Later that evening after Austin went home, Deke came over and picked me up, and we went and sat outside of the hotel room, waiting for the right time.
We had our duffle bags with us. I knocked on the door like anyone else would, and Phillip opened it. Shoving the door into his face, I knocked him back into the room. Deke slammed the door shut. He had her face down on the bed before she could even scream. He placed duct tape over her mouth and then used the tape to tie her hands behind her back along with her ankles. I did the same with the husband. And then we threw hoods over their heads and shoved them into the back of Deke’s SUV. We took them to the docks where our fathers kept their yachts. There is an abandoned warehouse back there that they used to load and unload the shipping containers. They built a new one on the other side of town but haven’t demolished this one yet. No one ever goes there.
We drag them out of the back of the SUV and bring them into a small room that was once an office. A blue tarp covers the concrete floor. Deke was already here earlier while I was at the zoo with Austin and Lilly.
We set them each in a chair and yank the hood off the woman. She kicks and thrashes in her chair while Deke pulls the rope out of his duffle bag and wraps it around her chest, stomach, and then her legs to tie her to the chair, making sure she can’t kick us or get up.
We turn to face her husband. He still has his hood on.
I rip it off, and he looks up at me with tears running down his face. He looks at his wife. She screams behind her taped mouth. Tears run down her face.
He jumps to his feet. We didn’t tie him to the chair ’cause where’s the fun in that?
I toss the bastard into his arms. Deke pulls the man’s back to his front. One arm wraps around his waist, the other goes to clamp his nose, planning on suffocating him. He fights him, shaking his head.
“No.” I stop him. “That would be too easy.”
Deke chuckles and leans down to whisper in the guy’s ear. “I don’t know what you did to piss him off, but thanks.”
I start digging through his pockets. I smile when I come to a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. I remove one and let the rest fall to the tarp-covered floor.
“You know, smoking will kill you,” I say, placing it between my lips.
I take the Zippo lighter, flip it open, and light the end of the cigarette, then take a long drag. Fuck, it’s been almost a year since I’ve had one. I forgot how potent nicotine can be. I’m surprised I don’t miss it. “I used to smoke when I drank.” He starts rambling nonsense behind his gag. Blood runs down his busted nose from where I hit it with the hotel door. “Then Deke here dared me to smoke an entire pack one night.” I smile at that memory. “Well, let’s just say I never touched them after that.”
I frown when I take another drag. “It’s not the same anymore.” Nodding to Deke, I order, “Hold his head back.”
Deke grips his chin with his free hand, yanking his head back, and he laughs when Phillip struggles. The guy still has his hands tied behind his back and his ankles bound together. He’s not going anywhere.
Stepping up to him, I glare down at the man who is about to die. “You touched what’s mine. Know what I do to men who fuck with my toy?” His brown eyes widen as tears run down his face and over the tape that covers his mouth.
“You’re about to learn,” Deke singsongs with a wicked smile on his face.
“I fuck them up twice as hard.” I press the lit cigarette to his neck, right over his racing pulse, and hold it there.
He struggles in Deke’s grasp and screams out behind the tape, but Deke’s hold doesn’t loosen. I remove the cigarette and let it fall to my feet. “Let him go,” I growl, taking a step back from them.
He drops to his knees on the tarp, head bowed, and his shoulders shake from his sobs.
“Fucking pathetic.” Deke spits on him.
I reach up and remove my shirt, tossing it to the floor. I hunch down and grip his chin, making him look up at me. “I’ve always been the kind of guy who prefers the fight and likes the sting from a punch. But you’re gonna be the exception.” Then I swing and hit him on the side of the face. His head snaps to the left, and his body falls flat to the tarp.