Page 91 of Fixate
Oh, yeah.
Going postal.
That’s what happened when people blew up after keeping feelings buried for far too long.
Henny was definitely going to wind up on a most wanted list if he kept this up. No matter how much I tried to get him to let loose, he wouldn’t listen. Pharrell was the only one who got to boss him around. Everyone else was merely a bystander.
Before I could tell him more about what I knew of our guy, the boss and his boy walked in. Ricardo looked pretty good considering he’d been stabbed so recently. Having taken a knife to the gut myself, I knew that area was a bitch to get over.
“Heyyyyy Boss! Look what I brought you.” I nodded. “You too, Ricardo.”
“He’s not touching him.” Pharrell’s bitter tone made the man beside him smile.
They made their way over to where Henny and I stood. Ricardo put his hands in his pockets. I had a feeling it was probably more to keep himself in check rather than to adopt some type of lazy stance like others might have with such a move.
“Pip. Henri.” He dipped his head our way before turning to the guy. His easy smile turned down. “That’s definitely the guy. I remember looking into his eyes when he stabbed me.”
The boss let out a snarl as he turned to face the man as well. In a flash of movement, he swiped my knife and rushed the man. He slid the blade under his chin, lifting his head with a slow movement.
“Who. Sent. You?”
Each word was deep and demanding. I could tell he was seconds away from ending this too soon.
“Boss,” I called out carefully. His eyes met mine. “He needs to suffer, right? Give him the same treatment?”
I watched the fire drain from his gaze. He’d pulled himself back into a reasonable mindset.
The knife left the man’s chin, dropping with the fall of Pharrell’s arm. He shook his head slowly, then dropped to his haunches.
“Let’s try this again. Why did you stab him? Were you working for someone? Tell me now and we can end this easily.”
The man choked out a laugh. “There’s no easy here. You’re going to hurt me no matter what.”
“Actually, it can be easy. Would you like me to explain?”
I watched as the man thought over his options. Pharrell had adopted a gentler tone, as if he could soothe the man by keeping calm for a few more minutes.
It was an illusion. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the room was running red with blood. There was no fast or quick exit for the person who’d hurt Ricardo.
Maybe the man wanted to believe enough to hope he’d be wrong because he started talking a few seconds later. With each word he spoke, he further dug the hole he’d never be able to climb out of.
“There wasn’t anyone I was working with. Not directly anyway. I had some help from a former Bratva guy, but he’s too old to really be family anymore so he’s not official.
“And all he did was tell me where to buy the parts for the bomb. I looked up all the other stuff. It’s easy enough to get all the details I needed.”
I sighed as I stepped closer. “So, you got a bomb together and decided targeting one of the most powerful men in the city was a good idea?”
“It wasn’t because he was powerful. It’s because of what he did.”
As if by magic, the façade of a weak man faded away. He sneered at Pharrell, all arrogance and anger. He would have attacked the boss had he not been strapped down thanks to yours truly.
“You took her from me,” he said slowly. “And I planned to take everything from you.”
Pharrell’s knees hit the concrete. “This is about Stasia? Even from the grave the bitch haunts me.”
“DON’T CALL HER THAT!!”
“Then what should I call the woman who has ruined my life? She betrayed me, tried to have me killed, and apparently enticed a number of men into her bed — one of whom thought he could seek vengeance on her behalf.”
