Page 44 of Promise of Hellfire

The woman pressed against the headboard finally spoke, her voice shaking. “Who the fuck are you people?”

Ice laced Dominic’s tone when he responded. “No one you need to concern yourself with. This has nothing to do with you.”

Her eyes grew wide as I jerked him off the bed by his hair and slammed him into the wall. His body tensed and Hunter’s voice rang through the room. “I wouldn’t fight her if I were you,father.” He gestured vaguely at Ethan. “He’ll shoot you, but I promise you’ll be leaving here alive tonight. A simple bullet would be too noble of a death, or so I’ve been told.” He approached us slowly, pulling zip ties from his pocket. The woman watched us, her jaw clenched as he encircled Ayers wrists with the ties and pulled them taut, securing his hands behind him.

Dominic pulled a large wad of cash from his jacket and threw it on the bedside table. “Use that to get some food and stay somewhere safe tonight. You could check yourself into rehab and start over.” He hesitated, mulling over his next move. “The next time you might not be so lucky. Not everyone would have left a witness alive.”

Hunter dragged Ayers to the doorway. Ayers’ cheeks burned crimson, and all traces of amusement vanished. His nostrils flared at us. “You’ve got to be kidding me. At least let me put on some pants.”

Ethan pushed the gun into Ayers’ back.“Does this seem like a joke?”

The men opened the door and walked out into the darkness, Ayers in tow. I glanced over my shoulder one last time at the woman on the bed. I wasn’t certain how much Dominic had given her, but I had a feeling it was a substantial amount. Enough to make a difference. “He’s right,” I told her softly. “Take the money and start over. Get the hell out of this city. You have a chance to become someone new.” She nodded at me and said nothing as I closed the door behind me.

I walked across the parking lot to the idling SUV where Hunter and Ethan were shoving Ayers into the back. They pushed a rag into his mouth, ensuring his silence. Or relative silence given the fact he tried to speak despite the gag. “Please don’t make me shoot you,” Ethan stated before shutting the back hatch. “I really hate cleaning blood out of upholstery and Dominic is a bitch when his things are dirty.”

Ethan sat beside me on the back bench, weapon trained on our captive. “What do we do with him now?” I asked as I tore the mask from my face, relishing the cool air. I rubbed my face with the hoodie I was wearing, wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed.

The men did the same before starting the car. “It’s a surprise, sweetheart,” Dominic said as he pulled from the parking lot, focusing on the road. “This morning when I called Olly, I wasn’t asking for his blessing. I was asking to borrow one of his warehouses.”

I leaned my head back against the seat and stared out of the window. “The warehouse where we went to meet Chandler?”

Hunter glanced over his shoulder and gave me a look. I couldn’t quite discern it in the darkness. Was it concern? Sympathy? Worry? “Same place,” he answered in a quiet voice. He muttered something quietly to Dominic and they turned up the radio, leaving me to my thoughts.

It didn’t surprise me tonight impacted Hunter more than the other men. He’d been Oliver’s muscle for hire in college, and out of all three of them, seemed to want to keep me away from the darker side of the business I would be taking over. He didn’t realize yet that he couldn’t protect me forever. This was the destiny that fate had forced me into.

I leaned forward and rested my head on his seat, grabbing his hand and lacing our fingers together. “It’s okay,” I reassured him. And it was. After tonight, things would be different. He squeezed my hand in response and I squeezed back.

Chapter twenty-eight

Rayne

Wepulleduptothe warehouse after a short drive. Most of Strathmore was eating dinner or watching television, completely oblivious to the fact that tomorrow when they woke up for work, Ayers would be dead. All of this senseless destruction and meaningless death started for what? One man’s ego and wealth. Being one of the wealthiest men in the city wasn’t enough for him. He had to run for mayor and take out anyone he thought stood in his way.

I hopped out of the car and waited as Hunter unloaded Ayers, dragging him through the gravel towards the steel door. “You could stand up and walk,” he gritted out.

Ayers fell to his knees as we reached the door and Dominic rolled his eyes before grasping his legs. “He’s just delaying the inevitable. Ethan, knock on the door for us. Joey’s already here and will let us in.”

Hunter and Dominic lifted Ayers with ease as Ethan knocked. When Joey saw us, he gave me a wide smile. “Killer! What have we here?” he asked, glancing at Ayers still smiling. I sighed at him, knowing I would never live down the nickname after the past few months.

Dominic tipped his head up and grunted, still holding Ayers’ lower body. “Room’s ready?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave you guys to it,” Joey answered. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Ayers’ attempted to struggle between the men as they carried him toward the door a few feet away, his muffled cries echoing against the walls. Ethan narrowed his eyes and kicked him in the ribs before he opened the door. “Stop struggling. You’ve earned whatever happens tonight.”

A metal chair was set in the middle of the room and cabinets of different shapes and sizes lined the back wall. Hunter settled Ayers into the seat before Dominic began tethering him to it. Ethan lowered the gun once Ayers was secure and ripped the gag from his mouth.

“You don’t think you’ll get away with this, do you?” Ayers bit out and Ethan backhanded him, his head bouncing to the side.

Dominic glared and walked behind him, leaning close to his ear. “Of course we’re going to get away with this. Surely you didn’t think you’re the only one who can bribe and blackmail people? For instance, what about your good friend, the police chief? He was desperate not to let anyone else find out his dirty little secrets. Imagine his family’s horror when they discover his role in the Ruby Rose and the fact he was a predator.”

Ayers paled at his words but said nothing, instead swallowing harshly. Dominic sauntered towards the cabinets and pulled out a pair of pliers, inspecting them. “What do you want to start with, sweetheart?”

What did I want to start with? The pliers held no appeal to me. I didn’t want him to die quickly, but the idea of torturing him by prying his fingernails off wasn’t quite what I wanted to go for.

I shook my head at him. “No pliers. What else do you have?”

Hunter watched me with interest, curious about what my next move would be. “Hand her a knife. She’s already comfortable with it,” he said, his voice coming out gravelly. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Princess, you don’t have to do this. You could let one of us,” he whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek. “You have enough nightmares that plague you.”

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