Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Gideon
Elijah Madison, thirty-three years old, blond hair, blue eyes, had worked with the Calvern family for over a decade.
According to the information Toni was able to obtain, he’d been heavily involved in Benito’s campaign.
He also was the one who’d arranged for Ricky to get in the car that had crashed into my SUV, hurting my nephew.
That was the main reason he was currently strapped to a chair, naked, in one of my crates.
I leaned against the metal wall and glared at him. He was still out cold. Toni had managed to come behind him in a parking garage and sedate him while Danny and Alex helped.
“A man like Elijah will be missed,” Danny said.
“I don’t give a fuck.” I turned my gaze to him. “Benito gave the order, but this guy is the one that made it happen. We get everything we can out of him.”
“Then what?”
“Danny, are you having some sort of self-discovery? Have you found God or something?” I pushed off the wall and took a few steps, advancing in on him.
“No, Boss.”
“He’s just doing his job. He keeps you safe, and sometimes that’s even from yourself,” Alex defended.
“If you two want to leave, go ahead.”
“Boss, we just wanted to make sure you were seeing this from all sides. Benito won’t take too kindly to this. You saw what happened when Nathanial betrayed him.”
“If I do nothing, he will see me as nothing and trample all over me.”
They both nodded.
“Boss needs to bite back, or Benito will eat him alive.” Toni moved to a metal cart. “I’m waking him up—he’s taking too long.”
I gave Alex and Danny one more look before turning toward Elijah. Toni placed some smelling salts under his nose, and he jerked awake.
“What the…” His blue eyes frantically took in the crate; then he peered down at himself.
“Why am I naked and tied up?” His head snapped up, and he zeroed in on me. “You.”
“Was there ever a question? Are there other people’s nephews you have people drive their cars into?”
There was clear defiance in his expression. He was a Benito loyalist, and he wouldn’t crack easily.
“Just because you’ve made enemies all across the world because of the thug life you live, doesn’t mean everyone who wants to stand up to you is out to kill you or your family.”
“Thug life. There’s that phrase again.” I snorted. “And by standing up to me, you mean?”
“This is about Benito being governor, right? You want your puppet on your strings, and he’s a threat to you.”
“You act like Calvern is a saint, and we both know that isn’t true.” I inched closer to him. “See, I know you bought the used car for Ricky and paid him five thousand dollars to drive it into my vehicle. But there are a few questions I have that I need you to answer.”
“Who the hell is Ricky?”
I took one step forward and punched him square in the jaw. “Let’s not pay dumb. I don’t have time for that.”
He slowly brought his head straight and glared. “Ask your questions then, if you’re so short on time.”
I chuckled darkly. “You’re a piece of work.” I signaled to Toni, who handed me a screwdriver. “For every question you don’t answer properly, I will hurt you in some way.”
He eyed the screwdriver. “Is that the only rule?”
I glanced at Danny and Alex, and both shrugged as if to say, “What the fuck is wrong with this guy?” I hated how his bravado reminded me of Penn. But I knew this guy felt pain, and I’d be sure to show him fear.
“First question—this one is for my sister-in-law. Did you know there would be children in the SUV, or did you just not care?”
Answering this question would be admitting he was part of it; not answering would ensure I’d drive this screwdriver into his hand. I tapped the tip against his knuckles.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I sighed. “They never just answer the first question. It’s like they need proof, you know?” I asked Toni.
“They need to be taught, Boss.”
“So be it.” I lifted the screwdriver and impaled his hand, embedding it in the arm of the chair.
His head whipped back, and he released a bloodcurdling scream. The crate wasn’t soundproofed, but the area was vacant and Raff and Tate were outside, keeping an eye out.
Once Elijah calmed down a bit, I continued, “Care to answer now?”
He looked over at his hand, then up at me. “You’re insane.”
“No, I’m fucking pissed, and that’s way worse.”
I held my hand out, and Toni slipped a hunting knife onto my palm. I wiggled it in front of Elijah’s face.
“I don’t know what you want to hear, some lie to make you feel better?”
I scraped the tip along his arm. “Did you know there were kids in the car?”
When he didn’t answer, I drove the knife through his other hand. He shouted more. This time as he lifted his head, saliva dripped from his mouth, and his eyes were wild.
“Maybe ask this Ricky guy if he knew. He’s the one that did it, isn’t that what you said?”
With a shake of my head, I took the metal stake from Toni. “Feet next?”
“Why are you doing this? I didn’t do anything.”
“I need a mallet,” I ordered Toni, but Danny handed it to me. I was still upset with him, but there was something in his eyes. He knew Elijah deserved this, knew that this was for Matteo and Owen.
“Want me to hold the stake in place? He’s wiggling.”
“Good idea.”
“Wait!” Elijah yelled.
Danny and I turned to him. “Something to say?”
He sighed. “It didn’t matter.”
I leaned closer. “Say again.”
He glared at me. “I said it didn’t matter. Kids or none.”
I wanted to stab him in the heart right then and there, but I needed more from him. “Good, next question.”
“No more.”
“Oh, there’s more, Elijah. How painful this process is lies solely in your hands.”
He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know everything. What if I don’t really know something?”
I smirked. That was the same thing Nathanial had said. “Let’s cross that bridge if we get to it. Next question. Why did Benito wait two years to come at me? Why not strike while I was rebuilding?”
Judging by the expression on Elijah’s face, he had the answer to that question but wasn’t going to admit to it easily.
“Okay.” I nodded and looked at Danny. “Hold the stake.”
It took a lot for Elijah to crack but in the end, I got my answers, and Elijah released his last breath knowing his boss would be joining him soon enough.