16. Maverick
16
Maverick
F ury coursed through my body. My muscles pulled with the tension of it. My jaw was so tight it felt like my teeth would snap off any second.
Employees gave me a wide berth as I stalked through the halls of Eros, looking for Reid. Not even the sound of the music in the main area or the debauchery there could draw my attention.
“What hap—.” Ivette’s words died as I stomped up the stairs to the offices. She knew something was up if I was ignoring her. The door slammed into the wall as I burst inside.
“Where is that fucker?”
Reid raised his hands as he stood from his desk. “Cool down, Mav.”
“No.” I didn’t need to explain. He’d seen her. Seen her crumpled in Connor’s arms. Raw and broken. He knew the anger living in me. Felt it, but he was better at controlling it than I was.
There wasn’t an ounce of calm in my body. And there wouldn’t be until I had Simon’s blood on my hands. Reid understood that even if he didn’t want to admit it.
His jaw worked from side to side like he was debating before he tilted his head down the hall towards my office. I whipped around and stalked that way. The door was already ajar because I never cared to close it. I stepped inside and headed straight to the bathroom, then I was grasping the handle for the closet. Or that’s what it was supposed to look like.
There were shelves on either side with random supplies. Paper towel, soap, garbage bags, lube, condoms, printer ink. But the wall in front was another door. I yanked it open. This was my private entrance. There was a street level one for the people who came here.
I was stomping down a set of stairs. Noise carried up to me. The sound of screams and curses. The din of violence.
It grew to a deafening screech the further underground I went. The stench of sweat became thicker, stinging my nose. The sounds and smells were comforting. Familiar.
When I reached the bottom, I entered my domain. Ares.
A crush of people gathered in the space. Fluorescent lights shined off the concrete walls and floors, making the hungry crowd look garish. Dark stains covered the ground; they could either be piss or blood. It was impossible to tell.
But it did nothing to dampen the excitement in the room. An electric energy hung in the air. The buzz bounced along my skin. You could almost reach out and touch it.
It was a specific feeling. The aura of brutality. The hunger for death.
Crowds gathered around three rings watching man’s most primal act; kill or be killed.
Two fighters faced each other in each. Guys, girls, teenagers, there was only one rule; consent. You knew exactly what you were stepping into. There was no guarantee you’d step out. The stakes were high and the money better.
Women in skintight leggings and yellow tops moved through the rabid throng with their hands in the air. People captured their attention and placed bets. Cash flowed as easily as alcohol down here.
A few spectators caught my eye as I walked by. Some mouths opened in shock to see me outside the ring. Others looked on with hungry gazes. Lust or rage, I didn’t care. The debt collectors didn’t give me a second glance; my employees never did. They knew all the rumors weren’t true.
That the tales of my bloodthirsty nature were exaggerated. At least off the mats. On them, I was undefeated. Ruthless.
I needed the release. Needed to feel the crunch of bones. The splatter of blood. I relished the screams of pain.
It was sick. Twisted. Wrong, but I’d long stopped analyzing it.
Ordinarily, I’d be in the center ring, taking on whatever asshole bet on beating me that day. They never did, and they never learned. They kept coming.
But a random fight wouldn’t satisfy me tonight. Not when the demon in me had its claws in my heart. Its rage would only be sated by one person.
I moved through the crowd until I was entering a door to the right of the bar. If I continued straight, it would take me to the locker rooms and restrooms. Instead, I went left. Through another door, another left turn until I was in the bowels of the building; standing in front of a steel door.
It wouldn’t be easy to stumble across this place. You had to know where you were going. Had to know what you were looking for.
The steel clanked together as I rolled it open. The man started to rock in the chair we’d tied him to. It creaked under his weight as he attempted to get free.
His once white pants were stained yellow with piss. Beads of sweat slide off his fat face, discoloring his shirt. His wrists and ankles were red and raw from the rope.
Muffled noises came from behind the fabric we’d wedged into his mouth. The words were indiscernible to me. But his distress was clear to see.
It washed over me like a warm shower. Comforting. Soothing. Necessary.
“Simon. Simon. Simon.” I sighed as I stepped into the room, rolling the door closed behind me. It was unlikely anyone could hear us over the cheers, but you could never be too careful. The confinement would only fuel his fear.
Just like it had for her.
A red tinge coated my vision as I stared at the piece of shit in front of me. “What am I going to do with you?”
His nostrils flared with each strangled breath. He shook his head as if he could command me to stop. But I didn’t take his orders.
