27. Theodore
Chapter Twenty-Seven
THEODORE
Luciano screams as I break his last finger. He has passed out and vomited from pain at some point during this process, but it doesn’t deter me from my goal. He'll regret ever touching my love. He's a dumb addict, and Angelo's love for him is the only thing keeping him alive.
While I may spare his life, the quality of it will be limited. The security footage of River's abduction plays in a loop in my head. Those idiots didn't check for cameras at the swap point. Standing, I ignore his whimpers as I pull out my gun. His eyes grow with fear and shine with finality. He's not going to get the break from the pain that he craves.
"You like to shoot at people?" My question comes out in a furious growl.
Luciano’s mouth quivers, ready to beg for his life, but I don't give a fuck about anything he has to say. Unloading the clip, I shoot around him, not caring how some of the bullets graze him or how the hot metal ricochets and burns him. Now he knows the fear River felt when he shot at her.
I allow my hand to slip just enough to shoot him in the thigh. His tears don't mean any more to me than River's meant to him. The agony wrecking his vocal cords is the kind of shit I love to hear. They looked so hard for this side of me, so now they fucking got it. Leaning in, I punch him in the throat, turning those screams into gurgling and coughing.
Angelo returns with the biggest object of my ire bleeding from his ankle. Looks like the fun started without me. It’s okay. I’ll finish it.
“Angelo, get your cousin out of my sight. I’m sparing him this one time for you, but if he even steps within a hundred-mile radius of me again, I will kill him.”
Angelo nods but doesn’t say anything. Angelo is smart and extremely loyal. He loves his fucked-up cousin so gifting him part of Luciano is an expression of my gratitude. He called us the moment Luciano reached out. We were already headed in this direction, but her tracker lost signal in the building. He saved us precious moments.
I want to hold River and tell her it's all going to be okay, but I need to vanquish her demons first.
I glare at Surly. He's still standing in the same spot scared to move since Andrea's gun is still aimed at him. Andrea is toying with him, allowing him to think he's going to live. He won't.
He returns a defiant look that doesn't impress me. He reeks of fear. It's something we've been trained to prey on and sense. His fake bravado sickens me, but his intentions for River make me ill. I’m in his face without another thought, feeding him my fists one quick punch after another. I’d kill him right now, but I'm leaving him to Andrea. It’s a request I happily granted since he’s dead either way. We killed the majority of his crew on the way in to get him. It was quiet, and they didn’t see us coming.
My last blow to his jaw rocks his balance and knocks him on his ass. Surly crawls forward like he wants to fight back, but Andrea clicks his gun.
“Aht. Aht. Take your beating. You three terrorized a pregnant woman. She didn’t get to fight back.”
His envy of Andrea is etched in everything from his expression to how he scrapes his nails on the concrete floor. Even the gash I gave him bleeds with jealousy.
“So the washed up bouncer needs the pampered prince to watch his fucking back. You fucking born-rich babies can’t do anything for yourself. Weak. What’s wrong, bouncer, did you lose your nerve to kill?”
His attempt to goad me is so hilarious, I throw my head back and laugh. I bend so I can look him in the eyes. I grab his face like he grabbed River, making sure to inflict pain on his bruised jaw.
“Your attempt to avoid Andrea is cute. I was never a bouncer. I was his right-hand. A problem solver. The last person his enemies saw before they died. I simply retired. I didn’t lose my nerve to kill. What’s one more soul on my back?”
I use my hold to slam him down on the ground. The crack of his skull hitting concrete makes me feel a little better. I watch him struggle to breathe with my knee pressed to the top of his chest.
“I’ve killed in ways you can’t imagine.”
He gasps for air when I stand. Surly should be happy I'm leaving him to Andrea. He doesn’t have patience for the slow kills. I, on the other hand, would watch him bleed out slowly.
Mario whimpers from the pain in his ankle, bringing my attention back to my real task at hand. He’s up on his arms, trying to slide away like escape is possible. Stalking his way, I pull my leg back and kick him in the face so hard he rolls onto his back in pain.
“Going somewhere, Mario?”
“Let me go,” he sputters.
His request pisses me off more. “Like you planned to let River go?” He doesn’t get to respond as my boot connects with his mouth again. I grab his shirt, pulling him until he’s sitting up. “I see you like to slap pregnant women.”
I backhand him, but the feeling of my hand inflicting the kind of pain he’d given River unlocks that last barrier between control and unfiltered rage. I keep slapping him until my hand throbs, then I let him fall back to the ground.
“I believe I made you a promise when you called River.”
Recognition mixes with the pain in his eyes. He didn’t know who he was speaking to on the phone, and now I hold his life in my hands. I see how this gets men drunk on power.
“I…I just wanted my baby.”
The thought of Mario raising my child is gross, especially with the way he treats River. When River told me she was pregnant, I considered for a moment that it could be Mario’s, but I now realize that I’ve already dubbed the baby as mine, even if it does have Mario’s DNA.
It’s moot, because I know in my bones that it’s my baby.
“To do what? Sell him like you did his mother? Raise him to be a piece of shit like you? It doesn’t matter; it’s my baby. You left her in a lurch, and I’ve been taking care of her ever since.”
He cries out when I break the first bone. I promised to make it hurt, but I’m also itching to get back to River. I need to check on my future wife and our child.
“You’re lucky,” I tell him. “I’m too busy to kill you as slowly as I’d like.” I shoot him in the shoulders and at the base of the spine. “Let me correct my statement. I’m too busy to watch you die slowly. Ever heard of bio cremation?” I wait like he’s actually going to answer, but he clutches his bleeding body in pain. "Don't worry, you will. "
Ignoring Mario's pleas, I walk out, leaving Surly to his fate.