Page 38 of With This Ring

KAI

“Kai, please,” James cries as I drag the blade down his side, splitting the flesh. He thrashes hard trying to get away from my blade, but it’s no use. He’s tied up tight, mine to slice as I please. “I’m sorry. I’ll pay you back. All of it. Just…stop. It hurts.”

His screams light me up inside and I grin as I take stock of his new wound. The muscle under is visible for only a moment before blood begins to pour out of him like a fountain. I press my fingers into the wound, relishing how James howls and thrashes about.

After a few days of digging into my financials, Carter recognized a pattern in the theft. Every time James input information into the electronic records, there was a discrepancy from what he wrote manually. From the research I did after hacking into his banking app, I saw that he would then transfer that money to his personal account, spending it on bullshit. In total, James stole three hundred grand from me over two years. He probably would have continued to get away with it if he didn’t get greedy last month and this month.

He releases harsh breaths when I remove my fingers, his eyes rolling in the back of his head and his face pale from pain. I tskat him and toss the paring knife back on the table and grab the boning knife. I can get into smaller spots with this blade, and I’m not done playing yet.

In a voice that’s almost soothing, I say, “James, you stole from me. Not once. Not twice, but over fifty times. You pocketed money that didn’t belong to you even after I paid you handsomely. You don’t think you should pay for that?” James lowers his head, thick tears leaking down his cheeks.

He twists and turns on the hook hanging from the ceiling in The Fox Club, trying to get away from me, but Manuel socks him in the mouth, making him go limp. “Thanks Manuel. His moving was starting to irritate me.”

Manuel laughs. “I know. I got you, boss.” He steps back and stands beside Carter, who watches me with heated eyes.

I’m surprised Manuel and Carter hit it off so quickly. When I introduced them, they shook hands, then starting talking about what we do down here. It was…a little disorienting, but it’s better than my husband going head-to-head with everyone I work with. I’d have to kill them all for their disrespect.

I never thought the day would come where I would put Carter over anyone. But over the past few weeks, something has shifted between us. I’m trying hard to meet him halfway in whatever this is. He has no issues pushing past whatever issues we’ve had in the past. He keeps telling me he owns me and I’m starting to believe him.

Fighting to keep the flush off my cheeks, I palm the knife and step back up to James. “Wanna tell me why you were skimming money, James? I pay you better than any accountant in the state. Well above average for any accountant anywhere, and I add in other incentives. What were you missing?”

“Nothing,” he answers with a pained groan. “I just...I wanted more.”

I jam the knife between his ribs on the left side, smiling at his shout of pain, followed by wheezing. I’m sure I punctured his lung with that. I only have a little more time to toy with him before he dies on me.

“Fuck,” Carter whispers, and I grin, even though I don’t turn around to look at him.

“He’s good at this,” Manuel tells my husband. “Slices em up just right. I’ve learned a lot.”

“You’re right about that.”

His compliments and how they talk about me shouldn’t mean so much. But fuck if it doesn’t make my chest swell.

I flick the knife around, looking for somewhere else to stick James. Just a bit more blood and I’ll feel sated. Stepping closer to him, I slowly drag the blade across the soft part of his belly, tearing open the flesh. James can barely muster a sound of anguish as he struggles to breathe.

“You made the mistake of your life when you stole from me,” I tell him in a low growl. “After all I’ve given you, you fucked me over.”

“You’re a monster,” James says, his head drooping as blood flows from every conceivable part of his body.

Grinning, I bring the knife to his neck and stab him in the jugular. His eyes widen as he jerks and thrashes, trying to tilt his neck to stem the blood. I grab him by the hair and pull his head to the side, letting the blood flow freely.

“You shouldn’t have crossed this monster then.” James looks at me with pleading eyes, gives one more gurgle, then lets out a long, harsh breath.

I turn to Manuel and Carter. “Cut him down,” I say to Manuel. He nods and grabs a butchers knife from my collection and cuts the ropes. He lets James drop to the floor without care, the body crumpling at our feet.

I walk over to the table and pick up the cleaver that is sharpened to a point. I twirl it around and hold it out to Carter. “Want to cut his hands off?”

Carter smiles and pushes off the wall. He takes the cleaver from my hand, then turns me around, pulling my back to his front. Bending down to my ear, he murmurs, “Watching you work made my dick hard.” To emphasize his point, he rolls his hips, his cock brushing against my back.

My cheeks heat, but I push him away and motion towards James’s dead body. “Keep it in your pants, Whitlock, or you’ll get DNA all over the body.” He shoots me that crooked grin I’m getting so used to. “His hands.”

Manuel and another one of my men grab James and slams his body on the table where my knives just were. Carter arranges him until he gets him in a good position to lop off his hands at the wrist. He looks at me before he brings the cleaver down. “You want to come to my dad’s house with me tonight? We have dinner every week where we talk about business and shit.” He brings the cleaver down, making a clean cut on James’s wrist.

I noticed Carter leaving around six in the evening once a week but never asked why. The only time he didn’t leave is when I was laid up in bed with a concussion.

“Dinner. With your family.”

“Yeah.” He moves to the other side of the table and chops off the other hand. “It’s just family. No one but our right-hand men. So you can bring Nico.”

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