Chapter 28
My grip istight on the steering wheel as I race toward the farmhouse. The boys have a special place lined up for us to kill Thomas and Fintan, and I”m intrigued as to what their set up is. I”ve heard stories about the one they have in New York, an outbuilding where they kill their victims. Here in Ireland, they don”t have one, but with the help of Freddie and Jerry, they”ve set up something at my farmhouse.
”She”s going to be okay,” Denis says. ”Callie”s staying with her. She”ll not be alone.”
”I know,” I say through my teeth. I hate that she could wake up without me being there. She could be fucking scared and I wouldn”t be there to catch her when she needs me.
“Once you do this, Stephen, the fear and pain isn”t going to go away. It”ll stay. It could last a lifetime,” he says gently. ”Even now, after five years, Callie still wakes to nightmares about that night.”
I grit my teeth. Fuck. Callie”s house was broken into, and she was almost beaten to death. Had she not called me that night, she could have died. She was so scared, she couldn”t stay in the house after that night. She moved out and never went back.
”Jess is strong,” he continues. ”She”ll have you to lean on, but I want you to know that she could have nightmares from this.”
”I”ll be there if she does.” There”s no fucking way I”d ever let her go through them alone. I”ll keep her safe and protected through them, even though I couldn”t do it in real life.
”Fintan”s son, Micah, is in the wind. He”s gone and no one knows where the fucker is,” Denis growls. ”I know you and Maverick have been looking for him, but we”ve not been able to locate him.”
Mallory asked us not to tell anyone about her situation. She doesn”t want to worry anyone as she”s scared it could relapse Chloe after what she went through. While we don”t agree with it, we respect it. But that doesn”t mean we”re not having everyone looking for the prick.
”He”ll turn up,” I tell him. ”They always do.” That motherfucker will come out of hiding when his da dies.
”Did you marry Jessica due to Thomas giving her to Fintan?” he asks, and I know that”s a question that”s coming from Callie rather than himself. There”s no fucking way Denis would ask something so fucking personal had his wife not put him up to it. ”If you did, we”d not blame you.”
”She”s my wife,” I hiss. ”I married her because she”s mine. You can tell your wife that too.”
The fucker grins. ”Just checking. Callie was sure it was legit but wanted to double check. You can”t blame her, right?”
”No, that”s why I didn”t tell you to fuck off.”
He chuckles. ”Thank you,” he says. ”I never did thank you properly for getting to her that night.”
”She”s my family,” I tell him. ”As much as Nicola annoys the fuck out of me, they are family.”
”But still, it still haunts me what could have been.” He glances out the window. ”I guess that”s something you”ll now feel too. When you find someone you love, someone who means more than life itself, it”s fucking hard to think of being without them. The thought of losing them brings you to your knees.”
He”s right, that”s exactly how it felt when Jess was taken. ”You”re very wise in your old age.”
He flips me off. ”Asshole.”
The rest of the drive to the farmhouse is quiet and tense.
”Maguire,” Pyro greets me with the president of the New York chapter, Ace. ”Both of the assholes are waiting for you. We”re not sure what you want to do with them, but we have them set up.”
I nod, grateful for their help. ”Stick around, gentleman. You”re going to be in for a real treat,” I say with a grin.
Unlike others, I don”t mind having an audience when I”m killing. In fact, the more the fucking merrier. It”s why tales of the Eraser are told far and wide. I”m a myth to so many people, a story kids tell one another to scare the shit out of each other. Today, the Eraser is going to torture someone before putting them into the machine.
I smirk when I see Fintan is tied up much like Callie was, and Thomas is tied to a slab of concrete, imitating the way Jess was back in the mausoleum. ”Well, boys, I have to say, this is a great surprise.”
Pyro chuckles. ”Thought you”d like that. Now, as you know, my brothers love a good show, and half of them have no idea what they”re in store for, so Maguire, don”t let them down.”
I hear Maverick”s laughter. ”Oh, they”re in for a real fucking treat. Settle in, guys. You”re in for the time of your lives.”
I move to Thomas, pulling out my knife and slicing through his shirt, exposing his back, just as Jess” had been. ”Your daughter”s alive,” I inform him. ”My wife is going to make a full recovery and she”s going to live a happy and fucking healthy life.”
”Bitch,” he snarls. ”That fucking bitch has more lives than a cat.”
”We don”t need to ask if you do. After I”m finished with you, you”ll be deader than a doornail.”
”Funny,” he spits. ”But what are you going to do, Maguire? Hmm? Jer won”t allow you to kill me. The men will want revenge.”
