Chapter 26
Poison
Worry and burns
O nce Anita left with the kids, the dreadful pit in my belly didn't shut off, it only festered.
“Guess you could convince her,” Mal says, walking further up toward the building.
I look down at my boots as I make my way up the hill. “What does it look like?”
She only chuckles at my demise. “You did the right thing.” She pats my shoulder before speeding up to the building.
I know I did, but the reassurance doesn't help. I took the one thing from her that she desperately sought for years. I took that.
Boone comes up beside me, his rifle flat in front of him. “I need to talk to you.”
I don’t stop walking. I only glance over at the reserve in his voice. “Go ahead.”
He doesn’t talk for a few seconds. “I need to leave for a while.”
My brows furrow with a cock to my head. Ever since he saw the woman in Anita’s crew, he’s never been the same. I never wanted to pry, but now it’s getting to this point. I’ll be losing my right hand, my trusted member. A friend.
A brother.
He looks over at me, his eyes blank from the world, like he’s been walking the earth soulless. It’s the same look he had in his eyes when I first approached him in that bar. It’s also a numbness I understand all too well. Used to...
“Is this about her?” I stop before we get to the door while Mal waits.
We face each other at the same time. He glances down, and his silence is enough to answer my question. I have an understanding that is Anita’s close team member, the relationship between them, I am not aware of—but I know they must be close. If he intends to kill her, well...that’s going to be a big problem.
“Are you planning on killing her?” I rub my hand over my beard, my gaze stern on his. I’ve never questioned him before, but things are different now.
His eyes flicker up to mine. After a long pause, he shakes his head. “No.”
I nod with some kind of relief. “How long?”
He looks at the building, then back at me. “There are some loose ends I need to tie up. The time length, I’m not sure.”
I inhale a breath, stuffing my hands into my pockets. “You know I’m here. For anything.” He’s been more loyal to me since day three. The example of ride or die. From where he was when I first met him to now, it’s a miracle that he’s still here and alive.
“I know.” He nods with understanding.
I extend my hand from my pocket and hold it in front of me; he meets the hand slap, then we bump shoulders together.
“Alright, let’s go finish this shit off,” I say, pulling away from the brotherly hug. We break away, walking up to Mal, who waits at the side of the warehouse.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” Mal says with surprise in her eyes. “I like the bromance.”
“Stop.” Boone grunts, walking ahead. Mal rolls her eyes, sticking her tongue out at Boone's back.
We make it to the one-story steel building that's pale gray and dingy from the wear and tear of the weather. It’s nothing fancy, like the one in the mansion in London.
This run-down unit is just another one of his spots he uses to conduct his sick business. We make it to the door to hear Victor speaking. Every sting burns on my chest, fury from the pain he put me through. It all boils down to this. This moment.
“What the fuck! No one is answering back!” he barks, the thundering sound of his steps heading toward the door immediately as we draw our guns to the door. “I’m not waiting any longer to be murdered. Ready the helicopter, Jax!”
The door swings open, his head looking over his shoulder and his phone at his ear. At the same time, he turns his head, I cock my gun.
Shock and worry shines on his sweaty face. I form a methodical smirk as his eyes widen from his sockets, and his skin turns clear white.
“Are you shitting bricks right now?” I stroll into the room, guiding him back into until he’s stumbling on his desk. His hands raised upward, his lips parted. Boone takes a seat at the far corner, watching the whole ordeal.
“Oh, he’s definitely shitting something,” Mal snarls with a devilish grin, walking around Victor’s desk.
“Poison,” he chides with a nervous chuckle. “You were supposed to be—”
“Dead?” I say, itching a spot on my temple with the barrel of the gun. “It’s so ironic how you thought I was dead before. Wasn’t. And now here I am again.” I chuckle enthusiastically.
“You just can’t stay dead. How?”
“You can thank me for that,” Jax intercepts, raising his gun and walking around to us.
Victor's brows furrow deep, something shadowing over his features for a split moment like he’s actually fucking hurt. I could laugh. He looks back and forth at us, then at his two-faced partner.
