Page 147 of Four Fiances & I

“I warned you not to lie to me, Eddie.” Maximus stabs him, before kicking him so he rolls onto his back, and I look down at him. “Let’s try something a little easier.” Placing a foot just above his wrist, I apply the smallest amount of pressure. Eddie howls and tries to move away from me as soon as I lift my foot. “Pin him.” I don’t speak to anyone in particular as I know Jason and Maximus want in on this.

“Please, I don’t know anything!” he wails, trying to escape my brothers, but Jason backhands him across the face. I watch his eyes as he stares at us all. He’s a fighter, and I’ll give him that.

“I’m going to tell you what I know, and you will fill in the gaps. Understood?” Eddie opens his mouth to speak, and Maximus punches him. He’s gunning for blood, and there is nothing Eddie can do to prevent the beating he’s going to get.

“This is what I know; stop me if I’m wrong,” I declare, getting the chair he was just sitting in and placing it backwards over his torso, the legs on either side of his stomach, leaving me with the back to rest on as I straddle it, keeping a foot near his burnt arm.

Looking down at him, he tries to look away to avoid eye contact, but he is met by Jason's angry face on one side and Maximus's murderous face on the other. Eddie attempts to close his eyes, so he isn’t looking at any of us, but that won't help him. “Look at me when I’m speaking to you, or I will let McIntire carve your eyes out like he threatened to.”

“Oh, he will lose his eyes, that’s for sure,” I hear McIntire answer, but don’t look to him for an explanation.

“I don’t think the person you are working for is the one who started this whole mess,” I start. “I think they saw that I was a target and used that to their advantage, hoping it would deter me from discovering what they are up to.” Leaving a pause, I watch Eddie, noticing a small tick in his cheek.

“The person who has been vandalising wedding dresses, flowers, hotels and trying to get to our fiancée is not the same person who organised the coup at our stag party. However, they did give Mitchell all the information he needed and ensured they got into the building without being spotted.” The tick in his cheek appears again, which tells me I’m on the right track.

“Who was selling our information to the competition?” I ask, leaning forward a little, and see the tick again.

“I don’t know.” A scream fills the air as I apply a little pressure onto his arm. “I don’t know! I would say if I did!” he screams.

Flipping my knife in my hand as I lift my foot, I flick it downwards and watch as it sticks into the top of his arm. He screams again, and for a second, I think he’s about to pass out. But he somehow manages to stay conscious.

“You’re lying to me, Eddie. I don’t like being lied to,” I point out, leaving the knife in his arm. When he opens his mouth to argue, I shake my head slowly. “Don’t bother lying; I know your tell, so I can tell when I say something you didn’t think I knew.” Slowly, I make a show of placing my foot just above his wrist again.

“So, if the person you are working with isn’t associated with Mitchell, I think they are trying to get Jasmine out of the picture somehow.” I watch as the muscle in his cheek twitches, confirming my suspicions. If I thought I was angry before, that’s nothing compared to how I feel now.

“Who the fuck wants to kill our woman?” Maximus screams, grabbing the knife and twisting it. Eddie screams as Maximus twists it further.

“No one! No one wants her dead! Please!”

I turn my attention to Maximus, but he still glares at Eddie.

“If they don’t want her dead, then why are they trying to destroy her?” he asks through gritted teeth. Eddie stares at him momentarily, his cheek ticking as he tries to stop himself from talking. While he’s distracted, I hold out my hand, and Jason drops his knife.

“Last chance,” I warn as Maximus finally looks up at me and sees the knife. Eddie follows his line of sight as his eyes widen, and he starts to cry.

“Just kill me. I won’t turn them in!”

“Are they worth your life? Do they deserve your loyalty if they are leaving you high and dry like this?” I point out, shaking my head. “Are you really willing to die to protect them?”

“YES!” he screams as I bring my foot down onto his burnt wrist. “I would rather die than turn them in. Wouldn’t you do the same for your brothers?” His face slips when he realises he's given us something huge to work with. Eddie starts to lose it, realising what he’s done. Screaming and trying to fight against Jason and Maximus.

“Somebody shut him up!” I snap as Maximus looks for something to gag him with. Jason, as usual, is one step ahead, grabs my knee, and pushes down so my foot presses against Eddie's wrist. Eddie lets out a blood-curdling scream as I apply more pressure before he passes out from the pain.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. “Gag him and tie him up somehow. I don’t want him screaming when he wakes up.”

“McIntire, what do you know about his family?” I ask, heading over to where he is sitting, the amputated hand lying on the table beside him.

“He has one brother, but he’s stateside and has been for years,” he answers. “He does have a sister, but I’ve not bothered looking into her, as she's never around, and Abigail hasn’t met her or doesn’t plan to.” McIntire opens Eddie's phone and starts scrolling through his contracts. “The kid is a moron; it seems he tried to get close to Danielle King, but she wasn’t interested, so he turned to Abigail. Looking through messages, he always made excuses for not being able to meet her friends.”

“But it was probably so Danielle didn’t recognise him,” I finish. McIntire nods before turning Eddie's phone around.

“See if you recognise any of these numbers.”

Taking the phone from him, I walk over to Terry, who is locking the chains around Eddie.

“See if any names stand out or have the same number as any of our guys.”

“Yeah, no problem, give me two-” the phone beeps as a message pops up.

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