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“Wow,” William whispers.

“If you handle this, I’ll pay you hazard pay,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, boss. She’s fucking scary,” he mutters, picking him up with Jared’s help. “I took his phone from him earlier. It’s in my pocket actually. I’ll check the charge and do what’s necessary.”

“Thanks,” Elijah says. “Sounds like his girl has some odd views about relationships.”

We follow William and Jared out, while William smirks. “Isn’t there a girl code she’s breaking by doing this?” he asks.

“There is,” Lili says. “I plan to show her the error of her ways as soon as you apprehend her for me.”

William dumps Lincoln in the trunk and nods.

“Enjoy,” he says, stepping away. “I’ll keep you updated, boss.”

Liliana hands her keys to Jared with a sigh, saying, “Let’s get this over with. I’m behind on everything else I need to be doing.”

“An executioner’s job is never over, it sounds like,” Jared says, clicking the key fob to find her car. Elijah makes a face as Jared jogs off to it and we get into the car.

“You’re a menace on the roads, Lili,” he says.

“Only for those who jaywalk,” she retorts.

Fucking wonderful. This drive will be fantastic.

LILIANA

Blood drips down the drain in continuous succession. It’s a familiar sound, one that makes me happy in a grim way. I’m a killer, this is what I do best, the only thing I’ll ever be now.

For people who swear they’re reformed killers, the Broken Brothers Enterprise, as they call themselves, sure have a lot of fun toys.

In my hand is an electrical wand that I suppose could be used for sexy time, but I have it turned up too high to use it as anything other than a torture device.

Before this, I pulled every single piece of information about his life that I could with a knife and a sledgehammer.

This is the best type of therapy a girl can have.

“Are you hiding any other secrets, Lincoln?” I ask with a purr. The guys are quiet, handing me something new when I need it.

The man hanging from chains in front of me has a broken nose, ten broken fingers, two swollen eyes, and a broken knee cap.

There are knife cuts all over his body, and I peeled away the skin from his upper thigh while threatening to cut off his dick.

I think he confessed pushing his four year-old sister down the stairs when they were younger all the way to how many women he’s raped.

Twelve. I was supposed to be lucky number thirteen. Lucky indeed.

“No, no I swear it,” he whimpers.

“Just to be clear, do you text or call el Tigre ?” I ask. If I can use his phone to get in contact, then that would be easier.

Otherwise, I’ll start asking around for him until he gets paranoid and tries to kill me. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and he’s a very big feline.

“Text, always,” Lincoln gasps. “His number is saved in my phone under Boss Man. Ah, fuck.”

“That’s cute,” I croon, pushing the rod’s prongs into his skin. At some point, if you interrogate and torture someone well enough, they’ll start to slip up and tell you things they don’t want you to know.

Lincoln Tithers is a dead man walking either way. He was good enough to give up his surname earlier.

“Tell me more about the ‘boss man’,” I insist, lifting the rod from his skin. Putting it aside, I pick up a device that will cut off his fingers at the bone. “We can do this the easy or difficult way.”

“Please, tell us the easy way,” Theo says with a smirk, watching me closely.

“I’ll slit his throat at the end of this and walk away,” I reply. “The hard way involves his balls and some fire. I hate loud screams, but it could be worth it. What do you think, Theo?”

“I wonder how long he’ll live if his balls were burned off, and how long it’ll be until the rest of his skin caught on fire,” he muses, playing along.

Lincoln is naked outside of his boxers, but only because I didn’t want to see his dick.

“Your choice,” I say in a sing-song creepy as fuck voice that makes Elijah shiver.

Just because he’s the worst of them with his selfishness and arrogance, doesn’t mean he’s not also sensitive. Knowing these boys all their lives isn’t a good thing.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I sigh in annoyance. There aren’t many people with my phone number, and Maurice doesn’t make a point of using it. I wonder what my father or Mr. Emil wants.

Sighing, I put the finger cutters to the side and pull my phone out of my pocket. My hands are curiously clean in the black gloves Theo gave me for everything I’ve done, a testament that I don’t get my hands dirty until the end. Even my clothes are mostly clean.

