Page 43 of Reign of Hope

“You’re right. You’re a dead man. But you get to decide how you want to die. I made a promise to bring you in alive. That’s what I’m going to do,” I tell him. By this time, our other soldiers have gathered. “These three we take with us,” I tell them.

“Spike comes with us,” Elio adds.

Our men take the other two Skull members, leaving Elio to tie Spike’s hands behind his back and shove him into the back seat. I sit next to him while Demon rides up front next to Elio.

“Was her pussy worth the trouble?” Spike asks.

I ignore his provocation.

“I don’t get it. You and Drake, both being led by your dicks. Allegra must have a golden pussy. She’s nice to look at, and she has spirit. I’ve spent hours thinking of ways to break her. Drake promised me I could have a go at her. I was going to make sure she paid for all the times she looked at me with disgust.”

I can’t help myself; I elbow him in the face, relishing the crunch of his nose. Blood pours from his nostrils. You’d think that would be enough to shut him up, but Spike keeps at it. I’m tempted to choke the life out of him. But that’s just what he wants.

Spike wants me to end him before he meets up with Reno. Not a fucking chance. If my capo wants him alive, that’s what’s going to happen.

* * *

Back in the warehouse, we have Spike locked away in the back cage with his two other buddies. The doc has looked at them and said they’re in good enough shape to question. We leave them locked away and wait.

Waiting is the worst!

Elio and I check our phones constantly for updates. Until we know that Reno and the others are safe and on their way back, I can’t contact Allegra. Reno’s orders.

Demon is waiting on the platform of the warehouse, looking out into the vastness of the night, arms crossed over his chest.

“It was barely a fight,” he says with a chuckle.

“More of a takedown,” I kid along with him.

“An easy one at that,” Demon adds.

We both turn when we hear Elio’s footsteps. “They’re on their way back. You can make your call,” he tells me.

TWENTY-FOUR

Torture Is Murder on a Suit

ZANO

Reno, Nero, Alessio, and Raffaele have turned torture into a fucking game. The leaders of each of the gangs or MC have been captured, and our capos are competing with one another over who gets them to crack first for information on the Triad. It’s twisted as fuck!

If I were a betting man, I’d say we have the best chance at winning this sick game of “confess and die.” After all, we have both the leader of the Black Hawks and Spike. Although, both are holding out longer than I would have imagined.

Spike knows he’s going to die and has committed to dying and still leaving us in the dark about the Triad. Chisel, the leader of the Black Hawks, is terrified of the Triad coming after his club, and to protect his brothers, the ones who were able to escape from Reno’s wrath, he’s given us a limited amount of information.

Fear seems to be the determining factor in all four territories. Drake, Chisel, Jorge from Hermanos de Sangre, and Knife from Mayhem Killers MC, are more afraid of giving up information on Wan Kwok than dying. So far, all the families have gotten limited information on Wan. Not nearly enough to track him down. We did find out that the one man who has met Wan Kwok in person at least once is Drake.

Drake is in Raffaele’s dungeon, and so far, he hasn’t cracked.

Raffaele has done everything but cut out his tongue, and you can’t very well talk without one, so Drake hasn’t given us anything to determine Wan’s whereabouts. Ivo’s ready to stab a knife in his heart, and Raffaele is holding on by a thread.

“We kill them all and make a statement to Wan Kwok,” Raffaele says angrily.

“It’s not the smart move,” Marco jumps in. “We need more if we want to find this bastard before he goes underground. Once it leaks out that his henchmen and their crew are missing, he’s going to retreat, then come back stronger, and we have no idea what this guy looks like.”

There’s silence while all the capos think about their options. There’s a good long pause, then Nero speaks up, not to the capos, but directly to his father. “Dad, we need to make the call.”

“We promised to leave him alone,” Marco answers angrily.

---