Whiskey: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 7)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  When T-Bone didn’t say anything, Eli pulled out a length of chain and wrapped it around the man’s arms and waist as he yanked him out of the chair. Red attached a metal hook to the chain and hit the power button on the winch. T-Bone was slowly raised in the air and Red swung him over to just above the barrel. He stripped the man’s socks and shoes and dropped them in the acid as T-Bone watched the acid eat through the material.

  “Please,” T-Bone begged quietly.

  Red hit the button on the winch and began lowering T-Bone into the acid. When his toes touched the acid, he yanked his legs up, screaming in pain.

  “You know, I’m not sure his whole body’s going to fit in this barrel,” I said as I examined the size of it.

  Eli pulled out an apple and took a bite out of it. “Don’t worry. When the acid eats away at his flesh and organs, he’ll squeeze right in there.”

  “I hope that barrel didn’t have any Jack Daniels in it,” I said pointedly. “Sure would be a waste to empty out such a fine whiskey.”

  Bradford snorted. “You and your whiskey. Don’t worry. This was an empty barrel.”

  T-Bone’s feet were approaching the barrel again and he couldn’t lift his feet any higher. I watched as Eli slowly chewed his apple as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Something told me he was getting more enjoyment out of this than I was. We all took a step back as his feet slowly entered the barrel. We didn’t need him splashing acid all over us.

  “Ahhh!” His screams echoed around us, but no one made a move to help him. He thrashed his legs as he tried not to sink any further in, but the acid was starting to make his body shake uncontrollably as it ate away at his skin. His nerve endings had to be on fire at this point, but his body wouldn’t give out until it reached his vital organs. When his calves became submerged, Red stopped the winch and let him hang in the barrel.

  “You know, I was thinking…” He glanced over at T-Bone, who was panting hard and trying his best not to scream. “We should probably get a drink after this,” he said turning back to us.

  “I could go for some Jack,” I agreed.

  “You could always go for some Jack,” Red said with a shake of his head.

  “Hey, you don’t mess with perfection.”

  “Stop,” T-Bone screamed. “Just fucking stop! I’ll tell you anything.”

  “What’s the magic word?” Red asked in a sing-song voice.

  “Fuck, man. Please stop,” T-Bone whimpered.

  “No. That’s not it,” Red shook his head in thought.

  I watched T-Bone’s legs as he tried to kick them around the barrel and get them out of the acid. The skin from his legs was starting to slip off into the liquid below and his whole body was shaking. We didn’t have too much longer before he would be useless to us. Still, he could take a little more.

  “I don’t know the fucking magic word or secret handshake. Please, just fucking stop this and I’ll tell you anything!” His words were stilted and rife with pain, but that just made me happier. All these fuckers deserved it. By the time I made it to Slasher, he would know that he had fucked with the wrong group of men.

  Red raised the winch and T-Bone was lifted from the barrel. All that was left of his legs was bone and even that was becoming porous.

  “Where would Slasher run off to?” I asked.

  He shook from pain and looked at me pleadingly. “There’s a new place on the lake he goes for drug deals. It’s about a half mile down river from the bridge. There’s an abandoned cabin. That’s the only place I can think of.”

  I nodded to Red and he released the winch, letting T-Bone’s whole body splash down into the barrel of acid. His screams only lasted a minute before his body gave out and he sank all the way into the barrel.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Reed Security

  CHANCE- PITTSBURGH

  I flipped my knife over and over in my hand as I watched the asshole on the bed piss himself. I had snuck in here and tied him to the bed in the middle of the night and then waited for the sun to rise so that I could draw out the torment. Whether he pissed himself from fear or because he had to piss didn’t matter to me. All I cared about was getting revenge on the fuckers that came after us.

  “Are we gonna do anything any time soon?” Gabe asked. “I’m fucking bored.”

  I stood and walked over to the bed, flipping the knife a few more times before slamming the knife down into the bed between his legs, just south of his nuts. I saw his eyes widen as he screamed around his gag. I ripped the bedding with the knife, watching feathers float out of his comforter. The fucker deserved it after everything he did to my bed.