Glancing at my phone, I wince, wondering what Mr. Emil wants.

“Hello, sir,” I greet him, tucking my phone between my cheek and my shoulder. Fuck, I really wish I had my earbuds, but they’re in my SUV. “How can I help you?”

“ That’s a very blase question when you’re in enemy territory, Lili,” he replies. “ Your father told me about the drugging. Why aren’t you home?”

Fucking tracker. Picking up the finger cutting device, I decide to speed this up. Moving it to Lincoln’s index finger on his right hand, I snip off just the tip. His scream makes me giggle, and I ignore Mr. Emil so I can enjoy it for a moment.

“Turns out that guy who drugged me works for el Tigre , who is the supplier of the date rape drug, sir. Lincoln Tithers is currently strung up in the Kings’ basement for me,” I tell him.

They will always be Kings to me, no matter what they say.

“ Well, that’s nice of them,” Mr. Emil drawls. “ May I ask some questions of Lincoln while you continue to cut off body parts? I’m on my way to you, and I tracked you to a house under an umbrella company.”

“Super nifty of them, don’t you think?” I ask, which is code for shady as fuck.

“ Very much. May I take over for a bit?” he asks again.

Having that man repeat himself is asking for trouble, so I put him on speaker and set him on a table next to me.

“Your show, sir,” I say.

Mr. Emil asks question after question about Lincoln’s boss, and whenever my hostage hesitates, I remind him that I still can hurt him. Thirty minutes later, I’ve pulled everything out of him that I can.

“ I’m outside with someone who wants to see you, Liliana. Don’t play with your food. Kill him quickly,” Mr. Emil grunts before hanging up.

Shrugging, I smile brightly at Lincoln. “The good news is, you’re all done now,” I say, grabbing a knife from the table. “You’ve been a naughty boy, though, so it’s time to say goodbye.”

Striking without any further warning, I shove the knife up through his jaw straight to his brain. He doesn’t even have a chance to scream, and it’s better that he doesn’t. I’m just about over loud noises for the day.

“I need to go see what Mr. Emil needs, and then I’ll be right back,” I say, leaving the knife in Lincoln’s throat. His eyes bulge almost in surprise, and I roll my eyes.

How a stupid fucker has been getting away with raping women for so long is beyond me. I wonder if Livie Zoner is the mastermind here. Yes, in the end he even gave his girlfriend up too.

Pulling off my gloves, I walk to the utility tub to scrub my hands with soap and water.

“You’re very scary,” Elijah mutters as the water runs.

“Thanks,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder at him. “There’s a finesse to this. I took to it really well, and it scratched an itch not even sex could hit, if I was ever interested in it again.”

Turning off the water, I grab a paper towel to dry my hands.

“You’re just going to be a mafia spinster then?” Jared asks teasingly.

“That’s… ew. Never say that to me again, please,” I say, rolling my eyes as I toss the towel in the garbage.

Following me as I leave, I think about his question.

“I had a really good life with the loves of my life, and that’ll have to be good enough,” I finally say. “I’ll happily be celibate for the rest of my life if I can’t have them.”

Their basement also has an emergency exit up into the backyard, where I unlock and open the door to step outside. Still armed, I walk confidently to the driveway, with the Three Musketeers on my heels.

Mr. Emil is leaning against his SUV with his arms crossed as he gazes up at the sky, his sunglasses in place. It’s cool and dry today, the breeze playing with the strands of my hair, temporarily blinding me. Pushing it out of my face, I hear the gasps before I see him.

Ignacio Reyes gazes at me with his heart in his eyes before he slowly smiles.

“How about some love for the escapee?” he says, making my eyes widen.

“Don’t believe him, Liliana, he’s out for good,” Mr. Emil says, raising his sunglasses. “He’s not going to disappear, mija.”

My lips begin to quiver with emotion before the floodgates of tears overflow. My feet are flying down the driveway despite having recently been in the hospital, each step hitting true. My ankles refuse to roll, my mind still whispering that it could be a very cruel trick of the mind.

