Chapter 2 #3
“Who says we want answers?” I asked, kneeling down so he could look up at me. “I mean, we know who to go after and until we find him, we could just want to take our anger out on someone who thought it wise to help the idiot.”
“No, please.”
“Are you going to go with the I have a family crap next?” I chuckled. “That don’t work on me.”
“I do have a family,” he sobbed. “I had to do this to support them.”
Viper lost his patience and beat down on his back again.
He grunted, his face slipping onto the cement floor.
I heard a definite break and when he looked back up, his nose was bleeding profusely.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as Viper took out his rage on the guy on the ground.
I moved over to one of the others. These two were blindfolded and were scared shitless judging from the deep heaving of their chests and the trembling of their legs from just hearing what was happening to their friend.
Grabbing my blade off Rebel, I cut through his shirt and pulled it from his dangling body.
“Please, just tell us what you want to know,” he begged.
“I want to know what it sounds like when you’re in pain,” I said to him, which earned a snicker from the boys to my left.
“No…I can tell you things.”
I knew he couldn’t. These were henchmen, and would only know minor details. They wouldn’t have a clue where Neal was hiding out, but we would find out soon.
In the meantime, there was some fun to be had.
A way to burn off our excess energy until we had word about Chains or a lead.
I’d missed being home in Kilkenny, being able to see my woman, even if we refused to admit she was.
I knew I’d be coming back here once my shit with the Nomads was done, but for now, my focus had to be on this piece of shit.
I slid my blade down his arms, leeching blood from his skin.
He sucked in a breath, but didn’t scream or cry out.
I admired that. I did the same to the other arm and moved to his bare stomach.
He had a tattoo arching over his belly button of the word Mayhem.
I chuckled, scratching my blade over that and scarring the tattoo.
“You’re not built for mayhem, buddy,” I said in his ear. “But I can see on your shoulder here there are a few names. I’m guessing kids.”
“Please, they don’t know about this.”
“Of course they don’t. They’re innocent, right?
I’m sure your wife would be horrified to learn of why you leave the house at night under the guise of supporting your family.
Did you know Shauna had a family too? Her own biological father sold her for his freedom, and you helped with that. Imagine if that were your daughter-”
I looked at the name and smiled. “Imagine if that had been Dominica that you sold.”
“I would never.”
“Did you not think it weird he was asking for your help with this?” I asked him, trailing my blade down his back, keeping him on edge. Viper was causing all sorts of noises to come out of his guy while the third guy hung, blindfolded, waiting for his turn. It was the ultimate punishment.
“I didn’t know who she was. I swear it.”
“You know you’re not getting out of here, right?” I asked him, getting close to his ear again. “But what you do to save your family will make a difference. Tell me everything you know, and I won’t go after Meryn, Dominica and Victor.”
“How do I know you are a man of your word?” he asked me, his resolve strengthening. I admired that. In the face of death and torture, he was bargaining.
“You don’t,” I whispered in his ear. He whimpered, his arms twisting in his bindings from the pain of being held up off the ground.
I slid my blade into his back like he was made of butter. He let out a howl of pain as I watched the blood seep down over his pants and drip onto the floor.
“You know, I’m a sporting kind of guy. How about this? I let you go, and you run to your freedom. I’ll give you ten seconds to get a jump start. No one will stop you, right?”
Everyone agreed, knowing the game I was playing.
“Then I’ll come after you. If you get free, I won’t retaliate, fair’s fair and all that. But if I catch you and you don’t give me anything of note, I will slit your throat in front of your family and then I’ll kill them.”
“They’re kids.”
“I don’t give a shit,” I said through gritted teeth. “You ever wonder why they call a man Savage? I simply don’t care.”
It wasn’t true, of course. I did on occasion, and I did when it came to Shona, but I didn’t care if you had male or female genitalia. If you fucked with the Ghost Rebels, you didn’t deserve to live.
I motioned for Rebel to cut him down and retrieved the blade I’d slid into his back.
I knew the wound was fatal, it had gone right into his liver.
He may get the adrenaline boost that he needed to run, but his body would give out eventually and when it did, I’d have my fun.
Then me and Viper would string them up in the town, a message to never fuck with the Ghost Rebels again.
We cut the ties around his hands and opened the doors to the shed. The women were all gone, so I knew we were safe from them seeing what we did. The day was hot and bright, which meant he wouldn’t get too far.
A run was a run.
I watched him clamber out of the shed and into the bright day, and I felt a grin creep onto my face as I moved to the door and waited for the ten seconds to be up. Viper was at my side.
“You haven’t done this in a while, brother. You sure you got it in you?”
“Watch and learn, Viper.”
I counted to ten and took off at a run, finding him just passing the gates and heading down the long road that led into Kilkenny.
No one would hear him scream out here, not that he’d be doing much of that.
I ran until I gained on him, his screams echoing throughout the woods on either side of the road.
Dragging him off the dirt road once I caught him, I shoved him up against a tree, laughing as I saw the realisation dawn on his face that I had no intention of letting him go.
“He’s never going to stop,” he said, breathy. “He’ll never stop until his wife and kids are dead.”
“He can try,” I seethed, hating him for speaking about Prez’s family like that. “Just know…I would have kept my word and kept that family of yours safe if you’d just told me what I wanted to know.”
His bottom lip trembled just as I plunged my blade into his side over and over again, before I slammed it through the side of his head with all the force I could muster.
His eyes went wide just as blood spurted out of his nose, his eyes and his mouth.
Pulling my blade free, I wiped it on my pants and left him in a crumpled pile by the tree, moving back up to the compound to continue our fun with the other two.