Page 119 of Immoral

"None."

"Bullshit," I yell.

"It's true! Now, kill me!" he screams with renewed energy and desperation.

"You think you can lie to me?" Tully asks in a calm voice.

"Three is all," the man Aidan is torturing states.

I exchange a look with Aidan. Neither of us believes only three men would be guarding a property where Uberto is hiding out.

Aidan shrugs then leans into the man. "See, here's the thing. You play with Abruzzos. That makes you an Abruzzo. So I'm going to pull every ounce of pain out of you"—he points to the other man—"and you. When I finish, the sun will be coming up. Do you know how many more hours have to pass before that happens?"

A burst of energy appears out of nowhere. He tries to free himself, yanking on the restraints and sobbing like a crazed man, "Kill me, you O'Connor piece of shit."

Aidan laughs. It's a long, borderline psychotic, taunting one.

Tears drip off the man's face. He loses the energy he displayed less than a minute ago and recites, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord—"

Killian interjects, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Do you think Mother Mary will save you? You can't do penance for this. Neither Jesus nor God give two flying fucks about your pathetic Irish ass."

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this—"

"Let's speed it up, shall we? Deliver us from evil," Aidan screams, throwing his arms in the air.

"Kill me," one man cries out while the other keeps praying.

Every second I stay here is another chance Uberto has to disappear again. I toss my poker stick. "I'm over this scene. Let's go."

"They aren't dead yet," Aidan states, the wild expression on his face darker than I've seen it before.

"We need to go," I state, motioning between Killian and me.

Tully studies Aidan then hands his poker to him. "I think we got enough information. I assume you want to stay and finish this?"

Aidan nods, his eyes darting between the two men. "Send Devin and Tynan to help me on disposal."

Tully assesses Aidan again then pats his back. "Have fun, son."

The three of us climb up the ladder and get into Tully's SUV. The scents of kerosene and death continue to flare in my nostrils, keeping my desire to be violent at the forefront. Tully turns on his phone and mutters, "Shit."

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He swallows hard, pins his steely gaze on mine, and my stomach drops. "Angelo texted. Arianna is home freaking out. No one can find Cara."

26

Cara

The ridethrough the city seems to last forever until we stop outside of a brownstone in Queens. At that point, I wish we were still driving. The entire way, Uberto and his thug sat on either side of me, saying nothing.

Uberto grabs a coat and orders, "Put this on with the hood over you so no hair is showing."

"No," I blurt out, deciding it's safer outside in the car than going into the brownstone.

He fists my hair and tugs my head back so hard, pain shoots through my neck.

"Ow!" I cry out.

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