The Butcher

by Aaron, Celia

  Jorge pointed a finger at me. “Shut the fuck up.” He grabbed an icepick and returned to David. “Want to threaten me some more?” With a quick stab, he plunged the pick into David’s shoulder.

  David didn’t even flinch. “Your mistake there is using the icepick without any heat.” He smiled at Jorge. “Icepicks are basically like large needles. They barely scar, and they can’t kill a man unless you hit him in the right organ. If you’re using an icepick, though, you aren’t going for the kill. You want pain. If you don’t heat it first, the pain is harsh at first, then bearable. An icepick that’s been over a flame? That’s the real pain.”

  “David don’t.” I blinked away the threatening tears.

  Jorge gawked at him, then pulled the pick out and stabbed him in the thigh.

  David sighed. “The most painful thing about this is what a fucking amateur you are.”

  “Shut up!” Jorge punched him in the face.

  His lip split, David kept smiling. “Does Hector know you hit like a toddler?”

  Jorge threw another fist, then another.

  David didn’t stop grinning at him, a trickle of blood trailing down his chin.

  The door opened, and Hector walked in, his face stoic as he surveyed the room. Jorge backed up and re-took his position on the wall.

  “Started without me?” Hector raised a brow.

  Jorge shrugged. “He kept running his mouth.”

  Hector tsked and turned to me. “My little girl. You’re ruined now.” He mimicked sadness—there’s no way he actually felt that emotion, or any emotion at all. “But against all odds, Lorenzo still wants you. Your little kidnap routine convinced him, David. So, well done there. Lorenzo is the sort of man that, if he sees someone else covet an item, it makes him want that item more.”

  “I’m not an item.” I put as much bite into the words as I could. “And I’ll never marry that piece of shit.”

  Hector slapped me so hard my ears rang. “I’ll not accept such talk from my little girl.” He fisted my shirt and slapped me again.

  I tasted blood and tried to pull away from his hold but got nowhere.

  “You will do what I say when I say it!” Another slap, this one like a second coat sealing in the pain.

  David yelled, but Hector didn’t stop, the back of his hand smashing into my cheekbone. “And you will marry Lorenzo and be his perfect fucktoy, do you understand?” He grabbed me by the hair and forced my stinging eyes to his. “I asked you if you understood, baby girl.”

  His stare—the one that used to cut through my heart with icy fear—infuriated me. “Fuck you!” I screamed, then spit a wad of blood onto his nose.

  He let go and stumbled back, his hand going to his face. “You little bitch!” He rushed forward and yanked open my shirt. “Give me that!” He pointed to the icepick embedded in David’s thigh.

  Jorge pulled it out as David roared for Hector not to touch me.

  With a rough shove, he sank the pick into my shoulder in the same spot where Jorge had pierced David. It was only then I realized that David had been lying about the pain. It was lightning covered in acid, the shock of the injury and the burst of agony the metal caused. I couldn’t hold in my scream.

  David yelled and rocked his chair until Jorge ran over and steadied him from the back. My head lolled forward, the pain in my shoulder somehow sharp and dull at the same time.

  Hector bent over in my face again. “I think I’ll leave it there while you consider your apology.” Straightening, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped my blood from his face and hand. “I’ll be back in an hour. If you haven’t changed your tune, I’ll let Jorge have a run at you in every way he wants. After all, you’re a rotten piece of meat now. May as well let the dog have a go.”

  “What about him?” Jorge shook David’s chair.

  Hector paused at the door. “I want him to see my Angelica come back into my arms. Or, if she doesn’t, I’d like for him to watch you fuck her and bleed her. After that, we’ll have another talk with Serge—only to be diplomatic of course, since this is his man—and then kill him.”

  Jorge didn’t respond, just followed his master out of the room and closed the door.

  I held in my sob until I heard the door at the top of the stairs close.

  “Angel.” David’s voice broke. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, but the movement brought a cry of pain.

  “Don’t move.”

