Chapter 3
Miles
Always Theo.
By the time Ernie and his men arrived, the words Sofia muttered had replayed so many times that I wanted nothing more than to reach into my own brain and pluck them from my vocabulary.
With the guy I’d beaten to a pulp still unconscious and secured with cable ties, I gave my orders to Ernie to deal with the fallout at the bar before getting the hell out of there with Sofia passed out on the back seat.
The words continued to repeat for the duration of the drive home and the entire time I stared at her sprawled out on my bed while I waited for the family doctor, Doc Harris, to arrive at the house to check her over.
A green-eyed monster threatened to burst from under my skin with every passing second.
Despite Theo and me looking almost identical, and women almost always falling at their knees for him, I was never jealous of him. Never felt animosity or wished our roles were reversed.
With the exception of one person.
Even in his death, jealousy streaked through me like a fire blazing its way through my veins. It was a miracle I hadn’t cracked any teeth from where my jaw clenched so damn hard as I tried to push the jealousy away and allow hate to replace it.
It was easier to hate Sofia for the way she made me feel about Theo. And for the way she made me feel about her.
When a gentle knock sounded at the door, and Doc Harris poked his head through, relief swept through me. I could escape the scent of cinnamon that had filled my room and take my anger out on someone who deserved it.
Briefing Harris on what had happened and my suspicion that Sofia had been drugged, I left him to examine her. Taking large strides across the grounds of the house to the lock-up, adrenaline pumped through me.
The lock-up was a converted barn situated at the edge of the property. Aside from security cameras watching over the barn from every angle, there were a number of security measures in place to prevent unauthorized access—namely Angel snooping in places she shouldn’t be.
Despite Riley’s warning that she wasn’t allowed within a hundred meters of the lock-up, Angel had been caught several times trying to get inside, which usually resulted in Riley losing her shit, and Angel throwing a tantrum, much to Kai and mine’s amusement.
The two girls were as feisty as each other.
Since moving into the house, the lock-up had only been used a few times, mainly because people knew not to fuck with the Wolfes. After the battle against our enemies where we reclaimed the city, the people of Hollows Bay were reminded of who was in charge, and for the most part, they fell in line.
There were the odd few, though, who thought they could challenge our authority and had found themselves chained up in the lock-up, where Kai and I reminded them of who ruled the city.
Some walked away, others didn’t.
The cunt chained up in the lock-up awaiting his fate wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Tapping in the code to open the first door, I used my thumbprint to unlock the second, before standing in front of the face scanner to gain access through the third door. Like I said, extra measures to keep a prying thirteen-year-old girl out.
When the door swung open, I marched inside, finding my prey tethered to a chair, and five semi-automatic rifles pointed at him.
He’d been stripped down to his boxer briefs, and the bruises decorating his face and torso were in full bloom, his skin a mixture of deep purples and reds.
The result of my handiwork. He’d managed to crack one eye open, but the other was firmly swollen shut.
“Boss. We managed to get a name out of the punk,” Ernie said, lowering his gun as he approached me. “Allow me to introduce you to Adrian Powell, brother of Markus Powell. He’s even got a stag tattoo.”
My gaze narrowed on the fucker. Markus Powell had been the deputy of The Stags, the gang who had the moronic idea that they could claim our city, along with someone we'd once thought was a friend. Family.
Markus was the fucker who’d thrown Sofia into a cell with Kimmy, a friend of ours, and had then proceeded to try and assault Sofia. Kimmy had intervened, preventing Markus from doing whatever he’d planned to do to Sofia, but as a result, he’d beaten Kimmy black and blue.
When Rafe and I, along with several of our men, found the women in the cell and freed them, Kimmy told me what Markus had done. A rage so blinding had consumed me that when I found Markus, I riddled his torso with bullets.
After we’d reclaimed Hollows Bay, Kai made it his mission to rid the world of The Stags, and we’d succeeded.
Or so we thought.
At least the Herrera cartel wasn’t involved.
The fuckers had threatened to kidnap and sell Sofia to the highest bidder on the black market in revenge for a drug deal that went wrong between them and Georgio.
They hadn’t made their move. Yet. But it was only a matter of time, and given the lack of precautions Georgio was taking to protect his daughter, I was certain that when they did strike, they’d succeed in their mission to kidnap Sofia.
Which was why I was already making plans in my head to make sure Sofia was brought under my protection, and why Kai and Riley had cut short their honeymoon, and were on their way home.
