The Skull Crusher

by Penelope Sky

  Vox stared me down with equal intensity, wanting to challenge me but being too smart to actually do it. He gave a slight nod then stepped away, backing down because I was a king you didn’t want to cross.

  I watched him walk away then turned my attention to the stage as the auction began.

  20

  BALTO

  Heath and I sat at the curb in the truck outside the apartment building. It was seven in the morning, the time of day when everyone left for work.

  He ran his fingers through his hair as he released a loud yawn. “What the hell are we doing, Balto? You’ve got a beautiful woman waiting for you, so why are we parked at a random curb?”

  “There’s someone I want to see.” I looked out my side window and stared at the apartment building. On the second floor lived a family I was particularly interested in. My eyes stayed on the lobby door, and I waited for something to happen.

  “Who?”

  “I’ll show you in a second.”

  Heath pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and looked at his watch. “I should be sleeping or fucking right now.”

  “You can do that when we’re done.”

  Heath slumped in the seat and closed his eyes. “I never should have gotten into this truck with you.”

  “I never should have let you live with me.”

  “Come on, I’m a pleasant neighbor.”

  “Pleasant isn’t the right word.” My truck was ordinary, so it never attracted attention. If I drove everywhere in a million-euro car, people would notice me right away. And not only would they notice me, but they would remember me.

  After minutes of silence, Heath spoke. “You and Vox got bad blood.”

  “Something like that…”

  “What’s his beef?”

  “He wants the throne.” He wants the chair that overlooks the rest of the men. He wants the power to give the orders. He wants the authority to sell young women into slavery.

  “Then why hasn’t he challenged you?”

  My elbow rested on the inside of the door as my fingers relaxed against my lips. My eyes kept waiting for the man to appear, the man I wanted to strangle until he turned black and blue. The only reason murder wasn’t on the menu was because Cassini didn’t want that. If it were entirely up to me, this would have a very different outcome. “One, he couldn’t defeat me. And two, I have more support. The men don’t want a replacement in leadership. Vox would just alienate himself and turn everyone against him.”

  “If he’s that ambitious, he’ll challenge you eventually.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “So, who we are stalking right now?” He turned his gaze out my window.

  At that exact moment, the object of my bloodlust appeared. Dressed in a dress shirt and tie, he stepped out of the lobby doors and down the concrete stairs. In slacks and a fancy watch, he looked like a banker and or an accountant. He had classic good looks, a nice jawline, and pretty eyes. A wedding ring sat on his left hand.

  I despised this man more than all my enemies.

  “Is that who you were waiting for?” Heath asked, picking up on my intensity.

  “Yes.” I watched him walk to his car on the sidewalk and get inside. He started the engine then drove away. I stared him down as he passed, but he was so oblivious, he didn’t even notice the threat in my eyes.

  “And who is he? Seems harmless.”

  He was harmless to me, but not to the woman in my bed. He’d hurt her beyond repair, sentenced her to a life she didn’t deserve. The man deserved payback far worse. “His name is Evan Alfonsi.”

  “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”

  I started the engine and turned my gaze on my brother. “He’s the asshole Cassini sacrificed herself for. She married Lucian to spare his life, and now he’s married with a kid. But he only waited three months before he tied the knot.”

  Understanding slowly moved into his gaze. “And now it’s time to even the scales?”

  I nodded. “I’m not letting him get away with that.”

  My brother stared at me for a long time, like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

  I could read his mind. “I respect this woman. She’s had to live a terrible life, all because of him. I’ll never let her go, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think she deserves better. She deserves a lot better.”

  “So you’re going to kill this guy?”

  “No.” I hit the gas and pulled onto the road. “Just make him shit his pants a bit.”

  EVAN WAS a loan officer at a bank. He had a private office in the back of the hallway, which made it the perfect location to catch him off guard. Heath and I sat in the lobby until our names were called, like two regular people looking to get a loan.

  We moved down the hallway.

  “What’s the plan?” Heath asked under his breath.

  “There is no plan.” I stepped inside the office and found Evan sitting behind his desk. Now that I was up close and in the same room, I took in his features, failing to understand why Cassini thought she’d loved this man at one point. What was there to love? He might be handsome, but he wasn’t built the way I was. He didn’t have that confidence in his gaze that I possessed. I doubted he could fuck as well as I could.

  He finished typing his email before he rose to his feet. “I’m Evan, the chief loan officer here. Nice to meet you both.” He extended his hand to shake mine.

  I ignored it and took a seat in the leather armchair.

  Heath did the same.

  When Evan realized my dismissal was intentional, he slowly lowered his hand and took a seat. “Alright…how can I help you?” He smoothed the front of his tie down his chest as he sank into the leather chair. His upbeat demeanor dissipated in light of our coldness.

  My hands rested on the armrests of the chair, and my fingers slowly drummed against the leather. This man wasn’t worthy of Cassini. Ordinary and boring, he had nothing special about him. I shouldn’t be surprised that he hadn’t had the balls to defend her from Lucian. “Cassini Cardello. That’s what you can help me with.”

