⚠️TW-blood/violence.
There was a welcoming chill in the air. I had to meet Katerina and her father today. I wanted a proper review of the deal I was making with Harolds.
There was a lot to prepare when it comes to a shipment of this magnitude. Hayes and I are the number one distributors in New York. If anything, I would need him on my side for something like this.
Harolds was informed prior to this that I would be involving Hayes. It would be another one of our many partnerships.
So far, 6 of the Capello-owned bars and taverns have been incinerated. Yet there has still been no sign of James anywhere. He's bound to pop up sometime soon. Seeing Katerina more often made it so much more prominent that I needed to find James and neuter him. I need to do this to clear my head, clear my conscience. Even though killing him would never undo what happened to my Katerina, it'll bring me some kind of peace knowing that the man who was responsible is gone for good, at my hands.
As the cold New York air filled my now empty house, I saw it was 11am and I should go over to the Hayes house.
I called Jaxon, who was busy at the bars today filing paperwork and sorting out licenses as tariffs were due.
I made my way to Hayes' mansion.
Today was a particularly quiet day for Hayes and he needed to discuss this deal with me. We would have a clean split of the money if Katerina didn't find any faults.
His office door was opened and I've been in this house too many times to fucking knock.
I walked in and a cloud of smoke filled the room from Hayes' cigar.
"ah Kingston, thought you bailed on our date." Hayes said.
I smiled.
"I would never. I consider myself a gentleman."
He poured me a glass of whisky and I cocked my head to look at him.
"it's 5pm somewhere." he said.
I took a swig and felt the burning sensation travel down my throat.
"where's your principessa?" I asked, and Hayes let out a chuckle.
"on her way down. I think she went to see Lo this morning."
My body quelled with rage and my blood began to burn. I had my fists tightly clenched and I could feel my jaw tightening.
He got her hurt. Nearly killed. All because he had to put his fucking dick in someone that he didn't know to make himself feel better. Motherfucker.
She was still so loyal to him. I hated it. He didn't fucking deserve her loyalty. He's immature, a child. He deserved it when I shot him. I wish I could've killed him. Sometimes I forget that I'm not a part of this family yet. I have no right to do certain things.
Whatever unresolved anger I have toward Lo, I'll let it out on James.
I nodded and tried to hide the utter disgust I had for Hayes son. I'd bet all my houses on this,Hayes has the exact same disregard for his own son.
The doors of the house swung open and I heard her voice. She was speaking to one of the housekeepers in Italian. It made me feel all the fucking nerves in my body. I enjoyed listening to the sound of her voice. I enjoyed being able to look at her face in entirety. Cause God, she was fucking beautiful. And I hated how much power she had over me because of that, amongst other things. If anyone knew just how much control she has over me, I'd be fucked.
"bella, Kingston is here. We're in my study." her father called, and I immediately heard the clicking sound of her heels walking toward the door.
My gaze followed her every move until it settled on her face. I couldn't stare at her body with her father right here.
"Mr Kingston" she said, and tipped her head. I always have to fight back a laugh when she says that. I'll make her moan that name one day.
"Ms Hayes." I responded. She smiled.
"I believe you have some work for me?" she asked, and I could see the excitement behind her eyes.
"yes mija, I know you get excited about stupid shit like this but we need your help. 7. million. dollars." Hayes said.
Her eyes grew wide, and then settled as she looked from her papa to me. The dangling diamonds sparkled from her ears as she moved around, bright tennis bracelet shining from her slender wrist and of course, our matching ring on her finger.
"okay, let's do this then."
She settled at her father's massive desk with her laptop, a stack of papers and a smile on her face.
She was going to need us as she didn't fully understand how the business was handled, there were grey areas Hayes and I didn't necessarily share with her for her own safety.
"his name never picked up in the system before." she said, lifting her eyes from the screen. Hayes and I each pulled out some papers to review incase we could find anything suspicious.
I shook my head.
She kept going, keys clacking and eyes moving left to right.