Keeping my composure, I nodded. “I’ll deal with him from here.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Wolfe,” Ernie replied, shaking my hand with his free one. “Do you want more men stationed around the property?”
“Station an additional four men at checkpoint one. We’ll discuss further when Kai’s back,” I said, clapping Ernie on the shoulder.
Ernie was a good man, and he knew just how serious Kai and I were about making sure our women were protected properly.
Not that Sofia was my woman.
Fuck.
“Will do, Boss,” he said, nodding at his men, the four of them trailing behind Ernie, and leaving me alone with the soon-to-be dead man.
I cracked my knuckles before ripping the gag from Adrian’s mouth. The second it was free, he spat a mouthful of blood at my feet, and he raised venomous eyes to meet mine. “Let me go. You don’t know who the fuck you’re messing with.”
I smirked, folding my arms across my chest. “Is that so? Do enlighten me, who the fuck am I messing with, ‘cos where I’m standing, it looks like I’ve messed you up good and proper?”
He spat again. “Go fuck yourself. I’m not telling you shit, other than when they find out what you’ve done to me, they’ll end you. You’ll spend the rest of eternity in an unmarked grave where no one will find your rotting corpse.”
It seemed futile to tell him that death didn’t scare me. That I’d wished for death practically every day since holding Theo’s dead body, and that on the night me, Kai, and a whole bunch of our men launched an attack to reclaim our city, I’d secretly been hoping I wouldn’t walk away from it.
Besides, I was more interested in who they were. Surely he wasn’t referring to the cartel, or did we have another enemy knocking at our door that we’d have to deal with?
“Let’s not waste any time here, Adrian. We both know how this is going to go.
I’m going to ask you a question, you’ll tell me to fuck off, I’ll inflict some kind of torture on you, and you’ll eventually tell me what I want to know.
Why don’t you save yourself the pain, and just tell me what I want to know now? ”
His response was to spit at my feet again; this time, a globule of blood landed on the tip of my shoe, and a wave of disgust rolled through me.
Without warning, I reared back and plowed my fist into his face, putting all my anger, jealousy, and every other fucking feeling swirling inside me behind the punch.
Fresh blood exploded from his nose as his head tipped back, and muttered curses were cut off when the asshole started coughing on it. Giving him a few seconds to compose himself, I moved to the cabinet, inputting yet another code to open it before pulling out a tool and smiling to myself.
Kai was known for being brutal. He tended to use his fists to do his talking. Me, on the other hand? I liked to toy with my prey, see just how much pain they could tolerate. Sure, they’d meet the same fate, but my preference was to take my time.
If I’d had my way, every single person involved in Theo’s murder would still be alive, but they’d be begging for the sweet relief of death.
They’d beg for forgiveness that would never come, and only when I was satisfied that they’d paid with enough blood and pain, then I’d grant them the mercy of death.
“How did you know Sofia was at Bar Forty-Four?” I asked, done with messing around. I wanted answers.
“Fuck you.”
The words had barely left his mouth before I shoved the taser against his bare chest and hit the ‘on’ button. Fifty thousand volts of electricity rolled through Adrian, his body turning rigid, and his cries of agony prevented from spilling out from how tightly his jaw was clenched.
Pulling the taser away, I grinned down at him. “I’ll ask again. How did you know Sofia was at the bar? And before you tell me to fuck off, you should know that the next time I zap you, I’m increasing the voltage and pressing the barbs against your dick.”
I pressed the ‘on’ button for dramatic effect, the electricity crackling menacingly between the electrodes at the top of the weapon. Wicked glee spread through me as I wondered how many volts Adrian would be able to withstand before he passed out.
“Go to hell,” he gritted out, attempting to glare at me with glazed-over eyes.
I pressed a button to up the voltage before jabbing the electrodes against his cock, holding it in place as he screamed through gritted teeth, his body turning rigid for a second time.
“I did warn you, but if you want to play games…” I trailed off, shrugging as I pulled the taser away from his groin. “We can do this all night, Adrian. I’ve got no place to be.”
“I’ll…never…talk.”
The hint of doubt in his voice suggested otherwise.
“We’ll see.”
I held the taser in front of him, making it obvious that I was increasing the voltage once more.
I hoped like hell Adrian did hold out. The longer I had to play with him, the longer I could keep my thoughts from the jailbait in my bed.