The Deception series boxset: FaCade, Cadence, Beneath Innocence (52 page)

I WAS GLAD FAYE HAD decided to stay outside the room in the end, her need to aide Alex greater than her need to watch Frank become pig fodder.

Shit. Liam and his guys didn’t mess about. Turned out Blue kept secrets. She learned her skills for making unbreakable codes and security from a very dangerous daddy. Known in the black market diamond fighting trade as ‘Slicer,’ he did time in his teens for cracking a safe and getting away with a million in diamonds. When a single police officer on the scene tried to stop him, he beat him with a pen holder from a teller’s desk and then sliced into his cheek, taking a small sliver of flesh as a souvenir. He was picked up three days later at another bank and served a ten year sentence. When he was released he merged into the underworld and quickly built himself a scary repetition. I only heard of his name at the underground fights because people there used to work for him and when you do anything a little illegal, the Chinese whispers circulate about the biggest players. I wanted no part of that world anymore, or him, but this wasn’t just my revenge now. We shared it. They’d annihilated Frank; tortured him so much that my stomach wouldn’t be able to hold anything for a fair few months.

Frank’s piercing scream bounced off the walls as Liam slid the fillet knife down his chest, peeling his skin away from the dense pectoral muscle, the slice so thin that the skin curled like apple peel and dropped onto Frank’s foot. “I can keep this up all night, motherfucker.” Liam sighed contentedly, relishing in Frank’s pain as he twirled the tip of the knife around Frank’s right nipple, tormenting him.

Stupidly, Frank remained silent and I cringed when Liam dug out his nipple easily. As a child I’d watched my mother prepare potatoes with a small knife. She would peel the skin and then dig out the eyes with the tip. Watching Liam work, I wondered if he had also helped his mother prepare vegetables in his childhood.

When he dragged the knife up the center of Frank’s chest and up the center of his throat, piercing the skin enough to leave a trickle of blood behind, and then brought it up to Frank’s eye, I prayed that Frank started to wise the hell up because I wasn’t savoring the thought of watching him have his eyelid removed.

“Fine!” he spluttered, his surrender generating a heavy sigh of relief from me. “I don’t know his address but I have his number. That’s all I can give you!”

Liam turned to Jenson, tilting his head in question. I gave Liam his due, he’d made sure to include Jenson in the whole thing. Jenson nodded, giving his approval. “It’s all we have but it’s a start.”

“It’ll do,” I butted in, an idea forming in my head.

Liam nodded, jotting down a phone number as Frank relayed it from memory, making we aware that Hunter was good at covering his back, no information stored other than in people’s heads. He then slid his firearm from the back of his jeans and held it out to Jenson. “Straight shot to the pelvis,” he instructed, causing Frank’s eyes to widen. “It’s the most painful. Make this fucker pay before you force his last breath from him.”

“You bastard!” Frank hissed out, “I gave you Hunter’s number. Make it clean. Even in our world there’s ethics!”

Liam laughed loudly, his face contorting into something quite disturbing. “Ethics?” He barked out suddenly, aiming the gun at Frank’s kneecap and firing quickly. “Where were your ethics when you ripped my daughter to fucking pieces like an animal?”

Frank screamed again when Liam took out his other kneecap, the piercing sound making my ears hum as Frank sagged in the cuffs holding him up. Tears streamed down his face but all I could picture was the photos of Blue, her blood-stained, pale face smeared in her tears. I was glad this fucker got to pay with his own.

Jenson took the gun from Liam but I pulled him to one side before he could take a shot. He stared at me curiously. “Jen.” I swallowed, closing my eyes for a second. “You need to think about what this means.” He shook his head in confusion. Biting my lip, hating the heaviness that never left my chest, I lowered my voice. “You take his life then that’s it for the rest of yours. I know how much this means to you, your hunger for vengeance. But once you’re a killer, you’re forever a killer.”

“Cade?” His gaze was soft, worried as he lay a hand on my shoulder.

“I . . . you know when I fought in the scene. I was a mess. I had watched my brother bring down the girl I loved every day, watched him grind her soul into despair with every snide remark to her, every time he was disrespectful, every time I watched her curl into a corner and cry because she didn’t know how to handle his dark side and she loved him anyway and was hurting that he was leaving. But he was my brother, Jen.” He nodded, giving me his understanding. “So the fights, they helped me get it out. The day I witnessed Faye have the abortion to give Dante a chance at his collage and career, fuck man, I . . . it fucked me up. Why should she pay so dearly because of what he wanted? She was a mess, she hated herself. I took her home the following day and I was so strung out, I went to fight. You remember?”

Jenson studied me, his eyes locked onto mine as he nodded.

“I fucked him up bad, Jen. All I could see was Faye’s distress and Dante’s fucking face, laughing and mocking.” I paused, swallowing back the bile. “I didn’t stop hitting him, even when I knew he’d had enough. Eddie was our friend and I hit him one time too many and took his life! That marked me. You think it soothes the rage and brings you a new prospective but instead it creates a new rage bubbling under the surface.”

“Shit, man,” Jenson sighed, squeezing my shoulder.

