Page 16 of Twisted Thorns

The dim lights of the warehouse make it hard to see unless you are standing right next to their small circle of illumination, but luckily, I know exactly where everything is. Like I told Liam, if you put things back in the same place each time, it makes life much easier.

Sean is becoming a problem, and one I intend to solve. But dealing with the leader of the O'Neil family is a long game, and I have to keep my head on my shoulders to win.

My mind keeps drifting to the gala and Avalina. And Mickey. Part of me wants to visit Mickey and have a talk, but that would get me nowhere. Avalina is smart, and she'd figure out it was me, eventually.

I don’t mind the questions, and I can deal with suspicion. I cover my tracks well, after all.

What I want to avoid is Avalina looking at me like I am a monster. She never did before, and I don’t want to give her any reason to do so now.

But Mickey, he is bad news. Everyone knows he is an asshole that has an ego the size of the eastern seaboard. Despite the compulsion to swoop in and protect Avalina, I know she can take care of herself. I have to trust that and not go after Mickey myself. For now, I have to sate my beast another way.

Wrapping a length of corded rope around my arm, I arrange it into a neat coil, tucking one end into the other so it will stay in place. Maybe if I tie my heart up in enough knots, I will stop feeling like I am still bound to Avalina.

I grin, eager to shift my mind from the past, to numb my soul from the pain that echoes within it daily. Here I can escape all of that.

I slap the cheek of the unconscious man before me, one of Sean’s goons. He stirs, but I’m not in a pleasant mood, so I slap the other cheek just to get the message across. I hope I didn’t spike his drink too much. It was never fun when I didn't get to play.

"What?" Paul moans, blinking. I lean into his space and grip his chin, impatient to get started.

He jerks, trying to move his body, startled as he realizes I tied him to the chair. "What the fuck? What is this?" he exclaims, his words becoming less slurred as adrenaline pumps through his veins. Hatred flares in his eyes as he looks at me. "Do you know who I am? I’m going to kill you for this!” He is yelling now, but there is no one around for miles, no one to hear him scream.

It wasn't hard to find him in his favorite bar, slinging back beers like they were water. It was easier still to spike his drink and follow him to his truck, just in time for him to pass out. His truck was now being torched, and his body would soon follow.

A calm washes over me as I step back to watch the man thrash. He is on my list, and tonight was just his lucky night.

Moving into the light, Paul finally sees my face and all his bravado comes to a screeching halt. “Calder. What do you want?” he sneers.

“A little bird told me you were up to no good, Paul.” I tut as I walk around him, the knife in my hand catching the light as I move with my words.

“And you know how this works. Sean may not have any morals, but I do. And whatever the O’Neils think, it’s the Calders that rule Kingsdale. So once I hear about trash in my town, I take it out.” I whisper from behind him.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.” Paul stutters.

I don’t bother to hide my hatred for him as I move back in front of him, my words staccato, like the quick hammering of nails. “Your daughter, Paul. You’ve been molesting your daughter.”

"What? No, man, you've got it all wrong. Whatever she's told you, it's lies, I swear."

"Funny, that. Pictures don't lie."

"Please, please don't hurt me," Paul whimpers, a stain already darkening the front of his jeans. I smirk. I haven't even gotten started yet. Begging would get him nowhere. Not when I know what he has been doing to his daughter. I grip the knife tighter.

"Hmm... I wonder where we should start. " I slowly trace the tip of my blade down his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood in my wake.

"Fuck, stop!" The whimpers morph into shouts as Paul tries to move his body away from me, which is going to be hard to do, considering the chair is bolted into the warehouse floor.

"You're going nowhere, Paul, so you might as well stop trying to escape." The threat in my voice was crystal clear.

"What do you want with me?"

"I would have thought that was clear by now."

"I'll give you whatever you want."

"What about your daughter? Can you give her back her childhood, her innocence?" I sneer. I may be a monster, but disgust rolls through me at the images I found on his computer, at the secret room he built for ‘playtime’ with his own child.

I am running out of patience with this little chat and want to get on with it.

Flicking my knife, I quickly swipe down, stabbing Paul right into his lying mouth.

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