“N-No.” Gavino gulped. “Kian wouldn’t do those things. He was innocent.”
Ella and I shared a look. Gavino spoke with conviction, obviously having no idea of the extent of Kian’s depravity. He obviously thought brother dearest was a good person.
“Second question: how did you figure out we killed Kian?”
“Can you loosen these ropes at least?” He whimpered again. “I’m in pain.”
Ella came forward to tighten the ropes.
“You are in no position to make a single demand,” I threatened. “The next time you do, you’ll get another bullet.Understood, Ricci?”
He visibly paled, reining in his insults and pain as best as possible.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” I said through clenched teeth. “How did you figure it out?”
He struggled to find his words, the blood loss already getting to him. Glassy-eyed and swaying, he mumbled his explanation, “The night you killed him, Kian was supposed to meet me at a bar after concluding his dealings. When he didn’t show up…I got suspicious and went to the location he was last at. His car wasn’t there, but…I found his watch—identical to mine—bloodied and half-melted, and his chopped-off hand with the same tattoo as mine. The smell of fire still lingered in the air and he was nowhere to be found, which meant he was either hurt or dead. Some of Kian’s peers helped me track down the guard who kept watch on the warehouse. We tortured him until he confessed that you and Ella were the last ones there. My brother’s car was located in the junkyard shortly…with blood speckles on the paint job. It didn’t take a genius to figure out you two killed Kian.”
“Kian got what he deserved.” Ella shot him a menacing grin. “His death wasn’t quick and he cried like a beggar every time I bashed him with my bat.” Ella popped another gum bubble and slid the weapon along his body, letting Gavino know that she could do the same to him. “Then Cade butchered both of his hands and shot him until he bled out.”
Gavino screamed, shaking in his restraint with renewed anger. “You fucking bitch!”
Ella threw her head back on a taunting laugh.
When would these brothers learn their lesson? No one was allowed to call Ella a bitch. I aimed my gun for his thigh and pulled the trigger. “Talk to my girl with disrespect again and the next bullet will land on your dick. Just like with your brother.”
Gavino cried hysterically. Snot ran down his nose, his lips,and his chin like a waterfall. At least now he wouldn’t say another word to Ella.
“Who were the men that helped you?” Old Johnny was found dead in his apartment over the summer. Bullet wound in his head and a gun in his hand. Now I realized Gavino and company made it look like he shot himself.
Whimpering, he snitched, “Vinnie, Douglas, and Bruno.”
All low-ranking associates. Already dead. Meaning Uncle Vance and Josh wouldn’t be able to partake in the fun like they initially wanted. “Were they the same masked men who helped you in the summer?”
To fucking drug and assault me.
“Y-Yes.”
“Why did they agree to help you?”
“They didn’t want to work for the Remingtons anymore,” he cried. “They were part of Kian’s circle.”
The three fuckers probably thought they could either A, kill me for petty revenge or B, use me as a bargaining chip to obtain their freedom. “Vinnie, Douglas, and Bruno all died late July in a deal gone wrong. Is that why you waited until Initiation Night to try exacting your revenge again because you had no backup or brains, you idiot?”
Instead of answering, Gavino wept from the pain of the three bullet wounds and the tight ropes around his limbs.
I’ll take that as a yes.
“P-Please, I’ve answered all your questions. Let me go. I’m getting d-dizzy from this stupid merry-go-round!”
I couldn’t believe this was the same jackass who got into St. Victoria through a scholarship—the same one I played hockey with for years. Clearly, he was only book-smart and not street-smart. He’d failed both times at getting his revenge. And while his execution was nearly successful the first time, the fact remained that Gavino Ricci was an amateur who bit more thanhe could chew.
“What did I say, goldilocks?” I shot his left shin to match the right one. “You don’t give me orders.”
Over his pleas and cries, Ella said loudly, “How did you convince Callie to help you?”
“N-Not hard,” he hiccupped. “She’s wanted me for months. Willing to do anything. Plus, it was a bonus that she didn’t like you guys.”
“Did you bump into me the night of Josh’s party?”
