Chapter Thirty
Rex
I ’ll give it to Richard; he managed to hold out slightly longer than I thought he would.
I expected that the moment that the burning started on the soles of his feet, he’d be squealing out everything I wanted to know and more, but that wasn’t the case.
He lasted a good thirty minutes before he couldn’t hold out anymore, and he was spilling his guts about everything he’d done.
What he had to tell me infuriated me beyond belief.
He fucking turned his back on us for money.
Apparently the fortune he made as an operative wasn’t enough for him.
He decided he wanted more, and all the criminals he’s aided throughout the years paid him more than enough to have no qualms with betraying us.
Fucking greed at its finest. Though it’s not like all that money he made is doing him any good now or will in the future.
He’s not going to be alive to spend another dime.
That money won’t go to waste, though. We might as well do something good with all that fucking blood money.
I’m going to get Seth to work his magic and have all that money moved.
Once it’s in our hands, we can decide whether to use it towards helping those Richard wronged or just giving it to the victims themselves for them to do as they see fit with it.
Maybe both. We’ll figure it out. Either way, that money will be put to good use.
The smell of burning flesh hovers around us, and I know I’m going to be smelling it long after I leave this room and get cleaned up.
It’s the one scent that never fails to linger in my nose.
It’s a nuisance but worth it. Burning someone always speeds up the process of them giving me answers, and with Richard I needed answers before his body gave up the fight.
If I thought Richard was in a bad way when I entered this room, he’s in even more dire straits now.
His breathing is labored, and I can tell he isn’t going to last much longer.
I’m torn between whether I leave him to die from the injuries we’ve already inflicted or carry on with what I had planned. Decisions. Decisions.
A knock sounds on the door; turning my back to Richard, I walk over and open it slightly to see who is interrupting me. I wasn’t expecting to see Jake standing on the other side, that’s for sure.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Wreck is at the house. He’s wondering when you’re planning on dealing with his parents. He wants his moment with them.”
“They’re next on my to-do list. Actually, that gives me an idea. Bring him here; I’m going to go and get the Kings. They can have a front-row seat to the end of Richard’s life.”
“You’re planning something gruesome. You’ve got that look in your eye.”
“What can I say? I have no mercy where any of these fuckers are concerned.”
“Don’t blame you. I’ll go grab Wreck and Shadow. Do I need to warn them about anything?”
“As long as they don’t have weak stomachs and have no issues with a lot of blood and gore, they’ll be fine.”
“We’re golden then. See you soon.”
With that, he turns and leaves. I turn back to Richard and can’t help the sinister smile that crosses my face. This is going to be so much fun.
* * *
Getting Beau and Annmarie into my workroom is easy.
They’re not a match for me in the slightest. They’re both now tied to steel chairs with a front-row seat to watch what is going to happen to Richard.
The looks on both their faces are priceless; there is no hiding their horror as they take in the state of Richard.
Little do they know it’s about to get a lot worse.
The sound of the door opening grabs my attention; turning slightly, I catch sight of Wreck and Shadow walking through. Wreck is literally vibrating with rage as he catches sight of his so-called parents.
“Avery.” Annmarie whispers out, and none of us miss the slight flash of hope that passes through her eyes.
“For two people who are supposed to be dead and buried, you look good. I think we need to do something about that, Rex.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Their turn is coming; I just need to handle one thing first, and I figured they should get to watch what I’m about to do. After all, they’re still here and alive because of his betrayal. Surely, they’ll want to witness what helping them caused.”
“I like that plan. By all means, carry on. I have no problems waiting a few minutes.”
That flash of hope in Annmarie’s eyes has died out.
She’s back to looking petrified and hopeless.
Just the way it fucking should be. I have no idea why she ever thought Wreck would do anything to help her.
I’m pretty sure we’d see pigs flying over our heads before we ever saw him lift a finger to help either her or Beau.
Not that I even remotely blame him for not wanting to help either one of them.
If anyone deserves what is coming their way, it’s these two.
Turning my focus back to Richard, I walk over to where all my tools are lined up, looking over the knives and other sharp objects.
I eye up my Bowie knife. I know it’s going to take more effort on my part than using the machete, but I don’t mind that.
I want this to be as painful as possible.
I want him to feel every second of me dragging my knife through his body.
As I walk towards Richard, I palm the Bowie knife. The fear staring back at me as Richard watches my every movement is everything I could want in this moment and more. I don’t say a word as I reach him. No more words are needed. Everything that needed to be said has been. Now is time for action.