“Don't try to figure it out.” I lower the gun as I take a seat in the chair placed in front of his desk. I cross my ankle over my knee, aiming my gun directly at his dick. “Every last one of your men is dead. The money you were expecting is never coming. The kids are gone.” I tsk, giving him an uncaring look.
He clicks his phone off, turning it face down. He lets out a breathy laugh. “Fucking hell, I should have killed you that night. You didn't even have the blueprints. I told him that, but he had a soft spot for you.”
My eyes squint with confusion. He looks at me with his face turned up in disgust. “Oh, you thought you were strong enough to escape on your own? Your bitch ass friend didn't even have to sacrifice himself. We were going to set you both free,” he says. “Your ropes were loose for a reason, we just figured you bled out somewhere when you escaped or killed yourself, and boy was he not happy about that.” Victor shakes his head, then cocks it to the side. “I still don't understand why we never knew you were alive after all these years.”
Everything is coming at me at once, and I play strong like his words aren't torturing me, but they are. I never escaped with my own efforts. Carter risked his life for mine when we could've been tossed off to the side of the road.
I’m...I’m fucking angry.
Victor’s face turns red, the veins popping from his neck. “You are the world's biggest pussy and stupidest so—”
Bang!
I shoot him in his knee, and I watch as he shouts in agony, crippling down as he grips his wound. His back glides down his desk with pain etched over his face.
My gun aims right at the wound, tiny sparks enlightening me.
I wish Anita were here.
“What were you saying?” I ask blandly.
Victor's face squishes together like he sucked a sour lemon. “Goddammit!” he shouts again.
“It’s been a long night, and quite frankly, my team and I are exhausted. So, you’ll answer this question, and we’ll consider giving you a quick death. That's the best offer we can give you after all the shit you put us through.”
Truthfully, I want to get home to see if Anita is okay or if they made it back yet for her to see Dr. Rio. I wonder what the details are on her wounds.
This is mundane to me at this point, useless. If she's not here, what is the enjoyment in this?
Then a light bulb flicks in my mind and a sick grin curls again. First things first, I look over at Jax, whose gun is at his side, with no hint of remorse for this asshole. Good.
“Give me the information on the group that you conduct trafficking deals with.” I flick a piece of lint off my pants.
“Why in the fuck would I do that,” he spits out with a grimace as he shifts his knee to the floor.
“Because I know that’s where you sold my daughter,” Jax intervenes, stepping forward with his gun raised again.
Victor's face pinches as he waves his hand. “Your daughter? What daughter? You don’t have a daughter.”
Jax lips curl upwards in a sneer. “I do. You think I would’ve been around a sick freak like you just for the fun of it? Now give us the location.”
He grunts in pain, raising his good knee and propping his elbow on top of it. “It’s the Guerilla and Santori people,” he says willingly. “How long has she been gone?” He doesn’t give a somber expression, but it’s prevalent in his voice.
“You assholes took her three years ago.”
His brows raise as he attempts to stretch out his wounded knee. “She’s dead.”
My heart tightens as I glance down. There would be no reason for him to lie, he's as good as dead. “What?” Jax stammers out with a heavy breath.
“Look man—”
“What the fuck are you telling me?” he shouts, the gun shaking in his grip.
“She’s gone. Dead. Adios.” His fingers wave to the side like sprinkles.
“How the fuck would you know?” Mal asks.
He looks at her. “I don’t keep a goddamn diary of who dies, but I know who does.” He stares me dead in the eyes. “Every last victim, every last kidnapping. He holds a record like the organized son of a bitch that he is.” He smirks again.
He. Victor continues to say ‘he.’ What does he mean?
While I’m lost in my confusion, Jax stumbles back, a thump along with a thud sounds from behind me. Shit, that’s not good news for him. But now I’m interested in the person he speaks of. I know every idiot has a boss.
However, I did think it ended with Victor. All of it, anyone connected to our kidnapping and Carter’s death. Intrigued by this news, I kicked at his wounded knee.
