Chapter 33 #3
"You're no fun, you're telling me being surrounded by all this, you're not tempted to have fun?" Régis rearranged his cards. “If that’s the case, you’re a better man than me, Damian Marino.”
When Damian didn't confirm or deny, Régis took that to keep talking.
"Maybe you're into something else?" His question had the fine hairs on my arms raising. He took more sips of his drink as they went back and forth with the game and started another.
Damian tossed in four black chips, still not answering Régis. For some reason, it made the older man laugh even more. He was relaxed like tonight was the best night of his life.
Poker wasn’t something I was remotely into. I discreetly looked around, seeking out only one person. When I didn't see Onyx right away, nerves began to bounce around in my stomach.
"That's the fourth hand you've lost," Régis said.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were losing on purpose.
" He finished off his drink and his gaze was glassed over, pupils blown as it swept over each of us.
"Any of you know how to play?" He grinned at me like we were the best of friends.
"Well, I doubt you know how." He glanced back at the bodyguards he brought with him, and the man not fixated on Elia laughed along with him like he'd told the best joke.
Damian lit a cigarette and took a drag before leaning forward and putting it out on Régis’s hand.
The smell of tobacco mixed with burning flesh was oddly sweet.
The aroma was unmistakable as it filled the air.
It wasn't a scent I normally would have been happy to breathe in. At the moment, that shit could have been bottled along with Régis’s shout, and I would've paid top fucking dollar for it.
"The hell?" Régis slurred. He stared at his hand like it wasn’t real.
I was on the other side of the table in two easy steps.
All my pent-up frustration came to the forefront, and I slammed my fist into the guard's face.
The crunch of cartilage in his nose was drowned out by the music playing in the background.
I punched him again just for shits and giggles. He dropped down like a box of rocks.
Elia was next to me, his guy on the ground in a choke hold, his face turning a creepy shade of blue. My little brother sported the smile of a lunatic as he tightened his hold even as the body twitched.
Régis shot up and stumbled back. “The fuck. What is this?” He wavered, catching himself on the table before he could fall. His breathing was labored as he held his head. “What did you do?”
Prince grabbed the guy I knocked out and shouldered one side of him before passing him to one of our guys. “Take him downstairs. Elia, you done?”
“Yep.” Elia slithered from under the bodyguard and fixed his dress like it was a regular evening. And in truth, it was when you were a part of this family.
The crowd had thinned significantly over the night; it had to be gradual not to tip off Régis’s guards, and luckily, it had worked.
The people that remained were either so deep in our pockets or worked for us.
Their attention was on their own stuff and not on us.
They were now being more quickly ushered out.
Régis groaned, shook his head, and tried to stand on his own. Once more he stumbled, but this time, he crashed down to his knees. He pulled the tablecloths off the table, taking the chips along with him.
"Shit, what did your husband give him?" Prince asked.
"No clue, but I know it won't kill him. That would be too easy," I said, knowing Onyx way too well. He’d want to end Régis’s life personally.
Damian still sat at the table, staring down at Régis like he was a bug barely worth squashing. “I warned you. Did I not, Régis?”
The older man blinked rapidly, trying to keep his head up to meet Damian’s gaze. “What? I—fuck, what did you give me?”
“He didn’t give you shit. I did,” Onyx said. Gone was the disguise and back was my breathtaking bella. He was still wearing the fitted short red dress.
Régis crashed, his eyes closing as his breathing evened out.
“He’ll be out for thirty minutes. I diluted that dose. I don't want to stretch this out,” Onyx said.
Damian nodded, stood up, and headed toward the stairs in the back that led to the basement.
Onyx looked down at his father, and for a second, I thought he was going to just go in for the kill.
No one would blame him, and I was certain my family would take care of everything.
But he rolled his shoulders back and followed my brother.
“I wanted to watch your man do his thing down there, but I better stay up here with Prince just in case something happens,” Elia said.
Nash grunted, going for Régis. “Help me.”
“We could just drag him down the stairs.” I went for his feet instead and Nash punched me in the arm.
“Stop playing.”
No one ever lets me have fun.
We carried the soon-to-be-dead fucker down the stairs.
