Page 73 of The Villain

Which was the exact moment Cian walked through the front door.

He froze.

We froze.

I was on my knees with Jace clinging to my back like a damn monkey.

Cian blinked at us. “What the fuck?”

“Poker got heated,” Jace said, ruffling my hair.

Cian snorted and shook his head. “We’ll talk about whatever this is later. We’ve got bigger problems.”

“Problems?” I asked as Jace climbed off my back. We both stood and straightened our clothes.

“Or solutions,” Cian said, bracing his hands on his hips. Then his gaze found mine. “We got Rank.”

Cian

Rank had already pissed himself by the time we filtered into the room. My men had found him hiding out at some campsite in the Poconos, so he didn’t smell the best to begin with. They’d put him in Bo’s old room—the same room where Devlin had been kept. Rhys, Jace, and Devlin all fanned out behind me along the wall. Hack was already waiting in the far corner of the room, sitting cross-legged with his headphones on and his laptop balanced on his legs. He waved when we walked in, then went back to whatever the fuck he was doing on his computer.

They’d left Rank in the middle of the room, his arms and legs strapped to a chair and a large plastic tarp beneath him. I’m sure he knew exactly what it was for. We all knew what it was for. The room wasn’t soundproof, but then again, I didn’t need it to be.

I wanted everyone to know what happened to men who betrayed me. I would’ve gutted him right in the middle of Frank if I hadn’t been worried about cleaning up before Jeremy’s visit later.

I’d told my men not to rough up Rank too much when they found him. I needed him to be able to talk, and I wanted to be the one to deliver the damage.

He began sputtering protests as soon as he saw me. “You can’t do anything to me. My ex will call the cops. They’ll raid this place! You don’t have them in your pocket the way your father did.” Ranke spat on the floor. “You have no idea what you’re doing, boy. Without me, you’re going to lose half your crew.”

Without a word, I pulled a knife from my pocket and buried it in his thigh.

Rank screeched in pain. Hack didn’t even flinch, but the sound of his typing got faster. It didn’t escape me how differently I treated Rank than I’d treated Devlin when I had them bound in front of me. From the moment I laid eyes on Devlin, the outcome had been inevitable.

“Who did you talk to, Rank?” I asked once he’d stopped his pointless screaming.

His chest heaved as blood soaked his dirty jeans. “Fuck you!” he hollered, then tried to spit on me. His aim sucked. The last time he’d spat on someone, he’d nearly lost an ear. The small tear caused by Devlin’s teeth was still healing.

I shook my head. Apparently, he hadn’t learned his lesson the first time.

I ripped the knife from his thigh, and he cried out in pain as I moved to the side of the chair, studying his torn ear. “Hey, what’re you?—”

I sliced Rank’s ear clean off. His words dissolved into garbled screams as he wept and sputtered. I tossed it onto his lap, and the ear bounced off his jeans before landing on the floor with a wet plop. Blood streamed from the hole in his head.

I sat down across from him as I spun the blade between my fingers. “Who did you talk to, Rank?”

Rank’s head bobbed with each labored breath. His wet eyes shifted over my shoulder to where Devlin stood. Then he met my gaze. “This isn’t right. He’s standing there without a scratch while I?—”

I slammed my fist into his gut, then his jaw. I wrenched his chin to the side until his good ear was facing me. “Who. Did. You. Talk. To?”

Rank was a whimpering mess now. He knew he wasn’t getting out of here alive, and he was fighting with whatever pride he had left. But that wouldn’t last. I dropped his chin, disgustedby the snot and tears streaking down his face. Blood dripped from his lips. I might’ve knocked a tooth loose.

“Your father is rolling over in his grave,” he snarled.

Now that made me smile. “Good.”

“I told him to kill you,” Rank lifted his chin despite the blood and pain. “He was thinking about it, too. He knew you’d destroy this crew.”

I really didn’t want to continue this conversation, but I’d entertain it for a little longer. I looked around before answering. “I don’t see much destruction, Rank.”