Page 31 of Stone Coast (Tyson Wild Thriller)

M r. X handed me a black balaclava. "You might want to put this on.”

I gave him a look, but the precaution was obvious. I pulled on the face covering as Mr. X stepped to the other hostage. Once I had concealed my identity, he pulled the black bag off the man's head to reveal Carter Wallace.

He was unconscious and had clearly suffered a beating. Crusted blood clung to his cheeks and his split lips.

Mr. X slapped Carter in the face a few times.

Carter groaned and stirred.

"You'll have to excuse him,” X said. “He's been sedated.”

Carter peeled open his eyes and tried to focus on the group of shadowy figures around him.

"What's he doing here?” I asked.

"You have questions. He has answers.” Mr. X patted Carter on the shoulder. "Isn't that right? ”

A flood of emotions rushed through me—anger, sorrow, hatred, joy. I stepped in front of the scumbag and stared at him for a long moment.

"Go ahead, ask your questions," Mr. X said in an encouraging tone.

"You killed Dr. Grayson Mitchell,” I said. "Why?”

"I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Don't worry," X said. "He'll talk. If he knows what's good for him.”

"Why did you kill Grayson?” I asked again.

"I didn't do shit. You got the wrong guy, lady.”

"Tell the lady what she wants to know,” Mr. X said.” You don't want to make me angry again, do you?”

Carter gave him a concerned look.

Mr. X looked at one of his comrades and snapped his finger.

The man handed him a propane blowtorch. Even a dimwit like Carter Wallace could see where this was going.

Mr. X pulled the trigger, sparking the torch. The narrow blue flame hissed. He waved it in front of the scumbag, taunting him for a moment. “Do you know what happens to an eyeball when you put a blowtorch to it for any length of time?”

Carter swallowed hard.

“Of course, the eyeball burns, and you lose your vision.

The surrounding tissue burns and blisters.

The vitreous humor inside the eyeball, that's the liquid, boils.

After a while, the eyeball bursts. The pain.

.. The pain is intense. Of course, I wouldn't know firsthand, but I'm sure you'll be able to tell me very soon.”

That was all the motivation that Carter needed.

"All I know is we were paid to make the hit. We were supposed to make it look like a robbery gone wrong.”

My jaw tightened. “Who paid you?”

Carter hesitated for a moment.

All Mr. X had to do was bring the blowtorch a little closer.

Re-incentivized, Carter said, “Ray Ray.”

“Who’s Ray Ray?”

“Raymond.”

I hunched on my knees and looked him in the eye. “What’s Raymond’s last name?”

“I don’t know. I just know him by Ray Ray or Stingray.”

“Where do I find him?”

“He owns the Cool Cat Lounge on Crenshaw. He’s always there.”

“Who was the target?”

“Ray Ray gave us an address and said to kill everyone there. That’s all I know.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“I don’t know. Is there?”

I glared at him. “Why? ”

“Why what?”

Through gritted teeth, I said, “Why did Ray Ray hire you?”

Carter shook his head. “I don’t know why? I never ask.”

“I swear to God if you’re lying to me…”

“I ain’t lying. I want to keep my fucking eyeballs, thank you very much.”

“Who does Raymond work for?”

“Raymond works for Raymond.”

“Is his club a front for laundering money?” I asked.

“Lady, I don’t know Raymond’s business. I don’t ask.”

I stood up and backed away.

“Happy?” Mr. X asked.

I gave him a suspicious look. I was happy to have the information, but this scenario created a bit of a problem. “What happens to him now?”

“That’s up to you.” Mr. X handed me a pair of nitrile gloves.

I gave him a curious look.

“You’ll want to put those on.”

I did.

Then he handed me a stainless 9mm.

“Oh, hell no!” Carter protested. “I told you what you wanted.”

“You killed a man, or have you forgotten?” X said .

“If it wasn’t me, it would have been somebody else. I was just doing a job.”

“The gun is untraceable,” Mr. X said to me. “We can dispose of the body. No one will miss a lowlife like him.”

“Plenty of people gonna miss my ass. I got kids. You ain’t gonna make them grow up without a daddy!?”

“You’ve done a good job of abandoning them already. It won’t make much difference.” Then X said to me, “We can let him go. He hasn’t seen any of our faces.”

“I ain’t seen none of ya’ll,” Carter said. “I don’t know nobody’s name. I ain’t gonna say shit to no one. As far as I’m concerned, this night never happened.”

Carter would say anything to save his ass.

The night Grayson was killed flashed through my mind. The blood, his last gurgling breaths, the tangy scent of gunpowder… I was back there for a moment, reliving the experience.

Emotion swelled within.

I aimed the pistol at the scumbag’s head and wrapped my finger around the trigger. My heart thumped, and rage bulged my veins.

“Please, lady. Don’t kill me,” Carter said, his eyes filling. “I promise, I ain’t never going to hurt nobody again.”