She's perfect.
After about an hour of consecutive research, the office started to look like a crime scene with all the scattered papers.
She had a highlighter in her left hand, her hair in a messy bun and she was pacing up and down the room with the contract in her other hand.
"it actually looks really good." she said, and looked between her papa and I.
"Kat, you don't think it's suspicious that he has so much contraband?" I asked.
She walked over to me and put her arm on the table. I fought hard, so hard not to look down her shirt. That had become my new favorite sight.
"look at his bottom line. His company makes so much every year. It would be easy for someone with such a high stature to get their hands on something as simple as cocaine with that amount of dough."
I stared at her face for a few seconds, to admire how perfect she was for me. If there was a God, I'd thank him for this creature before me.
Even Hayes seemed fascinated by his daughter.
"so, mija, you think it's a good idea?" he asked her.
She pondered for a second.
"I think it's the opportunity of a lifetime. There'll be a lot to do beforehand, prepping the canals, briefing the CI's, it'll be a whole thing but it's worth it. Between the both of you it would cost about one, maybe one and a half to actually move it, but that's not bad. You'd be making a two-point five profit. " she rambled.
I smiled, as did Hayes.
I was about to say something when my phone rang. It was Jaxon.
I picked up the phone and stepped outside.
He sounded frantic. His words were enough to almost knock me off my feet. I couldn't believe what he was telling me.
I almost crushed my phone so hard the screen cracked. I shut my eyes tightly and could feel the blood drumming in my ears, my head. I was about to go off my fucking head.
I walked into Hayes office. I took one look at Katerina.
She looked at me intensely. All I could see now was blood.
"Katerina, step outside for a minute please." I said, as gently as possible.
She followed my instructions with no hesitation at all.
Before she passed me, she looked into my eyes. And I could see it in hers. She was afraid of me. She was afraid of seeing me like this. Though it made my heart fucking ache, I was afraid of myself too. Because I had no idea what I was about to do, all I knew was that I was going to lose control.
She clutched onto my arm. It sent a cool rush to my veins, and looking back into her eyes felt like what an addict would after line.
"whatever it is, Axe, just come back to me in one piece." she said, her voice nothing but a whisper.
I never said a word, because all I had was a bitter taste in my mouth.
She walked away and I stepped into Hayes' study.
"load up. Now. We're taking a trip." I said. I grit my teeth.
Hayes had a smile on his face.
"where are we headed?" he asked.
"to get revenge."
I gripped the steering wheel while listening to Hayes reload a pistol and my .38 for me.
"you sure it's him?" he asked me.
I could see the ring she gave me shining in the glow of the streetlights.
"yeah."
I was pushing 160mph. I was at my bar in no time at all.
I stepped off the car and cracked my knuckles. Hayes was close behind me.
I had my gun cocked and in my hand, blood, nicotine from the cigarette I had in the car on the way, and whisky coursing through my veins right now.
"everyone clear out. NOW." I called out. And they looked at my gun as they all flashed out of the bar.
The music had stopped. The lights were all on and a dead silence fell on the place.
I glanced at the bar. I knew it was him.
He had his hand over the rim of the glass. I could see the letter 'C' engraved on it, shining in the red lighting of the bar.
I held tightly on the gun. If I shot from here, I know I'd never miss. But a bullet would be too easy.
A few things ran through my head as I walked toward James Capello.
Enucleation was at the top of the list.
I wasn't really focused when I approached him. It took nothing of my strength to lift him up by his collar and slam him into the near by wall.
He had so much fear in his eyes but he was trying to hide it.
Hayes stood close by. His eyes were bloodshot and he was going to draw his gun any second.
When I struck James across the face, I felt so much tension releasing. I held my gun against his throat and he struggled for air.
I threw him into the shelves, watching all the bottles crash and land on him. He coughed as I pulled him back up.
Enucleation.
I pulled out the knife from my waistband.
I held his head against the bar counter, and took out his fucking left eye. I barely watched as it disconnected from him and clattered to the ground.