  That caught him off guard visibly because his entire body tightened at the name. He slowly leaned back against his chair, distressed at the mention of his old lover, the lover he betrayed. He glanced at my brother then again at me, sizing up his two opponents.

  We both knew he didn’t stand a chance.

  Evan stayed silent, probably because anything he said in that moment would only hurt him.

  I said nothing because the silence was powerful enough to unnerve him.

  Heath turned to me. “Should we check his underwear? Looks like he shit himself.”

  Evan’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two of us. “Leave before I call the cops.”

  The pathetic threat was so sad, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “A real man makes his own threats. He doesn’t run to the police for protection. He protects himself. I have no idea what the hell Cassini saw in you. You’re a fucking pussy.”

  Evan grabbed the phone and made the call.

  I smiled. “This is just sad.”

  Evan spoke into the phone. “I’ve got two men in my office threatening me.” He started to describe me. “Tall, brown hair—”

  “My name is Balto.” Might as well speed up the process.

  Heath grinned, finding the whole thing funny.

  Evan repeated it over the line. “He goes by the name of Balto. He has a twin—” His eyes fell when the line went dead. “Hello?” He kept the phone to his ear even though he knew they were long gone.

  “I own the police.” My hands came together at chest level. “I own this city. Now I’m about to own you.”

  Evan slowly returned the phone to the receiver, his hand shaking slightly.

  “If he didn’t shit his pants before, he definitely did now,” Heath said. “Look at him…he’s about to faint.”

  The fear in Evan’s eyes was nothing compared to the suffering Cassini had experienced.
She became the slave and wife to a despicable man. Every day she was reminded of the freedom she gave up—for this asshole.

  Evan managed to keep his voice steady enough to speak. “What do you want?”

  I opened my arms, indicating to him. “This.” I wanted his fear, his terror. Just as Cassini felt helpless, now so did he. There was no one he could turn to for help. I could shoot him right between the eyes without consequence. “Cassini is my woman, and as her man, it’s my job to torture the people who’ve wronged her. That starts with you.”

  His chest rose and fell with his labored breaths as the fear burned in his veins. He sat across from a dangerous man he had no chance of defeating. All he could do was wait for my execution.

  “Why did you do it? That woman is perfect from head to toe. I would assume you’re gay, but you married someone else three months after Cassini took your place. So explain that to me.” Why would any man do something like that? I would take her place in a heartbeat, and I didn’t even love her. I would never let anything like that happen to her. “What did Lucian have on you?” Evan didn’t seem like he lived in the same world Lucian and I did. He worked at a bank, so he wasn’t a rich tyrant. He was just an average man. So why was he mixed up with a crime lord?

  Evan sighed but didn’t answer.

  “I suggest you cooperate,” I threatened. “It’ll be a lot more painful if you don’t.”

  Evan dropped his gaze, distressed by the interrogation.

  A gun could be pointed right between my eyes, and I still wouldn’t flinch. A real man never showed fear, especially when it could be their last moment on this earth. That was when bravery mattered most, when terror tested your dignity. I was disappointed that this man was so weak, that Cassini actually thought she loved him at one point. No, a woman like her could never love a man as pathetic as this. “What did Lucian have on you?” Cassini never told me why Evan was in that position in the first place. It was a huge mystery.

  Evan sighed again in defeat. “Don’t hurt my family.”

  “Cooperate and I won’t.” I wasn’t going to do it anyway, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “You give me your word?”

  I grinned. “What makes you think my word is worth anything?”

  Terror entered his gaze.

  “Lucky for you, I am a man of my word,” I said. “And I won’t hurt your son or your wife. But when this conversation is over, I will hurt you. There’s no getting around that. You subjected Cassini to a life of servitude and torture. You’ll pay the price for that.”

  “Don’t kill me,” Evan whispered. “My son needs a father.” Talking about his little boy brought a thin film of moisture to his eyes.

  I didn’t feel bad for him. “I won’t kill you. But I’ll definitely hurt you. Now tell me what I want to know.”

  Evan was quiet for a while, probably accepting the fact that his family would be safe. But he knew terrible things would happen to him soon enough. “Lucian didn’t have anything on me. He saw me with her, wanted her for himself, and made me a deal.”

  My eyes narrowed as the rage pumped in my veins. This wasn’t a story I expected, an explanation that justified Cassini’s treatment. It was a twist I’d never anticipated. “Then what happened?”

  “He offered me a lot of money to go along with his plan.” He could hardly meet my gaze as he spoke. “It would be the only way to get Cassini to submit, to be the prisoner he wanted. He’d been watching her for a long time, had become obsessed with her, knew exactly how she would behave if he just took her. So he had to make her do it on her terms…which is why he staged the whole thing.”

  I stared at him blankly as the heartbreak hit me right in the chest. Cassini had been tricked, had been manipulated into being a cooperative prisoner. I wasn’t sure who I was angrier at, Lucian or Evan. “How much did he pay you?”

