Page 74 of The Casella King

“Too many to count, but I think I’ve probably done most of them.” I press the blade into the soft spongy skin and watch as blood trickles down his neck.

He hisses in a breath of air, his muscles tensing.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, John,” I whisper, moving closer to his ear. “I don’t plan on letting you live.” My knife rips through his ear as I slice it clean off, throwing it across the room. Pained screams echo through the nothingness as blood gushes out of the wound. I hold the back of his neck, focusing my eyes on his as he comes down from the pain. His eyes meet mine, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “I plan to enjoy every minute with you, until you tell me something of use because here’s the thing, John. You may not have been the one giving the orders, but I know you know who does.” I grab the top of his head, bringing it down hard on my knee, blood now rushing out of his nose like a faucet. The cartilage of his nose bent, indicating I’ve definitely broken it. Without giving him a moment to breathe, I swing my knife down into his thigh, spit flying from his mouth as he heaves for air between screams.

“Fuuuuuuck!” he exclaims as he squeezes his eyes shut.

I pry them open with my fingers. “Look at me, John. I want you to take a look at the man who has decided your fate.”

He stares at me, eyes wild as adrenaline peaks throughout his body. I’m surprised he hasn’t passed out yet.

“Speak up at any time, otherwise I’ll just keep going. The more I continue, the fewer organs you’ll have,” I warn as I grab two pliers from the table behind Nico. “Now open your mouth.” He shakes his head, and I sigh. Nico walks around behind him, forcing his mouth open. The pliers grasp his tongue as I raise the other pliers. “Last chance, John.” He falls silent, his rattled eyes daring me to do it. I smile, placing the pliers on one of his molars and pulling with force. Blood squirts out of the wound, filling his mouth as Nico holds his head back, making him choke on his own blood. The gurgled sounds of him choking are like music to my ears.

Here’s the thing about torture if you do it right. You destroy their identity, their soul. Some say it’s worse than the gift of death.

“Ready to talk?” My patience is wearing thin.

Nico drops his head as John spits out the blood that had pooled inside his mouth along with his tooth I left in there.

“You can break me all you want, you’ll get nothing out of me.” He sneers up at me, and my insides boil with rage. I can almost feel my pupils dilate as I close the distance between us, gripping onto his face.

“You might need your tongue to talk.” I slide my thumbs to his eyes, feeling the soft resistance beneath them. “But you sure as fuck don’t need your eyes.” I press my thumbs into his sockets as his agonised screams vibrate through me. I feel a chuckle leave my lips as it grows into laughter, slick, wet blood coating my hands and arms. His screams fade, replaced by heavy breathing, his head slumped forward. “Deny me again, and I’ll make it hurt beyond your ability to comprehend.”

His breathing is hoarse as he mumbles.

“I didn’t quite catch that.” I pick up the knife from the table and walk back over to him, toying with it between my fingers.

“James,” he breathes, blood still flowing from his mouth. “James Dixon.”

I pat his cheek with my hand. “There, was that so hard? Now explain to me exactly who this James Dixon is.”

“The Dixon family is related closely to the Brayford family.” He groans. “They’ve been allies since before your father and his father’s generation.” Nico looks to me, fire billowing beneath the surface of his eyes. “They had plans that if either of them went down, they would take action against you.” I pet the side of his face as he speaks. “I swear that’s all I know.”

“Well done, John, well done.” I nod to Henry who’s beside me within a second. “Find out every single thing we can aboutthis James Dixon. I want to know everything about him, who he’s paying, who he’s fucking, everything.” Henry nods his head in understanding and is out the door.

“Please don’t kill me,” he pleads between sobs. “I don’t want to die.”

I sigh, standing in front of him. “You know what, John…” I pause, looking him over. “I don’t want you to die either.”

He jerks his head up in surprise, blood soaking through his clothes.

I lean close to his ear. “I want to own every single fucking scream that is left within your pathetic chest cavity before I pry it open with my bare hands.” I grab my switchblade and begin carving into his chest. His sobs echo throughout the emptiness, and when I’m done, I stand back to admire my handiwork.

“Fuck, I almost forgot how sick you are.” Nico stands beside me, watching John whimper in the chair.

“Casella” is carved into the skin on his chest, the blood seeping down to his pants.

My phone feels slippery in my hands as I place it on the counter before entering the bathroom, steam already filling the entire space, flowing out of the doorway. I remove every item of clothing now stained with blood, tossing them on the floor. Slipping into the shower, I watch as the water runs down my wife’s delicious curves. There’s just something about it. The way she stands underneath the water, letting it slide down her bare chest. Her eyes find mine, and instead of finding desire in them, I see sadness. It kills me that I can’t be the one to take it away, to wipe it clean. She wraps her arms around me, the blood on my hands smearing across her back as I pull her into me, not a care in the world that I’m covered in someone else’s blood. She sighs,melting into my skin, and I take comfort knowing she finds her solace in me.

“Do you think Nico will come around?” she asks, the water now running red.

“He doesn’t have a choice.” I gently brush the wet hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear as she looks up at me. “He will be married to Darcy.”

“Sometimes I feel sorry for them.” Her voice breaking, reminding me of how gentle her heart can be. In stark contrast to mine.

“It’s the way of our world, sweetheart.”

Her hands rest on my chest as I lower my lips to hers. Breaking the kiss, her eyes still closed, she whispers, “Make love to me, Ezra. Show me that I don’t need anyone else in this life, besides you.”

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