37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
DECLAN
T wo weeks later I am waiting outside the hospital in the morning for Vivian to come out from her shift when Axel texts me. Found him.
Finally.
We have all been scouring for that fucking rat Tim. He wasn’t at the fire scene and no one has been able to find him. The police were also trying to find him, but I knew we could find him first. Because I wasn’t going to be constrained by the law.
Vivian opens the passenger door and looks absolutely wiped but is still smiling at me when she gets in. She leans over and kisses me. “Morning,” she says.
“Morning, Baby,” I reply. “How was your night?”
“Busy,” she says. “I’m glad we finished our project this weekend, because I just want to sleep before class tonight.”
“Then let’s get you home,” I say.
I bring Vivian to my apartment and start the shower while she gathers her things from her backpack. I’m trying to take it slow, but I am dying to unpack the damn bag. She still takes it everywhere, which tells me her guard isn’t totally down with me.
She comes back with her clothes, and my phone goes off again in my pocket. I decide that the “please stay and don’t ever go” conversation will have to take place at another time.
“I have some work to do today, but I’ll be back before class,” I assure her. She smiles at me sleepily, and I really just want to take her to the shower and scrub her with my mouth. But some things can’t wait. So instead I lean down and kiss her, and then I slowly slip my tongue between her lips and pull her body to mine.
Thirty minutes later, I leave Vivian in the shower. I have a new set of clothes on, and I drive well above the legal limit to meet up with my brothers.
I pull into the parking lot of Sixth Street Pub and enter the basement door where my brother Slade meets me by rolling his eyes.
“Jesus, it took you fucking long enough,” he tells me, grumbling.
“Something came up.”
“Yeah, your fucking cock,” he says. “We all got shit to do today, Declan. Look how upset Axel is,” he complains, tilting his head to my brother who is leaning against the wall. He looks just as emotionless as he always does.
“Where is he?” I demand, trying to get us on track to the reason we are here.
Axel opens the door to the walk-in freezer and yanks Tim out by the arms. Tim already has a black eye, and terror is too tame a word for the look on his face. But then when he sees me, his entire body starts to shake.
“Hello, Tim,” I say as Axel shoves Tim into a folding chair.
“I swear to fucking God I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Tim says, his voice high-pitched and instantly grating on my nerves.
Axel wraps his hand around the fat fuck’s flabby neck. “My brother will tell you when to fucking speak,” he says to him softly, which is actually scarier than his usual tone.
I watch as Tim pisses himself.
Axel releases him and Tim sits there staring at me as he wheezes air into himself. He skirts his eyes to Slade and then to Axel and they quickly go back to meet mine.
“Tim, buddy, pal,” Slade begins, taking the nice approach, “did you know your building burned down?” he asks him, his tone laced with faux concern. “Cause no one has been able to find you, you know, to tell you. It almost seems like you were hiding.”
I pace in front of Tim as Slade speaks, and his eyes lock on my every move, paying Slade zero attention. That’s what I want. I stop in front of him and his breathing hastens. “What happened to the building, Tim?” I ask darkly. He says nothing and just stares at me. “Talk!” I shout, making him jump.
“I-I don’t know,” he stammers.
Anger runs through me like a freight train, and my vision goes red. I feel myself getting ready to dismember this man, and Slade can read me.
“Hey Tim,” he says gently as he sinks down to crouch beside Tim. Slade has that way about him, and he turns whatever he possesses all the way up. “See, my brother Declan here thinks you’re lying, but he can’t communicate that with you because he’s got his rage face on. And when he gets that way, it doesn’t generally end well for the folks we are talking to. And we don’t want this to get out of hand, you know, right?” Tim nods in agreement at Slade. “Great, so if you have any information, no matter how small, that you can tell us, well, that would really help you now.”
“Some guy came and asked if you lived there,” Tim finally says, glancing at me.
“Who was he?” Slade asks like a therapist, but Tim shakes his head. “You got more in there, buddy. I know you do,” Slade encourages him, but I can see that even he is getting pissed off with this guy.
“They didn’t say who they were,” he says.
Slade nods at him and looks away, then stands up suddenly and grabs Tim’s throat in his hand and squeezes. “This will seem like a fucking walk in the park if I walk out that door and leave you with them,” he says fiercely. “My brother’s girl was in that building; did you know that?”
Tim shakes his head as he wheezes in air, and Slade lets up a little. “I didn’t know they would light it.”
“Who?” Slade asks.
“They’ll kill me,” he wheezes.
I knock Slade aside and pick Tim up by his clothes and bring him to me. “I’m gonna fucking kill you, fucking slowly and painfully, if you don’t start flapping your fucking gums,” I say with my teeth clenched and throw him against the cement wall , and crumple to the ground.
I walk over to him and put my boot on his chest. “Who?” I ask.
“Said his name was Runge, Eric Runge,” he murmurs in between gasps.
“Did you hire him?”
“I told you his name—”
I kick Tim on the side of his chest, and he grunts out. “You better fucking answer me,” I say as I lift him up by his clothes and press him against the wall, holding him there. “Did you fucking hire him?”
“No.”
“Who then?”
“I don’t know,” he is barely able to groan out. He seems to be losing consciousness, and I can’t have that. So I grab my knife from my pocket, open the blade, and poke at Tim’s balls. His eyes pop open, adrenaline pumping through him now.
“What did he say?” I demand, my jaw pulsating as I clench the words out through my teeth.
“Came…to me,” he wheezes, needing a breath to get it out. “Asked…for Falco…told me…he’d fix my problems with you…to get out…”
I push the knife a couple of millimeters, and Tim livens up again. “Didn’t know…told me…to…get…fuck…out…or dead.”
I drop Tim and he falls in a heap on the floor.
“I don’t think he has any more to offer, Declan,” Slade says.
“Agreed,” Axel chimes in.
“Let’s get him out of here,” I say, and Axel calls some of our guys who come and take Tim out and dump him in a nearby alley. Axel uses a burner phone to call the police, and I tell the guys to make sure his wallet is on his chest so there is no confusion about who he is.
“Where was he?” I ask Axel.
“Family’s house in Brockton,” Axel replies.
I take that in and then I think about what he said. “You guys know anyone named Runge?” My brothers both shake their heads.
“Dad might know,” Slade says. “Sounds like he has it out for us, asking for Falco by name. Maybe he had some interaction with him recently, or a while ago.” He shrugs. “He’s the only other Falco to ask.”
I don’t want to bother or upset my dad, since he’d said the stress hadn’t been great for his MS. He’d gone for his steroid treatment and was definitely getting around better, but I don’t want to set him off and make him regress. But I need to figure this shit out. Vivian almost died, and I need to make sure the threat is gone.
“Yeah, good thinking,” I praise, giving Slade a brotherly pat on the face.