Chapter Twenty-Eight
Axe squinted through puffy eyes at Veronica, who’d wasted no time taking control of Cano’s drug empire. Two of her henchmen held on to him, one on each side. His hands were cuffed, and his legs shackled, but the sight of his father’s blood dripping from the dumpster curled his heart up into a knot of pain and vengeance.
“Kiss me.” Veronica pushed her face up to his and protruded pouty lips.
“Never.”
“I said, kiss me,” she repeated.
Slap. It stung, but he faced it like a man. No wincing under her blows.
“You are going to kiss me.” She raised a closed fist and shook it. She’d already blackened both eyes.
He was damn well not going to kiss her. “No.”
She punched his nose, radiating pain throughout his head. “You’re an idiot. Do you know who I am?”
“Cano’s puta.”
Pow. She landed another blow on his right eye.
“I’m the boss,” she said. Her voice was so squeaky and birdlike that he wanted to laugh. “Say it. You’re the boss, Veronica.”
“In your dreams.” He knew another punch was forthcoming, but nothing could overshadow the pain in his heart at his father’s death. Dad had sacrificed himself, and Axe hadn’t gotten back in time to rescue him. He should have stayed behind with him.
Sure enough, she socked him in the other eye. He didn’t even blink.
“Uh, Boss?” one of the men holding Axe said. “Shouldn’t we clean him up for the party tonight?”
Party? What kind of diabolical mind could think of partying after all the deaths? But then again, Veronica probably thought of this as a coup.
“Throw him in the dungeon,” Veronica said. “He’s not fit for the party unless he kisses me and acts like he likes me.”
“Shall we hire another escort for you?” the other man asked.
“No, Adolfo. I want this hunk of meat,” Veronica said. “Break him in for me, and you shall be rewarded.”
“Yes, Boss.” The first guard yanked at the chains binding Axe, and the second one kicked him.
While they beat on him, Veronica spoke into her phone, barking orders. “I want Carmelita and her mother detained. No letting them get away. I also want Tomas Rivera shot on sight. He allowed Juan to kill Capo.”
Axe strained his ears to hear the rest of her conversation, but the two guards dragged him down a flight of stairs underneath the theater. They threw him into a small room made with cement brick walls about the size of a broom closet. He broke his fall with his shoulder and let out a grunt of pain.
The guards laughed, and the one called Adolfo said, “You’re pretty dumb. The Boss wanted a kiss, that was all.”
“Yeah, she wanted to show you off at the party,” the other one said. “Be her butt boy.”
“I’d rather die.” Axe gritted his teeth against the pain radiating over his body.
“You’ll get your wish.” Adolfo punched him in the gut. “Then we’ll throw you in the dumpster with the others. Maybe we’ll throw you in alive so you can see who’s going to join you.”
“Just like your dad’s not dead yet,” the other guard chuckled. “At least last I checked. He’s waiting for you to join him.”
The metal door slammed, leaving Axe in the dark.
What did it mean about his father not being dead? They had to be messing with his mind. But if there was a chance?
No, no. The blood was dripping. No one could survive long.
