Page 10 of The Bones We Break
Giving him a coy smile, I loop my arm through his, my hand flexing around his firm bicep, holding my head high as we walk into Noir & Nectar, side by side.
I check the time on my Rolex, making sure I have enough time to get this done before I retrieve Annabelle for our dinner date. I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist my advances. She’s desperate for someone to want her, to love her. It’s sad really. She practically rolled over like a submissive dog the moment I started to feign interest in her. It’s so easy to crawl under her skin, like a tattoo that will never leave her skin cells.
Nico takes the town car to Annabelle’s parents house who she hasn’t seen since she was seventeen. I sit in the shadows of the back seat, cracking my knuckles with each opposite hand trying to release some tension, but also to give my hands something to do instead of putting a bullet in the fucker who owes me money. My mind is heavy as it spins with all the ways I will have Annabelle, physically and mentally. Her whole world will revolve around me, and then I’ll be the one to ruin it, rip it to shreds until all she has is me.
The perfect toy.
The car rolls to a stop outside of a small, run down house. The exterior paint chipped and flaked off in large patches, exposing the dark brick underneath. The wraparound porchthat sits at the front of the house is hardly worthy of being stood on, the steps up to the front door are wonky and decrepit. Clearly Mr Murphy hasn’t kicked his gambling habit to the curb. The poker chips are of more important value than his family. He made a deal with the devil at the crossroads, and now the devil has come to collect.
“What a shit hole.” Nico says with disgust, clearly seeing the same thing I am.
“It almost makes me want to put them both out of their misery, but that would be too easy.” I remark, a smirk rising on my face as I make eye contact with Nico in the rearview mirror. He snickers at my comment.
We both exit the vehicle, and I fasten my suit jacket before making my way up the stone path. I’d hate to make a bad first impression. Reaching the door, I wrapped my knuckles on the splintering white wood, the metal house number in my line of sight hanging off kilter. A beat passes before a woman comes to the door, her face aged over the years, the skin leathery and pale. Chin length, brown hair curls around her face, the strands peppered with white streaks, her dull eyes bore into mine as she takes me in.
“Can I help you?” she says, her voice quiet.
“Sienna.. Murphy.” Her name rolls easily off my tongue, and her eyes bug for a moment, the whites becoming more present. She quickly schools her features before speaking.
“And who are you? How do you know my name?” Her tone has a hint of authority, probably thinking she can send me on my way with her motherly tone, but she’s wrong. No one gets in the way of what I want. Especially not a woman.
“How I know you is irrelevant at the moment Mrs Murphy. What I’m here for is your husband, I’m assuming he’s here.” Isignal to the house with my hand, my eyes darting around the open space, already knowing full well the snake is hidden in there, sending his wife out first to meet with the big bad wolf. He probably knew this day was coming, but didn’t know when. Sienna hesitates for a moment, her eyes darting around trying her best to avoid my gaze, but she has no choice but to face me, I’m not going anywhere.
“I.. My husband isn’t here at the moment, he’s at work..” her words trails off. She starts to close the door and I ram my leather shoe in the gap to stop it. Her worried gaze drops to where my foot is stopping the door, then she raises her head like a timid mouse, my eyes already burning a hole through her.
“You wouldn’t lie to me now would you, Sienna?” I say, tipping my head to the side. Her wide eyes bounce between me and Nico, not really sure on who she should be giving all her attention to. Inhaling a deep breath of annoyance. I don’t give her the chance to speak before I’m pushing her back through the door, forcefully sending her to the floor with a thud. She lands hard on her backside, her head bouncing off the shitty threadbare carpet with a jolt.
“Michael!” she pleads. “They know you’re here, you need to come down right now!” I hear the thieving bastard race down the stairs, his heavyweight bouncing off each step before he lands at the side of his wife.
“Honey, I’m here. Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you did they?” He speaks to his wife with a gentle tone but I can already see the hurt in her eyes, but it’s not from me shoving her, but from her husband’s failures. Michael helps his wife to her feet before placing her on the shabby couch, the fabric worn and torn in areas, the once vibrant colour now fading. He stands to come and face me, his chest puffed out like a gorilla. It’s embarrassing on his behalf, but I let him have his superheromoment.