  “A hundred thousand euros.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment, furious at the number. “And you really thought Cassini was worth that meager amount? That woman is fucking priceless, but you sold her for pennies.”

  “Lucian said he would kill me if I didn’t cooperate,” Evan explained. “So I might as well take the money.”

  Heath shook his head. “We should kill you. A piece of shit like you doesn’t deserve to live.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” I said in agreement. “You don’t deserve to have a dick between your legs because you aren’t a man. You never deserved to touch her or kiss her. You don’t even deserve to breathe.”

  He bowed his head. “I did love her—”

  “Say that again, and I’ll shoot you between the eyes.” I pulled my pistol from the back of my jeans and set it on the table beside me. It was fully loaded, and I had perfect aim. I would spray the back wall with his brains.

  Evan couldn’t take his eyes off the gun. “I’ve told you what you wanted to know. What more do you want from me?”

  I wanted to murder him and Lucian at the same time, bury them deep in the soil and piss on their graves. I always described Lucian as being a pussy and an idiot, but he’d expertly trapped Cassini, making her think her actions were heroic. That was how he got between her legs, how he got a dutiful wife. Because he made up the whole fucking thing. “And you just moved on and never looked back?”

  He could barely look me in the eye. “What else was I supposed to do?”

  “Be a man,” I said coldly. “And die for your woman. That’s what men do. That’s what we were put on this earth to do.” I rose to my feet and grabbed my gun. “The only reason you’re alive is because Cassini wouldn’t want me to kill you. Consider yourself lucky.”

  “Does she know about all of this?” he asked.

  “No.” I approached his desk as I shoved the gun into the back of my jeans. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get off work.”

  Evan glanced at the frame on his desk, a picture of his wife and young son. He turned back to me, pathetically apologetic. “And what are you going to do to me?”

  I planted both hands on the desk and leaned forward. “I’m gonna take you out to the middle of nowhere and push you to the brink of death. You’ll fear death in the beginning, but once the agony kicks in, you’ll wish it would take you away. And that’s when I’ll leave you…when you beg me to finish the job.”

  WE PARKED IN THE COMPOUND, and I killed the engine.

  “Are you going to tell her?” Heath asked from his side of the truck.

  I’d never intended to tell her about my vendetta against Evan, but he’d told a secret that completely changed the past. Did Cassini have the right to know what really happened? Or would it only hurt her more? “I don’t know.”

  “Knowing he’ll get a beating of a lifetime later might give her closure.”

  Knowing her, it wouldn’t. “She’s too classy for that. She wouldn’t want me to do it.”

  “Then why are you going to do it?”

  “For myself. I’m the Skull King—and it’s my job to pursue justice.”

  It was almost eleven in the morning, so the sun was high in the sky. Heath wore sunglasses on the bridge of his nose to keep the brightness out of his gaze. Winter had nearly arrived, but cloudless days like this made it feel like summer. “And what about Lucian?”

  “He’ll pay.” He’d pay for a lot of things. I already got some vengeance when he realized I’d been screwing his wife right under his nose. She was mine long before I took her. Every time he was away on the weekend, I was buried deep inside her, making her come like he never did. “He knows about our affair.”

  “He does? When did he tell you that?”

  “About a week ago. Cassini left her phone behind, and he went through the messages.”

  The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Talk about a declaration of war….”

  “Yeah, he was pissed. But I like it when my enemies are pissed. Means I’m doing something right.”

  “Then you’re definitely doing a lot right.”

  We got o
ut of the truck and made it to the elevator.

  “Want me to help you tonight?” Heath asked as we rose to his floor.

  “No. That asshole is all mine.”

  The doors opened, and Heath stepped into his entryway. “Alright, I’m going to bed. Have fun with Evan.”

  “I will.” The doors shut, and I rose to the top floor. Cassini wasn’t on the couch where she usually was, and that was probably because of how late it was. It was nearly noon, and I was usually home by four in the morning.

  Cassini stepped out of the hallway, her hair and makeup done, but she was wearing my boxers and t-shirt. “You were gone for a long time.” With accusation in her eyes and an attitude in her hips, she didn’t look happy to see me.

  “I had a lot of work to do.”

  “What kind of work?”

  “Ruling, collecting, threatening, torturing…the list goes on.” My hand moved to her neck, and I examined her prettiness, the plumpness of her lips, and the beautiful color of her eyes. Evan betrayed her for a pathetic sum of money and married a woman who couldn’t compare. The man was twisted in the head. “Miss me?”

  “I’m too annoyed to miss you.”

  “Annoyed?”

  “You were gone for nearly sixteen hours.”

  “That’s the job, baby.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t like your job.”

  “You’d better get used to it. It’s not going to change.”

  “Don’t expect me to change either.” She stepped away from my grasp so my fingertips slid past the softness of her neck.

  “Did you sleep well?” When she turned around, I stared at the way her boxers hugged her perfect ass.

  “What do you think?” She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

  “You want to come with me to the Underground, then?”

  “Probably not.” She came back, her lips sealed around the bottle.