Page 184 of Bishop

Geppet tugs at the knife, whimpering in his failed attempts to dislodge himself from the wall. “Who the hell are you?”

“The man who’s going to make you regret touching her.”

Geppet struggles harder, shaking his head. “She agreed to fuck me. Ask her yourself.”

I cringe, my cheek protesting the shame-filled response.

“I don’t care what she agreed to.” Bishop reaches beneath the back of his jacket again, retrieving another long blade as he retreats. “She’s not yours to touch.” He juggles the weapon between his hands like a master bladesmith. “She’s Lorenzo Cappelletti’s niece. Matthew Langston’s sister. And my—”

He cuts the sentence short, my curiosity piqued for him to finish.

“You don’t understand,” Geppet blubbers. “This was all Adena’s idea. She knew her daughter would come crawling to me for help.” He holds up his left hand in surrender, the palm now smeared with blood. “She’s the one who told me to take advantage. To rough Abri up a little before ending her. I was only following orders.”

Bishop glances over his shoulder to meet my gaze, as if concerned the news will break me.

Am I hurt? Yes.

Am I surprised? Unfortunately not.

I’d never thought it would come to her having me raped and murdered, but it’s not as if her actions are out of left field. She did challenge me to kill my brothers.

I straighten my shoulders, letting him know I’m okay.

His eyes fill with something I’d like to believe is pride, then he turns his attention back to his victim. “Just because you’re following orders doesn’t mean you get to skip out on the consequences.”

“I get it. I fucked up.” Geppet glances down his impaled arm, the blood soaking his shirt to the elbow. “But I can’t even move my fingers, man. My fucking arm is dead.”

“Want to know what else will be dead real soon?” Bishop gives one final juggle of the blade, then sends the shiny metal flying through the air, the pointy tip spearing Geppet’s opposite shoulder but not deep enough to hit plaster.

Another roar blasts the room.

Bishop cocks his head to the side, studying his prey as he clucks his tongue. “I didn’t apply enough force.” He storms forward, ignoring the wails as he retrieves his knife, then rams it back into Geppet’s shoulder, this time pinning the opposite side of his body to the wall.

The howls sear through my skull, deafening me.

“Let me tell you, Gep, I’m fucking delighted you picked an isolated location.” Bishop grabs my attacker’s right wrist, dragging his forearm upward to rest against the plaster. He retrieves a blade from his pants pocket. This one smaller. Less hilt. “Nobody can hear you scream.”

“No. No. No.”

“Yes.” Bishop smirks, impaling Geppet’s hand—one succinct stab straight through the middle of the palm. “Where’s the girl?”

Tears stream down Geppet’s face, his pitiful blubbering growing louder. I feel no guilt for his suffering. Not the slightest sense of empathy. In fact, I appreciate Bishop’s brutality. The judgment he inflicts upon my tormentor is the sweetest gift after years of mistreatment.

“Where’s the girl?” Bishop repeats.

I find the strength to push to my feet, eager for a front-row view to the answer.

Geppet shies his head away, sniffing back whimpers.

“Do you know how many places I can stab a man before he dies, Gep?” Bishop crowds closer. “My high score is thirty-eight. But he was a hard-ass motherfucker. I don’t think you’ve got the balls for that.”

“I don’t know.” Geppet sobs as snot streams from his nose. “I promise I don’t.”

“He’s lying.” I step closer, the metallic scent of blood filling my lungs. “He said he dropped my mother in the vicinity of Tilly. How would he know the vicinity unless he knew her location?”

“She told me the kid was close by,” he pleads. “That’s all she said.”

“You know what?” Bishop grabs another knife from his pocket. “I’m going to go with the pretty lady on this one and agree that you’re full of shit.” He raises the blade to Geppet’s face as the coward whimpers, slowly dragging it along his eye socket, a slim trail of blood following in its wake. “All that’s left of life for you is pain. Whatever loyalty you think you have for Adena is pointless. She won’t mourn the death you’ve earned. She won’t care how long it took you to break.”

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