Tyler couldn't bare to look any longer, already being held by Dante with her arms behind her back. Jules' state was awful; he had taken a severe beating from Reno's bat, only to be pounded on the back and the chest with Bronsted's brass knuckles. However, he hadn't faltered, blood along the corners of his jaw, leaking onto his chest, open wounds all across his stomach and his back. His wrists had completely dislocated that his fingers had started to turn purple and green, identical to the bruises that had already started to form.
He was barely even awake, his breathing terribly shallow that it sounded as if he would faint. The only reason Tyler had to be held was because she had ran in front of Bronsted and almost had the impact of brass knuckles directly on her nose, stopping at the last second.
"He's going to die!" she had yelled, pointing to his swollen body and all the blood that was trickling onto the floor. "You promised you wouldn't kill him." Bronsted, who had been zoned into his punches, harshly gripped her by the collar and shoved her backwards into the waiting arms of Dante, who restrained her with his hands. That didn't stop her from screeching, "You fucking promised! Look at him, he's already dying!"
Bronsted was a boxer, born and raised as one, talented at that. Hence he lifted his fists at each sides of his head as protection while he examined which spot he would pounce next. As he prepared his next hit, he had bellowed, "He can stop it if he wants to by telling us where Nathan is." Then, his fist had connected with the side of his abdomen, straight into his left kidney, and Jules' body contorted again as he gushed out a long exhale. Only his legs quivered since he could no longer mice his fingers and the sight made Tyler cry desperately for it to stop.
By the time Bronsted had grown tired and no longer wanted to continue, Jules was barely even moving, his breathing quiet and barely even making his chest rise. If it hadn't been for the pulse Bronsted had to check, they would have assumed him to be dead. "Guess it's Molly's turn," he whispered as he breathed heavily, wiping the end of his forehead from the sweat. "This guy's tough."
"He'll definitely die if Molly goes," Walker commented with a snicker.
"Dante." Tyler eyed him over her shoulder, the tears overwhelming her eyes as she begged for her older brother to agree with her. "It's enough," she whispered in a shaky breath, not wanting to witness anymore of these atrocities; Jules did not deserve this. "He doesn't know, let him go."
Dante glanced towards Jules, his body enveloppes in injuries and wounds that would probably be fatal if he didn't get medical attention anytime soon. It also caused his chest to feel tight since he knew Jules was not a bad bloke, instead got involved with the wrong people and ended up in a dangerous gang. However, there was no empathy when matters grew this serious. He bit his bottom lip, seeing as Molly began to open his bag and reveal the fearing tools he had brought, even the nitrile gloves that he pulled on his fingers and stretched them out to make sure they fit.
When the other brothers stared at him with widened eyes, a bit frightened by how diligent he was as he laid each of his tools side by side on a long silver platter, he shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, "You all have seen this countless times, why do you act surprise every time?"
Reno folded his arms. "You enjoy doing this...it's weird."
"How is it any different than you beating them with a bat?"
"At least I don't poke people's eyeballs out for fun," Reno retorted with a frown. He considered himself much different than his younger brother to which he was certain could be categorized as a psychopath.
"Doesn't burn them either," Walker defended Reno.
Molly shrugged his shoulders, chuckling in embarrassment. "We all have different preferences."
"You better not do anything permanent to him Molly." That tone filled with such hatred and determination, almost radiating with vengeance, caused all of their bloods to run cold. Their eyes turned to a fuming Tyler who observed all the tools layered side by side, eyeing Molly who panicked by her voice. "Or else I'll do the exact same thing to you."
Molly swallowed hard, scratching the side of his face. He never even imagined what he had done to others happening to himself, but he was sure it would be pain he would not be able to bare. As Molly finally had it all ready, he exhaled an easing sigh and grabbed a needle. "First, I want to see how you'll react to being burned—"
"Hold on."
His movements halted. Bronsted was the one annoyed by this interruption, throwing his hands in the air as he complained, "What is it this time? Can't we get this over with?"
They all stared at Dante who seemed lost in thought, lowering his gaze and staring at the cracks across the floors. This tortue would never get through to Jules, he was trained too perfectly. He would let himself die before revealing any detail, and there was always the possibility that he didn't even know anything. However, something in Dante wasn't letting him accept that option, but they needed to find a different way of crossing him, making him feel cornered.
And that was when a thought crossed his mind, finally igniting the lightbulb he had been waiting to shine.
They were confused when his eyes diverted to Tyler in front of him, captured in his grasp. Until he said in a tightened tone, "Do it on Tess."
The entire time he was being tortured, Jules head had been lowered, appearing to be asleep as he took every single hit, his jaw gritting while he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't seem phased, letting the hits pile and pile to the point that the pain didn't mean much to him. However, when he heard that single line, his head shot upwards and he instantly met the gaze of Dante who knew he had him. It evoked a reaction and that was all he needed to know that this idea was going to work.
Reno, Bronsted and Walker noticed the sudden energy in Jules eyes and movements as he glanced towards Molly's tools and then Tyler; neither of them had been able to make him react that way.
Molly repeated, "On Tessa?"
