Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We left the city and found ourselves in a more rural area, driving past thick woods on both sides, with occasional farmland breaking the sections of forest up.
It was clear we weren’t going back to the club but taking Jasper to a more secluded place, where no one would come looking.
Everything was pitch black with a few streetlights and only a handful of porch lights from houses.
After weaving along one road, Dom finally turned down a narrow drive that cut through a portion of trees.
It appeared to go deep into the forest until it opened up unexpectedly and revealed a small cabin.
Some yards away from the cabin was a large garage attached to a pole barn.
There was a single eerie green light that turned on as we parked.
Everything was so still and quiet until I heard several dogs barking somewhere close by.
Once Dom turned off the car, Leo immediately hopped out to help the others in the van which had been backed up and parked near the garage door.
Car lights washed over the darkness as voices rang out and doors slammed shut.
I ignored the shaking in my limbs as I took off my seat belt and reached for the door handle.
Dom put a hand on my lap to halt me. He took off his mask then typed on his phone.
“You sure you want to see this?” he texted. “You can stay in the cabin and wait.”
I looked back at the garage, catching them hauling Jasper inside. “I can handle it. I’m just worked up. But I want to hear him confess. I need to.” I turned back and saw Dom studying me. “If I can’t take it, I’ll leave.”
Dom nodded. He went to slip out but this time I caught him.
“About earlier…you sure you’re okay with…me and Leslie?”
I was surprised to see him smirk as he replied back. “I always knew there was something between you two.”
I frowned. “Between us two?”
“Leslie didn’t hide it from me,” he answered. “Even when he tried to at first. I knew he was falling for you before he even realized it. And let’s face it, the tension between you two was not subtle. You were feeling it too.”
I pursed my lips. “Maybe…a little.”
He arched his brow.
“Alright. I…it was complicated but, yes.” I shifted, turning my body toward him. “I care about you too, Dom. The things we did. It wasn’t casual for me.”
“I know,” he signed.
I was quiet for a moment, then asked, “If you knew he loved me…weren’t you afraid of hurting your brother?”
“No,” he typed. “Like we said earlier, we talked. Leslie didn’t want you to be alone and neither did I. Trust me, I care for you. It wasn’t casual for me either. But…”
I tilted my head. “But?”
“But I love my brother, and his feelings trumped mine. He fell hard and I want him to be happy. My love is there, but it’s different. Mine’s like…” He thought for a moment then typed. “Like a warm breeze, or a soothing ocean. Leslie’s like…a wildfire or a summer storm. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “I think I do.”
“I will always take care of you too, if you ever need me.”
I smiled. “I know.” I leaned over and hugged him, squeezing tight. “Thank you, Dom.”
He wrapped an arm around me, and I felt him kiss my head. We held each other until I heard a knock at my window. I pulled away and saw Leslie looking down at me without his mask.
“We got him secured,” he said when I opened the door. “Are you staying here or…?”
“I’m coming.”
“It’s going to be brutal.”
“I know.”
Leslie helped me out of the car. Dom went over to the trunk and took something out—another mask. This one was just a blank white face except for two dark lines curving from the corners of the mouth, creating a sinister smile.
“You should hide your face,” Leslie said as Dom offered the mask to me. “Plus, the masks will make it creepier. He might shit his pants and confess quickly if we’re lucky.”
“Yeah, right.” I took the mask, reality hitting for the second time. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Yeah, but think of how much of a badass you’ll be.” Leslie took out his mask from inside his jacket and slipped it on. Dom followed suit. I clung to mine for a moment, knowing as soon as I put it on, there was no going back.
You can do this, Lena.
I slipped it on. Adjusting it, I quietly followed the twins to the garage.
I felt like one of those creepy people from the movie The Strangers as we marched through the dark.
A few of the members stayed outside to keep watch but I had a feeling it wasn’t unnecessary. We were in the middle of nowhere.
Leslie got to the door and yanked it open, pulling me inside with him as Dom kept close behind. Inside, Leo and others were standing by a door at the back of the garage.
“He’s pretty quiet already,” said Xaviar as we approached. “Don’t think you’ll get him talking easily.”
“We’ll see about that.” Leslie let go of my hand to pick up a tool box sitting on the ground. “Thanks again, Mika. Promise we’ll clean up the mess after.”
“No problem,” said an older member, maybe in his mid-forties with a sort of huntsman look to him, a graying beard and long unkempt hair. I realized this must be his property. He glanced at me and nodded. “Get that fucker to talk.”