My footsteps echoed around the room as I walked towards him. He flinched as I got closer, pulling a chuckle from deep in my chest. “Don’t be so eager, Simon. We’re only just beginning.”
The rocking of his chair started again as I moved to the wall beside me. I bent down to pick up the hose. We had it for easy cleanup. But tonight I had a different idea.
“You hurt my belladonna. Made her want to harm herself. You have to pay for that.” I turned the knob and water sprayed from the end. I kept turning until it was as hot as it could go. Until I could see the steam. “You need to suffer like she suffered.”
He became frantic, shaking his head vigorously as if he could make me stop, but I was already lifting the hose. His muffled screams raced down my spine as the water splashed across his face. It turned his pale skin pink in an instant.
I kept going. I held the stream to him until his eyes bulged from his head. Until I knew, the fabric was soaked, and he was slowly drowning.
Even then, I didn’t stop. I watched pink turn into red turn into blisters turn into blood. His body was tainted with the color. His white shirt was stained with it.
The material became transparent, showing dark ink on his chest. It was a centipede with a hundred delicate inked legs. It seemed out of place. He had no other visible tattoos. He wasn’t the kind of guy that would have them. Too concerned about the image he presented to the world so it could hide the monster inside.
But my mind was too focused on the torture to think more about it. I kept picturing Violet. I saw her sitting naked at the bottom of the tub. Saw her raw skin. Her lifeless eyes. Heard her sobs and pleas. Only knowing he still needed to suffer made me stop.
He sucked in a greedy breath through his nose as I cut the water off. The hose bounced on the concrete as I dropped it. My shoes made a squelching noise as I crossed the room to him.
I gripped his face, pressing my palm over his nose and mouth so he couldn’t get air. Satisfaction bloomed in my veins as he shook his head, trying to push me off. But he was weak. Pathetic.
“Are you clean now?” I growled, pressing harder. His wet, burnt skin peeled away under my fingers. “Did I wash off your sins?”
Fear sparked in his eyes. It flashed across my chest, feeding my demon. Calming me enough to get the answer I knew Reid needed.
I yanked the fabric from his throat as I stepped back. He retched and gagged as he tried to fill his lungs with oxygen. I threw the cloth at him before leaning against the only other piece of furniture in the room. A table that housed all my tools.
“Who the fuck are you?” He said when he could finally speak.
“How foolish of you to come here without knowing.”
“Craig told—.”
“Yes, Craig. Let’s talk about him.” I crossed one ankle over the other as I grabbed a knife off the table. Simon’s eyes tracked my movement as I used it to pick his skin from under my nails. “I’m waiting.”
His chest rose with a strangled breath. “I have nothing to say.”
“You seem like a smart guy.” I rushed forward, pressing my hands into his bound wrists as I got up in his face. I wanted to get close. Wanted him to see the insanity in my eyes.
He grunted in pain as I pinned him further into the chair. I felt his bones creaking under my palms, sending a thrill down my spine. “Protecting him isn’t smart. I’ll have to find other ways to get my answers.”
He whimpered as I pushed off him. But he gave another pathetic shake of his head. I was ready to remove it from his body just to stop the motion. “What do you think a man cold-hearted enough to sell his own sister will do if I talk?”
“What do you think I’ll do if you don’t?”
I didn’t wait. His screams were a symphony as I plunged the knife into the back of his hand. Blood splattered my shirt as it shot from the wound with surprising force.
“Fuck. Motherfucker! You’re a sadist.”
“Yes.” My lips pulled into a smirk. “Now talk before I really get started.”
I wiggled the knife, widening the cut. He hissed in pain. If I wasn’t careful, my dick would get hard. Not because I was attracted to men, but I relished inflicting pain.
It was sick and twisted, but there was something primal about it. Something that spoke to the dark depths inside me. It warmed my black soul.
His teeth snapped together, a silent sign that he wasn’t talking. Fine, he could have it his way. I didn’t mind a long torture tonight. I needed it to drain the anger pumping through my veins.
Leaving the knife in his hand, I walked back to the table. In the ring, I could only use my body. But here I had every tool at my disposal. Anything I could want. Still, sometimes the classics couldn’t be beat.
I grasped the small garden shears. They fit perfectly in my palm. Sweat dripped down Simon’s forehead as I closed the distance between us again. My gut tightened in pleasure as I stared at his vulnerable position.
