“Who are you people? My house is hooked up to the 911 center. The second you broke in a silent alarm went off over there. The cops will be here soon.”
“That might be true,” Cain said, still mild, “if our tech guy hadn’t disabled the entire system. No one’s coming to help you. You’re at our mercy.” Cain shrugged. “Or lack thereof.”
“If this is about what Jake did, I can assure you, he’s learned his lesson. No one got hurt. No harm, no foul.” Markus chuckled nervously. “Right?”
“You’re sure there was no harm? Because the contract was picked up.”
Markus’s face paled. “So, the girl’s dead?”
“No,” Stunner supplied, taking his cue from Cain. When he nodded, Stunner continued. “But the girl in question is my woman. And his daughter.” He pointed at Cain who looked cold as death. “Not something either of us is willing to let slide.”
There was a silence that stretched on until Stunner was certain Salisberry would break down and cry, begging them to spare his life. “So,” the man finally asked. “What happens now?”
“Now,” Cain said, taking out a glass vial and a syringe. “You’re going to inject yourself with insulin. Quick. Painless. You die, but you get off easy.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You still die. Just not as easy,” Stunner said. “And your son lasts for weeks instead of a few hours.”
“Hours? Hours? You’re talking about torture! You can’t do that!”
“Same as you can’t put a hit out on someone just because they’re in your way,” Cain said immediately. He stood slowly, leaning in so that he was looking directly into Salisberry’s eyes. “Same as you can’t kill my daughter just because your son is a fucking dumb fuck!”
“I didn’t put the hit on your daughter! And I cut it off as soon as I found out about it! Everything worked out for the best!”
“What about the daughter of your business partner? When he thought you were taking the company you’d both built from the ground up in the wrong direction and fought you on it? Did that ‘work out for the best’ as well?” The man swallowed but said nothing. “That’s what I thought. You’re not so innocent. Are you?” Cain nodded to the vial. “I’ll be happy to help you if you like.”
“Why can’t you let Jake go this way, too? Why do you have to torture him?”
“Because he put a hit out on my friend and my daughter out of spite.” Now, Cain was showing the true anger Stunner knew he hid well most of the time. “He’s a lazy little fucker who got called out by Stunner when he tried to intimidate her and threatened her in her own home. When that didn’t work, and he pissed himself in front of God and everybody, he decided it was better to kill the pair of them.” Cain tilted his head. “I’m sorry you raised a goddamned monster, but that ain’t my problem, you son of a bitch. Now get busy.” He nodded to the syringe and glass vial. “Or I’ll take it as a refusal, and you can go to your deaths together. Watch each other as we skin you a-fuckin’-live!”
Markus Salisberry didn’t argue anymore. He wrote the note of apology Cain instructed. He made sure Salisberry’s ex-wife was taken care of just because the man objected so much. Then he injected himself with as much insulin as he could get out of the vial. The Bones members waited until Cain was satisfied the elder Salisberry was dead, then they turned their attention on Jake Salisberry. They had him tied and gagged. Made getting him out of New York easier. Again, West Virginia was the target destination.
This time, Cain allowed Stunner to participate. Probably because, though Jake could be traced back to Stunner and Suzie, they had a plan in place to get rid of his body permanently.
The beating lasted for three hours. Cain and Stunner took turns while the rest of Bones bore witness. No one said anything, even when Jake started pleading for his life. Then for them to end it. When Jake’s bladder finally let go, Cain nodded to Stunner. Stunner took out the silenced, clean .45, took aim at the back of Jake’s head, and pulled the trigger.
“El Segador. You’re a hunter,” Cain said, shaking out his arms. Stunner knew the feeling. The beating had been a brutal one. Even though they’d used more than just their fists, Stunner’s arms felt like lead weights.
“I am.”
“You good at finding places to hide a body?”
“In this area?” He shrugged. “Sure. I know more than my fair share. All of them one-hundred percent.”
“Blood, stay with our good friend Reaper. The two of you are in charge of cleaning. Bohannon, you’ll supervise. I want no evidence anywhere of what happened to this fuck. As far as the world is concerned, he simply disappeared.”
“You got it, boss,” Bohannon said, giving Cain a two-fingered salute. The three of them went to work while the rest of Bones left for the camp. Bohannon, Blood, and Reaper would meet them as soon as the mess was taken care of.
Shadow, again, was at Stunner’s side the whole ride back to camp. The wait for the others was one of the longest of Stunner’s life.
Stunner had time to reflect on everything that had happened. The only thing he really regretted was not telling Cain and Shadow everything up front. By not doing so, he knew he’d betrayed their trust in the worst way. Had he been straight with them, he’d be headed home to Suzie right now instead of
