Page 6 of Psycho Saviors

I don’t want to share anything with her because that’s the way we’re supposed to be, but I wouldn’t deny that she had a point.

We were going to be stuck in here for a while, and sleeping was off the cards. There was no way I was going to close my eyes while imprisoned by the Russos. Besides, for some bizarre reason, I wanted to talk to her. Maybe Romeo had throttled my brain with his punch a little too much.

She shifted on the bed, and I knew she was settling back against the wall like I had, getting as comfortable as possible given the circumstances.

“He was always a bit of a wildcard, y’know, middle child syndrome and all that. Tyrone was groomed to be the heir of the family business, the next head of the family, while Cristian and I would be his support. Our mother spoiled me in many ways, allowing me to get away with a lot. Guess that happens with the baby of the family,” I started, cracking one eye open to gaze at her. “Cristian was sometimes overlooked, and this caused him to act out. He was the pretty face of us three, and he was quite the playboy, opting to chase tail rather than focus on the business. Easy to do in this life, with the money and drugs and shit.”

She didn’t say a word as she watched me silently, stroking Kenny absently.

“That all changed when our parents died in a car bombing when I was twenty. Wasn’t even a rival family, just some prick who was mad at our parents,” I said, not wanting to delve into the details of my parents death. It had been a trying time, and our lives had been forever changed after that. “Cristian stepped up, aiding Tyrone in the takeover of the family, and he became ruthless, helping our brother crush his enemies, both inside and outside the family. You see, Ty was only twenty-seven when he took the head position of our family, a young age for someone in this life, and so many opposed him within our walls.” I shifted, resting my head back and closing my eyes once more. “Cristian didn’t want to lose any more family, so he took matters into his own hands. A lot of poisonings occurred, then he moved to flaying outside rivals and flaunting their bodies in places they would find them. After that, our own family became loyal, and the other families backed off, sticking to their sectors of the city.”

“He flayed people? Poisoned his own flesh and blood?” she whispered, the shock evident in her hushed tone.

“He protected us, his closest family, from cousins and others who would mean us harm.” We looked out for one another, always. That was what family did, and those who’d opposed us were buried six feet under now, and all who remained were loyal, seeing just how strong we were together. We ruled this city just as well as our father had. Sure, our methods were a little more… chaotic, at times, but it worked.

“So what part do you play? Just an advisor for Tyrone?”

“I was always better with computer stuff. Tyrone got me into a cyber program, and now I’m pretty skilled at hacking and all sorts of things,” I said with a small shrug, the movement sending a jolt of pain through my ribs.

“I didn’t know you were good with computers and all that jazz.” She sounded surprised, and I couldn’t help the smirk that snuck across my lips.

“I don’t exactly flaunt it, pyro.”

“I would’ve thought you’d have a fancy computer set-up, a heap of screens or some shit.”

“This isn’t the movies, love,” I said with a soft chuckle. “I do most things with my phone and laptop, although I do have a nice set-up in a safe location if needed.”

“Huh, fascinating.”

“Yep, the things you learn,” I muttered as I finally flopped my arm down, the bleeding of my nose now having stemmed fully.

“So, do you help with the killings? You took Tommy’s hand, but you didn’t kill him…” Her voice trailed off, and I wondered if she truly believed someone in my family could seriously be incapable of murder. It ran in our damn blood, it was a part of who we were.

“All of our family kills, love. We all had to kill our first person before we were twelve to be initiated into the family,” I shared, my lip quirking at her sharp inhale. “Murder is second nature to us, I’m just a little more clean about it. Tyrone is clean too, Cristian is the messy one. I swear he’s got a weird thing for blood that man.”

“I think so too,” she mumbled. “So, what, he got really crazy after your parents passed and got darker and darker as he had to delve into the business more?”

“More or less, there were other factors that messed with him, pyro, things that you couldn’t even imagine.”

“So he gets a free pass because he has a bit of trauma?” she hissed.

I scowled, my chest tightening at the words. Cristian may be crazy, but he was the most loyal of us, the one who’d do anything for us all. He was the reason we were even closer than ever before. After everything he’d endured, the pain I’d seen him go through, he deserved to be allowed some freedom. Did we give him a free pass to some extent? Yes, but he sure as shit deserved it.

Not just for being our brother.

“I’m going to lay down, kinda got a little beaten up, in case you forgot,” I muttered as I moved to lie down, and she sighed.

There wasn’t even a pillow in here, but I’d make do. I shifted into position, my knees raised so that I wasn’t shoving pyro off the bed as I wondered just how long it’d take the Russos to get their demands heard.

Or for my brothers to turn them into dust.

4

SCARLET

Of course he’d clammed up as soon as I said anything negative about Cristian, that was just how it was with the brothers it seemed. What were they keeping from me? What didn’t I know about Cristian?

It didn’t matter right now anyway. My focus needed to be on surviving. Of course I’d gone from the frying pan right into the fucking fire. Story of my life right there.

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