Hunter was clearly scared but still, he refused to speak the truth. It might've even been a good move if not for the fact that Elio already knew more than enough. Those weren't just rumors. Those were facts. He wasn't trying to bait the man.
Elio ticked. "I have time, old man."
Silence.
Still nothing.
Savannah exhaled loudly and looked at the Enforcer. "Elio."
He lifted his hand, silencing her. "You're here to observe."
The thing was - she didn't want to. And she didn't know why he felt the need to keep her there with them. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Nothing she could recall at least.
"Why?"
"Well, I don't know, Savannah. How about you coming to my father's fucking club? I cannot remember actually telling you it would be okay for you to ever be there," he seethed, anger lacing his voice.
Just coming there, she’d put him in a bad situation. She’d brought the attention of several Made Men upon her by showing up. Let alone that she’d randomly confessed her boss' sins, giving Elio ammunition against Hunter. No person had done that before and it was fucking strange for all the men who had been let in on the fact later. No one had to know about Savannah. If she’d figured out another way of contacting him, privately, things have been different.
But anger had been brewing in him because of her misguided decision. Now, he was fairly certain that Father would dig deeper as to why something like this happened and who Savannah was to his son.
"One last chance, Hunter," he warned the man, however, he didn't feel like waiting anymore. He pushed from the chair and kicked the owner in the chest, making him tumble down to the floor. The chair shattered.
Savannah shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears appeared in her eyes.
Elio attaching the silencer on his gun and pulled the trigger. A bullet ripped through Hunter's shoulder, blood gushing out a once.
"Stop," Savannah begged but wasn't able to move. She looked away.
The Enforcer laughed and with his whole body's weight, he stepped on the wound. A loud scream resonated. And as if with a magic wand, Hunter started spilling out his secrets. One by one, he talked about the Bratva, who was involved, and what they wanted from him. Everything. Just to make Elio stop.
But it wouldn't be over. By revealing his secrets, like the fucking pussy that he was, he’d simply sped up to the most thrilling part for Elio.
Torture.
"I was supposed to take you back to Father and let him dish out the punishment. But you're not worth dirtying my car," he commented, taking out the knife and putting the gun in his holster. "I'm not wasting perfectly good bullets on you, either."
Savannah's chest heaved, bile burning in the back of her throat. Her vision was blurred because of the tears that kept rolling down her cheeks. Her stomach flipped, and just when she thought she was getting close to screaming her lungs out, she collapsed to her knees. She watched as Elio rammed his knees in the man's ribs, carving his body.
Deep cuts.
Blood.
So much blood.
"Oh, shut the fuck up, fucker," Elio grunted, rolling his eyes.
He looked back at Savannah and extended his hand. It was already red. Blood drops fell down from it onto her thighs. She shook her head. She wasn't sure what he wanted from her but she refused to give him anything.
Her stomach did another flip.
"Give me your apron, baby girl," he ordered but seeing as the girl was barely aware of anything happening around her, he cut through the strings and ripped it from her hips before shoving the material down Hunter's throat. "Better."
The blade landed inside the old man's arm, tearing through veins and sinewy muscle and only stopped as it reached the bone. The sound made Savannah dizzy. Her head throbbed under the pressure. It was too much.
Too much for Hunter.
Too much for her.
Suddenly, the ringing in her ears was all she heard. She saw an outline of Elio's lips as he was turned towards her, saying something, but she couldn't hear him. She sobbed and hugged her knees to her chest, bringing her hands to her ears. She started rocking herself, blocking everything.
It was her fault.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she gathered the remains of her courage to open her eyes and look.
Fingernails spread around the floor.
Blood covered the floor, the walls, seats. Reaching her.
And for some reason, she crawled closer to Hunter even if she could no longer recognize him. She put her palm down and it slid, causing her chest to nearly touch the bloodstain close to the man's severed hand.
Her eyes zoned in on what had made her slip in the first place.
A tongue.
Elio had cut off Hunter’s tongue and her hand had skidded on it.
Another flip. She felt sick and before she knew the contents of her stomach spilled onto the floor. Whatever little she’d eaten today was all in front of her now.
Then she heard a slashing sound as Elio for the last time used his knife and tore through the windpipe. Blood splattered all around.
The Enforcer regarded her as he put the knife back. He was covered in blood. Savannah couldn't bring herself to look at him. All she saw were his shoes. He was getting closer before he grabbed her arms and hoisted her up.
"Do not show weakness, baby girl. As far as anyone is concerned, you are emotionless. This will always be a buffer for pain," she heard him say.
The dizziness increased and when she lost the support coming from Elio's tight grip, her legs shook and she crumpled like a rag doll.
Chapter Nineteen
Her eyes were heavy as she tried to open them time and time again. The throbbing of her head became unbearable and her whole body felt as if it had gone through its own personal hell - burning and shaking from the pain
