“That wasn’t very nice.” He moves forward and hits Aidan in the face, making his head fly back. Something Aidan said piques my curiosity. It brings my attention to a very interesting piece.
“Her mom was your sister. That’s who the tattoo was for?” I gesture toward his arm, where my work sits among piles of shit.
“Yeah.” He sniffles. “My Mandy was a good girl when we were younger, but she got lost when she met Samuel. They fought, and she had an oopsie. Cora ended up being that oopsie.” He shakes his head. “Course, we didn’t know the baby daddy was a rich fuck from town. Too bad Bea found out first.”
“What’d she do?” Rhett asks.
Aidan levels a look at him. “She had them killed, dipshit. They were going to take Cora away from Amanda, and Bea couldn’t handle the fact that someone could have a good life, so she did what she’s always done and protected her precious son’s feelings. Whole family, poof, gone. Can’t take shit if you’re dead.”
Holy shit. If what he says is true, then Cora isn’t actually relatedto Bea, and she won’t hesitate to hurt her as punishment for her mother’s sins. “What about Noah? How’s he fit into this?”
Aidan cackles. It’s loud and crazed. I’m so sick of his shit; it’s like he wants me to hurt him. Fine, I’m all too happy to oblige.
I lift the bat, preparing to swing again, when he starts talking.
“Good ole Noah is only her half-brother. Cora was getting older, and she needed a bargaining chip.” He shrugs, lifting only his shoulders.
“So, she gets pregnant to keep the asshole around, and that’s it? That doesn’t explain why you’re helping Bea, though,” Rhett points out.
“The money.”
“What money?” I ask in confusion. I share a look with Rhett, and he seems just as lost as I am. Cora was working two jobs to support her and Noah. “Cora doesn’t have money.”
“My dear old bag of a mother left it to Cora. We didn’t find out about it until she went to pick up the check. Bea knew someone at the bank and heard the name. She told Mandy about it, and she went to try to get it. That asshole she stayed with called the cops. It wasn’t hers.”
“Seriously? This is all over money?” I scoff and shake my head in disbelief.
“It was over $200,000. It wasn’t HERS!”
It could have been a million, and it wouldn’t have mattered. They didn’t deserve it. Snatching a hammer from off the workbench, I slam it down onto Aidan’s extended hand, smashing a few of his digits.
He thrashes and howls in pain.
Seizing him by the throat, I cut off his air supply and shove his head back. “I wonder if that’s how Cora felt when you broke her finger,” I ponder out loud as I finally see fear settle into his gaze. It doesn’t matter he’s double my age; he knows he’s fucked.
“She shouldn’t have gotten that money! It should have been mine and Mandy’s!”
“Tell someone who cares.” I squeeze his throat one last time andshove him back in disgust. ‘So, what was the deal? You get the money, and Bea gets the kid?”
Aidan shrugs and pulls at his restraints a bit more. Turning toward Seth’s wall of tools, I pick up a long blade. Not sure what he uses it for, but I know what I’m doing. I’ll have to get him a new one.
“Grab his arm and hold it down,” I order Rhett.
Rhett gives me a concerned look, but nods. Moving toward the arm I tattooed, I start at the back and slide the blade under his flesh. Aidan starts screaming as I meticulously work my way under his skin and remove the tattoo I put there.
The blue shapes curl together as I focus on not messing up the design. Rhett doesn’t blink as I peel the flap of skin off Aidan’s arm, even though blood is pouring down and coating his hands.I didn’t think I was the type of person to torture someone, but here I am, peeling the skin off someone’s body in the name of my girl. I feel zero remorse and doubt I ever will.
“Fuck!” Aidan howls in pain, jerking in his chair.
When I finally slide through the last inch of skin, the tattoo comes free. “You don’t deserve to have this,” I mock, tossing his blood-soaked skin onto the floor at his feet. The smell of ammonia permeates the air, and Rhett shakes his head.
“Did you seriously piss yourself already? Weak.” He laughs.
Aidan’s head dips down, and I see tears welling in his eyes. I know he’s hurting, between the bat, hammer, and missing artwork, but I’m running out of patience.
“Tell me where she is,” I demand, shoving the knife into his leg. “You tell me, and I’ll end it. Keep talking shit, or going in circles, and we’ll be here as long as it takes. I’ll cut as many pieces off your body as it takes.”
Blood pours down his arm, and I lean down, smacking his cheeks when he doesn’t answer right away.
