“Big mistake,” one of the goons said under his breath. “Wait till Don knows you’re here.”
Ryatt lifted his eyebrows at Leo who shrugged and pulled the MAC out. Not waiting for the confirmation, he casually shot the ponytail.
A burst of bullets shattered the head of the goon and sprayed its contents behind the wall.
“No!” the other ponytail screamed. They said twins could feel each other’s pain. Though Ryatt wondered if it was true, he wouldn’t ask the brother. Ryatt was not a sadist.
Leo was.
Amidst the living ponytail’s wailing, the guard cried even more while Roman sat motionless, a smelly puddle forming under his chair. He knew what happened to people Ryatt and Leo had bound. He had seen it firsthand.
Ryatt sat on the table and put his shoe on Roman’s broken knee. “Tell me what I want to know, and I promise on my mother’s life, I won’t do anything to you.”
“Y-yes.” Roman shivered.
“I want to know about Bugsy’s mansion, how many men are there right now, the security codes, the dogs, the blind spots in the CCTV, and don’t forget, I need the key, too. I know what happens if we tamper with the lock.”
Roman said, “The key is in my pocket,” and then gave out all the requested information. He also told them that there was a magnetic sensor fitted to his car, and that Bugsy’s front gates would automatically read it and let them in.
Ryatt searched the pantry and found a glove. He wore it and inserted his hand into Roman’s drenched pant pocket and pulled the wet key fob out.
Ryatt said, “Alright.”
Roman said, “P-please untie me.”
Ryatt walked away, not bothering to answer. Leo lifted the bag from the floor and dropped it on the table; the contents inside clanked menacingly.
Roman’s eyes almost popped out as he shook in utter terror. “You promised you wouldn’t do anything.”
“I did, and I am not,” Ryatt said and took out a lollipop from his pocket.
No amount of getting used to or evolution could have prepared his stomach for what came next.
* * *
Roman took an eternity to die. But Leo didn’t stop doing stuff to him even after he was dead. Ryatt hadn’t seen anything so animalistic and primal. He didn’t think he would ever recover from the psychological trauma. But Leo didn’t seem to mind, not one bit. He kept on doing what he did, sometimes with his bare hands.
The guard had in fact fainted when Leo was only halfway through. The living ponytail had become catatonic.
“Enough,” Ryatt said. “Time to wrap it up.”
While Leo cleaned up the evidence, Ryatt went to the Hummer and opened the tailgate. From inside, he took a pair of rubber gloves and pulled them over his hands.
Another flicker of movement on the second-story window of the hotel across the street caught his attention. But he was unable to find anyone or anything between the drapes.
It was just too dark.
Shrugging, he lifted two five-gallon gas cans from the Hummer and walked into the bar.
Chapter 44
May 13, 2019. 08:31 A.M.
Gabriel was sitting at the window, enjoying a cupcake. He munched, savoring the soft sugary goodness, as another wave of heat washed over him. On rare happy occasions, he treated himself with cakes for breakfast. Since the hotel had no chocolate cake, his favorite, he’d settled for cupcakes.
The reason for his festive mood was the three-story inferno raging from Calabria, dancing to the wind like an orange butterfly.
A gust of air fueled the fire and smeared smoke over Gabriel’s face. Inhaling the blackness, he bit another cupcake in half. Just as he began appreciating the combined taste of sweetened wheat flour and fiery murderous rage, he heard sirens.
Ugh.
Closing the window, he stood up and walked into the bathroom. Like he suspected, his face was covered in soot and gray flakes. Though he washed it away, the stain felt permanent. Didn’t matter, though. He blemished a good portion of his soul for revenge. And those who judged him for being no different than a criminal, they hadn’t had a call from the coroner who stated that their dad had been bound to a chair and shot in the face. Now that Roman had possibly died an equally cruel death, justice was almost served. Karma was a bitch, so expecting its enforcer to be a pleasant, by-the-book snob was nonsensical.
As he came out of the bathroom, he noticed an envelope near the front door. He hadn’t noticed it earlier. Someone must have slid it under during the night.
Gabriel carefully tore off the edge and shook the paper out. Three lines were typed on it. A user ID, a password, and a hyperlink.
Gabriel took out his phone and entered the web address but didn’t press return.
“Stupid,” Gabriel muttered and put the phone back in his pocket. He grabbed the jacket hanging from the wall and took the burner out.
In it, he logged onto the website. It was a bank in Switzerland.
Mildly aware of what was happening, he filled the user ID and password.
And pressed Enter.
The screen announced that Gabriel was now a multimillionaire.
Whistling, he put the envelope and burner into his rucksack. Then he swiftly wore the jacket he had kept ready and clipped the holster, before leaving.
Bill’s room was closed. Let him sleep. Where Gabriel was heading now, it would become dangerous and ugly.
Chapter 45
May 13, 2019. 08:45 A.M.
The Chrysler eased to a stop in front of Bugsy’s, and like Roman said, the intimidating gates parted automatically. In the meantime, Ryatt and Leo pulled their respective masks over their faces. The green zombie and red demon.
Though Ryatt had forgotten the
