Page 49 of The Pawn

She shakes her head, more tears coming. “Let me go!” She tries to push past me once more as Enzo returns. “He’s not going to last long,” Enzo says.

Shit. I need to talk to him. Find out who paid him to deliver that gun.

I draw a deep breath in. “I need to handle this. We’ll talk after.”

She’s shaking her head, furious, face flushed, the pulse on her neck beating wildly.

“I made you a promise. I won’t go back on my word, Allegra. Trust me, please.”

But she won’t listen. I don’t think she can. She’s too panicked, too caught up. The rug pulled out from under her. I turn to Enzo. “Give me your gun.” He hands it to me. “Take her,” I tell him. He comes forward to take Allegra.

“Don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking dare!” she screams, fighting. Enzo is gentle, but he’s also firm.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. I tuck the weapon into the backof my jeans and walk toward the crypt because I need to find out who sent the gun. Because if Severin is bringing him to me half-dead, I think it might be worse than I imagined. Because Severin Blackstone sending it would be easy to handle. Something I can make sense of. But if it’s not him, I’m running out of people and the ones remaining are too close to home.

I use the flashlight on my phone to guide me down the stairs toward the crypt. As I reach the bottom of it, I see the light from a battery-operated lantern. They’re more effective than a flashlight down here. I’ve left Rami in pitch black since he’s been here. I’ve only questioned him twice and both times, he’s pissed me off so much I’ve mostly just beaten him.

Now, Rami is sitting in the small cell in one corner and the man Enzo brought in is shackled by his ankle the wall. He’s lying on the ground and he’s so still I wonder if I’m already too late.

“Not going to get much out of that one,” Rami says with a grin on his face. His bruises are an angry purple and I decide I’ll add to the collage once I’m through with this man. But for now, I ignore him.

I crouch down and check the pulse of the man on the ground. It’s faint, but he’s got one. He opens his eyes and looks up at me. Well, I think he’s looking at me, but his face is so swollen it’s hard to say.

“Get up,” I tell him, standing and hauling him up with me. He grunts when I set him on the bench. I find I have to hold him to keep him upright.

His head drops down. I pull it by his hair to make him look at me.

“You’re going to die today. Very soon actually. You get todecide how that’s going to go. I can keep beating you or I can deliver a bullet. Up to you.”

He swallows tries to speak. After two attempts, he glances beyond me. I follow his gaze to the half-drunk bottle of water. Fine. I get up, bring it over and let him take a sip which mostly runs down his chin, but too bad.

“Bullet or a beating?” I ask.

“I have a family.”

“You should have thought about that before you delivered a loaded gun to my family. Bullet or beating. Last time I’ll ask.”

I set my weapon on the crypt where the water was and start to roll up my sleeves to make a point.

“Where did you get the gun?” I ask, hauling him up to his feet.

“I don’t know,” he manages.

I punch him in the gut. He doubles over.

“Where did you get the gun?”

He spits blood and clutches his middle. I straighten him, this time delivering a punch to his already broken nose. He goes down with that one.

“Where did you get the gun?”

I ask again. He holds up his hands, trying to catch his breath. “Wait. Wait. Please.” He wheezes.

I watch him, holding back. Severin beat the shit out of him. Did he do it himself or have someone do it for him? Because this is not what I expect of my stepbrother.

The man nods, licks his lips. He’s half doubled over. “I got home one day and… I work for the Blackstones.” He takes a long break. “I got home and my mother showed me a package. A bag. Left hanging on the front door. Cash inside. Shit ton of it.” He looks at that water again and I let him sit and take another sip.

“Continue.”