23
Leon
The distinct smell of burning human flesh assaults my nose as soon as I get closer to Volkov Manor. Tendrils of smoke rise over the woods surrounding the manor. Weak morning sunshine shines down on me, obliterating the horrors my brothers must’ve experienced the previous night.
I’m glad Damien got on our asses to check on the people who could prove to be our enemies. It was the only reason I got to know about the Morelli family’s plan to attack us.
Damien was right about Callum Baldwin. He wasted neither time nor opportunity to gather forces to attack us the second he left. I can’t believe he even managed to bribe our guards into following his orders.
My jaw tightens at the betrayal of the men we trusted with the safety of our pack. They all know their masters are monsters and that betraying them will cost more than their lives. And yet, they dared to betray us , I think, clutching onto the brakes hard.
Cutting off the bike’s engine, I look toward the black stone manor. It’s both our home and our fortress.
Those guards dared to betray us because they didn’t fear us anymore. It’s time to remind them who we are , I decide.
The Volkovs are generous masters but we don’t tolerate betrayal. We pay our guards handsome salaries and compensations in exchange for their loyalty, but we also punish them with blood and pain if they abandon their duty.
Climbing off the bike, I walk indoors.
A phone call from Mikhail around midnight had been enough to calm my rising anxiety about the attack being planned on Volkov Manor. We’d lost some of our men to the attack but both my family and Lucia are safe.
Even then, I’m desperate to see them and make sure they aren’t injured.
“Leon!” a familiar voice calls out as soon as I enter through the manor’s doors.
Looking ahead, I see Damien hurrying toward me. Dressed in a neat white shirt paired with dark navy slacks, he looks fine. My gaze takes note of his gait, making sure he isn’t hurt in any way.
My eldest brother throws his arms around my neck and pulls me close for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you,” he says in a deep voice and nearly chokes the life out of me.
I stay in his suffocating embrace and smile. Damien is almost a father figure in our lives. He protected both me and Mikhail since the time we’d been thrown out into the streets for survival training.
Damien always made sure Mikhail and I never went hungry. He stole for us and got hurt several times, but he never left us behind.
His thick scars make him look like a monster but amongst the three of us, he’s the kindest. Would Lucia ever see beyond the ugly mask that was forced on him by Callum?
“You must be exhausted,” he says, finally releasing me. His ice-blue eyes rove all over me, looking for signs of injury. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
I grab onto his arm before he can move away. “Food can wait,” I say in a grim tone. “Tell me whether you’ve found the men who betrayed us.”
“There are three of them,” says Damien. “Mikhail’s already got them bound up in the underground chambers in the west wing.”
“That’s where I’ll go, then.”
Damien holds me back. “You just returned home. Interrogations can wait.”
I shake my head. “Every man working for us needs to learn a lesson,” I say. “We can’t afford someone else betraying us again. It was pure luck I was at Morelli Sr.’s office at the right time. We can’t always depend on luck when we’re dealing with a thug like Callum Baldwin. We’re the only ones who know the depth of his depravity. Our men need a reminder of the price they’ll be paying if they betray us.”
“You’re right,” Damien agrees.
“Call Mikhail and tell him to spread the word,” I say. “Everyone here must know I’m down in the dungeons with the traitors.”
Damien gives a nod. “We’ll meet you there.”
A part of me wants to head upstairs and see Lucia but I curb my desire. She’s safe and for now, it’s enough.
We need to interrogate the men who were in contact with Callum and the Morellis. We have to find out what we can before it’s too late.
Turning away from Damien, I make my way toward the westward wing of the manor. The few men I come across in the hallways look anxious and wary. Last night’s strike has been a good way to alert them of possible attacks.
The trapdoor leading into the dungeons is concealed inside a nondescript room. Only those who’re marked for death are brought here.
Opening the trapdoor set against the floor, I step onto the first step leading to the bottom. The temperature drops sharply as I descend the short flight of stairs. Only a few bulbs hang from the ceiling, keeping the place immersed in permanent shadows.
Walking along the narrow corridor, I reach the cell where the traitors are being kept. Three men hang from chains attached to hooks on the ceiling. Their knees barely support their sagging weights.
My footsteps sound loud in the underground chamber. The noise is enough to rouse them. Blinking against the darkness, they peer at me.
To make it easier for them, I step into a shaft of light coming in through the bars of the cell.
Gasps rise in the air along with the slinking of iron chains as the three men act on their instincts. Their fear makes me smile.
Moving nearer, I take a closer look at them. All three men are badly beaten up and sport dark bruises on their faces. Their clothes are soaked in sweat. Strands of hair stay stuck to their foreheads. None of them are bleeding just yet.
“Please, Master Leon,” one of them pleads in a shaky voice. “P-p-please, give us one more chance.”
The others nod vehemently.
