AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What do I have to do to make you understand that you are wrong? What will it take for you to learn that I am right and you my boy, you are wrong. Lose the woman, distance yourself from your brothers. That is an order.”
The plane hitting turbulence pulls me from the memory of my father and I look across to see Ronan watching me. He’s been watching me since he came to collect me from Ireland. I was surprised when he’d shown up. But then he explained that they’d captured Vincenzo and that they wanted me there. That they thought his kill belonged to me.
“What?”
He shakes his head, his eyes locked on mine as he takes a sip of his water. He lifts his leg crossing his ankle over his knee, then places his hand on the front of his shin just by the top of his boots, holding his leg in place. He looks tired. Most people wouldn’t see it, but I do. It’s in his eyes. “You look like shit Ro, when was the last time you actually slept?”
Blowing out a breath he raises one of his brows. “Probably about the same time you did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you’re hurting Kill. And I know that you’re letting your demon have free rein. Which means I know how you’re operating right now, and I know exactly how you’re going to feel when he goes dormant. I’ve not slept because I’ve been tracking your every move. When this is over, you’re going to need someone who understands the kind of things you’ve done when you weren’t in control.”
I hate that he’s right. That he has an idea of the sort of things I’ve been doing. But I love that he knows what I’m gonna need. Knowing that I was right all along brings me a sense of relief. Ronan being here now telling me that he understands, makes those arguments with Da all those years ago worth it. I knew I was right, I knew I was never meant to do this alone.
Ronan turns his head to look out of the window and I tip my head back on the seat closing my eyes, “I won’t survive without her.” He doesn’t say anything, but I can feel him looking at me, I say nothing else and we spend the rest of the flight in silence. The time I spent with Maxim was exactly what I needed at the time, but right now what I need the most is to be with my brothers. I need their support, and their strength when we try to get answers from Vincenzo.
Nine hours later and Ronan and I are pulling into the parking lot at the warehouse. Connor’s car is already here. I didn’t see Ro message anyone, I’m assuming that they knew we’d head straight here from the airport.
Walking through to the kill room in the warehouse I’m about to head straight through the door when Ro grabs me, pulling me back and pushing me toward the table. He shakes his head at me and then points down at the clothes left there by Connor and Finn.
I need to get my head in the game, I know the rules. We strip out of our clothes before we head into the kill room. We always have a set of joggers and tee’s that we can use, or we strip right down to our boxers.
The room is dark when I walk in, I can’t see my brothers in here, but I can feel their eyes on me. I know they can see me from the light filtering into the room from the hall behind me. That is until Ronan shuts the door when he enters.
I move forward a little, I know where Vincenzo will be positioned, I know this room like the back of my hand. I feel my brothers move beside me. None of us move or speak for several minutes. It’s a fear tactic, the person we have stung up will know that they are not alone, but they won’t be able to see us. Our standard routine would be to leave them alone for several hours in the dark, stripped naked and strung up, in this cold damp room. Letting their imagination run wild increasing their fear. And it works. But with Vincenzo, he’s no stranger to this sort of thing, I don’t know enough about him to know what will induce his fear.
My brothers place their hands on my shoulders giving me their strength and letting me know they are with me. I close my eyes, tip my head to the sky and take a breath. I let my emotions run through me then tamp them down giving way to my demon.
My eyes open as Ronan hits the switch and the single dull strip light flickers on two feet behind Vincenzo. Hanging by his wrists from the bar we have secured to the ceiling, his head tipped forward, his toes barely touching the floor, and his left shoulder already dislocated from the weight of his body being left in the same position for so long.
I take in the state of him, his body has an array of bruises and cuts, I’m assuming courtesy of my brothers. He slowly lifts his head his eyes flit between us then settle on me. He blinks a couple of times then I see the corners of his mouth turn up as a small smirk plays across his face. He thinks he’s going to rattle me, he thinks I’m going to break. The stupid son-of-a-bitch has no idea what he’s in for.
He has no idea what I’m capable of. But he’s about to learn. And I’m going to enjoy watching the fucker crumble like a baby.
Chapter 36
My brothers look tired. We’ve been at this for six hours. We each took turns beating him. There isn’t an inch of his body that isn’t covered in bruises. He has several broken ribs, a broken jaw, his right shoulder is now dislocated, and he’s been pissing blood for the last hour.
We’re all standing outside the room we have Vincenzo secured in taking a breather. I roll my neck and stretch out my shoulders, I think I pulled something when I swung at Vincenzo’s jaw. Ronan steps in front of me holding out a bottle of water and a protein bar. “One more hour then we’re calling it a night.” I raise my eyebrow at him, surprised he’s ready to call it so soon. I chug back some water as he continues to talk.
“We’re all tired. But you’re running on nothing brother.”
“I’m fine.” I go to walk away but he grabs my arm holding me in place.
“No. You’re not. And it’s ok to not be ok. But you need an anchor. I need you to trust me brother, I need you to trust that you’re not alone. We’re invested in this just as much as you are.”
“She’s my woman Ro, it was my job to protect her, and I failed, so now it’s my job to save her…”
“Enough.” Finn bites out. I turn to see him and Connor watching me. I down the bottle of water, scrunching up the empty bottle and throwing it across the room.
“Kill.” Connor walks toward me, “Bella is our family too. We all feel like we failed when she was taken. I get that you think this is on you, that you think it’s only your job to save her. But it’s not. You fought our Da so hard for so long, telling him that you couldn’t lead without us, that you were stronger with us at your side. Well, that applies even more so now. We are a unit, and we are stronger together. Let’s call it a night and go back to mine. Get some rest so we can start again tomorrow.”
“She’s out there.” I can feel my demon settling for the night, my emotions coming back to the surface.
“We get to go home and rest, while my entire fucking world is out there suffering God knows what. Two weeks, two fucking weeks she’s been gone and I’m no closer to getting her back. You’re right when you say we’re stronger together. But my strength, it comes from her.” I drop to the floor as my feelings overwhelm me. This is the very thing that I’ve been avoiding.
“I can’t do this without her.” I cry out in sobs. “The longer she is gone the more it feels like I’m dying inside. I can’t do this without her, I can’t live in a world where she isn’t by my side. I’ve got to find her brothers. I need her.”
