminder of what lengths I’m willing to go to.

My hand clamps down on Fred’s shoulder, fingers digging into the cut until he whimpers. “If you say anything about my wife again, your cock is coming off.”

Fred nods, his eyes squeezing shut and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He must have bit his lip at some point, but that should be the least of his worries right now.

Aiden’s footsteps rustle against the plastic on the floor. “Alright, you’re going to kill him before we get our information. I really don’t want to hurt him, and I know you don’t either.”

I dig my fingers deeper into the cut before letting go. “Maybe you’re right about that.”

Aiden crouches down in front of Fred, capturing his gaze the moment he opens his eyes. “I really don’t want to hurt you, Fred. My friend here is a little overzealous, but as you heard, he’s having some marital issues. Now, why don’t you tell us what you know, and we might not have any more problems.”

Fred laughs, a gurgling sound coming from deep in his throat. “You’re going to kill me either way so why should I tell you anything?”

In a well-rehearsed dance, I grab pipe cutters from the counter and walk over to Fred, cutting off the tip of his cock before he can fully process what’s happening.

He howls with pain, more sweat pouring down his body, mixing with the rash marks from thrashing against the ropes.

Aiden sighs. “Sean, cutting off a man’s dick isn’t the way to handle business. We’re civilized people here.”

I press the pipe cutters into his hand when he holds it out. “Oops.”

Fred glares between the two of us. “You’re monsters. Worse than he will ever be.”

Aiden clicks his tongue, rising to his feet. “Now, Fred, Noah wants to slaughter my entire family. I just want to know his next move.”

Fred shakes his head, his eyes rolling to the back of his head after he gets a good look at the blood between his legs.

With one smooth movement, Aiden takes my knife and presses the tip to Fred’s balls. “Either you tell me what Noah’s next move is or I start shipping your body parts to your wife and children. I’ll start with your cock but imagine your daughter’s shock when she gets called to the office at school and there’s a package with your fingers in it waiting for her.”

The last of the color drains from Fred’s face.

Tremors run through his body as he leans back in the chair.

I stand behind Aiden, grinning when the knife presses deeper. “All you have to do is tell us the truth, Fred.”

Aiden pulls the knife away. “Your daughter is only twelve. Your son is six, right?”

Fred’s nostrils flare as he throws himself forward, blood splatter spraying in front of him, joining the puddle already at his feet. “You stay the fuck away from them!”

“I will.” Aiden looks over at me. “Although, if he doesn’t tell me the truth soon, I think I’m going to have to go back on my word. You know how much I hate doing that.”

Nodding, I nudge the machete with my foot. “Would I really need a blade this big to deal with them?”

“Depends.” Aiden steps on Fred’s foot, putting his weight on it until bones crunch. “How is Noah getting information on my businesses? What is he planning next?”

Fred takes a deep breath, swaying slightly due to the blood loss. “He’s using the strip clubs to get information.”

Aiden’s eyebrow rises. “My strip clubs?”

“Yeah.” Fred’s head bobs up and down. “He has women in there working for him. Seduce your men. Get information.”

“And what’s he planning to do with the information?” Aiden asks, his tone dangerously low as he leans closer to Fred. “If you don’t tell me the truth, Sean here is going to go after your children.”

Even though we both know I don’t kill children, Fred’s eyes widen, his bottom lip quivering.

Fred thinks that I’m the kind of monster who would hunt down an innocent child.

What he doesn’t know is that I take pleasure in killing the bastards that do, but I could never be one of them.

“Noah is looking to go after your siblings. Pick them off one by one. He just needs more information to do it.” Fred looks at me, terror in his eyes. “Don’t hurt my kids. I’ve told you everything I know.”

Aiden holds the knife to Fred’s throat. “Yes, you did. For that, your death will be quick.”

The knife glides across Fred’s throat, blood pooling down the planes of his chest. Aiden looks at me before tossing the knife in the metal tub. I grab the machete and toss it in as well.

When the cleaners come, they’ll dispose of everything that has to do with Fred’s murder, but they’ll make sure his body is found by Noah’s men.

They’ll know it was Aiden who did this.

Aiden sighs and turns to me. “The strip clubs are going to be a problem. Staff turnover is high in some of them, and I can’t exactly walk in there and start asking questions.”

“Have anyone who can?” I stride over to the sink on the opposite corner of the room, taking the time to scrub the blood from my hands and beneath my nails.

“You.”

I shake my head, drying off my hands on the paper towel before stripping down and pulling aside one of the plastic panels to grab a fresh set of clothing from the closet hidden there. “Not happening. I have no desire to do that shit anymore. You know that.”

Aiden nods, cleaning his own hands and getting changed. “I know, but there’s nobody else I trust that I can ask. The staff won’t speak with Royce and I’m not sending any of my sisters in.”

“Which means that I’m the only one you have left.”

The cleaners filter into the room as Aiden and I head out. “You are, and the story going around is that you and Ellie fell in love and ran off to get married, which pissed me off. People think you and I are on the outs and that this will be the fight that finally rocks the boat over its tipping point.”

“They think you’re out for blood which makes me one of the few people Noah might be willing to align himself with.”

Aiden walks with me back to my car. “I need you to do this.”

“I’ll do it.”

Even though I’m sure Ellie is going to cut off my balls and force-feed them to me if she ever finds out.