Page 59 of I Promise You
Lopez laughs as he circles them like a shark.
Kane stands there watching, a hand on his hip, fingers on his rifle.
“You don’t want to ask for the Reaper, son,” Rooker warns them with a wicked smile. Rooker is doing a fantastic job. I’m feeling more confident about my possible decision to leave the military. I’ll leave this life even if it used to mean everything to me. It is no longer that.
Ari is everything. Her happiness is everything to me. I put her in danger when I wear this uniform, and I don’t think I can do this anymore.
“I’m not scared of him. Come on, you guys will be millionaires. Tell us where he is, and I’ll tell my bossman to spare you and your family’s lives.” He snaps his teeth. “I know you’re Cobra.” He points to Rooker and then points to Kane.
“And you’re Bane.”
Kane holds onto his rifle tighter with anger.
Now I’m seething. If they fuck with me, that’s fine. In fact, I encourage it. They fuck with my brothers; they will repent soon.
“What’s your name? Let me help you. I encourage you to talk to me instead.” Rooker points to himself, his fingers uncurling with mercy.
Good. Because they won’t get that from me.
“I’m the nice one. But you’re pushing my buttons. Are you sure you’re not scared of the Reaper? He isn’t a man who grants mercy, but I am.” Rooker gets in the man’s face, and two start quivering with fear.
“We know more about you guys than you think. Rumor has it Mr. Death has a little girlfriend. And you have a wife and two daughters.” Rooker stands, clenching his fists, as one of the guys doles out information. He’s about to lose his control, and I don’t blame him, but we can’t touch them.
Do they know about his girls? Do they know about mine, or are they bluffing?
The thought of them getting their hands on her infuriates my veins. I see red and the Grim Reaper’s icy breath touches my neck. No one will ever lay a finger on her. They’ll be six feet under the ground if they even breathe the same air as her.
“Fuck no, we’re not scared of him. Nothing scares us,” another terrorist chimes in, and they laugh.
It’s my turn to laugh—loud, deep, husky, and wickedly.My roar of laughter interrupts the thickened, intense silence.
Everyone in the room turns to where my sinister, deep, rusty laugh came from. Now they have my full attention, and they will regret it.
Rooker sighs in defeat, letting his head fall and shaking it, disappointed at the captured criminals.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Rooker mocks them before he stands up. He crosses his arms, joining Kane.
I light a cigarette in the corner of the room. Sparks light up my face in the dark—once, twice, three times in the dark—before the fire finally burns on the tip of my cigarette.
Marlboro.
I breathe it in, letting my lungs settle the smoke. I hold it there for a couple of seconds. Then I push it out into the air.
I walk over to them slowly. With each step I take on the wooden floors in the dark, my boots make a loud, resounding thud.
They squint at me, trying to find me, and then I enter the spotlight that illuminates them. I’m towering over them, flingingmy cigarette next to the guys’ feet, sighing as I place my hands over my knees as I squat.
His pants, where his groin is, darken.
Motherfucker pissed himself.
I shake my head, smiling underneath my mask, and get into the man’s face. My eyes circle more significantly with wrath as my smile fades, snapping my teeth, disappointed.
“Ask and you shall receive.”
Delta showed up an hour later and didn’t get much out of them tonight. We don’t know how these fuckers got information on our families. I sit in the basement, worried.
Do they really know about Ari? Do they know about Rooker's wife and daughters?
