Page 31 of Our Blood, Our Pain (The Kozlov Bodyguards #1)
30
JULES
I’m all amped up to get this show on the road, until I look at Kai who looks like he’s about to pass out. His face is ashen and his skin looks clammy. I look over at Simon who is watching Kai with the same concern before he looks at me with a questioning look. I go over to Kai, and help him situate whoever the guy is we’re questioning, and secure him in the seat.
“I don’t need your help. I’m fine,” Kai quietly hisses at me.
“You look like death. You shouldn’t be in here if it’s too much,” I whisper back.
“Is there a problem?” Dima asks as he approaches us. He assesses Kai closely and I know he can see it across Kai’s face.
“Kai, why don’t you keep an eye out front, make sure we’re secure,” Dima says. Kai flinches but knows not to question. He looks at me with such hate, as if this is my fault. And maybe it is, but he can’t be down here like this as it puts us all at risk.
“Kai…” I start but he pulls away and cuts me off.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
Boy, do those words piss me off. This impulsive behavior is getting out of hand and I’m fucking furious.
Without another word, he storms off, barging past one of Carlos’s men who laughs as he pushes Kai in the shoulder.
“Fucking pussy,” the unnamed and now dead man says.
“Fuck you,” Kai snarls, pushing the guy in the chest.
“That’s enough. On second thought, go back to the house, Kai,” Dima orders and Kai is out of there as fast as the speed of light.
Who does this fucker think he is? I rush over to the guard and slam him into the wall before punching him in the face. He was unprepared for the assault, so I use his slowness in response to get as many hits in as I can. His nose makes a crunching sound when my knuckles connect with the bone, but it’s not enough. I grab him by the shirt and slam him again hard against the wall.
“You have a death wish, talking to my man like that?”
The ugly fucker spits in my face, which enrages me more, stoking a fire in me that’s already burning brightly. So I react. I pull him forward and knee him in the ribs, forcing him to collapse onto the ground. The so-called hard guy is groaning, clutching at his side, but I can’t hold in the beast. The rage. He touched Kai and insulted him. I won’t be able to let it go unless I hurt him.
“Boss, you not gonna stop this?” the second guard says to Carlos.
“No. We’re here as guests and he insulted one of their men’s partners. I would do the same. It’s all about consequences,” Carlos says while looking at Simon, who scowls back at him. I kneel on the floor, pulling the man’s hair, forcing him to face me.
“Are you ready to say sorry?”
“I’m sorry your man is a pussy, you dumb bitch,” the guy barks at me and I can’t help but smile. This pent up energy for a fight, to dispel the lingering anger I have from the whole Kai situation to this point is so damn satisfying.
“Jules!” Aaron shouts out from the corner and throws his switchblade toward me, which I manage to catch with one hand.
“What the fuck, Aaron?” Lev shouts.
“Steve was bored.”
I grip the man’s hand and face it palm down on the floor, and with nothing but adrenaline coursing through my veins and Kai’s face in my mind, I lift the beautiful blade and stab it down into the guy’s hand. Screams of pain echo in the room as the sharp steel penetrates the flesh.
“I can’t deal with the noise,” Dima moans. Always complaining about the crying and screaming from anyone we have in the pen as he’s susceptible to a migraine. But he loves the blood too much to not be involved. Still, it doesn’t stop him from complaining every single time.
“That was so fucking hot,” Aaron says, his gaze entranced on his blade that’s now lodged in the hand of this fucker.
“Doe….” Lev warns.
“Shut up. At least Jules has done something. Dying of boredom over here. Can I have Steve back now?”
“Back up now, Jules. We need to get started on pisspants over here,” Lev says and I turn to see the guy secured to the chair has pissed himself. Gross. I bend down and pull the blade from the moaning asshole who touched Kai, and toss it back to Aaron, who looks like I’ve just given him the best Christmas present. My heart thuds like a racehorse, the adrenaline rush now subsiding, but not being replaced by the quiet I’m used to. Kai’s the reason. I’m so fucking pissed that I want to cut this guy in front of me to pieces so I can get control over these feelings that only Kai prompts in me.
“Simon, move this crying asshole over to the side,” Dima says.
Simon grabs Carlos’s injured guard under the arms and drags him over to the other side of the room.
“You wanna fix your man up, there are medical supplies in the fridge and cabinets on the back wall,” Dima says to Carlos. Carlos then orders his uninjured guard to go clean up the whimpering idiot. And he had the nerve to call Kai a pussy.