He screamed. And he whimpered. And he begged me to stop.
I realized I hadn't even said a word to him.
"I'm done. Kingston. Hayes. I'm done. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he said, and cried. He held a cloth he found over where his eye used to be with shaky hands. I stood in a corner and caught my breath.
"you're done?" Hayes asked. His fists were so tight I could see the blood leaving them. His tattoo stained hands were wrapped around the gun.
Blood and pus poured out of his eye socket. It was actually really fucking disgusting.
"all of it. Kingston you bankrupt me. I have nothing left. All my bars are gone. I never had much anyway. It's all gone. I have nothing left." he said, his voice breaking.
I pulled him up by his hair and he whimpered. Loudly. Like a fucking cat.
"you think I'm going to mercy kill you James? Do you have any idea who you fucked with?" I said, my head was filling with blood and I was far from finished with this fucker.
"I know. What I did was stupid. He slept with my sister. So I went after his. It was stupid I know. But I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he said, in tears.
Hayes walked closer and pressed his gun to James' forehead.
"you think sorry is going to fucking cut it? Huh?You pissed me off, James. It isn't safe when someone makes me angry, especially going after my daughter. Big mistake, kid. Right now, I want to carve your fucking heart out and keep it as a souvenir," he said, his voice was terrifying actually. I actually shuddered.
He pulled out his blade and shoved it in James stomach. Unsurprisingly he screamed like a cat again. I had another knife in my pocket, luckily.
This one went in his arm.
So far, he had lost an eye, a knife in his stomach and one in his arm.
"I have nothing. I have nothing to give you. If you let me go, I'll work for you. Whatever you want me to do. I'm at your mercy." he said, unable to lift his head because of all the blood pouring out of his eye.
"you're fucking right. You have nothing. You're the last male Capello now. Your entire family line will die with you." I said, and lifted his hand to start breaking bones. His pleas were coming out as broken sobs.
"My father warned me about you two, I didn't believe him." He says, voice hoarse and strained. "I made a mistake going after her. I didn't know what I was doing, I was trying to make a name for myself, like you did." He says. I look briefly at Hayes, and he's already looking back at me. "The thing with power, James, is that you have to be willing to do anything for it. But you don't go after an innocent girl for a stupid thing like revenge. If you picked your battles wisely, you wouldn't have been dealing with two Dons. We got our names the right way." Hayes says.
Hayes didn't stop after he spoke, and proceeded with his left hand. No one truly knows how bad it is to have the bones in your hand broken repeatedly, it's a kind of punishment we were taught in Italy. Sometimes they'd break it, reset it and break it again. If I had more time and the voice in my head wasn't telling me to fucking end this, I would cut out every nerve in his body. It's unbelievable how dark my mind had gotten.
This was enough. But I want him to beg for me to kill him.
Once I finished with his hand, Hayes began to pound on his already destroyed face. I have to admit, Hayes was an animal. It was fucking incredible to see this side of him, though I know for me, I'm going so far because it's her.
I ruffled through my drawers and found my blowtorch. Jaxon was at my desk watching a movie. I looked at him in disbelief as I assumed he already left.
"Jax, do you know what's fucking happening out there?" I asked.
"shit, Axe, I didn't know you started already." he said, glancing at my knuckles.
"what the fuck do you mean by that?"
"well I thought you'd at least have a conversation with the man first." he said, unbuttoning his coat and pulling out his gun.
I knew he'd want a part in this. He cared for Katerina. And that's how it is in the mafia. It's hard to find something or someone to care for. So when you do, you fight, tooth and nail. If it's worth it, bleed for it. You fight like hell for it.
As we made our way back, Jaxon removed James' shirt and I almost couldn't recognize his face. Hayes had busted knuckles and a look of satisfaction on his face.
He left him alive for us to play around.
I looked at the blowtorch in my battered hands.
I started from his neck. Jaxon was mad. Really mad. And he shoved his own blade into James chest.