  I pulled out a larger knife out of my thigh holster and almost started cracking up as his eyes widened. I stepped closer to him and slid the knife along his thigh. He tried to pull his leg away, but the restraints around his ankles prevented him from moving.

  “You know, that bed was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever owned. Did you know they stopped making that bed two years ago?” I asked the guy. He shook his head wildly. “Now I have to go find a new fucking bed. I’m not too happy about that.” I slid the knife closer to his balls and pressed the point of the knife lightly into his thigh. “And that comforter cost me close to a thousand dollars. Now, it’s just a bunch of feathers floating around my house.”

  The man looked from Gabe to Jackson. I saw his throat working hard to swallow down his fear.

  “Did you know that those sheets were fucking bamboo? Best sheets I ever owned. I put a lot of work into making that room my sanctuary. Fucking $200 hypoallergenic pillows.” I dug the knife in a little deeper and chuckled when he whimpered in pain. “You know, when I came home after a long day of work, the one thing I really looked forward to was falling down in my luxurious bed and and shutting out the world.”

  I sighed and sat down on the bed next to him. “Now what the fuck am I supposed to do? My house is fucked up and my bed is destroyed. It really pisses me off when people have no respect for other people’s property. You know what I’m saying?”

  He nodded vigorously and I smirked. “I think you know exactly what I mean. The only way I can truly show you how pissed I am is to take something that you cherish.”

  I dug the knife further into his leg, letting the knife slip down and nick his sac. He whimpered as snot dripped down his nose and he squeezed his eyes shut. I picked up the knife, watching him tense. I slammed the knife down, slicing into his pillows and sending the stuffing flying everywhere. He cringed when he felt the whoosh of the knife, but then slowly peeked open his eyes and looked at the knife that wasn’t anywhere near his balls. He sagged in relief and I started chuckling.

  “You thought I was going to cut your balls off, didn’t you?” I laughed.

  He nodded and a mixture of crying and laughing left his mouth. I pointed the knife at him and smiled.

  “I really had you going. You thought I was gonna go all psycho on you and start tearing you to shreds over a bed.”

  He laughed along with me and turned with a smile to Gabe and Jackson, who were looking at me in boredom.

  “I’m not really that psycho,” I said, making my face wide and scary-goofy looking. “Can you imagine, killing someone over a fucking bed and pillows?”

  I threw my head back in laughter as his chest shook from his own laughter. I stopped laughing as I quickly took a step forward and pressed my face just an inch from his ear.

  “You haven’t seen fucking psycho yet. You think I would kill you over my bed? Sure, that fucking pisses me off, but what you’re about to get is for coming after all of us. For hurting our women when we didn’t do a fucking thing to you,” I growled. “I’m going to make sure you suffer and my friends over there are going to get just as much pleasure out of it as I do.”

  His eyes shifted to mine, wide with horror. I grinned maniacally at him, baring my teeth just to scare the shit out of him. “You fucked with the wrong men.”

  I slashed my knife across his sac, cuttin
g off his balls in one swift cut. His muffled screams echoed around the room as blood squirt from his privates. Gabe stepped forward and pulled his own knife out, watching the light gleam across the blade.

  “I’m not quite as sadistic as him. I don’t like to see people suffer.” Gabe pressed the knife to his scalp by his ear. “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

  He cut off the man’s ear and Jackson hurried over. This guy wasn’t too long from passing out. We had to make the rest count. Jackson pulled out the gag, ignoring the man’s pleas for mercy.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon.” He pulled the man’s tongue out and sliced quickly as far back as he could, then shoved the man’s tongue down his throat. He would choke to death on blood and his tongue in no time. We all stood there watching as the man took his final breaths. I wished that I could feel some remorse for what we had just done. I thought I would feel like a monster after that, but when I thought about all the people that could have been killed and how much Maggie and Vanessa suffered, all I wanted was to make them all pay just as dearly. I was sure Cap wasn’t taking it easy on anyone.

