Page 38 of The Twins

“Van, you good?”

She nods absently, running her hand down Arlo’s back over and over again. “Yeah.”

“You sure?” She shakes her head slightly, then meets my stare.

“I’m not hurt. But…this is the second time something like this has happened—”

“It’s not as common as you think, but it does happen.”

She sighs dejectedly, leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes. “My mom is going to kill me.” She opens one eye to look at me. “Then she’s coming after the rest of you.”

I think about her words for a moment, “Is it worth it? Is Tevye…is he worth all this?”

“Yes,” she answers with a smile without hesitation. I nod, sitting back next to her, my hand resting on Arlo’s leg.

Masud turns around in his seat. We stare at one another for several long seconds. “You’re worth it too.”

Dammit, now I’m all verklempt.

Masud 27.

“Where are his nipples?” Moshe asks Ezra as I reenter the room. We’re in the subbasement of the Mishpocheh Consortium. This is my domain. This is where I shine. This is my happy place.

And I’m aware that is all kinds of fucked up. But it is what it is. My therapy, if you will. However, my services may not be needed by the looks of things.

“It’s a scavenger hunt,” Ezra replies with a menacing grin, his eyes wild, his skin flushed. Ezra the man is no longer with us; this is Dottie’s violent protector. “I’ve hidden them somewhere and he’s got to find them.”

The speaker in the room crackles, Yak’s disembodied voice sounds from his office in the upper half of the building. He’s our eyes and ears, everyone knows that. Only, based on what he’s kept to himself regarding Tovah and I, I’d say he sees a lot more than any of us realize.

“They’re in his ass. He shoved them in the man’s rectum…with no lube.” I snort, my head dropping to hide my reaction. Moshe stares at his kapitan with his mouth open in shock.

“You’ve only been in here like 5 minutes. What the fuck?”

Ezra shrugs casually, “I’m efficient.” He turns to me, forces himself to take a deep breath and meets my eyes. “The Pharaoh…is it still The Pharaoh? Do you prefer Masud? Or just Pharaoh? The?” I offer the man a genuine smile, appreciating that he has taken the time to ask.

“Down here, Pharaoh will suffice.”

“Pharaoh, then. I know this is your domain, however, given that this piece of dried excrement tried to take my woman…thrice!” He loses it, spinning around to carve X’s in Joseph Baird’s forehead. “One, two, THRICE!”

“Why can’t he just say three?” Zilv questions Moshe, but it appears our Avraham Avinu is at a loss.

“Ezra?” My deep voice echoes in the room over Baird’s screams. Ez’s body jerks and he glances at me over his shoulder, scalpel still digging into the last X. “You were saying?”

“Right.” He stands up straight, the bloody scalpel now at his side held limply in his hand. “I do not wish to infringe on your role, but I need to be a part ofhisinterrogation.”

“Not a problem,” I concede immediately. “His men shot my wife…she is very put out about it. As am I.” I growl the last part while staring into Baird’s eyes. There is something so satisfying about watching a man lose all hope. Too bad the sweet release of death is still a ways off for him.

“Before you two start…” Moshe begins, waiting until he has our full attention. “I want the contents of his brain. Every name, location, history, I want it all. I mean to dismantle the entire slave network piece by piece. And his pieces are a great place to start.”

I nod succinctly at my Avinu. Walking to the nearby table, my metal tools shining in the light, I grab my favorite knife and the blow torch. I stop next to Ezra, staring down at the pathetic excuse for a man, sneering as he snivels and cries. “You took his nipples…let’s continue with the belly button.”

Ezra’s head slowly swivels toward me with a growing gleeful grin. “You and Tovah were made for one another.”

Yes, we were. And after Baird is dealt with and Moshe has the information he needs to get started, I’m going to claim her, once and for all.

Masud 28.

“This was your fucking idea!” Tev grunts and groans as I fight his hold. My body thrashes on instinct, years of muscle memory too strong for me…and him and Yakov.

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