Chapter 5- Another Memo

Chapter 5

RUSSEL

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"All done," Luca announced as he entered my study.

I took a puff from the cigar in my mouth and scrunched my eyebrows. "Are you sure she got the package?"

"I left it in her room, Boss."

For some reason, that information made me so happy. "And the cameras?"

Luca came forward and placed a laptop on the desk in front of me. I leaned in to look, and sudden enthusiasm filled me. Allesia was sitting there, staring at the gift box with surprise. The look only made her prettier, and I smiled to myself.

"I've set up a better view in your bedroom. From there, you can watch her conveniently from the comfort of your bed."

"Great job, Luca. Now I only need her blood sample for a test."

"What test?" It was the first time Kegan had spoken since he came into the study.

I gave him a hard glare before replying, "To know if she's clean, of course." Then I turned to Luca. "Find a way to get it and bring it here."

"Yes, Boss."

He turned to leave, but Kegan's voice halted him. "And the mole? Did you find the idiot that pulled the hit last night?"

"We managed to catch only one of them, sir. Julio and the other guys are still in hiding."

"And what did you do with the one you caught?"

Luca's eyes strayed in my direction, but I was too busy watching Allesia to say anything. "Boss asked us to leave the guy to him. We've given him enough of a beating to leave him questioning his own name, though."

Kegan dismissed Luca and turned his attention to me, but I kept my eyes on the screen in front of me. Allesia was still staring at the money, apparently trying to decide whether or not to take it.

"I give her two hours," I said, a hint of confidence in my tone.

"Two hours to do what?"

"To come to me," I announced.

Kegan threw back his head and laughed so hard that I felt like splitting his jaw with my fist. But that would only leave me without a best friend, so I just sat there glaring at him until he was done having his laugh.

He then let out a small sigh and shook his head in disapproval. "That girl is messing up your head real bad. Because the Russel I know would have been so eager to go out there and blow that bastard's brains out."

"Then perhaps you should press the right buttons and make me fuck her soon, so I can go back to being the Russel you know," I retorted with venom.

Kegan shook his head. "Maura is still your bitch for the week, and when did you suddenly develop a thing for blondes?"

"That is exactly what I hope to find out." When Kegan shook his head again, I added, "You know I don't fuck the same girl twice. This will be over in no time."

"And this is the first time you are offering this big for a girl. $3,000,000? None of your bitches have ever gotten that much."

A small smile played on my lips. "Let's just say... she's special. A night with an angel, innocent and soft, yet with an air of mystery and a little bit of a sharp tongue." I gave Kegan a small wink. "I'll have fun taming her in my playroom."

"With the way you are going all out, what if one night is not enough?"

I shot Kegan a hard look, and he shrugged instinctively. "No girl has that power to trap me. You know me better than that."

Just then, I noticed that Allesia stood up and went into the restroom. I hissed loudly because I could no longer see her, since there were no cameras in the restroom. I found myself leaning forward regardless, as if I could will the feed to follow her through the wall, which said more about the state of my head than I cared to admit out loud.

Perhaps I should also ask Luca to install cameras there too.

On hearing me hiss, Kegan stood up and peeked at the screen, then shook his head. "I wonder what she'd think if she finds out you are watching her every move, even in her room.”

"She'll never find out, and it won't matter if she does, because by then, I'd have been done with her." Then I shrugged. "Besides, she has the bathroom to herself."

"And just why are you even going to such lengths just to fuck a bitch?"

"Well, because I have to know what kind of bitch I'm about to fuck.”

Seeing that I had answers to his every question, Kegan gave up. "Now can we get back to the business of the day?"

With resolve, I dragged my eyes away from the screen and let them rest on Kegan's face. "What's the business of the day?"

He sat forward. "We have a problem. How do we handle it? I know how embarrassing this would have been if your new toy didn't help us. We would have been busted by the fucking cops.”

"And here I was thinking I had you to take care of things like this," I muttered under my breath. Kegan eyed me.

"Where's the guy?"

"In the Old Warehouse. Why?"

I removed my gun from my desk drawer and tucked it into my belt. "Let's go pay him a visit. He has some questions to answer."

"Now that's more like it."

We left the house in two SUVs, taking only Luca and Aldo with us because they were the most trusted ones among my men.

I knew where I was going and what I was going to do, but that didn't bother me the least bit. Instead, I found my mind wandering to the man I was five years ago.

The nightmares had stopped by now, but the scars were there. Those scars were molding me into a heartless beast, day by day, but I had also stopped caring about that too.

Leading the underworld like I did came with its responsibilities, however dirty and gruesome those responsibilities may be. And five years ago, I was running from those responsibilities. Well, not until that night when they caught up with me head-on.

Selina.

Her name was still evergreen in my mind, and her screams were still haunting me to this day, each time I closed my eyes. They were the only nightmares I had, and the only ones I welcomed into my twisted mind.

