Damon
I cackle with glee as Andrea drags our hostage into the trunk of our car. He put up a good fight, managing to get a sharp right swing right to Andrea's eye. The flesh is swollen and starting to turn purple.
I was completely prepared to jump from the car to come to my sons aid. The only thing that stopped me was Davide clasping my shoulder and demanding that Andrea had it.
That doesn't mean this fuck head isn't going to the kennels, though. He's associated with Dimitri and that's reason enough. But to hit my son? There's a price to pay.
Maybe I'll let Andrea chop off the hand he used to hit my son. An eye for an eye and the world goes blind isn't a saying in my circles.
"Get off of me you demented fuck!" The cowardly guy shrieks, thrashing in Andrea's hold as he tries to stuff him in the trunk.
He's causing a scene. If he gets much louder, people are going to start looking out of their windows. The neighborhood we're in isn't great at all.
The houses are in various states of disrepair and the people are living well below the poverty line. Dimitri sent this man to collect debts from this small family, knowing that they couldn't pay up.
If we didn't make an appearance when we did, the man would've slaughtered the whole family without remorse, killing their two young children. Nobody deserves to be shot in their own home because they had no choice but to take from a loan shark.
When Davide and Andrea bursted through the door, the man already had his gun pulled out and aimed at the fathers head.
I was hoping to catch Dimitri here, ending all of this right here and now. He's a slippery fucker and decided to give this job to one of his close men. He'll most definitely know where Dimitri is hiding.
We need to act quickly. If Dimitri doesn't hear from this man soon, he's going to jump ship and go into hiding again. That means there's no time to torture beyond the necessary means.
That'll have to be saved for later. I'm going to have fun finding and torturing the slimy Russian. The plans I have for him would make most faint in shock. There's a reason they call me The Devil.
I'm the judge, jury, and executioner. I take lives without remorse or fear of judgement. Even the police don't come anywhere near me. Not when I give hefty donations to their precincts. Plus, the dirt I have dug up on several officers.
"I'm so fucking sick of this." I hear Andrea complain, followed by two thuds.
Turning to look over my shoulder, I see the man passed out in the trunk with a large knot starting to bloom on his forehead. Andrea holds his gun still for a second, then puts it back in his shoulder holster.
"He better be awake by the time we get to the kennels, son." I say through gritted teeth.
"I didn't hit him that hard. He'll be fine." Slamming the trunk shut, Andrea enters the passenger seat and nods to our driver.
Davide taps his foot on the floor, cracking his fingers while the driver navigates the streets of New York. We pass through old neighborhoods, run down apartments, until we finally reach tall skyscrapers, passing them by as well.
We come to the industrial part of town, pulling into what looks like a dilapidated warehouse. I know much better than that. I bought the warehouse several years ago under a fake name and a bank account in the Cayman Islands.
I kept the exterior the same, only adding security cameras and motion sensors. Along with buying the two warehouses beside it, we added kennels under the floors.
The door that leads to the kennels is tightly guarded and is a solid metal. Only a select few men have access to the code and fingerprint scanner. The criminals that are down there will never see the light of day again.
Chain link fences with barbed wire on top wrap around the buildings. The chain link was already there when we bought the buildings. I added the barbed wire under the guise of keeping squatters out.
"Mama wasn't clear about when you can get out of the car. I'm thinking you should stay here while Andrea and I take care of the man." Davide states nonchalantly.
His tone holds an undercurrent of teasing. I don't know how I get a son like Davide. No matter the situation, he always brings levity. He's the comedian in this family. Without him, I'm pretty sure our whole family would be more grim than we already are.
"Don't make me smack you, boy. You don't have enough brain cells left in there to take another hit to the head."
Davide places his hand over his heart dramatically. "Ow, Dad. You wound me."
Rolling my eyes, I step out of the car once it's stopped. Freya specified I couldn't get out during the stakeout. She knew that if I found the man, we would take him to the kennels. She would've said something if she didn't want me getting out of the car here.
My two soldiers guarding the entrance to the door nod their heads in respect as I approach.
"We have a new man coming in. Help Andrea unload him from the car. He's a feisty one." I command.
My soldier rushes to follow my command and grabs the quickly awakening man by his collar. The bump to the head from Andrea's gun must have made his head foggy.
He walks like a drunk into the warehouse, not blinking an eye when he's pushed down the steps towards the kennels after I unlock the door.
"Feisty, huh?" The guard jokes, turning towards me with a smirk once the man is secured.
I'm not offended by his sarcasm. I make sure to treat my men like family. Instead of ruling by fear, I rule with respect. My soldiers are paid handsomely and know that they can come to me if they ever have a problem.
And while I do demand respect, I also know how to take a joke. Balance is what keeps my men from turning on me. I show them respect and expect it in return.