”Bullshit,” Jer fires back as he comes into view. ”No man will ever want to go against Stephen. Well, no sane man, at least. But I, for one, have no qualms in him killing you. In fact, I encourage it.” He steps forward, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. ”I fucking warned you not to touch her. You fucking cunt. You hurt her, and for that you”re going to die. You killed my sister and you almost killed my niece. There”s no man alive who would ever go to bat for you. Not fucking one.” Jer turns to me. ”Have fun,” he says with a wicked grin. ”Make it fucking hurt.”
”Oh, I fucking intend to.”
I reach for the lighter fluid I had Maverick pick up for me while I was at the hospital. Three fucking bottles of it. I don”t waste a fucking drop; I pour all three of them over his back and body, making sure to cover every fucking inch of him.
”Maguire,” he snarls. ”What the fuck are you doing to me?” he cries.
”Isn”t this what you did to her?” I ask, my voice void of emotion. ”Well?”
”She deserved it. She”s the fucking reason my Patty was leaving me.”
I laugh. ”No, that was all your fault. You were a fucking prick, Thomas. You”re the one to blame for your marriage breaking, not a fucking fourteen-year-old girl.”
I reach for the box of matches that are on the side, the ones I use when burning evidence. I strike the match against the strip, and the sound of the sizzle as it catches soothes my anger somewhat. This fucker is going to be in for a world of hurt and I”m so fucking glad. He deserves every single cry and roar of pain and then so much more.
I flick the match down and it lands on his back, igniting the lighter fluid that soaks his skin. He groans low as the flames flick higher. I stand back against the wall.
The hush that falls over the room is priceless. Everyone is fixated on the cunt tied to the concrete slab before us.
Thomas” low groans of pain transform into a high-pitched scream as the fire quickly catches, engulfing his entire back, dancing along his skin, just like it did Jess”. The smell of burning flesh fills the room, making some of the men choke slightly. Fintan”s eyes are wide, and he”s coughing at the stench that coats the air. He”s worried that he”s next. He need not be. This is reserved for Thomas and only Thomas. My machine is what I have planned for him, and I know he”ll be crying out just as Thomas is now.
”Oh God, oh God,” he howls, writhing in agony. The ties that bind him to the concrete strain against his efforts to escape, but there”s no running from this. He”s past the point of salvation now. He was never going to get a chance at redemption. He made his bed the moment he put his hands on her.
”That”s right, Thomas,” I sneer, watching as he thrashes around in his futile attempt to douse the flames that are devouring him alive. He”s whimpering now, tears making tracks down his face. ”How does it feel? Hmm? How does it feel to be on the receiving end for once?”
He should never have touched Jessica. Such a pure soul should never have been inflicted with the torture he put her through.
And all he can do is scream and scream, until his voice gives out and all that”s left are tiny whimpers and gasps for air that grow softer and softer, until finally, everything goes quiet. His body slumps forward, still smoldering slightly from the flames that have ceased to flicker.
Leaning back against the wall, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. It’s over. The relief floods in, along with an unexpected feeling: satisfaction. I haven”t ever felt as satisfied from killing someone. I”ve always wanted to do more, kill more, but with Thomas, it”s been a fucking long time coming. It was personal. Too fucking personal. And now that he”s dead, I can assure my wife that he”ll never hurt her again.
”So,” Pyro says with a barely concealed laugh. ”What”s next?”
”Next?” I hear Alessio say. ”The fuck you mean next?”
Alessio is one of the Bianchi brothers. He”s the boss of the Italian mafia in Denver. His brother Dante is married to Denis” sister and she was called, but the entire family came out to help.
”Oh, Alessio.” Py grins. ”Just wait and see. Maguire here is a fucking master at killing and you are in for a fucking treat.”
I hear the chuckles sound and I know it”s from the people who have seen me at work. They”re eager for me to get my wood chipper started up.
It doesn”t take me long to have everything ready. I haven”t changed the blades yet. That”s on my agenda to do once I”ve finished with these fuckers. I drag Thomas” burnt body to the machine. The whirring sound is a balm to the anger and fear I”ve been feeling all fucking day, since Jess was taken. It”s been over twenty-four hours since this shit started, over a day since I last slept, over a fucking day since I held my wife in my arms and felt peace.
I heave Thomas” body into the wood chipper, loving the sound of it mangling his body to pieces. I stand back, joining the crowd that’s gathered around to watch, some in awe, others in concealed fascination. When someone watches me do this that hasn”t before, they always leave with awe in their eyes. The way I get rid of bodies is one that leaves very little evidence behind, and any that I may leave is always taken by the wildlife. It”s a fucking great way to kill someone and dispose of their bodies.
It takes over an hour for Thomas” body to churn through the wood chipper. It”s spat out blood and bone, things that will easily be disposed of once I”m finished. ”Now for the best part,” I say as I reach for Fintan. ”This cunt wanted my wife, and he was the one who pulled the trigger that killed Patty,” I inform them. ”He”s going to die and it”s going to be fucking painful.”