  “I’m sorry.” Tears rolled down my face and plopped onto my exposed breasts.

  “Sorry? You don’t have a fucking thing to be sorry for.”

  “If I’d just stayed asleep.” I lifted my head slowly and met his eyes. “If I’d just kept pretending that I didn’t live here anymore, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “No.” His chair creaked as he struggled with his bindings. “This isn’t your fault. I wouldn’t have cared if you were still asleep like you said, I would have taken you all the same. I would have made you remember the girl I knew when we were kids. The girl I love.”

  “They’re going to kill you.” The words broke me, and I sobbed hard and low, as if someone had punched me right in the gut. The pain in my heart overshadowed the icepick in my shoulder and made me lightheaded. “I’m going to have to watch them kill you.”

  “Don’t give up.” His chair groaned and creaked even more. “Please, Angel. Don’t give up.”

  “I’ve been here before.” I cast a glance to the table. “They’ll break me again. I thought I was strong, but I’m not.”

  “You are. No matter what they do to me, you have to stay strong. Get out of this hell and live your dream. Travel. See the world.”

  “Not without you.” I met his eyes. “I can’t do it without you.”

  “Yes, you can.” He stopped struggling and sighed. “You have to, Angel. I need to know that you will keep fighting.” His voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Please tell me you won’t stop fighting for your life. The life you deserve.”

  “I can’t do it.” I shook my head.

  “You can. Promise me.”

  “I need you.”

  “You’ll always have me. Always.” He blinked a few times. “There’s never been anyone else but you, Angel. Only you. And it doesn’t matter where I go from here, there never will be anyone else. But if this is where it ends for me, I can’t be strong and take it head-on if I don’t know you’re going to keep fighting.”

  “David, please.” I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t find any air in this dark, damp prison. My lungs burned, and my tears came in a torrent.

  “I need this, Angel. I can’t be strong without you.”

  His words seared onto my soul, and I clenched my eyes shut, willing myself to calm down. He needed me, and I was going to pieces instead of doing what I had to do. But the thought of letting him go was such a deep, painful wound that it took every ounce of my willpower to back away from the edge of despair and focus on him.

  He still looked at me, even though there was wetness on his cheeks. He didn’t give in.

  “Steady, Angel.”

  I sniffled and lifted my chin.

  “That’s my girl.”

  I didn’t trust myself to speak yet. So I gave him a small nod.

  He let out a long breath. “Thank you. I know it’s hard. I know. But you have everything you need to see this through. Play along with Blanco, marry that idiot Lorenzo, then escape. Open his throat if you have to, but just get the fuck out of there and disappear.”

  I ignored the obvious hole in his plan—the part where he wasn’t in it. But I swallowed my dissent. “I’m going to do it. Be strong. For you.”

  His eyes glistened, and he opened his mouth to say more, but then his granite countenance returned, his eyes like flint, as footsteps clacked down the hallway.

  My gorge rose, and a shiver racked my body. Jorge had already come back. It was time for me to give in… and David to die.

  30


  David

  The door opened. I turned to steel and promised myself I wouldn’t make a single fucking noise, no matter what they did to me. I couldn’t put those horrible memories into Angel’s head. Not of my screams.

  “David.” Vince walked in and closed the door behind him. He dragged a chair from the far corner of the room and placed it in front of me, then sat down.

  I shot a quick glance at Angel and shook my head. It wouldn’t do any good for her to beg Vince for my life. I had to play this carefully.

  She nodded. Trust—we’d always had it.

  “What a mess.” Vince pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit up. “Want one?”

  “No thanks.” I peered at him, trying to figure why he was here instead of Serge.

  He looked around. “Their torture room isn’t quite on the same level as the Genoa’s, huh?”

  “Needs work.” I shrugged.

  He laughed. “That’s what Serge likes about you. The stoicism.” The tip of his cigarette glowed orange as he took a long drag. Blowing out the smoke, his voice dropped. “We seem to have a real pickle here, David.”

