Page 100 of Twisted Obsession

51

Regina

The thread of hope I’d clung to hadn’t been ripped away by the storm that had blown into my life. Ansel had come for me just like he said he would. The angel that my cousin claimed was watching his back had been the angel of death.

With Sorio stuffed into and tied up in the back of one of the stolen SUVs, Ansel drove August to pick up Megan. August had insisted we pick her up before we traveled to our final destination. Since Sorio had put a hit out on Megan, August likely wanted her to bear witness to his demise.

D, Rob, Scott, and Marcus had stayed at the DG6 dope house to destroy any evidence that might indicate that we’d been there. They’d mentioned explosives, so I’d eventually see something on the news about the place being destroyed.

By the time Sorio was awakened by more drugs, D, Rob, Scott, and Marcus had completed their clean up job. At nine in the morning, most of the dew had dried, and the sun sat high in the sky. The southern California temperature was perfect at seventy-five degrees.

Megan and I sat on either side of August at Ansel’s dining table at his house in the hills. The rest of the men had raided the kitchen. They’d gathered on the large living room couch, yelling at a sports show playing on the large screen in front of them like Sorio screaming inside Ansel’s garage wasn’t a big deal.

“Aww! Oh God. Nooo!”

The sound of Sorio screaming for God was something I’d never expected to hear in this lifetime. I didn’t think he believed in God. At least three different cutting and drilling devices had sounded as I sat and waited.

Although I relished the idea of getting revenge against my cousin, I’d harbored doubts about following through with the act. I believed Ansel needed this more than I did. If he didn’t release the anger he felt towards Sorio, it would lead to him seeking out others to kill. I was certain he’d never hurt me, but it didn’t stop me from worrying about his mental health.

I loved Ansel. Therefore, I wanted him healthy on all fronts.

Sorio’s screams and the thundering sound of hard objects scraping the floor drew me away from my internal musings. During the time I’d been a prisoner to my family, I’d become accustomed to the silence of the dead, so the yelling of the living was a bit unsettling.

The horrid screams that came from Sorio raised goosebumps on my arms, but I’d accepted that they hadn’t surfaced because I was sad or scared. Guilt for what I sat through didn’t register. When his screams grew so loud they rattled the walls, I stifled a smile at his suffering.

My mind fell back on the man I’d come to care so much about. I worried about Ansel more than I cared about exacting revenge on my cousin.

“He’s been screaming the entire time.” I stated the obvious, not wanting anyone to catch on to who I was truly worried about. “Shouldn’t he have passed out by now?” I asked August and Megan although I knew the answer.

August turned his attention away from Megan, glanced at me, and smiled. They had been carrying on a casual conversation like this was a normal occurrence.

“You’re a doctor,” August stated. “You know there are things he can be given to make him wake up and stay awake.”

My brows lifted. Was there anything these men couldn’t get? Was there anything they weren’t in to?

“You know the only reason Ansel doesn’t kill him is because he wants him to suffer for as long as possible. If it were up to him, he’d keep Sorio alive for as long as he held you hostage and torture him every day,” August pointed out.

“So, why doesn’t he?” I asked. The coldness in my voice froze the air around me and caused Megan’s and August’s brows to lift.

“Because he’d rather you exact your revenge now that he knows what that asshole did to you.”

“Ansel doesn’t have to do this. I’m worried about him, August,” I stated, finally revealing my concern.

August knew that Sorio had beaten me, but only Ansel knew how far the abuse had gone. I stood, and August placed a hand over mine to keep me in place.

“Trust me, Regina. You don’t want to go in there,” he urged with an expression of warning on his face.

“What? Why?” I queried, not ignoring the caution in August’s gaze.

“I know you have seen about every type of dead body there is, but it’s different when it’s a living person staring back at you. Ansel was called ‘The Reaper’ in the military. On the rare occasion when he asks to be alone with someone, let him have his time. Trust me, it’s not something you want to bear witness too. When he reaps a person, he picks apart their soul, piece by piece.” August shook his head like he was shaking off a memory. “The Ansel you know is not in that garage right now.”

“Awww! My bones! Oh God, please! My bones!” came Sorio’s unmerciful screams, adding to the warning that August gave. The fact that Sorio’s screams inside the closed garage was seeping into the house was a testament as to the type of torture Ansel was dishing out.

August pointed at the men sitting in the living room, but his gaze was on me as I retook my seat. “Why do you think they aren’t in there? Ansel doesn’t ask to be alone often, but when he does, we respect his request.”

August’s words scared me. I’d forced myself to understand so much about Ansel already, and now, there was more. August didn’t address the crease of concern in my face.

D walked up and glanced across the table at me. “Regina, you have nothing to worry about. I’ve worked with Ansel enough times to know that some of what he does comes from him.” D pointed at August. “If you ask me, they are just alike. Yet, one is always claiming the other is worse.”

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