Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Luca
“House is ready,” Ronan said as he walked back to us. The guy was fighting against his restraints but my knife kept him from fighting too hard.
Nikolai reached down, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him up, holding him inches from his face.
“You’re going to tell us everything you know.”
He hefted the smaller alpha like it was nothing, carrying him straight through the trees and inside the tiny house. I followed closely behind, waiting until he slammed the alpha down on a chair that Ronan had dragged to the center of the room before tying him to it.
Of course, my best friend already had his toolkit for situations like this. An array of weapons were already waiting. Ronan had taken his time laying them out on a nearby table. Each one was set out in a way that our victim saw everything.
This was truly my least favorite part of this lifestyle.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle it, but the blood, the gore, none of it excited me, fulfilled me. I would much rather be in a data center, finding information, scouring channels and contacts to complete a job.
It was like a puzzle to me.
But watching them extract information in blood was its own form of art.
I settled in at the back of the room, my laptop already poised, waiting to take down whatever secrets he spilled.
Ronan reached forward, ripping off the duct tape unceremoniously.
“You fucker,” the guy spit out, glaring at us now.
Clearly, he wasn’t pleased with the way this conversation was going already.
“Who hired you? You clearly knew we were coming.”
“I was bait,” he taunted. “Looks like it worked.”
“You’re the last one alive,” Ronan mused, trailing the ice pick in his hand across the man’s throat. A trail of blood trickled down as pure hatred burned in his eyes. “Hardly sounds like a win to me.”
He went still, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
“Who told you where we’d be?” Ronan tried again. “This isn’t exactly our usual territory.”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
Ronan sighed like he was just being a difficult child. “Now that was the wrong answer.”
Ronan lunged so fast the man didn’t even have time to brace himself, the pick lodging itself in his leg. He was practiced enough not to hit anything major, but the way he yanked it back, flaying his leg was brutal. That pain should be enough for him to start talking.
He was breathing heavily now, panting as he fought through the pain. “Fuck you,” he bit out, neck straining against the pain. “You’re a fucking asshole.”
“Oh? Is it any different than what you would’ve done to us?” Ronan asked as he trailed the pick lower and wrapped his fingers around the pick, lodging it deeper and earning a fresh scream.
“It was never fucking personal. It’s a job.”
“Then you picked the wrong fucking profession,” I finally piped in, unable to stop myself.
His head snapped to mine, and he let out a smile that was full of blood.
“What are you, their backup plan? Sitting pretty over there, avoiding the bloodshed?” His voice was breathless and raspy now but he was fighting through it.
“Don’t even talk to him,” Ronan said as the pick sliced across his face. Before the pain could truly register, he smacked his hand onto the fresh wound to drive his point home.
The guy groaned, but, apparently, wasn’t done being an idiot yet.
“Oh, I get it. You’re their replacement because they can’t get any omega pussy, huh?”
This time it was Nikolai who moved. He pushed off of the wall where he was waiting before stalking forward and burying one of his smaller knives into the man’s thigh and twisting it. Blood seeped along the edges and poured down his leg as the man gasped, the sound low and guttural.
“Who hired you?” Ronan asked again. His voice was calm and serene like this was relaxing for him. Knowing my best friend, it probably was. Somehow torture was easier than navigating forging a new pack.
“One of your own, wasn’t it? I think we both know that. Maybe you should get a handle on that.”
“And how do you know he was one of ours?” I challenged.
I was supposed to be the quiet one. Ronan looked amused, but didn’t call me on it.
“Aren’t Crows all the fucking same?” he laughed before wheezing and spitting blood, hitting Ronan right in the chest. A crude streak of saliva and blood dripped down but he didn’t react.
He was still panting against the pain, but pretending it wasn’t as bad as it was.
“They paid me good money, too.”
He was talking now. It would only get easier from here. Nikolai’s hand pressed into his throat, squeezing hard but not enough to force him to pass out.
“Tell me who hired you. I want a fucking name, princess.”
“He didn’t give me one,” he choked out. “Probably for a moment like this. He knew you’d figure it out eventually. That’s why the pay was so high.”
“Did you see him face to face?” Ronan demanded. When he didn’t answer, the alpha sank another blade into his thigh.
“No,” he growled. “Fuck you.” His head was lolling to the side now and his eyes dazed. This was likely all we were getting out of him, but now we knew whoever hired him was smart. They were fully aware that we’d find them and we did.
I knew it had to be someone with access to our programs, someone who understood intimately how the Crows operated and exactly which players held the power.
“I feel like he’s got more information than he’s giving us,” Ronan sang out, his grin growing wider now.
“I agree.” Nikolai’s hand sank into the asshole’s stomach. He doubled over, but barely made a sound outside of rasping breaths.
“You ready to talk yet?” Ronan asked, picking up a small, but very sharp, dagger.
With a grunt, he lodged it into the man’s hand where he was gripping the chair.
Blood was seeping from more orifices than should be possible.
That, of course, didn’t stop his fate. It was already set.
Ronan thought he had information he was holding back and he wouldn’t stop until we had every bit of information he was hiding.
His screams tore into the night as my packmates dragged every truth from his bloody lips. An hour later his arms were broken, eyes unfocused, blood dripping from his nose, mouth, and ears.
Finally, Ronan called in cleanup, and we walked away.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t just eager to settle behind my screens and find the answers we needed.
I wanted to be with my omega. With our pack.