Nash led us to the second room, and there, we found Damian and a pacing Onyx.
I held back from calling out to him; the determination on Onyx’s face gave me pause.
He was fully concentrating, and I needed to be here to support, not to get in the way.
Nash secured Régis to the single metal chair in the room. It was a windowless concrete room. The floor had seen more blood than a morgue and just as much bleach. Soon Régis’s blood would be added.
Onyx squatted down on the ground, his arms folded over his knees as he stared at his father. His gaze was heavy and unwavering.
Silence filled the room as each of us just watched as Régis slept, unaware of the fate that awaited him. His once neatly combed hair was a mess, his freshly pressed suit was wrinkled, and would soon be soaked in his blood.
This was his deathbed and he had no idea.
“He’s waking up,” Onyx finally said after what felt like forever. He stood up and stretched behind Régis.
Sure enough, a groan emitted from his parted lips as his eyes started to flutter open.
“My head,” Régis groaned.
Damian pushed off the wall, the cigarette he’d come in with long gone. He pulled out another, lit it, and let it hang between his lips. My brother whipped the back of his hand across Régis’s face.
The older man’s head whipped to the side as his eyes widened in shock. “What?—”
Damian backhanded him again before grabbing a fistful of hair and forced him to meet his gaze.
"I told you that family is important to me.
Well, it's been brought to my attention that you've threatened my family twice now.
That's more than most people have the opportunity to do.
" Damian pulled the cigarette from between his lips and ashed it to the side. “You think I’m a joke.”
Régis coughed as he tried to pull away from Damian. His struggle seemed to only make him panic more. “No, that’s not it at all, I would never.”
“And to further your insult, you’re calling my family liars.
” Damian nodded as if he was finally understanding something.
He held the cigarette up to Régis’s face and slowly brought the glowing cherry toward his eye.
“Marinos aren’t to be fucked with.” He put the cigarette out in his eye.
The sizzle echoed around the room before it was drowned out by Régis’s screams.
All four legs of the chair he was in rattled against the concrete flooring but moved nowhere.
Damian took a step back, pulling at his sleeves as he released Régis.
"You're right, I was letting you win. You're a shit player.
I'll be taking the winnings you got from tonight as payment for the disrespect. Count yourself lucky I won’t be taking your life. "
Régis cursed and thrashed about, nearly making the chair topple over. Still, no one moved to help him. No one said anything as he wallowed in pain. It was like watching a cockroach end up on its back after getting too close to poison.
Onyx was still watching like a predator, more than ready to strike. There was a smile on his face that even sent chills down my spine.
Régis slowly settled down, his shouts turned into ragged breathing. His entire body shook. “Okay.”
My brother and I looked at each other. What the fuck was he okaying?
“You proved your point, whatever I did won’t happen again.”
Damian chuckled, something he rarely did. “We know.”
“So let me go so I can go get checked out,” Régis demanded. When no one helped him, he kept shouting nonsense. "Any further and you’ll be making a grave mistake." Régis stared at Damian with the one working eye. "Anymore and my business partners will no longer work with you."
"You must piss people off constantly," Nash said. "We approached each of them and they were more than happy to go into business without you."
Régis spat to the side, and blood ran down his face. “I doubt that. I’ve been in this game longer than you all have been out of diapers.”
“Even at times like this, where you’re clearly at everyone's mercy, you act like everything is under your control.” Onyx walked over to the front of Régis, and I swore his face paled the moment his gaze landed on my husband.
Yeah, bitch, be afraid.
“Louis, what are you doing?” Régis stared at him with one eye blinking rapidly as tears streamed down his face.
“Something I should have done a long time ago.”
“Wait!” Régis’s voice broke as desperation took over. He struggled in his binds, rattling the chair as his head turned both ways. “Louis, I’ve told you time and time again, he lied. I would never. Look at me.”
Onyx’s shoulders bunched at his father’s words. He drew his fist back before punching the shit out of Régis. The man rocked back, balancing on two legs for a few seconds before slamming back down on all four.
“You don’t get to sit here and claim Adam lied, not when he's broken after what you did to him.”
Blood gushed from Régis’s nose, running over his mouth and down his chin. He sputtered as he was forced to breathe through his mouth.