  I couldn’t disagree.

  “But I’ll shoot straight with you.” He took another drag.

  I doubted if he’d ever “shot straight” with anyone in his life, but I’d listen. I’d do anything if it meant there was a chance Angel could walk out of this house a free woman.

  “Your girl over there was supposed to die at the dress shop.”

  I didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Where was he going with this?

  “I’m glad you’re tied up.” He picked a bit of the filter off his tongue. “Because you aren’t going to like what I’m about to tell you. But I need to tell you so that you and me are on the same page going forward—if we go forward.”

  Tension stung my muscles, especially in the spots where I was injured.

  “Here goes.” He gave a wan, oily smile. “I’m the one who’s been trying to take her out, not the Irish. Though it’s fun to wind Serge up with tales of Irish takeovers and threats.”

  My hands fisted, and I yanked at the rope that held me. It cut into my skin, but I couldn’t have given a fuck. I wanted my hands around his throat, ending him before he could run his mouth for another second. “Why?” I gritted out.

  “That’s the important part, really. Between you and me, I wanted to rattle Serge, to make him look stupid in front of his organization and the others. If I could have killed her and ruined this little drug-running deal, then Serge would seem weak. No one wants a boss who can’t protect his interests. But then—” He pointed at me. “You came along. And you did your fucking job a little too well. And on top of that, you fell in love like a total moron. I tried to get past you, but that wasn’t going to happen.” He chuckled. “I did my best to get a bullet in her brain—”

  I jumped at him as hard as I could. He backed up in a hurry. My wounds ached, and the ropes held my body in place but not my rage.

  “See?” He let the cigarette dangle from his lips. “Like I said, glad you’re tied up.”

  “I’ll kill you.”

  He waved his hand through the smoke. “You’re not in a position to be making threats, David. Tied to a chair, about to be executed. Serge gave the okay. Did you know that? He told Hector to do what he wanted with you.”

  I wasn’t surprised. The Genoas only had loyalty to those who shared their last name. I was a nobody to them, expendable. “So why are you here?”

  “Well, after I told Hector where you were holed up and he came to get you, I thought about my options. I could let him kill you and watch as Serge’s plan went through with Lorenzo and Angel getting married. Just give it up, you know? Or.” He flicked the glowing butt to the floor. “I could kill two birds with one stone.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I make a deal with you.” He shrugged and leaned closer.

  I wanted him at ease, relaxed. Maybe one more effort on my part could bust this chair to pieces, and then I could kill this sick fuck. “What deal?”

  “It’s like this.” He glanced at Angel.

  “Don’t look at her.” Her shirt was still open, her breasts on display. I wanted to scoop his eyes out with a spoon.

  “Calm down, lover boy.” He turned to me. “Here’s the deal. You pledge allegiance to me. Not Serge. Not the Genoas. Me. You and your brother—he’s being held at the Genoa house, by the way. They didn’t want him doing anything stupid like trying to save you. Anyway, you two agree that when shit goes down, you’ve got my back. And believe me, shit will go down. Maybe not this month, or even this year, but it’s only a matter of time until I’m on top of the Genoas, understand?”

  I glared at him. “What about Angel?”

  “Angel can’t stay. Either I slit her throat right now and walk away—”

  I yanked at the rope.

  “Hear me out.” He held up a hand. “Or she disappears. For good. As in she never comes back here. If she sets foot in Philly ever again, she’s dead. I can’t have anyone tracing any of this shit back to me.”

  I kept my gaze on him, trying to read him for any deception. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “You can’t know that.” He shrugged. “But I swear to you, if you toe my line and follow me, work for me even though on the surface it looks like you’re loyal to Serge, then I won’t touch a hair on her head. But you need to know, if you betray me, she’ll be the first one on the chopping block.”

  “Don’t threaten her.”