“Who’s this person? And why did they want the blueprints?” Victor groans, ignoring me. “You’re already going to die, so no need to keep it in”
“I’ll take it to my grave,” Victor snarls. “You’re all a bunch of pussies coming in here—”
Mal hops over the desk with a mini rope she pulls from her vest and wraps it around Victor's neck, choking him before he can finish his sentence.
I watch in glory as Victor writhes and squirm under the hold. I should take a picture just for Anita to see. “Don't kill him, Mal.” I have something greater planned for him.
“Who do you work for, ass wipe?” Mal shouts in his ear as if he’s deaf and not being a fucking idiot.
Before his eyes roll to the back, Mal releases with a mush to his head. Her legs dangle beside him like a creepy doll.
He wheezes, falling to the side, gasping for oxygen to fill his lungs. I blink with a breathy laugh. “That’s comical.”
He takes a deep gulp, tossing a menacing gaze at me. “Yeah, laugh.” He heaves. “I wish I could see the look on your face when you find out who’s really behind it all.” He lets out a hearty laugh. “You know what they say, ignorance is a poison that kills love, friendship and all the good ole feelings,” he says through his chuckles. “How fucking ironic, Poison .”
Unease creeps up my chest, the unknown setting in once again. What the fuck? I peer at Boone, who is rubbing his knuckles, glancing at the floor.
“And for you. Traitor.” Victor looks over my seat to wherever Jax went. “Many of them don’t make it past six months, let alone three years. Her chances of survival are slim to zero. This is only a teaching lesson. Here’s my advice, Next daughter you have, keep a watchful eye on her why don’t you.” He smirks carelessly.
I itch to pull the trigger and shoot him in the dick, but I recoil. Mal has another idea, hopping off the desk and slamming her boot right on his knee. His scream is piercing, raw enough to make your ears ring and bring a flutter to your stomach. She doesn't end there, she casually twists her foot while searching on his desk. She grabs his phone. “The person he was referring to, could this be his number?”
Boone finally comes over, taking the phone from her. “It’s not a Long Island area code.”
Mal removes her foot, and he gasps from the recovery. His voice trembles. “Once you find out.” He wheezes. “You’re going to wish I had killed you that night.” Now it’s his turn to find amusement in my confusion. A ripple of nausea swirls in the pits of my belly that I can’t stop.
I shake away the dire clench below. “We’ll have Bedford trace the number to its source. Maybe it's something in there that could help us find out who this person is.”
I head to the desk, searching for other answers, anything. Two things stand out. A pendant, like the others. The ugly centipede. A crisp white calendar lies perfectly under the scattered mess on the table. It’s marked with one thing. A name, location, time, and date.
Monthly meet
Centipede
8:00pm
Casino La Vay
December 20 th , 2023
––––––––
“T hat’s two weeks from now.” I slid my gaze back to Victor. “Who are you meeting with?” I know he probably won’t give me a real answer, but it’s worth a try.
He looks over his shoulder at me with a lazy grin on his face and his body withering. “Why don’t you go see for yourself?” His voice is weak as he gives up holding his wounds and falls on his shoulder.
I roll my eyes to the ceiling, then back at Boone. I wave my pointer and middle finger to Mal to come full circle. I look over my shoulder, only to still find Jax in the dark corner, knees to his chest and arms hanging off them. Damn, that’s fucking brutal. I slowly turn back around, facing my team.
“Thoughts?” I look at them.
“This mystery person is the one behind it all,” Boone grumbles, rolling his shoulders.
I release a loud breath. “The only thing to do is to find out. He’s likely behind every kidnapping attempt and success. The trafficking, everything.” A gut-wrenching feeling whirls through my belly.
“I say we go pay a surprise visit then kill them,” Mal suggests with her chin tipped at me.
“I'll get with Anita.” And hopefully, she'll be healed by then.
Boone doesn’t comment, which I understand he won’t be there.
“Alright, let's get this fucker,” I say with a nod.
“You’re not killing him here?” Mal says.
I grab Victor by his suit, yanking him from his comfortable spot, then I look at Mal. “I have something better planned for him” I snatch him up, excited about the gift I have for my little snake.