Pearce Hudson: #1 My Italian Devil

39.Bloodstream

"Their cellphones are on the table. I have a signal jammer on so you can look through the phone," Grant filled another syringe with painkillers.

"Boss," one of the bodyguards took out the Bible from my bag. He opened it up and showed Dante the duplicate phone.

Dante's eyes flashed in anger. He lifted my head up by pulling my hair. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"Boss," the same bodyguard spoke up. My phone is his hand. "She has a bunch of missed calls from Derek Jones."

"We have her now," Grant smirked, noticing the recognition of Jones's name in my eyes.

Dante did something that surprised everyone in the room. He started laughing out loud. "Oh God! You should see your face!" Dante pointed at me.

"Something funny? Tell me I wanna laugh too," I prodded.

"It's funny that you didn't figure out about Jones. He's my FBI mole," Dante smiled.

"We have no idea who you're talking about," Ross said. Grant grabbed Ross by the neck and jammed the needle in this skin.

It was almost a reflex action for me to protest when Ross was harmed. "No!"

Dante looked between me and Ross. "Why did you keep him alive?"

"Taking turns," Grant pulled the needle out. "Why?"

"If both of them stay alive you give them hope," Dante took a menacing step towards Ross. "And I hate hope." He grabbed a gun from one of his men.

"So who's it going to be Pearce?" Dante cocked the gun at Ross's head. "Your boyfriend or the FBI?"

"You fucking asshole!" I screamed.

"Give me a name. Just give me a name of one your agents," Dante said. "And I won't kill him."

My mouth didn't move, even when I commanded it. Ross my partner, my best friend. He was worth more than the whole FBI. But I knew, I knew I couldn't.

Dante took off the safety. "Tick. Tock."

"Stop please. Please. Not him. Please. Kill me. Just kill me," I pleaded.

"No," Ross said. "Pearce this is the only way."

"Shut up. I'm not going to let you die."

"So touching but time's up," Dante's finger wrapped around the trigger.

"NO! NO! NO! Please!"

"Last chance."

"It was only us! Me, Ross and Jones! The three of us. That's all! No one else!"

Dante made a little wrong answer noise. "Liar. Say bye bye."

"NO! NO! STOP! NO!"

"Pearce stop," Ross smiled lightly at me. "It's okay. We'll be okay."

"NO! NO! Jared, please. Oh God! No! I'll do anything. Dante. Anything you want."

"I want you to watch him die."

There was silence and then my screams were drowned by a bang. My eyes latched close. Something splattered on me. Then silence again. And just like the mental barrier in my body holding back the pain exploded. Pain flooded me. Tears seeped out of my eyes. I wasn't sure if it was from the pain or the thought that I had lost Ross.

My eyes opened. Ross's head was hanging low, with a chunk of it gone. Dante wiped his hands on Ross's body. He picked up a needle from the table and came towards me. I didn't see him. My eyes glued on Ross's body. It was a joke. It was just a joke and Ross would wake up any moment.