“You won’t ever let it go, Jenson. It will go with you everywhere. Frank’s death will be part of your life forever. I need you to understand that.”

He blew out a breath but nodded. “I know, but for Blue, I’d carry the damn devil on my back for eternity. She’s my woman. Fuck, I love her. I know she doesn’t love me, but you know what, I don’t care right now. I can’t sleep knowing what they did to her. I can’t breathe without picturing her, in pain, un . . . under them.” His eyes filled up and my heart broke for him. “They fucking wrecked her, Cade. They tore her up so bad she’ll never have kids.” His hand slapped over his mouth as he retched. “No way. No fucking way will they take another breath. And I want to take their last from them. Do you understand that?”

I nodded, giving him a knowing smile. “More than you think.”

His eyes flicked to Dante and he nodded back at me. “It’s time to man up. Prove to her what she means to me.” I think she already knew but I let him go with it. I just couldn’t let him do this without warning him how much it would alter his life. But at the end of the day, it was Jenson’s life, not mine, and I understood completely why he needed to do this.

He walked back across the room and before he could change his mind, took aim and fired a hole though Frank’s pelvis. His scream was silent this time, his head lulling backwards as his body began to give in.

“Not yet, cunt!” Jenson spat as he shoved the gun inside Frank’s mouth and angled it upwards. “I hope you burn in hell!”

I watched as Frank’s brain fired out the back of his head and splattered the wall, bits of skull and flesh spraying the grey concrete floor in a dramatic splash of color.

I turned, my heart stilling when I witnessed Faye in the open door, her eyes trained on Frank as a tear rolled down her face.

“Hey,” I breathed, rushing over to her and pulling her face to my chest.

“I loved him, Cade,” she whispered, the tight sound of her grief making my eyes water. “I loved him like a father. How could he?”

Sighing, I pulled her further against me. “Only God knows where greed will take us, Faye.”

“Hell,” she whispered in return. “Greed takes us to hell.”

“And may he fucking burn there,” Jenson finished quietly.

I COULDN’T HELP BUT GRIN at Dante as he swung where Frank had hung, his bare feet scraping through Frank’s brain matter that still decorated the floor. The gag around his mouth made me happy, so did the bruising to his face and torso. It was surreal gaining pleasure from seeing my replica hurting. I loved him once but this cruel, ruthless man was not the kid I shared everything with as a child. He had destroyed that person with the crap he kept injecting into his body over the years. He was never truly all there but just how far gone he was made me not see the boy he once was. All I could see was a man who tortured the woman I love. The man who shot me. Kidnapped Blue and Alex and terrorized them. I saw a man I couldn’t possible let live. He didn’t deserve to live.

“Hunter, it’s Dante,” I spoke when the call connected.

“Hey, what’s up?” Hunter greeted as Dante thrashed in his restraints, his eyes narrow and blazing at me.

“I’m having a little . . .,” ‘Dinner
party,’
Faye mouthed. “Dinner party,” I said down the line to Hunter. “The guys who . . . shall we say
partied
with Blue, I need you to bring them with you. Star’s in need of a little lesson.”

“What? You bored with her already?”

“She’s driving me nuts with all her fucking whining. Stupid whore disrespects me, does the complete fucking opposite to what I tell her. Fuck, she’s even stopped fighting with me when I fuck her. She needs to understand what happens if she plays with fire. You have any bitches to bring with you that will entertain what I need?”

“Of course, but are you sure? You saw what they did to Blue, they won’t hold back with Star either.”

I laughed and clicked my tongue. “Why do you think I need the bitches? Watching that scene play out, fuck, I’m gonna need a slut who takes it hard.”

Hunter chuckled. “Then it will be a pleasure.” I gritted my teeth to his obvious delight at the thought of causing Faye pain. Motherfucking bastard. I clenched my fist, reining it in.

“Oh,” I added quickly. “Bring some brown with you. I need a high.”

He paused for a moment then said, “Sure.”

Ending the call I tapped Dante on the cheek and winked. “Time to play.”

I SMIRKED WHEN THE TWO guys were dragged into the room by Liam’s men.

Chuckling, I opened the only eye they hadn’t ruptured and grinned at Cade. “You fucking fool. As soon as you told Hunter to bring some brown he knew it wasn’t me. I don’t touch that shit, Cade. I only consume what I make; it’s the only thing I trust.”

Cade shrugged. “Don’t worry, Hunter will get his. I’m fascinated by how easily he gave up his two men though.”

I laughed. “You really are stupid. He hasn’t paid them yet.” Hunter was the lowest bastard out there. He had no scruples. And Cade had given him an opportunity to save him thousands.

I flicked my eyes to the scene playing out at the other side of the room. Jenson stood by the door, watching the brutal gang rape of the two men who had hurt his girl so much she wouldn’t walk for a long time.

I shivered, looking away when one of them drew a long iron baton and shoved it so far up the blond’s ass that I wouldn’t have been surprised if it emerged out of his mouth. Their screams were loud and ugly, blood splashing everywhere as I tried to hold onto my stomach.

Unable to watch when they started hacking at their dicks I turned my back on them and prayed my death would be swift and clean.