He clamps his mouth shut. His jaw flexes.
“I know you’re scared. I can smell it.”
His eyes dilate.
When I take the jumper cables and press them together, sparks fly and my hands vibrate. I press it to his chest and he jerks around. I pause. “What you got to tell me?”
“N-nothing.”
I light him up again and again. He’s a marionette on strings being shook like a rag doll. I stop and he continues to suck down air.
His head hangs down, and sweat pours off him in sheets.
“You ready to tell me what had you so damn amused earlier?”
He grunts.
Stubborn fuck. I move over to my bag and pull out a scalpel. It catches the lights streaming in through the window. “I see I got your attention.” I trail the blade across his chest, careful to apply little pressure. A thin line of flesh opens, and scarlet droplets of blood roll down. “We both know it all depends on how much pressure I apply.” This time I dig the blade into his flesh, cutting him open down his side.
He cries out, but remains silent.
I walk over to the table, and pick up a large cylinder of salt.
As he sees the girl holding the umbrella, panic appears in his eyes.
I let him watch me pour the grains into my palm. “You could stop this at any time with one word.” I rub the salt in his wounds and he begins to scream.
“Man, you need to get over here, Blue is missing.”
“Now! Now, you’ll see!” Joshua screams insanely.
It all clicks in my head. Whoever Jamie truly is, he’s a part of this revenge mission. I pull my .45 from my holster and aim a shot in the center of his forehead.
Brains splatter out behind him and the light in his eyes goes out.
No one fucks with my family.
Chapter Eleven
You’re a Sociopath
Blue
I’m flying high after my talk with Dixie, until I realize why Shadow left. They’d been keeping him legal and out of the game, just in case the cops were watching him. Six months back, that had worn off. This is what it means to date an enforcer. Late night calls, long trips, and secrets. I sink down onto our bed. Thank God, it’s a weekend or there’d be hell to pay tomorrow. I run my fingers through my hair, and stand. A cup of tea sounds about my speed right now.
I’m on my second cup when my phone rings. My heart speeds. I see Jamie’s number and relief floods me. He’s been a ghost since the incident at the high school. I close my eyes and let his call go to voicemail. The ringing starts again. His number flashes almost angrily. A sense of unease sets in. I let the phone go to voicemail again.
Almost immediately, he calls again.
I reach out with a shaking hand and answer, “Hello?”
“I tried to do this the easy way and be nice. But I should’ve known you liked things rough.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Jamie? Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m fed up. We’re going to play this my way. Do you want to know w
here I am right now, Blue?”