13. Chapter 13
Callahan
I looked at Sean, tied to the chair in the middle of the small shed. Finn had already stripped the man and had clearly had his fun with him. Bruises littered his face and torso, his left eye swelling and blood dripping from his mouth, leaving red streaks on his torso.
I walked calmly towards him, shoving my hands in my pockets to appear casual. “So, Sean, you’ve been quite busy lately, haven’t you?” I asked in a politely conversational tone.
“N-n-no, sir! I promise! I didn’t do any of that stuff you were talking about!”
“Well, see, I heard different. Some of the girls from Nirvana came to me personally claiming that you assaulted them and then refused to pay. Finn,” I gestured to my right hand man, “placed a tail on you weeks ago. You were seen taking a cut from the payment you picked up from the bakery. You left Nirvana without paying, even though you had seven thousand dollars OF MY MONEY IN YOUR POCKET!” I yelled in his face, my hands braced on the arms of the chair he was tied to. He flinched back and pulled against the ropes keeping his arms in place behind him.
He whimpered pathetically and his eyes bounced around the room, landing on the table to the side that had an assortment of weapons and tools neatly displayed. He began stuttering an unintelligible mix of apologies and excuses.
“I swear, sir! I swear! I didn’t do it! It was- it was- uh, James! It was all James! It was his idea! He did it! He just gave me the money! I didn’t know it was your money! I didn’t do anything! You don’t have to do any of the shit that bitch said! She’s crazy! She’s a fuckin’ psycho man!”
My anger immediately burned so hot, it felt like ice in my veins. My teeth gnashed together and my nostrils flared. I glanced at Connor and Carson, posted behind him with their hands folded in front of themselves, anger on their faces at the insults casually thrown at Rory.
Carson stepped forward and slapped a hand over Sean’s still rambling mouth.
“Stop. Talking.” Menace filled my tone, my body vibrating with anger. The muffled rambling stopped and Sean’s eyes went wide. I took a deep breath and removed my jacket as I strolled towards the tool table, casually passing my jacket to Connor, who folded it over his arm and resumed his stoic position along the back wall. I perused the tools available to me as I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows.
His words echoed in my head and I turned from the table empty-handed, deciding I wanted to feel his punishment under my fists. I returned to my spot in front of him, my hands in my pockets and my head tilted to the right, schooling my features into a look of contemplation. I sighed dramatically.
“Do you know who that woman was?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.
Sean shrugged as much as his bound arms would allow. “I’ve never seen her. I assumed she was just some fling, since you’re engaged to the Italian whore.”
I huffed a breath, laughing at his stupidity, the casual way he throws insults at women. “While I agree with your assessment of my former fiancée,” I said as I pulled my hands from my pockets, watching him tense further, “that woman is Aurora Rossi. She is my current fiancée. She’s the woman I’ve been following around like a lost fecking puppy for weeks just on the off chance I’d get to see her glowing hair again, or the way her brown eyes look like melted honey in the sunlight, or maybe I’d even get a glimpse of the smile that lights up her face like a fecking christmas tree. That bitch,” I said, my tone dripping in anger, “is mo solas beag. She is the woman I will marry. She is the woman that will give me children. She is the woman who will rule beside me like a fecking queen.”
Sean gulped and pissed his pants as I spoke, his whole body trembling and tears streaking through the blood on his face. I grimaced at the mess puddling on the floor of my shed and rolled my eyes at his blubbering and begging. I glanced at Carson again. “Shut him up.” Carson’s hand slapped over Sean’s mouth again.
Finn and I took turns at him, giving him moments of rest to regain consciousness and then starting again. When he was a swollen, bloody pulp, I washed my hands in the sink next to the tool table and dried my hands with some paper towels, looking at the bleeding man with disdain.
I threw the towels in the trash, unrolled my sleeves and took my jacket from Connor, slinging it over my shoulders. I turned towards the door, casually fixing my sleeves. “Do everything Aurora wanted done to him. Make sure he lives through it, until the very end.” Sean let out a sound, too loud to be a whimper but too quiet to be a scream, and I pursed my lips, meeting his bloody gaze before flicking my eyes to Finn. “Start with his tongue. Let him recover a few days so he’s lucid and knows exactly why he’s losing his ability to speak.”
Finn grinned and Conner and Carson let out identical chuckles. “Yes, sir,” Finn said, setting about making arrangements for Sean to recover in one of our holding cells as I left the shed.
On the way back to my room, I contemplated my visceral reaction to Sean’s insults toward Rory. I prided myself on my calm demeanor. The men in my employ were expected to behave the same way. We all strove for professionalism and decorum. I never let my emotions dictate my reactions. So why was I so overtaken by anger because a half-dead man had insulted her?
Despite my musings, I knew the answer. It was plain as day, heavy as a boulder sitting on my chest, spreading warmth and light through me.
I was falling for her. I was halfway in love with a woman I barely knew. I was borderline obsessed with her beauty, mesmerized by her strength, insanely protective of her safety, overly-concerned about her feelings…
Yeah, I was a fecking idiot.
At this point, I could only hope she would eventually return my feelings.