"Thomas, go guard that door." I wave him off with a lightheaded smile, turning back to watching Dimitri's man cuffed to a metal chair.
He's slowly coming to, the smell of his fear saturating the room. It's the same room Alessandro tortured his former therapist in, the man's blood still stained on the concrete floor.
Grabbing the second chair in the room, I swing it around and sit on it backwards in front of the man. His eyes widen and he bites down on his bottom lip.
I give him a rough tap under his chin to catch his attention. "Right here, buddy," I point to my eyes, "You give me what I want, you'll make it out of here with your life. Don't, and I'll let my boy over there slowly detach your fingers from your body."
A lie. He's not making it out of here alive. I would let Andrea take his fingers off without a second thought.
Coughing up a loogie, the man tries to spit it in my face. It's a move I've seen more than I can count. They all think they're brave at first. That is until I dig my claws into them.
Standing, I kick the chair back and deliver a harsh punch to his cheek. His skin instantly bursts under the force of my knuckles. Without giving him a second to collect himself, I repeat the move.
Spittle flies from his mouth and his eye starts to swell. My chest throbs and each breath I take is rapid. God, I hope I didn't split anything open. Freya won't be too pleased with me. I'm already on thin ice.
"Catch, Dad." Andrea tosses me a cloth and I use it to clean the criminals blood from my knuckles.
Gaining my composure, I grab my chair and retake my position. "Let's start off with an easier question. What's your name?"
The man looks up at me through swollen brown eyes. His lips are red, turning up in a bloody smirk. If this man is as close to Dimitri as I think, it'll be hard to break him. He wouldn't betray his boss after just a couple punches.
"No dice, huh? Fine. He's all yours, Andrea. Make sure he doesn't pass out." Standing, I leave the room to my son's.
The sounds coming from behind the door are like music to my fucked up ears. The man inside screams and cries over the course of the next hour. Andrea knows exactly how to give out the most amount of pain possible without making the person pass out.
A creaking sound emits from behind me, the door opening. "He's ready to talk." Davide announces.
The sight that greets me is not a pleasant one. No, it's much worse. He no longer resembles a man. His fingers on his right hand are missing along with his toes. Don't get me started on his crotch area.
God damn. I guess that's one way to get information out of somebody. If anybody held a knife to my dick, I would tell them whatever they wanted to know. Well, unless it involved my family. I would rather live without my cock than rat out my own family.
Shuddering, I once again approach the man and ask, "Are you ready to open your mouth and speak?"
He whimpers while nodding. I already know his name. I just want to see if he's going to be honest with me.
"My name is Jared," He coughs, blood dripping down from his split bottom lip, "Dimitri is hiding out in a brothel on the south side. He switches safe houses every three days. I'll give you the complete list of all his safe houses."
I can tell he's being truthful. Jared has nothing left to lose. We both know he's not making it out of here alive.
"We have your phone. I need you to call Dimitri and tell him you want a meeting at the house. Tell him something went wrong and you need his help. Any funny business and you'll never see your nuts again." I hold a knife to his family jewels, making him whimper.
Andrea hands over Jared's phone and he tells me the password to unlock it.
"Dimitri's number. Quickly now. You've been missing for over an hour and we don't need him more suspicious than he already is." I snap my fingers and Jared blurts out my targets number.
It rings several times before the man himself answers in an heavily accented voice, "Jared! Are you okay? I was about to come and check on you. This was supposed to be an in and out job."
Pressing the knife harder to Jared's twin pair, I warn him with my eyes. Fuck this up and I'll hold no mercy for him. He won't have the privilege of having a swift death.
"Something went wrong, boss. The dad had a gun. He shot me in my leg and I managed to barricade myself in their bathroom. You need to come and get me out of here. I'm bleeding out. I think the bullet nicked an artery."
I'll give credit where credit is due, Jared played his part perfectly. He added just enough fear in his voice to make his lie believable. Thinking about it for a second, I realize that the fear he's expressing is real.
The other line goes eerily silent. Will Dimitri fall for it? If he cares for Jared as much as he claims to, then he would be there at the drop of a hat.
"I'm on my way." The call ends and I smirk.
Jared gives me the locations of all Dimitri's safe houses. I've gotten what I needed. Walking towards the door, I turn over my shoulder and say, "I think I'll keep you here for now. You'll be good leverage if need be."
The boys and I exit the room, the sound of Jared's enraged screams following us.
"Grab as many men as you can and meet us at this address. Park a block away and make yourselves hidden. We got him, boys." I command my men.
The whoop and holler, rushing to do my bidding while I grab my phone. Time to call Freya and tell her the good news.
If everything goes right, I'll be home before midnight. It's time to pay the piper, Dimitri.
Your penance is coming.