Page 91 of The Devil

“Evan Stone,” I reply without pause. I know he’s rather small fry for someone like my uncle, but once I explain what the circumstances, I know he’ll be more than happy to help me out.

He shrugs and makes a noise between his teeth, pretty much summing up how he feels about Evan and how unimportant he is to Anthony’s business. So, before he can shoot me down, I tell him everything.

“Will you help me?”

“You have a daughter?” he asks with a combination of shock and glee spreading across his hard features. “Congratulations, nephew!” He gets up to embrace me, which I reciprocate, only because it gives me an excuse to get out of this ridiculous chair. “For you, anything!”

“Thank you, uncle.” I hand him a small white card with an address, time, and date handwritten on one side. “This is where we will be. Helena’s brother and I would like to have a little fun with Evan before you finish the job; you understand.”

“Of course,” he laughs as he studies the details on the card. “You gonna marry her?”

“Too much, uncle, too much.” I redo the button on my jacket, readying myself to go before this gets all warm and fuzzy.

“Fair enough, Lucius,” he laughs as he pats my back, “I do so love the asshole in you.”

“Goodbye, uncle,” I reply before kissing him on both cheeks and departing for my third point of call. A jewelers. Because of course I’m going to marry her.

Lucius

It’s early evening when I pull up in front of the abandoned warehouse where I told Cameron to meet me. My guy did good with this place, it looks like something from a low-cost horror movie - small, dusty, abandoned, and with no one around for miles. If he’s done what I asked him to do, our guy, Evan, will be tied to a chair and gagged with a filthy piece of rope. It’s not original as such, but it’s all the motherfucker deserves.

Twenty minutes after I arrive, a black SUV pulls up the desert road, spraying sand and shit everywhere. It’s not exactly discreet, but seeing as we’re secluded out here, it’s not really an issue. I’ve had to stop myself from going in to see the fucker by myself, but from the glance I got between the wooden slats, there’s definitely someone tied to a chair in there. I can’t imagine it could be anyone else. His head is slumped forward, obviously still out cold.

The SUV eventually comes to a stop, and I see two sets of eyes through the windscreen.

“I don’t remember asking you to bring a plus one,” I growl at Cameron, sounding beyond annoyed over his need to bring his little brother along to everything. “Can you not take a piss without him either?”

“Watch your mouth, Lucius,” he snaps, sounding equally pissed with me. Like I give a shit. “You’re sleeping with my sister, remember?” He earns himself a don’t-fucking-start-with-me look for that one. “Listen, Nate has just as much of a right to show this asshole what he thinks of him, so let’s just play nicely together shall we?”

I choose to ignore him and begin walking toward the warehouse, all the while listening to the two pricks walking up behind me.

On my way over, I grab a black bag from the trunk of my car, which contains a few little toys to make the experience more enjoyable. The Carter brothers give me a questioning look when they see it, but I merely gift them with a flick of my brow in return. Once inside, Cameron and Nathaniel move around in front of Evan, while I kneel behind him and grab a scruff of the asshole’s hair, lifting his face for them to confirm we have the right guy. I’ve only seen his face in photographs from when he was much younger, so I’m glad they’re here to make sure it’s him. The alternative would have been most unfortunate.

I rummage around in the bag to find a bottle of water, then carry it over to where our guest is still unconscious. I unscrew the lid and pour the contents over his head. He begins to stir slowly at first, so I tip his head upward and pour the stuff over his nose. He coughs and splutters as he comes to. It takes him a moment to take in his situation, glaring around the warehouse before setting eyes on Cameron and Nathaniel in front of him. I’ve chosen to keep my presence secret for a bit longer, so remain behind him. I pull my penknife out of my back pocket and use it to cut the rope that is currently wrapped around his mouth. He spits onto the floor like the miscreant he is.

“Where the fuck am I?” he shouts like a common thug. “What the fuck are you trying to pull?”

Cameron smiles with self-satisfaction, realizing he has the asshole who attacked his wife right where he wants him. He walks over to my little bag of tricks, then looks at me as if to obtain permission. I nod, so he begins to look through it. When he finally pulls something out, I have to smile over his weapon of choice. It’s a predictable option, but I can’t say I blame him. He swings the long, wooden baseball bat around in his hands, swiping it from side to side like he’s about to play at the World Series.

Evan, the sick fucking piece of shit, begins laughing hysterically, throwing back his head and taunting Cameron with his couldn’t-give-a-flying-shit attitude. I kind of guessed the fucker would react in this way but from the look on Cameron’s face, so did he. He smiles back at him, almost manically. He nods to me and tells me to untie the asshole. He was no doubt a strong guy before his body was abused by drink and whatever drugs he’s been shoving into his system. Now, he’s no match for any one of us here, but it’s more fun to let him think he has a fair chance.

Cameron lets him have a free hit to the face, which he takes unashamedly, smashing the side of his jaw. The impact splits Cameron’s lip but doesn’t do any lasting damage. Cameron recovers quickly, then grabs hold of Evan’s shoulder before gutting him in the stomach. Once he doubles over in pain, Cameron wastes no time in punching his jaw.

“Motherfucker,” Evan spits out when his nose starts to bleed. “This won’t change anything; I still fucked your girlfriend,” he says while smiling sadistically in Nathaniel’s direction. He then returns his attention to his older brother and spits out some blood. “And I got a good feel of your wife, Carter. How does that brand look on her wrist? Does it remind her of me? Does she get wet the instant she looks at it?”

This time, Cameron uses the baseball bat to swing at his legs, taking him out so he lands on the floor beneath. I gotta give it to Evan, he’s still laughing; the drugs and alcohol must have damaged all his nerve endings over the years because Cameron has done a pretty good job of beating the shit out of him.

“No one could get wet over a piece shit like you,” Cameron says before spitting in his face and beating him on the back with the bat. “If I’d been there, you would be dead already!”

He begins to hit him over and over again, losing control through hate and anger. It’s not until Nathaniel steps in to hold him back that he finally pauses, though with the bat still clutched firmly within his hands.

“Cameron!” Nathaniel shouts as he tries to hold him back. “You have a pregnant wife at home, don’t get put in jail for this stupid fucker.”

“Pregnant?” Evan laughs. “You sure it’s yours? I’d have that bastard DNA tested the moment it’s born!”

As soon as the final word has left his mouth, Cameron kicks the asshole right in the area that will hurt most. I doubt he’d ever be able to conceive again, even if he was going to live past tonight. As he winces in agony, I decide it’s my turn. The Carter boys have had their fun, but now it’s my turn, before Parisi’s guys come to end Evan once and for all.

“Enough,” I utter as I come out from my little hiding place, so Evan can get a good look at me. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves, boys, but it’s time to leave.”

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