Lev goes to the back wall where their array of torture tools are neatly displayed, and ponders for a few moments on what to use. He finally chooses the reliable blow torch and a jagged knife. Carlos wants the guy fucked up, those will certainly do the trick.
Crouching in front of the piss stained quiet man, Lev dangles the knife in his face. This guy may have an impassive expression on his face, but the fact that he pissed himself tells me he’s already under immense stress. I doubt this will take long.
“Now. I’ve heard that you may know about or may be involved in taking money that didn’t belong to you. Care to share with the group what you know? The more you tell us, the less drawn out this will be,” Lev says. The nameless man keeps his eyes down, his breathing is off the charts, practically hyperventilating.
“Not gonna talk? Let me help with that.”
Lev stands and yanks the guy’s hair so hard he cries out, unable to fight Lev tilting his head back. Lev wastes no time in taking the knife and slicing his face from his upper cheek to the corner of his mouth. The skin peels open, revealing the fat and muscle underneath. Blood begins to ooze down his face, which only gets worse as his mouth widens in screams of terror. Lev lets go and steps back, smirking as he admires his handiwork. I daren’t look over at Aaron. I just know from how quiet he is that this is affecting him. It wouldn’t be out of character for him to be jerking off to the show. You couldn’t make this shit up of how fucked up this house is. I’ve lived here with the brothers so long, that I believe they’re normal and the outside world is screwed up. This situation just highlights how dumb that is. Then again, I’m part of this family, so that makes me just as bad. Fuck. No wonder Kai can’t deal with it. I just assumed most people could adapt. But still, the little fucker shouldn’t have lost his shit with me like that.
“Can we tape his mouth shut? This is unbearable, especially with the other whining asshole,” Dima moans at Lev.
“Not in the mood, D. Deal with it or fuck off.”
“Is it always like this?” Carlos asks. I hadn’t noticed he was standing beside me.
“Yes, and worse,” I say, as Carlos smiles at me, amused by the whole thing. Fucking hell, another unhinged bastard. Just when you think there’s no more of us, another pops up.
Lev lights the blow torch and adjusts the flame, directing it at the nameless guy’s chest.
“Ever heard of a burn necklace?” Lev asks the guy. He’s shaking uncontrollably in the chair, fighting against the binds to move as far away from Lev as he can. The gaping wound on his cheek will leave a monster of a scar.
“I asked you a fucking question.”
“No!” the guy shouts, panting, on the verge of fainting.
“It’s like a pearl necklace, but not as fun. I’m gonna ask you a question. If I think you’re lying, I’ll give you a demonstration of the perfect burn necklace. Or you could tell us the truth, and maybe I’ll stop.”
The guy nods as tears stream down his face and sweat gathers at his brow.
“Do you know who stole the money?”
“Yes.”
“Good. See how easy that was? Next question. Give me a name.”
“I-I can’t! He’ll kill me.”
“Such a shame,” Lev says, his tone mocking in sympathy, shaking his head slowly from side to side. He aims the blowtorch at the guy’s neck, adorning it with the perfect necklace shaped burn. The skin singes and bubbles as it congeals under the heat. The screams are piercing, but rapidly morphs into a chant. A chant of a name.
“Stop!! Enrico, Enrico, Enrico…” he babbles. Lev turns off the torch and looks up at Carlos. The guy’s babbles then turn into nonsense as his eyes roll back, seconds away from becoming unconscious.
“Enrico? Carlos’s brother?” Dima asks. But he gets no reply from the semi conscious guy. D slaps him across the untouched cheek.
“Hey…wakey wakey. Are you telling us Enrico, Carlos’s brother, is the one that stole?” Dima asks.
“Yes…yes,” he gasps before passing out.
Everyone turns to Carlos, who seems unmoved by the situation. He runs his fingers over his bottom lip, contemplation written all over his face as he watches the now unconscious man.
“Thanks for your help. If it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate your men helping me get them back into the car. I will take it from there,” Carlos says.
Neither Lev or Dima ask questions, though I wish they would so we’d know what the fuck has been going on.
“Simon and Jules, untie him and take him out front,” Dima orders us, and like a well oiled machine, we get to work on getting these guys out of here and cleaning this fucking mess up. Lev disappears with a very clingy and horny Aaron, and after myself and Simon are finished in the holding pen, we walk back through the quiet house. Simon offers to stay in the mansion to keep a watch after everything that’s happened. And I take my tired and agitated ass back to the house to confront Kai. Let’s hope he’s ready for what I have planned, because I need a release. And I need to put my man in his place.