Page 111 of Babalon

“It won’t be enough to save you when the cartel comes for you.”

She laughs at that, the words catching me off guard as well.

What does she mean?

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asks, almost reading my mind.

“Did you forget who Kace’s best friend is?” She shakes her head, chuckling.

She is stalling him, clever girl.

“Matias Ayala,” he replies.

“Yes, and who does Matias belong to?”

Silence absorbs solitary when the gears in his head slowly turn. I can hear the lack of lubrication from here. As the leader of the AB, he isn’t that bright. I could have answered this question for him a long time ago, but he failed to ask and when you don’t ask, I don’t answer.

While they bicker back and forth, I lean my head back against the wall and let my eyes close. I know exactly where Kace is and how pathetic his last words sounded.

“You son of a bitch!” Kace shouts.

“How many times do I have to tell you to watch your mouth, Kace.”

Swing—I crack him in the face with a right hook.

“Do not speak the Lord's name in vain, and you leave my mother out of your mouth all together.”

Swing—Again in the face.

His blind eye bleeding more profusely, the beautiful red trailing down his fair skin. I want to rub his essence all over me, bathe in it, feel its youth soak into me.

“S— stop.” He chokes.

“No can do, you broke every rule. Well, the only rule I had which was to leave what was mine alone. You touched her with almost every part of your body so now I’ll break every part of yours.”

Walking over, I grab a chain that unceremoniously falls from the ceiling with a loud series of clangs. Which I proceed to wrap it around his torso once I make it over to his restrained body. Stepping around to the back of him, I twirl one end around my left arm and the other end round the right. Lifting a foot, I place it in the middle of the chair’s back and push, pulling with both arms.

The chains tighten around him, slowly at first but when I lean forward to get a better grip and yank back, I hear his ribs crack followed by a pained scream.

There we go, that’s what I want.

“If you can hold out until morning, I’ll at least let you say goodbye.”

Who am I kidding, morning is a ways away and with how cold it is down here, I’ll be surprised if he lived through the next few hours. Remaining conscious is a whole different story.

“Y- you will?” Kace asks, his breathing becoming labored the harder I pull. I’ll move on to another method in a moment.

“You know what, I’m feeling generous today.”

I release the chains and let them drop to the floor, the black sludge that covers them now stain the shape of the links across his naked chest. You could see the broken ribs with every breath he takes, his chest caving on the sides.

I know that hurts but I just don’t care.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the cell phone that Clark was letting me look at earlier. Sliding my filthy hand over the screen, it comes to life and I swipe to the app that will record his voice.

Dropping the device on his lap, I walk back around and pick up the chains, twirling one around his neck first, letting it hang there, then the other one.

“Speak fast, she may not be alive long enough to hear what all you have to say by the time I get to play it.”

---