Chapter 23 #2
I hit him again. And again. And again. Each time he tries to say Kelly’s name. Each time he tries to justify what he did.
When I stop, he can’t form words anymore.
I lean in. “You called me a butcher for what I do for my family.” I smile. “Now you get to find out you were right.”
That’s all I say before I kick him so hard in the chest his chair tilts back and crashes to the floor.
His head cracks against the concrete. Then I position myself over his arm, place my boot exactly where Kelly’s break was, and bring my full weight down.
The crack is louder than I expected. His scream fills the basement, raw and desperate.
All I can think about is Kelly flinching every time someone moves too fast. The way he automatically makes himself smaller. How he thinks he’s weak.
This piece of shit trained those responses into him, and now he gets to experience what Kelly felt.
I move methodically through everything he told me David did to him, taking my time, making sure he understands exactly why this is happening. When there’s nothing left but gurgling and twitching, I finish it. The blade cuts through flesh and bone, and his head rolls free.
I drag my sleeve across my face, smearing blood and worse across my cheek. Useless. I’m painted in crimson. My clothes are soaked through, heavy with gore, sticking to my skin.
The floor’s a lake of red, David’s pieces spread so wide you can’t tell what used to be what. Mendez’s face is gray as concrete, pupils blown wide with shock. He hasn’t moved since I pulled out David’s intestines.
“Father is going to murder us when he finds out about this. You know that, right?” Mikhail comments.
“So what? I don’t give a fuck what kind of deal he has with the police. This bastard almost destroyed Kelly.”
I turn to face him. “How would you feel if someone hurt Daniil like this?”
I know this will get through to him. Mikhail’s protective as hell when it comes to him.
“I would kill them.”
“Exactly.”
He sighs and rubs his eyebrow. “This is going to be a mess to clean up.”
This is it. The moment everything changes. Roman will demand explanations for why I tortured two cops without orders, and I’ll have to tell him about Kelly. About loving a man. About choosing him over family expectations.
But watching him recover, seeing how this piece of shit damaged him? I’d rather burn it all down than let anyone hurt him again. Kelly will know he’s worth fighting for. Worth claiming. Worth protecting at any cost.
I walk across the room and grab David’s severed head by what’s left of his matted hair, then hurl it at Mendez’s feet. Blood splatters across his shoes as it hits the concrete with a wet, hollow thud. “Your turn. Talk.”
He lets out a shaky breath. “What do you want to know?”
He’s hiding something bigger than just being David’s partner, and I can feel it crawling under my skin.
“Everything,” I say and rub my jaw, tasting copper.
I crouch in front of him and keep my eyes locked on his. “You won’t like it when I get bored, so make it quick.”
He stares at me, then takes a deep breath.
“David didn’t know about the rest of it.
We were just skimming evidence money together, that’s all he knew.
But I-I was approached months ago by someone who knew about my financial situation.
They offered me cash for information. Small things at first, nothing that seemed important.
They said they worked for the Nozares family.
” He swallows hard. “But then we got forced into surveilling your family. We sent warnings to them when we knew the Avrorins were moving on targets. That’s how you got shot. ”
I keep my face locked down tight, but my blood’s buzzing, and my hands twitch with the need to put them around his throat.
“Go on.”
“David’s father,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. “He’s a retired captain. Before, he was a detective. He’s the one who recruited me, been feeding information to the Nozares family for years. He’s the leak you’ve been searching for.”
We’ve always been on top ever since we came to America and took New York from their control twenty years ago. Dismantled their empire piece by piece until they had nothing.
So why now? Why are they making moves?
I’ve heard rumors about their leader, Santiago Nozares.
He’s been acting strange. Erratic. Making decisions that don’t make sense.
His sons are trying to cover for him, but everyone’s noticed.
His sons are probably using it. Letting the old man think he’s building an empire again while they make the real plays behind the scenes.
But there’s something more to this. I can feel it.
This isn’t just a desperate power grab from a family that’s lost everything. There’s a plan here. Something bigger.
“Fuck. I had no idea this guy was even involved. What are the odds I found the fucking rat who got me shot?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it.
“I told you it wasn’t my fault,” Mikhail mutters.
I roll my eyes and walk over and pick up the crowbar, holding it out to him. “Want to finish this one? We need to take care of David’s father tonight when we are done here. Text Daniil and ask for an address.”
He takes it but points it at me instead of Mendez. “I’m getting tired of this family blaming me for everything that goes wrong. One day, I’m going to fucking snap.”
He walks toward Mendez. The crowbar splits his skull open with a sharp crack.