My butterfly knife appears in my hand. Rotating the handle along my fingers, I slowly circle them.
One of them breaks into halting, gasping sobs. “It’s all your fault, Samuel!” he screams. “I should’ve never listened to you.”
“Stop blaming me,” Samuel hisses. “You wanted the extra cash and were happy to take it.”
I look toward the third guy. He’s the oldest among them. His silence is sobering. The bastard knows what’s coming for him and makes no effort to beg and plead.
Smart , I think wryly.
The sound of approaching footsteps gets closer and soon, both Damien and Mikhail appear at the cell’s door.
“I’ve been waiting,” I say with a nod toward Mikhail who’s carrying a tripod with him. “Let’s get this show started.”
“You okay, bro?” Mikhail asks as he starts setting up the tripod.
“Yep and looking forward to getting better.”
The three men watch with bated breath as Mikhail fixes a camera onto the tripod. This way, we can do a livestream for our staff without having them all crowd the underground chamber.
Everyone is going to watch what happens to those who betray us. This is a message that needs to sink into all our men’s minds.
My knife whizzes around my fingers. My patience is starting to thin now. I need to cut some skin and see the blood oozing out. Moving closer to my prey, I slash at the traitors’ clothes.
All three start struggling against their chains to move away from me. All it does is get them cut everywhere. My knife is so sharp, that even a small brush against the blade cuts skin like paper.
Within minutes, strips of their shirts and trousers lie scattered at my feet. I tear away their remaining clothing, exposing their nakedness to my brothers and everyone else who’s watching the livestream.
Rivulets of blood flow from the numerous cuts that resulted from their incessant struggles to get free. I didn’t even get started and they’re already making a mess.
“Leon, wait,” Damien says in a low, commanding voice. “I need some answers before you get started.”
“Ask away,” I say, stepping back to stand beside him.
“Who else is on your team?” Damien asks, looking at the man in the center. “You’re all going to die today, so there’s no point in lying. Whoever was involved with you deserves the same punishment as you.”
“I didn’t want to do any of this!” The man called Tom shouts. He’s the youngest among them. “It was Samuel who made me take the money. I didn’t ask for it!”
“He’s lying!” Samuel spits. “He saw the cash in my hands and wanted to know how I got it. When I told him there was more to make, he said he’d join me. Don’t believe a word he says. He’s a greedy bastard.”
“No!” Tom shrieks. “P-p-please, Master Damien. Make it stop. Please make it stop. I’ll do anything for you. Please, please, please!”
Ignoring his crocodile tears, Damien continues. “Who did you get in touch with?”
“The man who came to the house yesterday morning,” says the older man. “He paid us and asked us to get in touch with someone else. That’s how we planned the raid with their men.”
“What’s the name of the man you spoke to?” Mikhail asks.
“Jerry.”
“Jerry Morelli?” Mikhail guesses.
“Maybe. He didn’t tell me his last name.”
“What else can you tell us about the people you worked for?” Damien asks.
The man shakes his head. “Everything happened in the span of a single day. There was no conversation apart from the raid they were planning. Besides, they didn’t want us to do anything other than opening the gates for them.”
Moving forward, Mikhail grabs the man by his throat. “You don’t sound stupid, Perez. Why did you get involved with this man in the first place? Don’t we pay you enough?”
“I’m sick of living here,” Perez says, gazing at me with dead eyes. “I don’t even mind dying. I just need a release from this place that’s so full of secrets, it chokes the life out of me.”
“You were nearly dead when we found you on the streets,” says Mikhail in a grim tone. “There was no one to care for you or feed you. We took you in and this is how you repay us? You want to die and don’t give a shit about betraying the people who saved your life?”
“I’ll make him choke on those words, brother,” I say in a cold, promising tone. “We’ll see whether he begs me to spare him or not.”
“Kill me,” says Perez. “I’m ready.”
Does he think dying by my hands is going to be easy? I’ll give him a tour of hell before he goes knocking there.
“You can start,” Damien commands in a grim voice.
“I almost forgot about something,” I say. “There’s someone else who needs to see me do this.”
Mikhail glances at Damien who’s staring straight at me.
“Who?” Damien asks.
“Lucia.”
“Why?”
“You’ve allowed her to stay here,” I say with a cold smile. “She must know who I am. What I am.”
“You want her to be scared of you?” Mikhail asks with a frown.
“I want her to see me exactly the way she sees Damien.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Mikhail protests. “She’ll never accept us if she sees this side of you.”
“It’s okay,” says Damien. “Lucia’s tougher than you think. Besides, it’s time we stopped pretending. She must know who we are and what we do. It’s the only way to make her truly ours.”
Mikhail doesn’t look happy at the prospect of exposing Lucia to the monster that lurks inside me. He wants to coddle her but she has to know what we’ve become because of her. She has to know how her brother killed the humanity inside each of us.