Dante never teared his eyes away from Jules as he nodded his head, a victorious smirk pulling his lips. "Yeah, everything you were going to do to him, do it on Tessa. You don't stop until he tells us where Nate is."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jules attempted to shout through a raspy cracking voice. "She has nothing to do with this—you'd do that to your own sister?!"
"It's fine, I can take it, Jules." She frantically nodded her head, forcing a smile as she saw the worry contort Jules features, Molly advancing towards her with his kit as he squeezed his gloves even tighter. "You don't have to say anything, alright? I'll be fine, let me do this for you."
"I don't think this is a good idea..." Bronsted mumbled under his breath.
Reno swallowed hard. "Me neither."
"Tessa, you can't take it!" Jules cried. "I know you can't! Leave her out of this!"
"Then tell us where he is, Jules," Dante asked louder.
Jules quickly shook his head. "I don't know where he is!"
"Then you better hope Tessa can take it—"
"I fucking can't tell you!"
The way the room fell into a heavy silence, one could hear a pin drop. At that moment, Dante knew he had cracked him.
Finally, acknowledgement that he did know where Nate was located. He had withstood so much of a harsh beating, but he couldn't bare witnessing Tyler undergo excruciating pain because of him. Jules had never meant to reveal this, but he never thought that they would turn on their own sister. He cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a second, attempting to find a reason to reconsider admitting the truth. But nothing was worth letting Tyler get hurt. He exhaled a small breath before he admitted, "I can't tell you. I'm one of the very few that knows where they are. If I tell you, Wolf will know it was me who betrayed them and they'll kill me—"
"That's not my problem."
He had never seen such coldness from Dante. It was almost as if he was a bloodthirsty demon until he got his hand on Nate again. Jules still attempted to resolve this without needing to use Tessa. "They'll kill me slowly and painfully. Please, don't make me do this."
Dante swallowed hard, seeing the desperation in his eyes. He seemed to attempt to break through the chains but no longer had any strength to succeed. Dante's priority was finding Nate and he would do anything necessary to do so. Soon enough, he nodded his head towards Molly, motioning for him to approach.
"Don't..." Jules seemed to be at its wits ends, a ferocious beasts whimpering as he saw the loss flashing across his face. "Don't do this to her, please."
They both ignored him, Molly reaching for his needle and beginning to burn the end with a lighter. He waited until the end of the needle appeared to be slightly golden before reaching for Tyler's face and turning it to the side. Bronsted and Reno both watched attentively, also wishing that it hadn't come to this but knowing how twisted their family had always been. As for Walker, he closed his eyes, unable to watch this scenery.
The moment Molly's needle touched Tyler's face right on her chin, her screeching cry loudly echoed across the room, her entire body beginning to tremble. It even caused Molly to pull away, glancing towards Dante behind her who motioned for him to continue.
"It's...it's hurting her too much," Molly commented quietly.
Reno had to close his eyes at her scream and Bronsted was no longer sure if this idea was as smart as they initially had thought, but neither of them said anything.
Dante furrowed his brows. "Keep going."
"I'll tell you!"
All their eyes turned to Jules who was breathing heavily, unable to bare this sight. Molly had been meant to carve her entire name across her skin with a heated needle and that sort of pain was too extreme for one who wasn't used to it. Hence Tyler's excruciating scream that he knew would keep him up for countless nights. He needed to protect her and if it meant defying his own rules then that was worth it.
He cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a moment. He had never thought that he would betray his own side in this way, but for the sake of Tyler, this meant nothing. "Nate's at the—"
"No."
A voice by the entrance interrupted him, all of their heads twisting as they glanced towards the ceiling. They heard creaking as the individual came down the steps, finally exhaling a sharp sigh when they landed on their feet. He dragged his palms across his dress pants, attempting to remove any dust particles that had stuck to him.
Dante wasn't sure whether to smile or frown from his presence.
He stepped around Jules, examining all the wounds that covered him, before his eyes diverted to a trembling Tyler who was visibly fearing for her own life. As much as he knew how terrible this lifestyle was and could be, this sight fuelled his blood with anger, feeling a sudden warmth grow right below his skin and make his muscles tingle. He wanted to throw punches at every single person in this room, and although his rank was lower than theirs, the fright was visibly across their faces.
"Let him down, now." None of them moved, until he yelled again, "Now!"
Bronsted was the one to reach the wheel and twist it counterclockwise, seeing the chain begin to lower and Jules final able to breathe as his body collapsed onto the floor, his face hitting the cold concrete.
His eyes turned to Dante and Molly, pointing a threatening finger to them. "You both better step away from her."
They obeyed, letting Tyler stand on her own and feel the burn that was wounding her skin and aching harder every single second. Once she felt their grips released, her first instinct was to rush to Jules' side, reaching for the restraints around his wrists and loosening them before removing them completely, seeing the abnormal colours starting to fade from Jules fingers. His wounds were severe, definitely had a multiple broken ribs as well, and the fact that he struggled to breathe frightened her.
They hadn't had their answers yet, but no one even wanted to see what would happen if they defied him.
It was Dante who spoke first, shoving his hands in his front pockets before hissing, "What the hell are you doing here, Ralphy?"