Page 50 of Our Blood, Our Pain

Lev lights the blow torch and adjusts the flame, directing it at the nameless guy’s chest.

“Ever heard of a burn necklace?” Lev asks the guy. He’s shaking uncontrollably in the chair, fighting against the binds to move as far away from Lev as he can. The gaping wound on his cheek will leave a monster of a scar.

“I asked you a fucking question.”

“No!” the guy shouts, panting, on the verge of fainting.

“It’s like a pearl necklace, but not as fun. I’m gonna ask you a question. If I think you’re lying, I’ll give you a demonstration of the perfect burn necklace. Or you could tell us the truth, and maybe I’ll stop.”

The guy nods as tears stream down his face and sweat gathers at his brow.

“Do you know who stole the money?”

“Yes.”

“Good. See how easy that was? Next question. Give me a name.”

“I-I can’t! He’ll kill me.”

“Such a shame,” Lev says, his tone mocking in sympathy, shaking his head slowly from side to side. He aims the blowtorch at the guy’s neck, adorning it with the perfect necklace shaped burn. The skin singes and bubbles as it congeals under the heat. The screams are piercing, but rapidly morphs into a chant. A chant of a name.

“Stop!! Enrico, Enrico, Enrico…” he babbles. Lev turns off the torch and looks up at Carlos. The guy’s babbles then turn into nonsense as his eyes roll back, seconds away from becoming unconscious.

“Enrico? Carlos’s brother?” Dima asks. But he gets no reply from the semi conscious guy. D slaps him across the untouched cheek.

“Hey…wakey wakey. Are you telling us Enrico, Carlos’s brother, is the one that stole?” Dima asks.

“Yes…yes,” he gasps before passing out.

Everyone turns to Carlos, who seems unmoved by the situation. He runs his fingers over his bottom lip, contemplation written all over his face as he watches the now unconscious man.

“Thanks for your help. If it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate your men helping me get them back into the car. I will take it from there,” Carlos says.

Neither Lev or Dima ask questions, though I wish they would so we’d know what the fuck has been going on.

“Simon and Jules, untie him and take him out front,” Dima orders us, and like a well oiled machine, we get to work on getting these guys out of here and cleaning this fucking mess up. Lev disappears with a very clingy and horny Aaron, and after myself and Simon are finished in the holding pen, we walk back through the quiet house. Simon offers to stay in the mansion to keep a watch after everything that’s happened. And I take my tired and agitated ass back to the house to confront Kai. Let’s hope he’s ready for what I have planned, because I need a release. And I need to put my man in his place.

31

KAI

Weak, weak, weak.

That word repeats on a loop as I stare back at myself in the bathroom mirror, wearing nothing but a towel. I thought a hot shower would help calm my temper, but it’s done nothing other than make it worse, the quiet only making my internal thoughts louder. It was so embarrassing, what happened in the pen, that I don’t think I can show my face again. Jules didn’t help, trying to control the situation as usual, making things worse.

Water droplets drip over my torso, the bruises on my body have changed color, the tenderness hardly present. I look defeated and tired, the shine in my eyes now dull and unmoving, my mouth droops with sadness, the muscle refusing to turn it into a smile. I don’t look twenty-two. I look old and haggard. What the hell have I let happen to my life? I should be at college or working, partying with friends, being free in the world to explore and have fun. To treat everyday as if it’s my last. But instead, I can’t help but consider that I’ve come to the end of the road. If I’ve proven anything over the last few years, it’s that I’m pointless, an unnecessary shell of a human that offers nothing to no one. After spending the night with Jules, I really felt things had changed for me, that I had hope and a future. That I had a man who could love me and fill those empty parts of me deep inside that yearned to be wanted. Was it all a lie? A dream? Am I that fucking naive to have put all these expectations onto one person?

Maybe I should pack a bag and set off into the night. Cut off from everything and everyone. Even my mom. I’ve been such a shit son. I’ve ignored the countless texts and calls, because I don’t know what to say to her. I can’t tell her what we do here. I can’t tell her why I can never come home, because of the threats from Zac. I certainly can’t tell her about Jules. So what can I say to her? Every word out of my mouth would be a lie, and she would know it was a lie. Moms are like bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out the truth from their kids, in my experience anyway.

A loud bang repeatedly thumps against my bedroom door. I locked it when I came back as I knew Jules would hunt me down. He was just as pissed at me as I was him, maybe more so.

“Kai! Open the door!” he shouts, repeatedly banging on my bedroom door. I don’t answer as I walk back into my bedroom. I just stare at the door, hoping telepathy is a real thing, that he gets the message to go away.

“Kai!”

Remaining quiet, I walk over to the small window that looks back onto the woodlands surrounding the Kozlov property. The moon is bright tonight, shining over the trees and house with a soft glow. The branches sway in the mild wind that feels like shards of ice on the skin because its so fucking cold.

“Kai, I swear, if you don’t open the door, I will kick it in.”

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