Such bullshit the way the system works. No wonder we take out our own trash. It saves time and taxpayers money.
Rid the earth of stench.
I inhale, taking his threat with a grain of salt. Dray wouldn’t be the one to kill me. If I were to hurt Victoria, the end of me would come by the hand of Aidan, and I’d expect no less than to have my balls fed to me, then shoved to the ground execution-style and my head cut off, put on a stake for all to see.
“My past does not define the man I am when it comes to Victoria. It shouldn’t characterize me at all. Victoria reminded me of what I’ve been missing for years. I care about your sister, only her. That’s the last thing I’ll tell you about her and me. What happens between us is our business. I hope you get that. If not, we are going to have issues, and the only person getting hurt will be the woman we want to protect.”
And no matter where Victoria and I stand, which, I’ve thrown the ball onto her side of the court, I will always protect her.
“You’re right. A person’s past doesn’t. This is my sister, man. I’m saying what any big brother would say.”
I bark out a rough laugh and rub a shaky palm over my mouth. “Then, I hear you loud and clear.”
“Good, then take care of her, and fuck’s sake, get some sleep. You look like shit.”
He isn’t kidding.
“You might want to practice what you preach. You don’t look very well rested yourself.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll sleep as soon as we catch a killer. Go take care of the issue downstairs. He’s stunk this place up long enough. You might want to quit talking about preaching before this building collapses on top of your ass. You are about to kill a man.”
“Fucking funny, asshole. If you think I’m looking up, you can shove these up your ass.” I flip him off with both middle fingers.
A dark chuckle rumbles out of him as he pats me on the back, and without saying anything else, he turns and walks out the door.
The asshole.
I exhale, shaking my head as I cross the cement floor and descend the stairs to the hidden room below the garage.
The room is a torture chamber. Everything a man could want to hurt, harm, or kill another is down here, from an electric chair to saws to poison to guns.
It’s a killer’s wet dream.
“You think getting rid of me is going to stop me from living in Scarlet’s head? I’ll be living in it every day for the rest of her life. She’ll never escape me.”
I laugh under my breath, my mood instantly changing to that of torture mode as I hear Isaac McPherson, my beast’s target, trying to get in the head of a longtime friend here to help me out.
Dominic Travers.
He went missing years back after his brother Dane was murdered while watching over one of Roan’s hitman’s wives. Very few people knew where Dominic went. I happened to be one of them.
We don’t talk about what went down anymore, but I know when he returned, he showed up on Roan’s doorstep, asking to be folded in and wanting to float under the radar.
Dominic’s story is his to tell, not mine, and hopefully, once he pulls his head out of his ass and goes after the girl he wants before someone else comes and snatches her, he’ll rid himself of his demons for a chance at happiness.
“You think you’ll live in her head, huh? She’ll forget you existed once she knows you’re dead.”
I wish Dominic’s words were valid. Isaac’s girlfriend will always have internal scars, and that’s what causes my beast to awaken and growl.
“Just so you know, once your ex is all fixed up, she’s going to look like a goddess at my feet while she sucks my cock. I’ll reward her the way a woman should be by making her come so hard she’ll forget you ever existed. And it won’t be long before your son is calling me daddy.”
My grin stretches wide as I listen to Dominic because I know what’s coming. He likes to taunt his victims with words as much as conflict physical pain.
“Fuck you, Dominic. You want the whore. She’s all yours. Bitch got what was coming to her every time my fist cracked her jaw. But my son, he’ll always remember his daddy. The boy has my blood running through his veins. There’s nothing you can ever do to change that.”
I clench my jaw, fists itching to fuck this man up. Dominic must read my mind because he backhands him hard enough to cause Isaac’s head to rock to the side and blood to gush from his nose.
“You got that shit all wrong, man. Blood doesn’t mean a thing when a decent man raises a kid and not a fucking pussy. Everything you get before you take your last breath, you got coming. I’d be shitting my pants if I were you. But I’m not you. I don’t touch women to harm them. I touch to please, and trust me. I will be pleasing Scarlet until she forgets you ever existed. Almost time to meet your maker, motherfucker.”
Isaac scoffs. It only makes me want to cut off his hands and watch him bleed to death.
“Why not just take a gun and kill me?”
“That would be too easy, Isaac. We’re going to teach you a lesson first.” I shrug as I step out of the shadows making my presence known. Tiny beads of sweat roll down the sides of his face, and when his body shakes, it tells me he knows he’s going to suffer.
“Who the fuck are you?” Isaac asks. Eyes widening as I tug off my coat, place it on a table, and push up the sleeves of my black insulated shirt.
“The fucking Devil,” I answer.
Isaac’s face pales, throat bobs, feet shifting, eyes
