Page 23

The basement of the warehouse was as cold as usual while I moved down the grated steps, preparing myself for the task ahead. Finally, after waiting him out, it was time to visit the hostage again.

Normally, I’d be able to crack whoever needed loosening up in less than thirty minutes with enough reason and tenacity…but something was different this time.

Not only was he closed up tight, but I knew it wasn’t my typical interrogation. I had the feeling I was about to step into uncharted territory and uncover information that would make or break everything going on.

Even if things had been quiet and mostly peaceful between our side and the Pesci men, I wasn’t blind. I knew there were tensions, as expected, and something about it didn’t sit right with me. Especially given the warehouse hit, I had the gut feeling we were missing an important piece of the bigger picture. And I truly believed that hostage had it.

Pulling my gloves on, I approached the interrogation room, finding Alex and the twins already standing there waiting for me.

Ever since everything with Aria, there was the faintest hint of hesitation in my chest at the thought of roughing up the hostage, almost like there was a disconnect between my current self and those usual tendencies of mine.

It was like my eyes had been opened, seeing how things unfolded between the two of us after I refused to follow through with my typical tactics to make someone talk. Even if I still screwed her over in a sense, we struck a deal rather than me using brutal force to get what I wanted. If I had followed that same path with her, we wouldn’t be in that better place.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, there was a time and a place to be brutal, and sometimes, the diplomatic approach was the way to go.

But of course, I had every reason to believe that didn’t apply to the current situation. It was the time and the place.

After having spent more time outside of that cold mindset than in it, I had to psych myself up. I had to steel myself and do my job, regardless of it feeling different now.

“Ready?” Alex asked, glancing through the small glass window on the steel door before looking at me.

I nodded, shifting into the state of mind I needed. “As always.”

“His food and water access have been significantly reduced over the weekend, and he seems closer to talking. Now we just need you to make that final push.”

“I’ll get him to talk.”

“You always do,” Yuri chimed in, clapping my shoulder before I pushed the door open and went in.

The hostage was sitting on a chair with his hands bound behind his back and a gag in his mouth. His eyes widened slightly when the four of us entered, aware that his time of waiting was over.

“I hope you’re prepared to talk…because we’re not stopping until you do,” I mumbled, giving a slight pull on my leather glove while I stepped forward and got to it.

I had to give the guy credit…even after wailing on him for some time, he was still tight-lipped. Which only meant I had to keep going.

After falling into a constant rhythm, laying into him again and again while his face became so inflamed that he could hardly open his eyes, there was more than enough blood on both of us to make it look like someone had been mauled within those concrete walls.

Despite being mentally present through the whole thing, I nearly blanked it all out, disassociating while I did what I did best. What my family needed me to do.

Finally, after what felt like forever, long after Yuri and Val decided to head out, given how they didn’t have quite the same stomach for violence that I did, the hostage hummed into the gag, huffing for breath.

Giving my fist a break, I reached for the material and yanked it down to find it bloody and spit-soaked. I grimaced on the inside but maintained my position over him.

“Had enough yet?”

“Enough…please,” the man murmured, struggling to swallow from both the pain and from how swollen he was from the neck up.

Standing to my full height, I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a hard look. “Out with it. Now.”

Letting out a pained breath, the hostage kept his eyes down, as if even opening his mouth would bring him great shame.

Of course, that was normal; most guys would rather die than spill anything that could incriminate their bosses. Whether it was out of loyalty, superstition, or pure stubbornness, it was more annoying than anything else.

“Who do you work for?” I demanded of him, grabbing his jaw roughly.

He winced, swollen eyes closing against the pain. “Pesci…but not in the ways you’d think.”

Anger flared in me at his vague answer. I gripped his jaw almost to the point of cracking it, making him yelp.

“Who?”

“Esidor…”

My brows pinched together tightly while that name settled over my skin. I glared down at him, not taking lightly to being toyed with.

“Do you think this is funny?”

At the sharp edge of my words, panic sparked within him again. “I’m not lying! He…isn’t dead. Esidor is alive, and with Aria’s intel, they’re making big moves…you’ll see soon enough.”

In complete disbelief, not trusting his words, I exchanged a glance with Alex over my shoulder to find him looking just as confused.

There was no way—I watched Esidor get shot down with my own eyes. He hit the ground and everything was handled. He was dead. No question.

It was impossible for him to be alive. It just was.

Irritation spiked in me all over again while I stared him down, feeling like I was at the end of my rope. “That’s your final explanation?”

With another hard swallow, the hostage nodded. “Yes…everything is unfolding as it should…and you will fall. Whether I get to see it or not.”