Maybe I’m in a coma, and all of this has been a fucking dream. I don’t trust anything right now.

Launching myself into Ignacio’s arms, I wait to fall. If he’s not real, he wouldn’t be able to catch me in his strong, corded arms, right? If he’s a hallucination, I wouldn’t be able to fist his hair before mashing my lips on his, only inhaling when he does, right?

But if he’s real, not hurt or dead, then he’s been ignoring all of my letters.

“ Hijo de puta!” I scream, pulling away from his lips to slap him across the face. “Not a single goddamned letter back. Why?”

It’s as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist, as I glare down at him with my legs wrapped around his waist. His body is jacked, and I swear his muscles have muscles on them now.

Focus. Fuck, I can be turned on and mad.

“I didn’t know what to tell you,” he whispers, his chest heaving as he pulls in a breath.

Tears liberally flow from his eyes, and I can taste the salt from this on my lips and tongue from when we were kissing.

“Your words helped me through some really dark times. Solitary confinement was a blessing, because I used to dream about you and our girl.”

Sobbing, I drop my forehead against his, my arms wrapped around his neck, my fingers playing in his hair.

“Do I get to keep him?” I ask Mr. Emil without glancing at him, gasping in a breath. “Please?”

His heavy footsteps move over to us, and I can see him from the corner of my eye as I continue to cry. It’s as if half of every wish I’ve ever made just came true. I know it’s real now, I just don’t know how long I’ll have him for.

“I’m not cruel enough to pull Ignacio away for any reason in the world,” he says, slowly rubbing my back as I sniff.

I’m a fucking mess, but Nacio’s arm is wrapped tightly around my waist and his fingers brush away my tears.

“You need a right hand man, anyway. Your father and I would prefer if you weren’t alone anymore with how things are progressing. ”

“She’s not entirely alone,” Elijah calls out before grunting in pain. He probably shouldn’t make so much noise in front of the man they were responsible for sending to prison. Just because I had to take their help, doesn’t mean there’s any water under the bridge.

“Thank you for your help, but you should probably go before my son decides to take his revenge,” Mr. Emil says. “I’ll send someone for the body soon.”

“The girlfriend may be at their club under duress,” I sniffle. “It’s been a busy day, sir.”

“Leave a girl for a little while, and she becomes my father’s prodigy,” Nacio mutters, chuckling under his breath. “Let’s take care of the girl and then I can make you dinner, rub your feet, and remind you of how much I love you.”

“With a proposal like that, how can a girl possibly say no?” I ask teasingly, kissing him again. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m also hardly his prodigy, baby. Just a girl with a knife and a bone to pick with the world.”

“That’s pretty accurate,” Mr. Emil sighs. “Ride with Liliana, Nacio, and let’s get this taken care of. You both deserve a night to rest. Remember she was just in the hospital.”

The peanut gallery behind us is strangely silent, and I find they’re gone when I twist around.

“Things would have gone very differently if Jared hadn’t found me,” I sigh. “They’re still spineless dicks, just occasionally helpful ones too.”

“Hear, hear,” Nacio mutters. “I can still want to cut their dicks off, Lili, and be grateful they helped you. Where’s your car?”

“Dad bought me the SUV in the driveway because it was less conspicuous. I was reminded of how you found me once,” I remind him, my lips twitching.

It was the time I stole Rachelle away. It hurts to remember those memories, and the puppy dog eye he gave her. It also feels good, because she’ll always be with me.

Ignacio is here to help me with the burden when the memories become too much now. Fuck, I have so many questions as I slide down his body, my eyes looking up at him in awe.

“I’ll tell you everything in the car,” he says.

It’s not everything “I can” the way his father often says to me, but all of it. It feels like I have a partner in crime to balance out the scales, and I smile brightly up at him. One of my truly happy smiles, the first in a long time.

“You’re going to gang up on me, I can already see it,” Mr. Emil grumbles as he stomps to his car.

“I’m just evening out the scales, Dad,” Ignacio says with a grin, winking at me as if he can read my mind.

For all I know, maybe he can.