Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 68 - Khaleel

When reason and logic are no longer an option, the only way to get someone to cooperate is to instil fear into them. As cruel as my cousins were, that was the one advice from them I decided to adopt. Carter was a good friend to Dobberman, I could respect that, but after what he put Arisa and Matilda through, I couldn't bring myself to go easy on him. Carter could say he didn't fear me until he was blue in the face but after today, things were going to change. He would know better than to mess with the people I cared about.

"I wasn't going to tell you this," I said, moving my foot off his wrist and kicking him on his back. Hino stayed behind me, hoodie in hand, and made sure I didn't cross a line that would put our entire operation in danger. "But I called in a couple of my own friends to deal with you. I'm sure they're very capable men, and have a lot of experience interrogating dip-shits."

Carter grunted and tried to sit up. Every time he came close to resisting my foot, I applied more pressure on his stomach. "But here's the catch," I smiled. "Whatever they put you through tonight, whatever means they use on you, and you still don't crack? I'll triple it. I'll make our next encounter so unbearable, you might never recover. You may even lose your ability to speak. I might rip your tongue out just to set an example."

I could feel Hino's eyes stalking me. I knew what my friend was thinking, I knew what he wanted to say, but I didn't want to hear it. I was tired. I was getting sick and tired of holding back because of a father who never tried to understand me, and a friend who claimed to never lie. He said he didn't want to lose our friendship over a girl, and yet he was acting like he was ready to do just that. Grabbing her hand, hugging her, and putting a show on in front of me. What a hypocrite.

"Y-You're not crazy enough to risk prison," Carter groaned. "You're not!"

I hovered my foot over his face. "You want to test that theory?" I asked, my eyes widening on their own. "Or do you want to come clean about Dobberman?"

Carter went quiet.

"I can make this whole thing go away," I whispered. "You can leave here tonight, and I can instruct my friends downstairs to take you to a hospital or back home instead."

I lowered my foot just an inch, testing his resilience. It was impressive but I had to assume that my heel had the power to change his mind. Pressing it onto his face, I got Carter to turn his head. "All you have to do is talk," I encouraged.

"Okay!" Carter finally cracked. "I'll tell you—I'll tell you what you want to know, just stop. Stop, you fucking sadist!"

Hino was quick to pull me away. I broke out of his hold and went back to my prey. I got Carter to stand on his feet and held him by the collar of his uniform. "Where is he?" I asked. "Don't give me his home or school address. Tell me where he goes when he's laying low."

"That house," Carter grunted. "Where we took the new girl—the one where Nook and his friends were keeping her."

"Nook?" I asked. "Who the fuck is Nook?"

Carter groaned. "He's Dobberman's new contact. A high school dropout who started his own little gang in the burbs. He's tall, bald, you can't miss him if you see him."

"Bald?" I repeated, my eyes flaring. "He's the fucker who put his hands on Arisa!"

"Probably," Carter replied. "He's a real predator. He doesn't come from a lot of money, so he's willing to do almost anything for a pay-up."

"And the house?" I asked. "That's where Dobberman lays low?"

Carter nodded. "His folks are the contractors working to flip the property, so he's been using it as his hideout when they're not around."

I released Carter and pulled out my phone. I texted Kumar to let his men know that our plans had changed. We had to get Carter patched up and compensate him for the injuries I inflicted, and of course to keep his mouth shut about our exchange. Then, we had to fish out Dobberman and Nook from the house in Pinecrest Grove. I texted Loyal the same information.

Kumar was quick to reply back. 'How much compensation we talking here?'

'Five grand should cover it,' I replied.

Hino stepped up to make sure Carter didn't sustain any serious injuries. It wasn't because he cared about his well being but because he wanted to make sure he could walk out of the building standing up-right. The guy was always four steps ahead of the process. "You should have talked sooner," Hino said to the rat. "Think of how much time we could have saved."

"I didn't know he was going to lose his fucking mind over this shit," Carter complained.

"Loyal's not answering my message," I said to Hino. "He must be too busy fawning over Arisa."