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Like burning a house down makes up for a forest fire, as if man is the sole source of blame and not the general state of the world. As if anything they do to me matters.
I light a bundle of sage and toss it on Murphy’s grave, letting it singe the grass it lands on and stomping it out before it has the chance to ignite fully. Sprinkling a handful of salt over the carcinogenic earth, I straighten to my feet as Elia approaches, victim in tow.
The man struggles against his hold, muffled grunts making me think he’s gagged beneath the hood; he’s a large man, muscular and tall, with that fucking Stonemore Volunteer Fire Department T-shirt on. I’m not sure what’s in the pipes at that station, but it seems the majority of the men there had their hands in at leastoneaspect of the trafficking Murphy was in charge of.
Elia cocks an eyebrow as his guard shoves the man to his knees in front of me. “Warding off the evil spirits?”
I shrug, not really wanting to get into Americanized Irish rituals with him. “This is my brother’s gravesite, after all.”
He nods, like it makes perfect sense, and then kicks at the captive’s shin. A guttural sound comes from beneath the hood; music to my ears. Bracing one hand on the man’s shoulder, Elia jerks the black fabric off, revealing a puffy, tear-stained face with a sock shoved in his mouth. Familiar blond hair, a handsome man I’ve definitely seen before.
Gritting my teeth, I recall that night I watched Juliet fuck another man. Watched him leave her in a huff of displeasure, out in an alleyway by herself at night. Watched her cry and silently ask the sky to end her suffering.
If only it were that easy, baby.
“Jace Allen?” I look up at Elia, my brows furrowing, angry that I even know the piece of shit’s name. “What the hell is this?”
“I had your guy Boyd track some of the users on that kiddie porn site to their IP addresses, and his was the first that came up. A frequent flyer, actually. We cross-referenced it with the metadata in the flash drive files to confirm involvement.”
I try not to bristle at the thought of Boyd doing work made for me, but it’s been a busy week. Since Elia offered to help me with the Murphy shit, I’ve been able to focus more on tracking down the bastards who shot my father and touched my girl.
Jesus Christ, Kieran. She’s not your anything.
Elia glances at the man, then slides his eyes back to me. “Why, you know him?”
“No.” We’re veering into dangerous territory, if this man’s involved in the kind of shit Murphy was. Especially considering where his dick has been since, whose skin his hands have grazed and burned. “But, I mean, your sister-in-law might?”
A look of pure ferocity bleeds from his eyes down his chin, sharpening every feature on thecapo’sface. His eyes darken, two turbulent seas, and his hand fists at the back of Jace’s neck, ripping it back and pulling the man’s throat tight. “You get Juliet mixed up in something, fucker?”
His muffled protests send a flicker of irritation down my spine, and I reach into my coat pocket, pulling out the heirloom obsidian blade, engraved with our family crest, unsheathing it and pointing it in his direction. “I don’t suggest you lie to us again. If you know something about the operation my brother was running a couple of years ago, you need to speak the fuck up now, or I’ll gut you right here. And if you’ve somehow dragged Juliet Harrison into the crosshairs, I’ll make sure your body is so disfigured when I’m done gutting you, no one will ever be able to identify it.”
I take a step closer and tear the gag from his mouth; he gasps, choking slightly as he draws in a deep, staggered breath, and I press the tip of my knife into his chin. He glares up at me, still bound at the wrists and ankles, and snarls. “I don’t have to explainshitto you, dirtbag. I don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about, and I haven’t seen Juliet in weeks.”
“Yeah? Did you know you were fucking someone else’s property that night you took her outside The Bar?” Elia curses under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest, but I don’t care. Fury courses red in my vision, blindingly hot, and as I jut my hand forward slightly, just enough to break his first layer of skin, my dick throbs behind my jeans at his soft whimper of pain. “A history of stealing doesn’t exactly give you an airtight alibi.”
His eyes widen, frantic in the moonlight. “Dude, I didn’t know. Juliet’s always been down to fuck at random times, and she’s never had anyone serious. I didn’t know, I swear.”
“Maybe she’s never had anyone serious because no one’s ever looked at her as more than a good fucking time.” My grip on the blade tightens, heat surging through my body as I remember him rutting into her, the absolute desolation surrounding her in the aftermath.
Everything with Murphy be damned, I want to slaughter this motherfucker for that alone.
“Is that what she’s telling you? That everyone else before you left her unsatisfied?” Jace chuckles, starting to shake his head but wincing when he remembers the knife breaching his skin. “Man, she’s a good actress. I honestly wouldn’t think she’d be able to fool a sick fuck like you, but maybe living with a criminal has taught her a few things.”
The knife cuts a sliver deeper, and Elia slides in closer to me; my body feels like it’s on fire, the blood boiling beneath my skin and blurring my vision. “Kieran,” Elia warns, perhaps sensing my downward spiral, but his voice calls out to me in a vacuum as my ears hone in on Jace.
“What do you know about Murphy’s organization?”
“The Stonemore gang?” Jace shrugs, still ridiculously cocky for someone at my mercy. A concept very few live to experience. “I know they deal in flesh auctions, and that that creep Finn Hanson deals specifically in kids. A few of my guys have been tied up in it on account of needing extra cash. But I swear to you, that’s it.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“What the fuck would I lie for? You’ll probably kill me regardless—if I had anything to say, now would be the time.”
My stomach lurches, my throat constricts; the air compresses around me in waves, the images of that warehouse years ago flooding my brain, making me nauseous. It rips through me like a furious tide, and I sway on my feet, releasing Jace with a harsh shove and a kick to the groin for good measure.
He grunts, toppling over onto the grass, and Elia turns to look at me. “Finn Hanson? Don’t you work for him?”
“I take jobs for him, same as I do you.” I shake my head, re-sheathing my blade and stuffing it into my pocket. “That doesn’t make any sense, though. Finncan’tbe the organizer of this whole thing. It’s been going on a fuck of a lot longer than he’s even been in town. And it was one of his men who attacked Juliet, yes, but he wouldn’t have any reason to believe she was involved with me, anyway. So, why target her?”
