Chapter 33
Sebastian
“Took you long enough,” Roman bristles as I walk into the warehouse. He’s been in and out of here for the past twelve hours, even though the men bolted to the chairs in the middle of the room are my catch.
The two men who broke into Lizzy’s home with the intention of kidnapping her stir at my footsteps.
When they finally see me, one shrinks back.
It’s good that they recognize me as the man who took them out in under five minutes last night.
His blatant fear surges through me, doubling my size.
But the other’s obstinance and disregard chips at my patience.
“I had to make sure Lizzy got to work before I could interrogate these assholes,” I grumble.
Their lack of notable pain fills me with regret. I should have made them suffer more, but last night my only goal was incapacitating them as quickly as possible so I could return to Lizzy. But that’s what today’s for.
“How’s she doing?” Ever since becoming a dad, Roman’s concern for others, especially women, has grown tenfold. Roman a decade ago wouldn’t even think to ask about Lizzy’s wellbeing. Cecilia made a positive impact on him.
“She’s a little shaken, but she’s tough. She insisted on going to work today, so that’s good.” I turn to face the men who’s names I need to research. There’s no point in destroying their lives because they’re not leaving this room alive. “I’m more concerned about who sent these men after her.”
I have yet to tell Roman about Lizzy’s past. She may not want others to know, but Roman won’t judge her, and he needs to know for this interrogation. But first, I want to see what they confess to and if their story corroborates with hers.
“Why did you break into Lizzy Lewis’s house?” I demand, punctuating my question with a kick to the obstinate one’s shins. The man jolts upright then glares at me.
“Elizabeth’s house,” he corrects me.
“What?”
“The whore’s name is Elizabeth. We go way back.” The gleam in his eyes crawls up my spine. I already knew these men are from her past, but I didn’t realize they knew her. She didn’t get a chance to look at them, so it’s possible. “She was never very fun, but Vinny didn’t care.”
My spine straightens at the mention of her abuser. A sick premonition pushes against my mind, but I won’t entertain the idea. She watched him die.
“Who’s Vinny?” my brother asks in a monotone voice. I know this is a tactic. Don’t let them know your feelings. But I can’t control my emotions, not when it comes to my angel.
“Vinny’s the bossman. And Elizabeth,” he turns to glare at me, “belongs to Vinny.”
The glee in his voice reverberates in my head as I select my tool from the display on the table. Returning to him, I take a deep breath, before continuing.
“Lizzy belongs to no one; she’s not a possession. But she is my woman, and I will always protect her.”
His laughter tears at my gut. “Elizabeth may run around this town with you, but she’ll always be Vinny’s bitch.”
He spits at me when I approach, but that’s not the reason I raise my arm. His disrespect of Lizzy has me bringing down the hammer over the center of his hand, the crunch reverberating up my arm. I can feel the crack of his bones, and it feeds my angry soul.
After his howls subside, he raises his head. “Vinny’s here, and he’s taking what’s his.”
“Vincent is dead!” I shout desperately.
“She tried to kill him, but he’s stronger than the whore. He’s been–”
He’s cut off by another cry when the hammer connects with his other hand. “Do not call her a whore.”
Overwhelmed by his pain, he doesn’t respond, so I turn to his partner who’s shaking like a leaf. “Maybe you’ll show her more respect.”
He nods profusely, ready to talk. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“I want to know everything. Start with Lizzy shooting Vincent.” He opens his mouth to correct me when I call her Lizzy but quickly closes it. She chooses to go by Lizzy, leaving Elizabeth in the past. So, that’s what she’ll be called.
“Elizabeth – I mean, Lizzy – shot Vinny. She went crazy one night and unloaded a clip in him, then left town with his cash.” His blasé tone almost has me turning the hammer on him.
“She didn’t go crazy. He was abusing her. He deserved it,” I growl. This motherfucker just shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. As if a woman’s abuse is irrelevant.
“Whatever. He woke up and called Joe. Joe took him to the hospital. Took almost a year, but Vinny healed up. Now, he’s good as new.”
“How did he find her?” With each word out of his slimy mouth, hatred claws at my chest. For these men. For Vincent. For the anguish Lizzy has gone through over a murder she didn’t commit.
“Our tech guy got flagged in a video of the Boston Zoo. Even after all these years, we knew it was her. So, bossman sent us up to scout her. We followed her around, sent some pics, and when we knew it was her, he came up here. We’ve been watching her for a while.
Last night, something changed. He said it was time to get her. ”
“What did he plan on doing to her?” I growl.
“Shut the fuck up, Luke!” the first guy yells. “Vinny’ll kill you if you keep snitching.”
“You don’t need to worry about Vinny killing you. You came after my woman. You don’t get to live after that.” I swing the hammer down, breaking his collarbone. “I don’t need two of you alive to talk to me. And you’re not cooperating.”
Done with his attitude, I swing the hammer at his head. It only takes a few swings for his skull to be revealed. For his screams to stop. For his body to slump, only held in the chair by the bindings around his wrists.
“Who the fuck are you?” Luke cries out as he watches his partner’s brutal end.
“I’m Sebastian Montclair, and we are the Syndicate.” Surprise then recognition dawns on him. For him to have heard of the Syndicate all the way in Mississippi means he’s involved in underground crime. Who was Lizzy dating? What sort of shit was he mixed up in?
“We didn’t know. Vinny just thought you were her loser neighbor.
He doesn’t know you’re a threat. Please, just let me go.
I’ll tell Vinny everything. Maybe I can convince him to leave her alone.
” Despite his words, we both know it’s futile.
If this man tracked her to Boston after six years, nothing will stop him. Especially not another man.
“What family are you a part of? What does Vincent run?” I need to know what we’re up against. Even Roman has straightened from where he was watching from the wall. We might have just started an inter-state war.
“We’re the Rizzoli Mafia. Operating across I-10 from New Orleans to Mobile,” he boasts, as if proud of his barbaric mafia. Roman curses behind me and crosses the room, phone to his ear. He’s informing Dom of the shit-show we just created.
The Rizzoli Mafia is infamous for its cruelty and filth. There’s no line they won’t cross. From brothels to hard drugs, they do it all. They have no connection with Lorenzo’s Boston Mafia, unfortunately. Lorenzo has been a close ally for years, but he won’t be of any help.
Roman comes storming back in. The hard expression on his face is all the confirmation I need. Dom’s ordered him to keep this fucker alive. I drop my hammer on the table as I make my way to Roman.
“What’d he say?” I demand.
“We can’t kill him. Dom wants to interrogate him and find out more about their operation. We’ll get more info about their intentions with your woman too.” The look of regret on his face mirrors my own.
Logically, we need to keep him alive to find Vincent. He won’t be easy to track down. I’m pissed that I didn’t catch on sooner that the Rizzoli Mafia has been in Boston for so long. But I never considered it a possibility, so I didn’t set up any precautions.
For the first time, I regret not looking into Lizzy’s past. If I had known who she was dating, I would’ve prepared properly. If I had known her abuser wasn’t dead, I’d have gone down and finished the job myself. I’d do it in a way that’d ensure it’d never lead back to the Syndicate.
My phone beeps, letting me know that Lizzy is leaving the zoo. “I need to go. Lizzy will be home soon, and she deserves to know the truth.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yeah. I’m building my relationship on honesty, not deceit. Something you should be a proponent of considering how close you came to losing Cecilia because of your secrets.”
Even if it scares her, she deserves to know. She’ll have to trust that I can protect her, but she should also be conscious about the risks out there.
“Good luck, brother,” Roman tells me with a slap on the back.