Chapter 37Cain
Chapter Thirty-Seven
CAIN
I ’ve always been one to stand by the rule of never hurting a woman. I always thought the guys that did deserve every fucked-up thing they had coming to them. And I would be first one in line to do it. But seeing a guy put his hands on my woman? It’s a whole different level of ‘I’m going to fucking kill you.’ All I want to do right now is take my knife, slowly shove it into each eyeball, and feed them to Hades.
But first, he has a lot of questions to answer. “Is he in the basement?” I ask Hash as I enter the clubhouse.
“Yeah. Cyrus and Scotch are uh… watching him.” I don’t hear any screaming, so he must still be alive.
“As long as he can still talk, Cyrus can watch him all he wants.”
Cyrus, like Scotch, can become a little unhinged. That’s why I made them enforcers. They’ve never met a man that they couldn’t make talk, and because of that, they have gained a… reputation that must be maintained.
“Last I was down there, all fingers were still intact,” Hash calls to my back.
I let out a laugh before I swing open the basement door and head down the steps. “That’s a first,” I call back.
“You’re just in time for the party, Prez.” Cyrus smirks from his chair as I slam my boot down on the last step. He’s leaned back in the corner across from Storm, who is now tied down to a chair. Ropes strap down both of his wrists to each arm of the chair, ankles secured to the legs, and there’s tape over his mouth. “Had to tape his mouth shut. Hadn’t even touched him, and he wouldn’t stop screaming like a little bitch. Can’t wait to hear what a real scream will sound like out of him.”
I slowly cross the distance between the end of the stairs and where Storm is before I rip the tape off his mouth. He didn’t even see it coming, letting out a loud grunt in the process.
“Look. I don’t know what this is about bu—” Storm starts to say while catching his breath before I cut him off.
“You don’t know what this is about?” My tone sounds scary even to me. I heard Cyrus slide to the edge of his seat, no longer relaxed. He’s more anxious to let out the release he’s been looking for. “You thought it was okay to put your hands on a woman. My woman. That’s what this is about, you piece of shit.”
“It wasn’t what it looked like man.”
Scotch snorts from behind me.
“Really? Because what it looked like to me was that you were trying to steal what is Evan’s. Then, when she didn’t roll over and give you what you wanted, you were going to force her,” I grit out. I don’t think I’ve ever clenched my jaw so hard in my life.
The fact that this piece of shit is trying to tell me it wasn’t what it looked like is only pissing me off more. Does he think we’re fucking stupid? My philosophy is that if you’re going to do something and get caught, you own up to it like a fucking man.
“I’m sick of that bitch making all the money. I’ve been doing the dealing for years! Fucking years! And you know how much she gives me? 10 percent. 10 fucking percent. Fucking bitch,” Storm spits out, shaking his head as he rants.
Cyrus moves up behind me next to Scotch, ready to be of assistance for the way he’s talking about Evan, but I hold up my hand to stop him. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this line of work, it’s that guys like this who are desperate to be on top will spill their guts out when they’re upset. They feel entitled to everything they come across, so money and power-hungry. Their emotions from that entitlement shine bright on their sleeve, all too eager to claim what they think is owed to them. And let’s be honest, that will get you dead real quick in this game.
“Other than distribute to the low-life people you associate with, what exactly did you do that you feel so strongly that you’re entitled to more?”
“I don’t feel! I know I fucking deserve that. It’s mine. This business is no place for a woman anyway. Doesn’t she realize anyone can grow a fucking plant?”
I share a look with Cyrus, who is now by my side. I called that bullshit. That’s another thing you need in this life that Storm obviously fucking hasn’t yet. You need to be able to read people. Without it, you better watch your fucking back.
I crouch down so I’m at eye level with Storm in the chair. Direct eye contact makes them squirm, just like he is right now. “Did you break into Evan’s house and issue that warning?”
“No.” He answers way too quickly, not meeting my eyes. “No man. It wasn’t me. I know nothing about that.”
I wave Cyrus over as I stand up and step back, tilting my head toward Storm. The poor bastard didn’t even have time to register what was happening before Cyrus had one of his fingers bent all the way back until that soothing crunch hit my ears.
“Fuck!” Storm screamed, trying to pull away, which is impossible when you’re still tied to a chair.
“Do you want to change your answer?”
“No. It wasn—” His answer was cut off by another scream caused by Scotch, who quickly stepped forward and snapped another finger back.