Leslie moved for the door first. He glanced at me to make sure I was good before swinging it open.
The room was dimly lit with a single orange light above. The ground had been covered with a gray tarp. At the back was a large boiler but the rest of the room was empty, save for Jasper in the center tied up in a chair. He still wore the bag over his head, his body leaning forward.
Dom came in from behind, carrying an orange bucket filled with murky water, a rag and cup floating within.
Leslie set the tool box on a small table next to the door.
I stood frozen, staring at the man. I heard the door shut behind me and felt the twins moving around me.
Dom set the bucket beside Japser’s chair, and I saw the glint of one of Leslie’s knives.
Dom went behind Jasper then carefully removed the bag.
The man looked to be in his early thirties, with dirty blond hair that almost touched his shoulders.
He wasn’t bad on the eyes, had a sort of cowboy look to him.
As he tilted his head back, his eyes fluttered open, icy blue staring up at the light.
He mumbled something but I couldn’t make out the words.
Leslie stepped up to him and gave him a hard tap on his face, making the man flinch back. “Nap time is over. It’s story time.”
Jasper squinted at him, his confused expression faltering. “Been a while…you finally came out of hiding.” He smiled and I saw blood on his teeth.
I glanced at Leslie nervously, but it didn’t seem to startle him that Jasper knew who he was even with the mask. He probably didn’t need to guess that hard after what Leslie had done to the bar and to some of Jasper’s men.
“Yeah, we’ve been out a while, surprised you didn’t hear.”
Jasper shrugged. “Maybe I did. Just figured you were sticking to your own. Didn’t think you’d come back with a vendetta to your old brothers.”
“They weren’t our brothers,” Leslie answered plainly. “Ours followed us to the new faction. Yours stuck around, believing you weren’t full of shit.”
“I thought…we had an understanding,” Jasper slurred. “You were gone, they needed someone. We weren’t your enemy.”
“Maybe not. Until you fucked with the wrong girl.”
Jasper glanced at me then turned back to Leslie as if he didn’t understand. “What girl?”
Leslie swung, throwing a punch right in Jasper’s face, making his head swivel to one side. I stifled a gasp as Jasper leaned forward and spat blood on the floor.
“Where is Trish Alverez?” Leslie asked without hesitation.
Jasper’s body shook and I realized he was laughing.
Dom moved next and pulled the rag out of the bucket.
He yanked Jasper’s head back and covered his face in the rag.
The cloth must have been icy cold because he yelped, trying to shake the rag off but unable to.
Dom scooped some of the water into the cup next then started pouring it over the rag.
Jasper jerked and sputtered as the water hit him.
Dom took his time draining the cup, letting Jasper gasp for air before peeling the rag off.
“We got all night. It’s your choice how you want to play this out.” Leslie stuck the end of his blade into Jasper’s thigh, digging it in excruciatingly slow. Jasper gritted his teeth as a yell of pain slipped from his throat. “So what’s it going to be?”
Panting for air, Jasper’s eyes searched wildly around as if he could somehow find an escape. “Going to…be a long night,” he gasped.
Leslie didn’t appear surprised. “So be it.”
I stood near the door as the twins took turns trying to get him to talk. I made it almost a half hour before I needed to take a break. I stepped out to the front of the garage and one of the guys offered me some water which I accepted gladly.
“Not easy, huh?” Xaviar said.
I shook my head, feeling a sort of numbness come over me, my stomach in knots. “It’s awful.”
“Guys like that are hard to break,” Ricardo commented. “The twins have to play it careful too because if they go too far and knock him out, they have to wait even longer. Jasper knows that so he’ll make them go hard in hopes he’ll black out.”
I drank the rest of my water. This really could go on all night.
There was a shout of pain behind the door that turned into a groan.
“Sounds like Jasper’s going to lose some fingers,” Leo said. The others laughed.
“You really think he’d sacrifice his fingers for keeping information on my sister?”
Leo shrugged as he took a sip of beer and set it down. “Possibly. If that information could lead to his death either way, what’s a few fingers?”
This was crazy. They were going to maim him before he ever talked. I looked around the garage, thinking.
Or there could be a quicker way.
I slid the mask back over my face. “I’m going back in.”
As I opened the door, I saw Leslie carving into Jasper’s wet face. I shut the door and went over to the toolbox. I rummaged around until I found a flathead screwdriver. Leslie stopped as I approached and offered it to him.
