Chapter 34 #2
Apparently, Bambi was seeing some married douche on the sly. She tried to break it off a few times because the fucker was too rough but for reasons known only to her, she always went back.
My job was to surveil some house on the other side of the tracks while Romeo did recon with the police department. We don’t usually cooperate with the pigs but we’re not dumb. We have a few on the inside willing to share info for a little cash.
Since I couldn’t be trusted not to offend the pansy ass fuckers, they sent Romeo. Meanwhile, I was waiting for the fucker who “dated” Bambi to come home.
Except when a car pulled into the driveway to the right, all thoughts of Bambi faded when I saw none other than Delaney’s ex-whatever fixing his hair in the rearview mirror.
Now, I’m staring at my prey. He’s trussed up like a turkey and lying in a bathtub while I assess his injuries. I’m running out of time. It was stupid to do this here but what can I say…rage got the better of me.
I gave him twin black eyes for looking at Delaney while she was laying incapacitated on the grass behind that warehouse. I broke his fingers for even thinking about touching her.
I’m contemplating all that unblemished skin and how easy it would be to carve his truth into it when he mumbles, “Please.”
Hm.
The words rapist would look good emblazoned on that stupid ass forehead.
“You a rapist, asshole?”
The way I found Delaney that night at the warehouse still doesn’t sit right with me and now I’m going to get some answers.
“N-No!” he squeaks. “We were just having some fun.”
“Fun?” I growl and he cringes away from me, his eyes wide. “Did you drug her?”
When he shakes his head, I pop him in the mouth, gratified to see the blood bubbling from his lips as I bark, “Well?”
“It was only supposed to be fun,” he wails.
“Did. You,” I say, tapping his head. “Drug. Her?”
He starts to snivel again, and I sit back, eyeing the lying sack of shit. He did drug her and he’s lucky I don’t snap his neck here and now.
“We-We were just dancing, bro,” he says.
“I ain’t your bro,” I snarl, smacking him in the head. “Listen real careful, now. Feel me?”
When he nods, the sweat beading on his forehead flies as I say, “You lie. I fuck you up.”
“K-Kay,” he stutters.
“Did you touch her?”
At my question, I can see the wheels turning and I eye his quivering lip before pinching the bridge of my nose. “Do you want to live through this, you pathetic fuck?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Did you? Did you lay your filthy hands on her?” I ask, holding my breath. I don’t care what I said, if the fucker violated her, I will kill him.
“No. No! I wouldn’t do that,” he snivels but I’m not buying it.
“What are you not saying?” I ask, nudging him with my shoe and he shrinks away, his groans rebounding off the tile walls.
“He,” he mumbles before closing his eyes. “He said it would make her relax, is all.”
What the fuck is he talking about?
“He? Who?” I ask.
“Josh.”
Hold the fuck up. He got the drugs from Josh?
Standing, I pace away and stare at the wall in the adjoining bedroom while I attempt to catch my breath. The walls, despite being painted an ugly ass beige, do nothing to calm my fraying nerves though and I swing around to say, “Tell me about Josh.”
“Delan–”
“Don’t fucking say her name,” I bark and his lip quivers.
“She, uh, Del…her, that night, Josh said it would loosen her up, you know? She’s always so tense…”
“Hold up,” I snarl. “You slipped something in her drink because she was too tense?”
He’s a dead man…a dead fucking man. I don’t care if he’s family, I’ll kill the fucker for betraying Delaney. Micah may be a total creeper, but Josh is dangerous, and it chills me to the bone to consider what he might have done if I hadn’t come along.
Resolved, I take a moment to compose myself before asking, “You sure you didn’t touch her?”
“Y-Yes. Please. I swear.”
Glancing at the blubbering, pathetic mess, I say, “You tell anyone about this, and my brothers will hunt you down and make you wish that I had finished the job. Get me?”
He nods rapidly and I turn on the water, washing away the blood and saliva painting his clothes.
I know this won’t truly erase any evidence but if this fucker does sing, it’ll hopefully be harder for them to find.
On the way back to my bike, I consider the sniveling fucker’s assertions. I don’t buy his story about having fun, but I also know that the real predator here is my cousin and he’s about to learn a painful lesson about abusing women.
Thoughts of which bring me around to Delaney. Although Pops is a locked vault these days, I was able to glean from Romeo that he was married to Delaney’s mom back in the day.
Clearly it ended because I’m here. Whatever happened cuts deep though and I wonder if it’s because the woman who left him was also in a relationship with the man who orchestrated his second wife’s death.
I get it. That shit stings.
Delaney’s mom was long gone by the time it happened though and much like with Delaney, Pops needs to let that shit go.
This is what I should have realized before but instead I pushed Delaney away over fear and rage when all she wanted was someone to make her feel safe.
That wasn’t me. Hell, Romeo proved to be a safer haven, thoughts of which sour my stomach.
I failed the only woman who ever made my cold dead heart sing. How’s that for a kick to the face?
Not much I can do about it now, though. Hopefully with her living under the pig’s roof, her issues with the Aces will die.
As for me, I need to focus on the men hunting down our women and killing them. Well, that and finding Josh.
He has some explaining to do and he better hope that I like what he says…or he may never see the light of day again.