He was tied to the chair, unable to move. His hand was pinned to the wood with a knife, unable to be freed. His fingers were sprawled, making the perfect target. Gold rings shined in the light.
Violet had felt that metal against her skin. Felt it cut in as he took her air. That was the spark of anger that made me act.
“You wouldn’t?” He gasped as I placed his pinkie between the blades.
“You really don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
I savored the soft snip before his screams drowned it out. His finger plopped on the floor, following the path of water to a drain in the center of the room. Too big to fit, it rolled around useless. The ring was still attached to it.
More curses poured from Simon, but none of the information I needed. Blood slicked his palm as I moved to the next finger.
“Wait! They were Romeos. Craig and his brother Aaron.”
“Romeos?” I stilled with his finger between the metal.
“They attract girls. Brought them in. They get paid per head.” He panted, ready to give up his own mother if that would save him. It wouldn’t. “Their sister was a gift. A buy in.”
Rage exploded in my chest. People were the fucking worst. Animals treated each other better than humans did. They were only evil out of survival. We did it for fun. For money. Sold our own flesh and blood to get some green paper in our pocket. What was the fucking point?
I snipped the next finger. He needed to be punished for his part in it. For not telling them to fuck off when they offered up their sister.
“So you’re the boss?” I asked over his screams.
“What? No. I’m at the bottom. I just-just earned a reward. She was my reward.” He screamed as I twisted the knife, cutting through the tendons until his hand went limp. But he seemed to sense the rage pumping through my veins and continued spilling his guts, hoping it would save him. “I bring the guys in and what they do from there is up to them.”
“Who’s in charge?” I ran the dull shears over another finger, giving him incentive to answer.
“I don’t fucking know.” His chest rose with his frantic breathing. His body going into fight-or-flight mode. Though neither was an option for him. “I’ve never met him. All I have is a code name.”
I believed him. He was a piece of shit. Spineless. Untrustworthy. He’d squeal to save his life.
He breathed in relief as I moved back to the table. The shears clattered against other tools as I tossed them down and picked up another knife. It was long and serrated. I ran my thumb over the tip, checking the sharpness. “I guess that means no one will miss you when you’re gone.”
“The McCabes are above me now.” He screamed as I stepped closer. “Aaron expanded into Sayton City.”
I almost felt bad for the asshole. They probably had no idea who owned that town. I knew a little of Maddox Vancini because he’d visited Eros. He was a sick bastard. Sicker than me and that was saying something.
“Please, man. D-don’t do this.”
All men, no matter how strong, no matter how powerful, begged in the end. Cried. Screamed. Prayed to a god they didn’t believe in.
They’d have better luck asking the devil for mercy. They wouldn’t find it in me.
“And Craig?” I sliced into his cheek, watching as the blood bloomed on his skin. It was interesting how it cut so much easier after the water had burned the top layer. I’d have to remember that.
“He’s still in town. I—I don’t know where.” My teeth clacked together. My hand gripped the knife tighter. I hated that he was here; close to my belladonna. And that I hadn’t known about it.
“And your boss’s code name?”
“Fuck man. I can’t. I can’t give you that.”
I moved quick, shoving his head to his shoulder. It only took another second to saw through his ear. It flopped on the floor like his fingers. A burst of blood coated my face as it went.
His scream sunk under my skin. But instead of extinguishing the rage inside me, it only seemed to make it burn brighter. “I think you will tell me.”
I jammed the handle of the knife into the hole where his ear had been to encourage him.
“Hyena!” He screamed. “I’ve never met him. All I have is the name Hyena.”
I twisted the blade, cutting into his flesh. “Give me more.”
“Hyena lures the girls. He takes specific ones. B-but the McCabes wanted to try something different. The Hyena let them branch out and start kidnapping forcibly. Violet was their first. If their experiment fails or draws negative attention, they’ll kill them.”
“Not if I get to them first.” I withdrew the knife, but smacked the wound just for fun. “Good job, Simon.”
His body sagged in relief. His gaze flooded with hope. “Can I go?”
“Sure.” I jerked his face up, smiling down at him. “You can go to the afterlife.”
He didn’t have time to respond; my knife was already buried in his exposed neck. He gurgled, choking on his blood. I kept his head tilted; let it all drain back down his throat. Let the metallic tang fill his lungs. His body twitched as it tried to save itself. But it was too late.
I stayed like that until his eyes went milky. Until his pathetic life was gone. Until Violet would never have to fear him again.