  Cap

  “Alright, boys. Let’s do this nice and smooth. Everyone in position?” I said through coms.

  Check came over the line five times, letting me know that everyone was in place. The plan was for each of us to take out one of the members of the Night Kings as they came out of the building. We would leave one or two of them to really scare the shit out of them. They would run and tell everyone else that they were under attack, which was perfect for the next part of the plan. As much as I wanted to be there to personally make sure they all suffered, I also wanted to get back to Maggie. Vengeance was burning deep within me, but the need to get back to my wife and daughter was stronger. It was what kept me on the straight and narrow.

  “Doors are opening,” Cole said.

  “You’re up, Knight.”

  I watched as the men walked warily out the door of their little clubhouse. It was cute how they organized like they were some badass force to be reckoned with. After tonight, the Night Kings would cease to exist. After the last person walked out and the door slammed shut, I watched as Knight snuck out in the shadows, slipping in behind the last King and slit his throat. Knight dragged him off into the darkness, the others never knowing what had happened. That was the point. We wanted to be able to take as many of them out before they could alert the others what was happening. It wasn’t as fun this way, but we needed to ensure success.

  “Cole, you’ve got the next one.”

  Cole stepped out from behind a dumpster and broke the man’s neck. Watching through my scope, I could see the rage on Cole’s face when he took out the man. He enjoyed every second of the kill. Nobody fucked with Cole.

  “Irish, you’re up.”

  He snuck up behind the third in line, but just as he was about to slit the guy’s throat, the guy in front of him turned around to say something to him. I moved my gun, ready to take out whoever I needed to, but Irish was faster. Irish flung his knife into the second man, hitting him right in the throat as he wrapped his arm around the other man’s neck, snapping his neck as soon as the knife left his grip. Two down.

  The thump of the second man hitting the ground caused the other guys to turn around. Immediately, guns were raised and pointed directly at Irish. Hunter and Lola stepped out of the shadows, each of them taking out one of the men. One of the Kings must have thought Lola was an easy target because she was a woman. I chuckled as he stepped up behind her with more confidence than he should have had. I saw Lola smirk through my scope as she felt the man behind her. She could have made it easy. She could have killed him with the flick of her wrist, but Lola chose to have some fun. And I couldn’t blame her. She had been out of the game for weeks now. Lola needed this fight for her sanity.

  His hand reached over her shoulder and she gripped his wrist tightly, flinging him over her shoulder and onto the ground. The heel of her stiletto boot dug into his chest as she stood over him with a maniacal grin on her face. He screamed in pain as she pushed the heel through his skin, puncturing his lung as she rammed it down into him. I winced, thinking of what it would feel like to be on the other end of that.

  I watched her lean down and whisper something in his ear before sliding her knife across his throat. I could see him gasping for air seconds before his body went still. The last two Kings stood there watching in fear before turning and running away.

  “You fucker,” Pappy said to Irish. “You took out my guy.”

  “It was necessary. Besides, you still got one. What are you complaining about?”

  “You took out two. Lola took out two. I only got one,” Pappy pouted.

  “All of you can fuck off,” I said with a grin. “I didn’t take anyone out.”

  “I offered to trade places with you,” Knight said.

  “And let someone else run this? You know I don’t ever give up control.”

  “You snooze, you lose,” Knight responded.

  “Irish, let Cazzo know that we’ve sent them his way.”

  Knight

  “Knight, where the fuck are you? You were supposed to meet us at the clubhouse an hour ago.”

  Cazzo was practically yelling at me over the phone. Yeah, I was supposed to follow orders and get to the clubhouse to take out the rest of The Night Kings. I had other plans though. I had followed one of the fuckers home and hit the jackpot. There were six of them hanging out at the house, completely unaware that the rest of the club had been under attack.

  “I’m taking care of a few things. I’ll be there in an hour or so.”

  “Knight, this isn’t the way shit works. You were supposed to follow orders.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never been too good at that.”