Cyrus goes in for one more, but Storm has him pausing. “Okay! Okay! It was me, alright? It was me,” he rushes out before he pleads. “Just no more, please.”
Satisfied for now, Cyrus and Scotch step back so they’re standing next to me.
“Care to share why?” I cock my head at him.
“No,” Storm says lowly as he sags his head.
“No?” I echo. Well, that won’t do. I pick up the crowbar to my right and swing it at his knee. This time I didn’t get to hear that satisfying crunch I like because Storm was screaming like a bitch again. I’m really starting to hate this fucker. “If you’re going to have the balls to fuck with my girl, the least you can do is take your beating like a fucking man.”
I lift the crowbar into position like you do when you’re about to swing a baseball bat, ready to go after the other kneecap before he starts speaking, a mixture of tears and sweat pouring down his face. “I can’t tell you man! He’ll kill me!”
“And you think we won’t?” Cyrus laughs.
“You better start talking, or you’re going to leave here with all ten fingers broken and both kneecaps shattered,” I demand, pointing the crowbar at him.
“Okay, okay. Just no more. Please,” he begs. And to that, I just cock my eyebrow.
I’ve never been a patient man when it comes to stuff like this. I have a short fuse and even shorter triggers, and this piece of shit is really testing me.
“I was dealing the last of what Evan had given me. I always meet this dude once a month on the other side of Ravenna Heights at the abandoned warehouses,” he rushes out, breathing labored from the pain.
It makes sense he would meet out there, especially if he’s moving a few pounds. It’s secluded, and no one likes wandering eyes during a deal.
“He had just left, and I was about to pull out too before this black town car came speeding into the parking lot, stopping right in front of me so I couldn’t leave. I always back into a spot that butts up to the building.”
“Then what?” I demand, not liking where this is going.
“Two guys got out of the front and then two more from the back. All of them in fancy ass suits. The guys in the front and one of them from the back kind of flanked around the other last dude that got out of the back. Like they were his bodyguards or somethin’. I thought it was weird as fuck in this area, but who am I to judge? They looked fucking intimidating. I kind of liked it the more I stared at them.” And there’s that glint in this eye again. Jealousy. That look that screams he’s so desperate for some sort of power.
“Hey,” I snap, cutting off his rant. “Fucking focus. I don’t want to hear about how you were about to get on your knees and suck their dicks. I want to know what happened.”
“They knew what I was doing, and I don’t know how. I have never seen these suits in my life. They wanted to know where I was getting my product.”
“And you just told some random ass fucks everything?” I ask, growing angrier by the second. Jesus. What the fuck is wrong with him? Is there no loyalty anymore?
“He had cash on hand man! I can’t turn away 50k like that. I’d be a fucking fool to,” he explains as if that justifies everything. As if I’m just going to side with him.
“This is why Evan never gave you a larger cut. She saw what a piece of shit you are. No loyalty whatsoever.”
“I’m loyal to who’s feeding me.”
“That’s the thing. You don’t get it and probably never will. Loyalty can’t be bought. The ones that claim it can will always stray to the next highest bidder,” I say, shaking my head. I really can’t believe this fucking guy. “What did you do with the money?”
He’s back to not meeting my eyes as he says what I already knew he was going to say. “I owed some people some money, so I paid off my debts to get them off my back.”
God. What a fucking piece of shit. “How do we tie into this?”
“I think I’ve said enough.” Storm smirks like he somehow still has the upper hand here. Scotch laughs before snapping two more fingers back at once.
“Fuck! Stop doing that! He wants this territory, okay! He knows you’re involved with Evan.” This bitch is full-on crying now. Fucking disgusting.
“Who is he, and how does he fucking know that?”
“I don’t know how he knows. I didn’t ask man. I swear I didn’t ask.” His voice has a tremor now. “I didn’t even ask a name. I just took the money that they gave me for the info. I heard one of the guys that climbed out of the front call one of the guys Mikhail, but I don’t know which one it was. Fuck I don’t even know a Mikhail!”
I share another look with Cyrus. This isn’t looking good at all. The Russians being at the trailer that day definitely wasn’t a fucking coincidence.
“Thanks for the info man. So much loyalty. I love to see it.” I smirk before I swing and bash the other kneecap in, laughing as he cries out. “That’s for touching what’s mine.”
I smile to myself as I hear his cries and head back upstairs.