”What are you going to do to him?” Alessio questions, his brows drawn together.
I don”t hesitate. I do the exact same as I did to Thomas” dead body to Fintan”s very much alive one. The second his arm hits the blades, they suck it in, the motor churning and the blades twisting, severing the limb from his body. The screams that rent the air are ones filled with pain, anguish, and fear. Fintan”s terrified, utterly fucking scared.
”Where”s Micah?” I ask him over the sound of the machine.
”Go to fucking hell,” he grits out through his cries. ”I”ll never give up my son.”
I laugh. ”That”s okay, we”ll find him too and he”ll end up just as you are.”
”You”ll never find him. He”s safe. He”ll continue on the O”Leary name,” Fintan taunts. ”He”ll make sure that everyone knows our name. He won’t stop until your whore belongs to us.”
I ignore the cunt. There”s no fucking way Micah will ever get to Jess. That”s never going to happen. We”ll put the word out, make it known that the O”Learys are dead and anyone with information on Micah will be rewarded. Not to mention putting our cops onto it. With the report Mallory made the night Micah entered her house, the cops are on the lookout for him as it is. We give them a bigger incentive than what they have right now, and apply pressure, and we”ll have him in no time.
It”s hard to get people on board when there”s more than one family member left. The fear of repercussions from the remaining member eats at them and stops them from coming forward. Now that all the O”Learys, other than Micah, are dead, we”ll have more help than needed, especially when they”ll be paid. We”re not going to make any more mistakes when it comes to this fucking family. We”ve underestimated them as it is. We won”t make that mistake again.
The screams from Fintan continue to fill the air. It”s four in the morning. We have a little while longer before dawn breaks.
”Christ,” I hear Alessio grunt. ”I get why you”re called the Eraser. You do this a lot?”
I laugh. ”More than you know.” I turn to him. ”Don”t tell me you have a weak stomach?”
”Not at all, but I didn”t expect this—” he says, throwing his arm out in the direction of the wood chipper. ”You”re crazy, you know that? Fucking crazy.”
I raise a brow. ”Coming from you, I”ll take that as a compliment.”
All the Bianchis are fucking crazy in their own way. We all get triggered to kill for the first time. For me, it was that I had enough of being treated like shit. I had enough of being beaten. I know that it takes fucking guts to do what we do. It”s not for the weak-hearted and it takes a toll on those who aren”t equipped for it. It can tear you down if you”re unable to deal with taking someone”s life. It can ruin you with guilt until you”re unable to deal with it any longer.
But for me, it”s who I am. It”s what I am. I”m a killer and I enjoy every second of doing it.
Soon, Fintan”s cries die down until he”s whimpering, the sound muffled as he continues to churn, pulling him deeper into the machine until there”s nothing left of him.
”They”re dead,” Maverick states simply, and I see the relief in his eyes. ”Those fuckers won”t hurt her again.”
I nod, the heaviness on my chest lifting completely, making me take an easy breath, something I haven”t been able to do since the night I found Jess beaten.
”We”re done here,” I tell the crowd. ”I appreciate your help. If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask. I”ll be there,” I promise them. They were here for me at my darkest time, a time I couldn”t function properly. My world had been tilted and my wife was missing. I”ll do whatever it takes to repay the favor. They have no idea how deeply in their debt I am. I know that if I didn”t have them here helping, I would have gone off the deep end and that wouldn”t have helped anyone.
”No thanks needed,” Pyro tells me. ”You”ve helped us out. We”re family, it”s what we do.”
Pyro is Chloe”s man. He was the one who found her when she went missing in America. He fell so fucking hard for her that he moved to Ireland to be with her. He and his brothers know they can call on me any time they need help. Chloe”s my niece—honorary—and I”ll do whatever I can to help her and the Vipers.
”Once Jessica”s out of hospital and feeling better,” Dario says, ”we”ll bring the family to meet her. My wife will want to meet her.”
I nod, grateful he”s extended that branch. ”Knowing Jess, she”ll fucking love that. We”ll make it happen.”
He nods. ”I”ll be in Dublin until tomorrow evening. If you find this Micah guy or need help, call,” he says, shaking my hand. ”I”m only a call away.”
”Appreciate it, Dario. The same goes for you.”
Everyone disperses until it”s only Maverick, Freddie, Jer, Denis, and I that remain.
”You did good, Stephen,” Jer praises. ”I know your focus has been on Jessica and that you”re wanting to be with her, especially when she wakes up, but you needed to do this and I”m proud of you.”
I nod my head in thanks. Fucking praise isn”t something I”m used to, especially this type of praise, one that”s filled with honest to God respect.
”Let”s get this shit cleared up and get you and Denis back to my nieces.”
That”s the only place I want to be, with my wife. The woman I love with every fucking breath I take.
My heart, my salvation, my home.