He knows this is the end. I can see the defeat in his eyes.
That doesn’t stop him from trying to fight against his bindings.
Not that it makes any difference; he’s not going anywhere.
He’s well and truly secure. That’s without taking into account the damage his body has been through. He’s literally helpless.
Pulling my arm back, I plunge my knife into him just below his sternum.
Thankfully, I’ve got more than enough strength to cause my knife to enter him in one motion.
The gasp of pain he lets out is like music to my ears.
Staring him straight in the eyes, I begin to pull the knife down the full length of his stomach.
The blood starts flowing immediately, bright red gushing out of his wound and covering my arm and hand.
Pulling the knife out, I walk away, leaving him there disemboweled with his guts starting to spill out of his body. He won’t last much longer, but it also isn’t a quick and easy death. He doesn’t fucking deserve that.
After placing the bowie knife back on the table, I turn my attention to the horrified Beau and Annmarie.
“I don’t know why you’re so surprised and horrified. He knew what would happen if we found out he’d been betraying us and helping people like you.”
“You could have just killed him. This was all unnecessary.” Annmarie says, trying to sound high and mighty.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. How can you even sit there and spout off that kind of bullshit after everything you and your husband have done? You’re fucking delusional.” Wreck says, replying before I can say anything.
Everything he’s said is more than true. There’s clearly something wrong in Annmarie’s mind if she honestly doesn’t see the hypocrisy in the shit coming out of her mouth after everything she and Beau have done.
Beau has been staring at Richard this whole time, seemingly lost in thought, but that’s not the case now.
His attention has turned to his eldest son, and the pure disdain that fills his eyes as he looks at Wreck is not something I expected.
I don’t know how I thought he’d act, but this certainly wasn’t it.
Actually, now that I’m really thinking about it, neither Beau nor Annmarie has acted the way I expected coming face-to-face with Wreck.
“Why the fuck are you here?” Beau asks; the disdain also fills his voice as he addresses Wreck.
“To make sure you both well and truly die this time around. Don’t need you returning from the dead a second time.”
“What are you going to do? Stand there like the coward you are and watch him do all the hard work.”
I can’t help myself, and it seems Shadow can’t either. We both burst out laughing at Beau’s words. It would seem the man didn’t bother keeping up to date on anything to do with his eldest son. He has no idea what he’s capable of and how far away from being a coward Wreck really is.
Shadow is the first to get himself back under control. He loses all hints of humor in his expression as he moves across the room to stand in front of Beau.
“You know nothing about your son because if you did, you wouldn’t be sitting there calling him a coward or acting like he isn’t the biggest threat to you in this room. You have no idea what he’s capable of, especially when it comes to protecting those he loves.”
“He’s nothing. Always has been and always will be.”
It’s a good job that I don’t blink in that moment, because if I did, I’d have missed it.
Shadow reacts so fast, pulling his fist back and nailing Beau hard in the side of the jaw.
He’s lucky that the chair he’s tied to is bolted to the ground because if it wasn’t, he’d have toppled over with the force of that hit.
“Watch your fucking mouth.” Shadow spits out angrily.
Wreck is wrapped around Shadow from behind before he can gear up for another hit. It’s amazing watching them together. The anger just seems to drain out of Shadow’s body the moment he feels Wreck around him.
“Ignore him. It doesn’t matter what he says. We all know he’s not leaving this room alive. He’ll be out of all our lives for good soon, and I can’t fucking wait.”
Beau looks like he’s about to say something else, but he must see something on Wreck and Shadow’s faces causing him to think twice about it.
Choosing to keep his mouth shut. Probably the smartest thing he’s done in a long time because I think Shadow would rip him apart with his bare hands if he continued to badmouth Wreck.
“Shall we get this show on the road? I’d like to get back to Dre and Immy sooner rather than later.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Wreck says as he releases his hold on Shadow and turns to face me.
“I take it you want in on the fun I have planned for them?” I ask.
“Yes.” Wreck replies, eyes blazing with rage.
“He’s all yours. Do what you wish, but if you can get answers about their criminal operation, I won’t complain.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Wreck says before walking away and heading towards all the different tools.
I watch as he picks up the car battery and jumper cables. I smile to myself at that. He definitely isn’t planning on taking it easy on Beau. Good. I can’t wait to see what they end up doing to him. One thing I can tell, though, is they’re going to make it hurt.