Page 88 of Wrath

“We gotta bail.” Ruckus tugs me harder, dragging me back toward the curtain where I got ready, earlier. Everyone else seems to be heading the opposite way but I trust my best friend as he grabs both our cuts from the hook and slams mine into my chest. I keep watch over my shoulder while he rushes to drag one of the benches into the center of the room, then lifting up another one he lifts it on top. Using them as a step ladder he pushes through one of the vent panels above us.

“What the fuck?” I watch him pull himself up.

“Don't just stand there gawkin’, get the fuck up here.” He reaches his arm down for me.

“How d’ya know these were here?” I ask as I drag myself up and join him in the roof. “Did ya forget one of the first rules Raze taught us when we were younger?” He laughs to himself as hestarts crawling through the vent. “Always have more than one route planned out of a buildin’,” he reminds me as I lift myself up and follow.

“Took ya time.” Ruck climbs in the back of the cage when Dev finally pulls up beside us. We must have been waiting down the back alley a little way from all the action for over half an hour. Everywhere close to the fight is still swarming with cops.

“Did ya get him?” I ask, taking the front seat. I’m still drenched in sweat, my hands are still wrapped and I’m only wearing the sweatpants I fought in with my cut.

“We got him,” Dev confirms.

“And did he say where Willow is?” I hold the handle above the door as he screeches around the corner.

“Nah, not yet. But he will.” He’s got that look in his eyes, a satisfaction that I know only comes from causing pain, and when he takes a right and starts in the opposite direction from the club, I know exactly where we’re going.

“Did Raze take him to the warehouse?” I check, feeling the blood under my skin start to tingle.

“Ya didn’t think we’d let you miss out on all the fun did ya?” Dev sniggers, before concentrating on the road so he can get us to our destination.

I storm into the room where Cliff forced me to take Eden’s virginity before she was ready. The same room where all our fuckin’ troubles started. Raze is sitting in a chair staring down at the body that’s tied up in front of him.

“He had much to say?” I ask, stepping up to my father and slamming my knee straight into his face.

“Not yet, I didn’t wanna start without ya.” Raze looks up at me and smiles and when both our attention falls back to the piece of shit tied up in the corner, I crack my knuckles and stare him directly in his evil fuckin’ eyes.

He looks a little roughed up, but nowhere near as bad as he’s gonna be when I’m finished.

“Get him fuckin’ talkin’, Wrath.” Tawk’s nostrils flare as he looks down on him. His eyes are wild and savage. I can see how badly he wants to get things moving but I need to bide my time. I’ve waited for this moment for too long. All those times, when the guilt of what happened got too much, playing how this would go out in my head is what’s gotten me through.

Crouching down in front of the man who calls himself my father, I hook my finger into the gag he’s got around his mouth and pull it down.

“Hey, son.” The first words he croaks out make me wanna knock his teeth into the back of his skull. I can see he’s already lost a few and when I glance back at Tawk, and see the blood on his knuckles, I figure that it was courtesy of him.

“You don’t get to call me that.” I shake my head and laugh at him.

“You can’t change DNA, kid.” He manages a smile at me, and although one of his eyes can barely open, I can see he’s taking a sick thrill outta reminding me of that fact.

“You’re right, but you get to decide what kinda man you wanna grow up to be, and there was never a time in my life when I wanted to be you.”

“Is that supposed to hurt my feelin’s?”

He rests his head back against the wall and chuckles to himself.

“I don’t care what it does, all that matters to me now is ensurin’ you never get to hurt another person I care about.” I seeRaze’s holdall from the corner of my eye and reach over to drag it closer.

“Where's Willow?” I start off by asking nicely, taking a glance into the holdall to see what I have to work with. Vex always taught his students to be inventive, and Raze paid that forward when he mentored me.

There's plenty of things in here that I could getinventivewith, but I take out the blow torch to start.

“What ya gonna do, son, scorch me?” He laughs a little more.

“I was thinkin’ more along the lines of meltin’ off ya face.” I set it going and the flame that comes off it makes his dark eyes glow.

“Tell me where Willow is and I’ll show ya some mercy. I’ll put a bullet in your brain and you can find your way to Hell without havin’ to endure all the sick fuckin’ things I wanna do to ya.”

“Come on, ya can do better than that. Is this what you taught him?” He turns his head toward Raze. “Your old man was the best of the best.” He shakes his head in disappointment before looking back at me. And I show him that I ain’t playin’ when I light the torch back up again and let the flame lick the side of his cheek. He only manages half a second before he cries out in agony and as the smell of his singeing skin fills the room, I watch it blister under the flames.

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