Chapter Twenty
E nraged, I followed S antos down the hall.
I was going to kill him.
Slow.
Then I was going to kill him again.
The blood between her legs….
I shook my head.
It better be her fucking period or I was going to gut Santos before I killed him.
Addis stormed through the living room with his phone to his ear and threw open the slider door that now had a bullet hole in it. He hung up and toed Tavish before glaring at me. “Carry him to the dock and put him on Huller’s boat. He’ll take it from there.”
“Who the fuck is Huller?” I asked as some Tavish look-alike fuck in aviators came up the stairs.
“The captain,” Addis answered before nodding at the new fuck. “Thomas, this is Ty. He’s in charge while I’m gone. Take Tavish’s position.”
The new fuck, who looked about sixteen fucking years old up close, nodded without comment. Then studiously ignoring Tavish’s body, he stepped around him and went to the far end of the glass slider, backed into it and held his rifle in front of him with both hands like he was gripping the side of a life raft.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Santos reached down and snagged Tavish’s bloody sunglasses off his corpse. His attitude from earlier suddenly gone, he shoved the glasses in his pocket and patted down Tavish’s pants until he found the telltale bulge in his front pocket. Yanking out a wallet, he went through it and pulled out the cash. Pocketing the money he pilfered, he tossed the wallet on Tavish’s stomach. “So long, sucker.” He turned back toward the house.
“Halt,” Addis roared.
Santos paused, but then his hands went to his hips. “I don’t have time for this shit,” he mocked, mimicking Addis’s line from inside. “I got a woman waiting.”
Addis drew, beating me to it. But he didn’t aim at Santos’s head. The bold fucker aimed at his cock.
“You will carry Tavish’s goddamn body to the dock, or you won’t have a dick left to fuck with.” Gritting his teeth, Addis enunciated every word.
“Make me,” Santos taunted, unfazed.
Addis held his aim. “Dante may have said no one can shoot you, but he sure as fuck didn’t mention not sterilizing you.”
Santos still didn’t move. He grinned.
“Test me,” Addis warned.
Santos laughed. “You don’t have the balls.”
Addis fired a single shot and the deck splintered between Santos’s feet. “Next round I take out your balls.”
“Fucking pussy shot,” Santos grunted, but he finally moved. Glaring at Addis, he shoved past me and grabbed Tavish by the ankles. Then he dragged the body across the deck and down the stairs.
Addis and I stared as what was left of Tavish’s head hit every motherfucking step on the way down.
I scanned the trail of blood down the steps. “He’s making a goddamn mess.”
“He is a goddamn mess,” Addis clipped, before glancing at me. “Bleach is in the laundry room. I have to go. Dante is waiting.”
“Sloppy work putting you and the boss on the boat with two dead bodies.” Fishing, I said two on purpose.
Addis didn’t deny it. He stared at the trail of blood Santos was making with Tavish’s body as he dragged him across the sand.
“How many men am I in charge of while you’re gone?”
“Fifteen.” He turned to give me a look. “Now.”
“How the fuck are they gonna know not to shoot me if I come across them?”
“They were all texted your picture, but don’t stray from the house. Leaving Santos unattended with the girl isn’t a good idea.”
Using every skill the Marines taught me, I bit back every ounce of rage I had and kept my expression locked. “That motherfucker should be in a cage. I’ve been here five fucking seconds and I can tell you that if you need her for ransom, you don’t let a sick fuck like Santos near her.”
Addis stilled. Then he narrowed his eyes at me. “I didn’t say she was being held for ransom.”
“Why the hell else would you have a chick tied to a bed that Dante himself told me to protect? And why the fuck does your entire crew get a cell phone and I don’t?”
Buying my explanation, Addis inhaled then let it out. “I’ll get you one when we get back. You have Santos’s phone for now.”
“Just like I have his guns? I need something fucking real to shoot with if you want me to protect shit while you’re gone.”
“Trust me, it’s better if Santos isn’t armed.” Addis glanced at Tavish’s rifle that was lying on the deck with blood splatter all over it. “Clean up the M16, and you can use that.” He headed toward the stairs.
“Hey,” I snapped. “How long you gonna be gone?” I needed to know exactly how much time I had to get Ludeviene the fuck off this island. Christensen’s boat wasn’t going to be in position for another couple hours.
“A few hours, a few days.” Addis shrugged. “I’ll be in touch.” He went down the stairs and across the sand, walking up the dock steps as Santos was coming down.
Whistling to himself, his hands in pockets, Santos had two new guns in his holsters.
“Motherfucker,” I muttered.
“Sir?” the kid on the deck asked.
Santos looked up as he walked across the sand.
I glared at him.
The fucker winked. Then he bypassed the stairs and walked under the house.
I looked at the kid. “Is there another entrance to this place?”
“The main house?”
Yeah, the main fucking house, where the fuck else? “Yes,” I snapped. “Another entrance, where is it?”
“Around back?” Nervous as fuck, the kid answered it like a question as he took off his sunglasses. When he hung them on his shirt, he almost dropped his rifle.
“Jesus fucking Christ, you ever even fired that AR-15?”
He held the gun closer. “Yeah.”
“How fucking old are you?” Goddamn it, I didn’t want to kill him, but I would if I had to.
“Twenty-two, sir,” he croaked, like his voice was still changing and his balls hadn’t dropped.
“Bullsh—”
I was cutoff midword as a crash sounded from inside the house.
I grabbed the bloody M16 off the deck and ran inside.