“I want that shithead to suffer as much as you do, but if you don’t want me there as backup, that’s your call.” I take a few steps back. “Plenty more Accardi traitors to flay alive.”
Agonized shouting emits from behind some of the cell doors, ramping up my bloodlust.
“I’d like you there,” Gia quietly says, staring at me while clutching Joshua’s hand. “We should agree Elisa is an off-limits subject.”
I nod.
“Are you sure about this, honey?” Joshua brushes his fingers across Gia’s cheek. “No one will think less of you if you want to bow out.”
It’s easy to forget Gia is only twenty-two because she handles herself like someone much older. But her vulnerability is showing right now, and I regret my outburst. Liam put her through hell, and this is a big deal for her. I already know what she’s going to say before she says it, as does her boyfriend.
“I’m not walking away.” Gia visibly pulls herself together, stretching her spine, thrusting her shoulders back, and lifting her head. “I refuse to give him any power over me. I’m doing this.”
As much as her interference with Lili annoys me, I’ll admit she’s an impressive woman. A woman definitely worthy of my brother.
“If you change your mind or you need to walk away at any time, do it.” Joshua cups one cheek. “Caleb and I can finish him off if needed.”
It’s why I’m here. I want to support them and be there as a backup if needed.
“Okay, but I really want to do this myself.” Steely determination races across her face.
“You promised me his fingers,” Joshua reminds her.
Gia smiles. “His dick and his ass are mine.”
“And she has the nerve to call me scary,” I murmur, fighting a grin.
Chapter Four
Caleb
“Take the gag from his mouth,” Gia instructs as the three of us stand in front of the prick tied to the chair.
We left Liam McDermott to stew in his cell for the past thirty-eight hours, happy to let him wallow in his own filth. Blood continues to trickle from the wound in his thigh, pooling under his feet. Dried blood clings to his hands, congealing around the slash marks my twin inflicted. Someone went to town on his face and his torso, and my money is on my brother. Though it could have been Ben or Massimo. They were interrogating him earlier. One of McDermott’s eyes is swollen shut, his left cheekbone is clearly broken, he’s missing three teeth, and bruises and gashes cover most of his face and bare upper body.
Joshua’s instructions were crystal clear. No food. No drink. No bucket to shit and piss in. Consequently, the smell in this small stone-walled cell is enough to level a three-hundred-pound man with minimal effort.
Joshua grips the prick’s chin and pries the dirty rag from his mouth before tossing it on the floor. Not like fuckface will need it much longer. Dead men don’t breathe.
“I’m going to kill you,” Gia says in a calm voice walking closer to the man who hurt her. “But we can do this the hard way or the easy way,” she lies, flipping a knife over in her hand as she stalls before him. “Tell us who the Italian boss is, and we’ll give you a quick death.”
None of us expects him to offer the dude up. Liam is not a lowly soldier we can bend to our will. He’s been brought up in this world, like we have, and he’s been trained to withstand interrogation. Massimo and Ben already took a crack at him earlier, but he didn’t give them anything, and we’re done wasting our time trying.
“Fuck you, whore,” he pants.
Joshua drives his fingers into the bloody wound in McDermott’s thigh, and he yells out in pain. “Speak to her like that again, and I will never let you die. I’ll bring you to the brink over and over and prolong your hell foryears.”
He’d do it too, only Gia needs closure. McDermottwilldie tonight, which is a shame. I like the idea of leaving him here to rot and letting him reach the edge of death before building him back up only to starve and torture him all over again.
It’d be a great way to let off steam.
I wonder if I can find someone else to do it with, I ponder while my brother continues to poke inside Liam’s leg, and the man shouts and bucks as tears stream down his battered face.
“We asked your brother if he wanted to see you one final time, and he declined.” Gia drags the tip of her knife up his bare arm, drawing fresh blood. “He hates you, and he’s already celebrating your death.” She trails her knife down his other arm as Joshua walks to the side table where he left the duffel bag. He begins removing items from the bag and setting them on the table.
I lean against the side wall and smirk. This is about to get interesting.
“All your men are shark fodder, and your allies have abandoned you to your fate. No one gives a shit about you,” she continues. “No one will care when you die, and you won’t be remembered. You’ll be a cautionary tale men laugh about over beers and cards. Diarmuid is the legacy. He’s the one everyone will remember. You’ll be forgotten.” She crouches down and puts her face all up in his. “You’re nothing. A nobody. And you will die without honor.”