“Whoever you are, whatever you want, you’ve got the wrong people. Just.. just leave and we’ll never mention this to anyone. I swear it.” The words fall out of his mouth like vomit. He can’t stop it. He’ll do anything to bullshit his way out of a predicament, but not this time. The back of my hand connects with his face, sending him flying into the couch. Rich, red blood starts to pool from his split lip, and he raises his hand to tentatively touch the wound before looking at his fingers to see the damage. That’s nothing compared to what I will do to him. His wife flinches, her hands cupping his face gently.
“What do you want?! If it’s money, we have nothing to give if you haven’t noticed!” Sienna flails her hand around the room to support her statement. Her words bore me as I slid my hands into my trousers, stalking over to them both. Looking down my nose at them, the pair cower at my soulless gaze. I pause for a moment, the silence heavy and thick in the air.
“What I want, no.. what I need, is my fucking money back, Michael.” My hard gaze snaps straight to Michael, and I audibly hear the sharp intake of breath, the natural flush of his skin colour draining from his face at rapid speed, only to leave behind the blooming red mark near his mouth.
“And, I’ll be claiming your precious daughter too.” My words hit them hard as they both looked at each other. Tears began to well in Sienna’s eyes, her bottom lip wobbling. Nico’s large presence fills the space behind me, and I turn my head to the left to meet his eyes behind the blacked out sunglasses.
“Boss.” I simply nod my chin before sliding out two needles from my trousers and flicking the plastic caps off with my thumbs. Michael and Sienna don’t even have the chance to fight me before I plunge a needle into each of their necks, forcing the sedative into their bloodstreams. The drug makes quick work ofoverdriving their systems.
Nico drags their limp bodies into the kitchen then proceeds to tie them both to the wooden kitchen chairs that sit around the matching table. My bloodstream flares to life as I watch my right hand man do exactly what he’s good at with precision. He makes quick work of tying both their ankles to the legs of the chairs, then follows up with their wrists against the arm rests. Sienna is still out cold but Michael starts to stir, his head lolling around as if he can’t quite keep the weight of it upright.
“Sii.. Sienna..” he croaks, checking to see if his loving wife is okay.
“Sienna!” he cries out,
“What have you done to her, you bastard?!” I simply grin, my white teeth showing through my lips. It seems he does have a pair of balls hidden in his trousers after all. His strong fight excites me.
“Now, now, let’s not get our panties in a twist.” Sarcasm bleeds through my voice. “Your wife is fine, she’s clearly feeling very tired so I suggest you keep your mouth shut. I’d hate to wake her.” He starts to shake, tremors wracking through his body. The thin skin of his knuckles go white as he grips the arm rests, his short nails digging into the scratched wood.
“Look.. whatever your name is, please.. I don’t know what you think is going on here, but you have the wrong people. We haven’t spoken to our daughter in years, she isn’t here.” The empty words come out in a rush, the lies falling from in between his bloodied lips. I refuse to be lied to!
Lifting my trousers at the knees, I crouch down in front of him to meet his eye line, he begins to squirm under my gaze, like a worm on a hook ready to be devoured.
“God, where are my manners?” I chuckle to myself. “Myname is Ricky De Rossi, and now.. Is not the time to lie to me, Mr Murphy. You know exactly who I am, but it seems as though I’ve slipped your mind, but that’s okay, I can remind you.” My voice is deep and sinister and I’m pretty sure Michael’s heart has just fallen out through his ass and straight onto the kitchen floor with the way he’s looking at me. He begins to hyperventilate, rapid breaths fire in and out of his nose and mouth. With the close proximity between us I can see the rivulets of sweat beading around his piss poor excuse of a hairline before they start to trail down his face, and gather in his grey untamed eyebrows.
“Look.. Ricky, Mr De Rossi, I can explain! I can get you the money, just.. Just please give me some time.”