He screamed and screamed as I burned him. Leaving marks all over his body like he did to her.
In my mind I saw flashes of when I saw her on the floor. I saw the blood dripping from her face. I saw the blood from her side where he stabbed her. And more and more blood filled in my head.
I want to set him on fire.
Hayes shocked me, he really did.
He pulled out his pistol and fired 2 shots. When a gun goes off you don't really follow the bullet. You focus on the sound. On the rush it gives you. One in either of James legs.
Hayes came closer to James. I could tell he had fully avenged his daughter.
He grabbed his blood soaked chin and looked at his face.
"when you're burning in hell, tell your father who fucking did this to you."
Jaxon winced. So did I. That was below the belt. He walked off into the street. He took my keys and drove my car to his house I think.
James was on the brink of death. Blood was pouring from everywhere, his face, his chest, his side, his arm, his legs. The man was now unrecognizable.
He was losing consciousness fast, I was surprised he made it for so long.
I looked at him one last time.
"just so you know, James, if it were any one else, I would've let you live"
Jaxon had returned after stabbing him with gasoline in his hand.
We threw his body into the back of the truck Jax was driving and he was well prepared. The tarp was there already. I was sure James would die by the time we got to his house.
I needed to do this, alone.
"keep the engine running." I said.
I threw his body into his house and took a look at him. He was dead.
I poured the gasoline in the house and over his body.
I struck the match and ran for the truck.
The flames engulfed his house.
James Capello would become ash.
Jaxon and I were silent for the rest of the drive.
He dropped me off at Kat's house. He told me he wanted to go home and rest, but I think he knew I wanted to be with Kat. I needed to be with her after a night like this. I'd always find myself racing home to her.
The entire ride home, all I could about was the fact I hadn't lost control like that in a long time. I hadn't lost my sense of conscience. It wasn't something I liked about myself, but it was never something I could change. This evil overtook my body at times. I hadn't had such dark thoughts in a long time, not counting Tyler. But when I thought about it, I realized it was because it's her. She fucked with my head in so many ways. I don't know how I'll act with other men around her. I've never been so possessive in my life. She really is making me insane. Wouldn't have it any other way, though.
It was 1am. I noticed my car wasn't in the driveway of Hayes house.
I walked in and Kat was sitting on the steps. Her eyes were heavy, she was crying.
She stood up and ran into my arms.
She backed away immediately.
"please tell me it's not-" she said, her eyes filling with tears.
"it's not mine, my angel. I'm fine. It's okay." I said, and she shut her eyes tightly. I pressed a kiss on the top of her head.
"you were worried about me?" I asked, and I heard her sniffle against my chest.
"just shut up and let me hug you."
I relaxed against her body, feeling her arms wrapped around my neck. She was straining to stand on her toes so I lifted her off the ground.
A few minutes passed and she let go.
She looked back into my eyes as I wrapped my palms around her neck. My hands were nice and warm against her icy body.
"papa called me. He'll be back home soon." she said and I nodded.
"think you can stitch this for me?" I asked, and she looked at my hand and gasped.
I sat in the kitchen, she pulled out Johnnie Walker blue and the first aid kit. When I marry her, I'll make sure we take this tradition with us. I'll intentionally bust up my knuckles so we can do this over and over again in our own home.
"he's gone, Kat." I said, as she started working on my hand. I felt her small, soft palm wrap around mine.
She never looked up but I saw her body still suddenly.
"you didn't have to do that." she said, her voice trembling.
"you know I wouldn't have let him live."
She remained silent.
"I know you'll kill anyone for me. It's... horrifying." she paused and took a deep breath. "you just can't get hurt." she said, and stared into my eyes. "promise." I said. I rested my palm on her tear stained cheek and my hand tangled in her hair.
She stitched my hand, she talked about how scared she was, and the night faded into the glasses of whisky. The pain was gone and so were the monsters. It gave me a sick feeling of satisfaction that I murdered a man mercilessly after he hurt my girl.
No one would touch her and live.