  “It’s just part of the terms.” He pulled out another cigarette, then seemed to think better of it and slid it back in the pack. “I need you to know what will happen if you try to backbite. But I also need you to know that once Serge is gone and I’m on top, you’ll go with me. We’ll rule this fucking city. Your brother has shown great initiative, and the pair of you plus Con—” He sighed. “And even that idiot Nate. With all of you, we can run the board. Own it all just like we’re playing fucking Monopoly. You only have to agree to work for me, no questions asked, no jobs turned down.”

  I rolled his words around in my mind, trying to find the pitfalls, the holes, the ways he might try to wriggle out of the terms. He wanted a slave. I was willing to be one as long as he kept his word about Angel.

  “Tick tock. Hector will be back any second.”

  My thoughts went to the most pressing problem. “How are you going to get us out of here?”

  “You agree to my terms and I’ll tell you.”

  “She doesn’t get hurt?” I stared into him, trying to find his measure.

  “Not a scratch, and then she’s gone for good.” He held up a hand. “But I’ll have proof of life at regular intervals. No funny business intended. She’ll live as long as you stay in line.”

  A life without her seemed like a peculiar sort of death sentence for me. My heart would die, but my body would live on. None of that mattered. The important part was that she’d be alive, and that’s what made this worth it.

  “David,” she shook her head. “Maybe there’s some other way.”

  “There isn’t.” Vince leaned back, still speaking only to me. “And you know it.”

  I ignored him and looked at her. “I have to do this, Angel. It’s the only way out.”

  “With him?” She jerked her chin toward Vince. “He’s the one who set all this up. You can’t trust him!”

  “I don’t.”

  “I’m hurt.” Vince smirked.

  “But this is our way out. Our only way.”

  “You aren’t getting out.” She hitched in a breath. “You’re staying behind.”

  “I have to.”

  “Come with me.” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Not in the offer.” Vince stood and replaced his chair in the corner. “Sorry, darling.”

  “Don’t talk to her.” I glared at him.

  “Sure thing.” He shrugged. “Just tell me your decision, and I’ll get this show on the roa
d.” He pulled a knife from his inner suit pocket, the blade glinting deadly as he unsheathed it.

  Her chin trembled. “Please.”

  My decision was already made, and there was nothing I could do about it. It seemed like maybe she’d been right when she told me she felt like there was some force out there hellbent on keeping us apart.

  “David.” Her voice was a pleading whisper.

  I took a deep breath and told the one truth that would last my entire life. “I love you, Angel. Always.”

  31

  David

  One Year Later

  His screams had finally died down. I could hear the old school Metallica raging through the new sound system hung along the ceiling. The distance kept the speakers safe from most of the arterial spray, though it might need a wipe down after this session.

  “You can tell me the truth, or I can send these parts to your little girl.” I plucked up one of his severed fingers. “She’s away at college, right? Northwestern.”

  His bloodshot eye widened and he shook his head. “Stop.”

  “A junior. Blonde.” I smiled. “Pretty. Has that cute little tattoo behind her ear. I bet you got mad about that, didn’t you? Daddy’s little girl coming home with ink. But she’s a good girl, Carl. Majoring in nursing. Isn’t that right?”

  “You leave her out of this.” A blood bubble erupted at the corner of his mouth, and his speech was garbled from all the teeth I’d pulled out.

  “Look.” I wiped down the knife I’d used to sever his Achilles tendons. “I don’t want to drive over to Illinois tonight. I’ve got some reading I’d like to do, and that would really interfere with those plans. Though I’ve never been to that campus, so it might be kind of a treat. And Lewiston Dorm where she lives? I bet it’ll be nice on the inside.” I glanced at him. “At least until I get to work on her. Crimson isn’t one of their school colors, is it?”

  The man finally cracked, tears glistening in the one eye he had left. I’d taken him apart piece by piece—first his toes, then some fingers and teeth. The burns were the worst. He actually gave up some intel when I used my glowing-hot icepick on his face and showed him his own sizzling eyeball. That information was good, but not what I wanted. Not what Vince wanted.