“Use this,” I said.
“Feeling frisky, huh?” I could imagine his smile behind the mask as he took the screwdriver. He was about to stab him with it when I stopped him.
“His hand,” I said. “Under the fingernail. Start there.”
“Your wish is my command.” Leslie loosened Jasper’s hand from the ropes and gripped it tight. Dom came around to hold him down as Leslie jammed the screwdriver under his nail.
Jasper nearly jumped out of his seat, barking in pain. Quickly I went to the toolbox and grabbed another screwdriver.
“Dom.”
Dom took the screwdriver as Jasper fought in his seat, his bark of pain turning into a scream as Leslie dug in further. Dom let go to come around the front as I pointed between Jasper’s legs.
“The groin.”
Dom didn’t hold back. He gripped Jasper’s shoulder and dug into the man’s balls.
“He’s going to black out,” Leslie shouted above Jasper’s high-pitched screams.
“A little more, pull back when I say.” I watched Jasper carefully for signs of losing consciousness, making sure he was still very much aware. When I saw his eyes start to fog up and his head tilt back, I ordered them to stop.
Jasper heaved, his face bloody. It was hard to look at him, but I refused to turn away. When I thought he wasn’t in danger of passing out, I told them to use the screwdrivers again.
It took three attempts before Jasper finally begged them to stop. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“Fuck…what the fuck…okay…okay,” he blubbered, trembling. We gave him a moment when I told the twins to go at him again. “Okay! Fuck, did you not hear me, you fucks, okay!” He nearly tilted the seat over as he tried to slide away from them in fear.
“Talk,” Leslie commanded.
Jasper continued to curse, cowering away. “She’s…she’s with Trevor Vulli.”
The twins tensed.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Leslie snapped. “You’re doing jobs for that family?”
Jasper nodded. “They paid us good.”
“Trevor has been going by the name Sicaro?”
“Yes…an alias. He’d been going to that club where Trish worked...some of my guys went there too.” He took a shaky breath. “She and Luke had been on and off seeing each other but they were good friends.”
He was talking about Luke Endo, my sister’s ex.
Jasper bent forward, groaning. “Luke introduced her to Trevor and they hit it off. Trevor was obsessed…but as they all do, he used her. A drug mule at first, then other jobs. As quickly as their relationship started, so did the abuse.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Trish, what the fuck. She’d kept all this from me. From the whole family. Why?
“It wasn’t till later she wanted out,” Jasper continued. “She had begged Luke to help her. When he tried, that’s when Trevor got wind…he wanted Luke dead, and he wanted her back so…we had to do what we had to do. We took him out then grabbed her.”
“And I’m gonna go on a limb and say you don’t know where he’s stashing her now,” Leslie said.
Jasper shook his head. “You know how them mafia families run. They got places all over. But my guess…one of Trevor’s houses. He’d want to keep her close.”
“Great.” Leslie patted Jasper’s face. “It was good talking to you, Jasper, maybe we can do this again some time.” Leslie tossed the screwdriver aside, picking up the black bag on the ground and pulling it over Jasper’s head.
“Sounds like you got his ass to confess,” said Mika as we left the room and took off our masks.
“You guessed it.” Leslie set Mika’s toolbox on the ground. “We’ll dump him somewhere in a few days.”
My head shot over to him. “You’re…going to kill him after all that?”
Leslie smirked. “It’s tempting. But his ass is already fucked now for spilling, so we’ll let the Vulli deal with him once we grab your sister. We’ll dump him far from town and let him cope with the aftermath.”
“Who are they? The Vulli. You know them.”
Leslie glanced at Dom who typed something out and showed me. “Old mafia family. We had loose ties with them once. A few odd jobs, nothing more.”
“But you know enough that you can find them. You can find Trevor?”
“Yes,” Dom signed.
I shut my eyes. Finally, we were close.
“We’ll clean up here then we’ll get back to the clubhouse and Dom will get on it right away,” Leslie added. “He’ll grab every address he can find and narrow down the search.”
It almost felt wrong to be giddy, but I was. Revenge really did feel sweet even for a price.
Leslie put his arm around me, pulling me in. “Nice move with the screwdrivers by the way. Where did you learn that trick?”
I smirked. “Anatomy class. Had a section about the highest nerve-endings on the body. Figured it might hurt a lot.”
“I knew you were smart and a little deranged.” He kissed my temple. “Let’s get this blood off then go home.”