  I hung up the phone before he could give me any more shit about how I wasn’t following the plan. I watched from outside the window. All of them were hanging around the living room, drinking beer and smoking pot. I made my way to the back of the house where the utility room was. Quietly opening the door, I slid inside and opened the panel for the breakers. I flipped them all off and grinned when the lights all went out in the house. It was dead silent besides the curses coming from the other room. I waited for one of them to come back here and wasn’t disappointed when one of then stumbled through the kitchen to the utility room. I had no desire to take them out quietly. I wanted a fight and I would get it however I could.

  “Did you really think you could fuck with what’s mine and get away with it?” I growled from the darkened corner of the room.

  The man spun around wildly, trying to find my voice. I stepped from the shadows and flung my hand out until I had a firm grip around the man’s neck. His eyes bulged as his hands scratched at my arm, trying to get me to release him. “You fucked with the wrong man and now there’s no way any of you will survive the night. Take a good look at me. It’s the last thing you’ll ever see.”

  I tightened my fingers around his neck until his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp. I dropped him to the ground and stepped over his lifeless body.

  “Hey, dude. Turn the fucking lights back on!”

  I stepped into the living room and grabbed a floor lamp that was to my right.

  “Who the fuck are you?” one of the Kings said, standing and dropping his joint on the ground.

  “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.” I swung the floor lamp at his head, knocking him out right away. Another guy charged me, trying to knock me to the ground. I flung him over my shoulder, tossing him into the table that was covered with drugs. Yanking the cord from the lamp, I wrapped it twice around the man’s neck as my legs entwined around his, holding him in place. His fingers clawed at the cord for only a few seconds before he passed out. I jerked it one last time, ensuring that it had cut off his air supply.

  Two men charged me at the same time and I grinned at their foolishness. They really thought they could take me on, but they didn’t know what
the hell they were up against. A throat punch to one and he was on the ground struggling to breathe. He would be dead in minutes. The second man tried to run away. He didn’t want to die like his friends had. I didn’t give him the chance to run though. A kick to the knee and he was down on the ground in pain. He crawled on his elbows, trying to get away from me. I heard his whimpers as I stalked behind him, letting him think he had a chance to get away. He rolled over onto his back and with the faint light streaming in from the window, I could see tears running down his face.

  “Please, don’t kill me. I didn’t do shit.”

  I knelt over him and whispered in his ear. I could hear his ragged breaths from fear and it made me smile. “Unfortunately, you ran with the wrong crowd and now you’re going to pay for it,” I said as I slid the knife into his heart. I pulled back enough to see the pain and fear in his eyes. I wanted to be the last thing he saw before he took his last breath.

  Yanking my knife from him, I stood and faced the man who was too stoned to react to anything. He looked around and started laughing. “Dude, that was fucking awesome. Do me next.” His laughter cut off when I flipped my knife a few times in my gloved hand. The rage that had been building inside me was at a tipping point and I was ready to release it. The man finally realized that I was about to kill him. He swung wildly and I sidestepped him, slamming the knife into his ear. Blood trickled out and the man fell to the ground, not dead yet, just paralyzed. His jaw was clamped down tightly as he shook on the ground.

  I sighed, a little disappointed that there weren’t more here to kill. That had felt good and I didn’t get the opportunity to kill very often. I didn’t enjoy the kill, I enjoyed taking out scum. It was the one thing that separated me from a psychotic killer. At least, that’s what I told myself. I wouldn’t have come after them if they hadn’t gone after what was mine. Even though Kate walked away fine, she almost hadn’t. She was going to be the one that was taken and tortured and if it wasn’t for Maggie, Kate would never be the same woman again. She was strong, but she didn’t have the strength that Maggie had. In fact, I was a little surprised that Maggie hadn’t insisted on coming along. If she wasn’t doped up on pain pills, she probably would have. And Sinner would have helped her escape. It was just who she was. Just like this was who I was. No matter how much I tried to hide it, I still had that dark side to me that craved a good kill. I wasn’t sure how Kate would feel about that when she realized that I hadn’t changed as much as she thought.