Bristling at his confidence, well aware he was doing nothing but wasting my time, I reached a hand out to Alex in a silent request.

With his gaze cold and devoid of anything else, understanding at once, he pulled out his pistol and handed it over.

At the sight of it, the hostage seemed to change his tune, panicking and squirming. Just like they always did.

They were all talk until it really came down to it.

Not caring, I cocked the pistol, aimed at his forehead, and squeezed the trigger.

The moment he slumped over, I clicked the safety on and handed the gun back to Alex, unable to look at him while my anger consumed me.

It was all a waste of time…

Holding the hostage, starving him out, and finally breaking him, only to be fed a bunch of bullshit.

“What did you make of that?” Alex asked while he tucked the gun away, sparing a single glance at the dead man.

“Nothing at all. It’s impossible,” I muttered, wiping my face on my sleeve before pulling my gloves off. “Esidor’s dead…he was just trying to save his skin.”

My brother gave me a look suggesting he wasn’t entirely sure—like he knew it sounded absurd, yet something in him was still on the fence. “Likely…but I certainly hope that was just the blubbering of a desperate man instead of something more serious.”

“You know how they get once death is really on the table.”

Sighing, he nodded, and the two of us drifted out of the room. “You’re not wrong.”

Still furious and wanting to get my mind off it, I led the way while we moved through the main floor of the warehouse. Alex eventually split off to give someone the command to handle the cleanup, but I kept moving.

I needed to go home and cool off.

Despite dismissing the ridiculous part of the hostage’s confession, I had the feeling he wasn’t kidding about the other part—about something unfolding behind the scenes. Maybe it wasn’t how he implied it, but there could still be weight to his words.

Given how tense things had been and the fact that some people in her ranks felt very strongly about the pact, it was entirely possible at least one fringe group was at work and hoping to dismantle what we established together, whether Aria was involved or not.

Not to mention, Aria had tasked her cousins with digging into the identity of the rat who caused the issue between us in the first place, yet they still didn’t have anything to show for it.

That told me whoever was leading this group of Pesci men was more covert. It was likely only a select few were in on it, or they were keeping it well hidden as a whole.

I just needed to know who the one calling those shots was.

On the way home, my stomach was in knots.

I hadn’t expected that man’s last words to affect me as greatly as they did, but I couldn’t shake the many questions moving through my head. The doubts and concerns.

With Aria’s intel.

Those words echoed in the back of my mind, furthering my doubts. That could mean a number of things…

Without any concrete answers or evidence, it had me questioning everyone. Her men, her cousins, and even Aria herself.

Even if she was my wife and the matter concerned her directly, I knew I couldn’t tell her—not if she was in on it herself. Not if she was planning on pulling a fast one on me after all that time.

I hated how that uncertainty and dread made me second guess all of the progress we made.

I didn’t want to believe my own wife would screw me over…not after everything. But I still couldn’t count her out. Nobody was perfectly innocent, and I wasn’t prepared to let myself fall for anyone’s games.

After getting home, I washed up, letting the hot water run over me and cleanse me of the sweat and blood from the interrogation. My fist ached while I got out and wrapped the towel around my waist, but I swallowed the pain down and pushed my hair back while I leaned over the sink.

The quiet shuffle of footsteps reached the doorway, and Aria poked her head in.

“Hey…I just got back,” she murmured, offering me a small smile while she entered the steam-filled room. “Did everything go well today?”

The sight of her alone was enough to make my chest ache, dreading the possibility that she could be working against me. I hummed and nodded. “Yeah, everything was just fine.”

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, she closed the space between us and put a gentle hand on my bare shoulder before leaning in and pressing a tender kiss to my lips.

It was soft and warm, surrounding me in everything her . Over the last little while, it had been a comfort to me, but in that moment, I still felt on edge. Hesitant.

Either way, I kissed her back, melding my lips with hers while my fingers slipped to the back of her head. I savored her taste and the way she melted into my touch. The way her mouth could get me worked up without any delay.

I hoped to whatever god was out there that she wasn’t playing me; I didn’t know what I’d do if it was the case.

With a low hum, I nipped at her lower lip before murmuring against it, “Go get ready…we have somewhere to be tonight.”

I watched as a faint shiver moved through Aria while she looked back at me with heavily lidded eyes, giving away how that exchange affected her in much the same way.

She swallowed to pull herself together again. “As long as we continue this later.”

With a faint, reserved grin, I nodded. “Count on it.”

I really hoped she didn’t have anything to do with the apparent Pesci plans.