While alive, she was my heartbeat, my only love, but now in death, she was one of my demons.

On days when I did the most terrible things, she would be there in the dead of the night to listen to my guilty confessions, and she would tell me reasons why I had to do the terrible things I was doing now.

Revenge. For her and for Father. For my family. Hell, even for the Gaetanos and her family.

They all had to pay, and they will.

They will not know peace, not one of them, until I’d drained the blood from all their flesh and separated the skin from their bones.

"We are here," Kegan announced.

I had been so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice when we reached the old warehouse.

Disregard the name; the warehouse was actually a place where I did the most twisted things to my enemies, and it was well furnished for exactly that purpose.

As we approached the steel door, I glanced at Kegan, and he gave me a nod of approval. It was one of the habits we had developed over the years, and it gave me a sense of satisfaction that someone actually had my back for good, not as a responsibility.

As soon as we entered, I took off my jacket first, unbuttoned the top three buttons on my shirt, and folded my sleeves up.

I saw the fear in the man's eyes when he saw me, and that earned him a smirk. It was always good to sense that fear in prey. It was one way of knowing he understood his fate, and knew exactly who was making him feel it.

Since I still believed in being fair sometimes, I asked, "What's your name?" His face had been battered beyond recognition, but I could still tell he was young.

"Ci– Cilly, Boss."

I flashed him a gentle smile and even patted his battered chin softly. "Cilly is a nice name. I take it you know me? I mean, it's only natural, since you attempted to assassinate me, right?"

He whimpered. "I'm sor–"

"Shh. Don't apologize. I don't believe a man should ever have to beg for his life. If it comes to it, let it go. I mean, it's just oxygen, isn't it?"

The confusion on his face was palpable. "I– I don't understand."

I kept my smirk. "You will." Then I removed my gun from the holster and held it out for him to take. "Want to play with me, Cilly?"

He let out a painful gasp. "No, Boss."

I gave him a disappointed grunt. "That's sad. And I was really looking forward to it. May I ask why?"

"We both know I won't stand a chance."

I scoffed. A foolish man who believed he would not stand a chance if he fought for his own life. What could be more disgusting?

"I see my reputation precedes me." I spoke in a low tone, then leaned in and whispered softly. "Keep that in mind, because you'll need it."

"I'm very sorry, Boss. I swear I didn't mean to–"

I picked up the nail driller from the small table and, as calmly as if it were nothing, pushed it into one of Cilly's legs, and a long, agonized yelp of pain filled the room.

"I told you not to beg for your life. There's no honor in that." Then I pulled out the nail driller. "You tried to kill me. Who sent you?"

"I didn't mean–"

The driller went into his second kneecap, and another painful cry followed. "Names, Cilly. Each time you open your mouth, the only thing I want to come out of it is a name."

"Yes, Capo!" he shrieked and tried to stifle the cries.

I pulled the nail driller from his leg and picked up a pair of pliers from the table. "Your nails look so soft for a man. I'm sure it would be fun plucking them from your fingers. What do you think?"

The horror registered on his battered face, and I smirked in satisfaction. When he did not answer immediately, I forcefully took his right hand and, with calm precision, clipped the pliers onto his index finger and pulled. His nail came off, and I placed it in his left palm. He knew better than to let it fall.

I was about to pull the second fingernail when he yelled. "Iverson! Please, no!"

"I didn't quite catch that. Was that a name?"

"Victor Iverson!" Cilly yelled at the top of his lungs. "He asked Julio to send us there to avenge his father! I wanted no part of it, but they made me do it, please!"

"That's a very dumb thing to do," I remarked dryly, then turned to Kegan. "I see they didn't get the memo."

Kegan shrugged. "Then we shall send them another memo."

I squeezed the trigger.

It was quick and painless. I didn't even have to look to take the shot, but I made sure the bullet didn't miss Cilly's heart, and within a second, he was dead.

Kegan faced Luca. "Get me a file on the Iverson family, their businesses, and whatever sponsors their family has. I need every tiny detail, down to the color of his favorite whore's underwear."

"You'll get it in no time."

I turned to Aldo. "Clean up thoroughly and send Victor Iverson this one too."

"Yes, Boss."

"Let him understand that I hold the keys to Hell, and I'll be more than glad to send him there if he decides to follow in his father's footsteps."

We left the warehouse the same way we'd come, unhurried, the smell of blood and gun oil trailing after us into the night air. Kegan lit a cigarette on the walk back to the car, watching me from the corner of his eye the way he always did when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

"You're thinking about her again," he observed. It wasn't a question.

I didn't bother denying it. There was no point lying to the one man who'd known me since before I learned how to lie convincingly to anyone else. "Two hours," I reminded him, checking the time on my watch. "Let's see if the angel keeps her word."

Kegan exhaled smoke through his nose, unimpressed. "And if she doesn't?"

"Then I'll simply have to remind her what happens to people who make me wait."