Page 97 of Their Starlight

“There,” Hayden says, stepping back and throwing something down on the ground. I look back over and clap my hand to my mouth, swallowing down my own wave of nausea. He’s sliced away both of Dicky’s nipples, leaving two gaping holes on his scrawny chest. What he had thrown down were in fact the removed discs of flesh. “Now, Dicky boy, when you arrive at the seventh circle of Hell and Satan looks in your eyes and asks what the fuck happened to you, be sure to tell him that this was done by a guy who wears nail polish and likes sucking cock. Okay?”

Hayden saunters back over to me like has hasn’t just mutilated a guy for touching me. He pulls me to him and cradlesthe back of my head. “I can’t believe you just did that,” I mumble to his chest.

Pulling my hair to arch my neck, he brushes his lips against mine. “No one touches what’s ours, baby. These men are going to die today because they dared hurt you. You’re our girl, Elle. Get used to it.”

That will not be happening anytime soon.

“Next question, and if you think about lying, just take a look at your friends, Brad.” Lance sneers to the middle guy, who I am assuming is the leader of this little trio. “Who hired you to attack Miss Maxwell?”

Brad’s jaw clenches.

“Was it Sydney? Or have you been playing double agent for another organization?” Lance’s voice gives no indication of the fire burning behind his eyes, it is in the tense set of his shoulders and the clenching of his fists though.

Brad seems to consider his answer before finally lifting his chin. “I need something from you first, Preston.”

All three of my guys huff out laughs at that. “What gives you the impression you are in any kind of position to negotiate with us,” Brent asks amusedly whilst inspecting a table of knives and other horrific looking tools.

“I’ll give you all the answers you want, and I fully accept the fact that I’m going to die, but there are people relying on us. Innocents, and unless you can guarantee their protection, I’ll take the information you need to the grave, it’s their best shot at survival.” Brad’s face is so messed up that any emotion he may have allowed to come to the surface isn’t showing, but his voice is firm and I believe him.

There is a small silence while my guys consider this before Lance gives a slow nod. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll see to it.” He could be saying that to get the information, but I know him—as Hayden told me—Lance is still the man that became my best friend in such a short time, who made love to me all night and this morning while Hayden fucked him for the first time. He wouldn’t let innocent people be hurt just to help himself. I love him. I love all of them, despite what I’ve seen today.

“I have a little brother,” Brad says, drawing me from my thoughts. “He lives with our uncle, they have nothing to do withThe Daos, but they have been under my protection since I started working for Sydney.” Lance nods and Brent starts typing something into his phone.

“Richard’s mother has no income and he’s been looking after her all his life,” Brad continues.

Dicky, who I’m now assuming to be Richard, darts a gaze at Hayden before looking at Lance. “She needs help,” he whispers.

“Anything else?” Brent asks, bored.

“Jase,” Brad says, clearing his throat. “You need to let him go.” All four of us not tied up look to the third and quietest hostage, he’s staring at the floor and tears spill from his eyes to the sick bucket. “He had nothing to do with what happened to your girl. He never wanted anything to do with The Daos, and he only got involved because of us. He’s a good guy,” Brad’s voice chokes. “He should be let go.”

Lance narrows his gaze at Brad and flicks a side eye at the other captive. Turning round, he hits Hayden with a meaningful look. Some unspoken communication happens between them that I can’t interpret before Hayden just shrugs. “Forgive me if I’m not inclined to take you at your word. What’s been discussed here has all been at the understanding that the three of you would be dead before you leave. And your boy here may be good in your books, but he’s still a cocky little shit who, along with you, has a delusion of grandeur and spouted some pretty pathetic school-ground insults at my friend. Maybe I just don’t like him. Maybe that’s enough to sentence him to death.”

Brad shakes his head. “He was doing that to save face. He likes your boy…maybe too much…”

“Stop it, Brad” Jase says, his eyes now streaming.

“Shut up,” his friend tells him. “Jase is a good guy who doesn’t deserve to be here.” Brad tells Lance. “You can trust him to keep quiet, he like you guys, always telling us we should be more like you three and to stop doing Sydney’s dirty work. Like that’s so easy to do.”

“Is that what the attack on Elle was,” Hayden calls over to him. “Sydney’s dirty work?”

Brad just sucks his teeth, “Not until Jase is free.”

“Fine,” Lance says, angrily. “But he’ll watch you both die as a reminder to what happens if he decides to double cross us.”

Brad nods as though he’d expected that and tells Jase to quiet his sobbing protests. Taking a deep breath, he tells us everything.

When he’s finished, Brent is the first to speak, “So, you don’t know why Sydney wanted you to deliver Elle to us?” Lance is still vibrating with rage and unable to form words.

“No, you think he tells us shit?”

“What were his instructions exactly?” Hayden asks, his arm still tight around my shoulders.

Brad sighs in annoyance as he’d already told us what he knows, but this line of questioning was probably the only thing keeping him alive right now. I’m surprised he doesn’t send up a quick prayer of thanks for each question asked. “He gave us the name and the address, told us to rough her up, drug her, leave her at your building, and to tell whoever comes out to say that she was a package for Lance Preston. Then he told us to leave, make sure our involvement was completely untraceable, and if we ever told anyone that he was involved, he’d kill us.”

“How’d he get Elle’s address?” Hayden asks the room.

“The club,” Brent answers. “He saw Elle at the club talking to you. He must have got hold of the employee records.”

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