Page 105 of Queen Of WildCards

Thepussy of a man in my chair winced and spat a glob of blood and one more tooth from his mouth onto my no longer clean floor. "Itold you, crazy fuck,Idon't know anything."

Boy,Ibet ithurtto move that broken jaw of his. "How'sthe face, fuckwad?Doesit hurt?Lookslike it hurts."

Alittle meow dragged my attention away, andIgroaned asIrealized one of the furry fucksI'drelocated fromMallory'sapartment had wandered into my torture chamber and was now tracking bloody pawprints all over the room.

Thecounters.

Thefloor.

Hell, they were even on the walls.

Cats.

Innocentlives,Spade.Don'tkill innocents.

Iwas reminded of a conversation we'd had not long ago,MalloryandI, about how innocent a house cat really was, andIstifled the laugh that bubbled up inside me.

"Comeon, kitty crusader, you're gonna need a bath beforeIcan take you back to your mother, andIdon't have the time now, so it's into cat jail for you."

Ilifted the smug little shit by the scruff of his neck and carted him off to the plastic kennelI'dused to transport him and his sibling to their new home.Hell,I'deven cat-proofed the doors into the garage, making damn sure none of her little fur babies could escape.Ihadn't toldMalloryyet thatIbrought her things back for a more permanent stay, hoping to surprise her when she returned, earning some of that sweet, sweet attention and love she was busy laving all overBlackJack.

Oncethe cat king had been securely trapped,Iwandered back into the torture room, smiling like a loon when my return elicited a whimpering moan of fear from my little plaything.

Iwaggled a brow at him and grabbed a hammer from the nearby table, waving it back and forth in the air in a perfect arc.

"Now, where were we,Tommy?Ah, yes—you were trying to convince me theKingsdon't own your loyalty and silence.Nowtell me whyIshould believe you, buddy boy, and maybeIwon't hit you too hard when you lie the first time."

Hegroaned through his mouth pain, drool slipping from the corner of his mouth, pooling on his knee as he slumped forward and passed out.Ileaned forward and sniffed, wrinkling my nose at the horrid smell.

"Fuckinganimals, the lot of you.Weaklittle animals.Mywoman's cat has more balls."

Thechucklefuck had gone and pissed all over himself and my chair, on my floor, and didn't have the decency to even be honest with me.

MaybeIwas slipping.Maybemy time out of the game had seen me go a little soft.

Iplanted a booted foot at the edge of his seat, right between his legs, and tipped him backward, knocking him over.Whenhis pathetic head hit the floor, soaking him in his own piss, he groaned, and those beady little eyes opened wide again, whirling on me in abject horror.

"Lastchance, you spineless pustule on the asscrack of society.Whatare you doing for theKings?"

Hislips split into a slight grimace, and he coughed up blood, wincing at the few broken ribsI'dgraced him with when he'd tried to run. "Ididn't do shit for them.Shedid."

Mybrows furrowed andIpuzzled over the confusing seed of doubt he'd managed to plant in my brain with that single sentence.

Therewas no way.

Notpossible.

"Whatthe fuck are you on about?"

Hisgrimace turned into a grin of satisfaction, perhaps pleased that his death wouldn't be in vain, that he'd gotten one up on me before bleeding to death in the torture room of his worst nightmare.

"Bythe end of the day, they'll have gunned you all down.Andshe's going to lead them right to you."

Iyanked out my phone and dialedAce'snumber, scowling when it went straight to voicemail. "You'dbetter not be lying, you fuckwit, orI'llfeed you to the fishes tonight."Iredialed him, and again, straight to voicemail.

Ofall the times to be unreachable.

Ilocked him in my room and tossed the key on my bed, running full tilt to the garage, just barely managing to skirt the cat in the hallway that still roamed free for the time being.Ina minute flat,Iwas peeling out of the drive, the garage door closing behind me, rubber peeling off on the street asIraced toward the coffee shop whereBlackJackandJokerwere supposed to meet them for lunch.

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