Page 67 of Desperate Victory

“She’s not on the fence,” Mickey said and that dragged my attention and Jasper’s. Only instead of curiosity, there was rough agreement in Jasper’s expression.

“Agreed,” he said and I frowned.

Mickey eyed me briefly then said, “She doesn’t want you to have to make this choice or to have to do it. She’s trying to work herself up to doing it for you.” The compassion in his eyes was no match for the depth of feeling in Mickey’s voice.

He loved my little sister. He might be too old for her and maybe once upon a time he made bad choices, but he was also the same man who did penance for those mistakes, who loved her to distraction, and would do everything he could to protect and keep her safe. He was also steady enough in a group of hotheads to keep the peace when they needed it and to tell her no when she did.

“Ivy never has to do that for me,” I said, but the rest of the protest died unspoken in the face of the bland looks they were both favoring me with. “But you guys know that.”

“So does she,” Mickey said, saluting me with his coffee. “Doesn’t mean she doesn't want to protect you.”

“She’s a pain in the ass like that,” I muttered and Jasper smirked.

“You love it.”

Having my sister back? Yeah. I did. Even if she was with all of my best friends, and I was with hers. Or maybe because of it? Fuck, I didn’t care. Considering I wouldn’t give Mayhem up without a bloody battle and my corpse on the ground, I could hardly fault Ivy for how stubborn and intractable she’d proven about keeping the guys.

I downed a couple of swallows of coffee before I stripped off my coat. “Do you have a preference on who we start with?”

We’d debated this, the three guys all worked for King. They weren’t civilians. They were definitely muscle. He used them for a lot of the dirtier jobs—including watching me. Business was one thing, but these pricks enjoyed hurting people. While I found that behavior rather despicable, it did free me up to deal with them how I saw fit.

“Which one do you like least?” Jasper asked.

“Clive,” I answered without missing a beat. That fucker had been on my ass from day one. I’d caught him following me before I went to live with King. After, he’d been downright insufferable. “He’s been sizing me up for a coffin since day one.”

“Well, the first one is usually the hardest to crack.” Jasper grinned wide. “It means we get to inflict more damage.”

“I like how you think.” We saluted each other with our coffee cups and I downed a couple of swallows. After, we all dressed in the plastic coveralls. We were going to be making a mess.

Once ready, Jasper led the way into the room where the three men were secured to hooks buried four feet into pillars around the room. When we were ready for full renovations, all of this would go. For now, it gave us a quiet place to work. With the clocks counting down, I didn’t want to waste time.

“Gentlemen,” Jasper said as he clapped his glove hands together. “Thank you all for waiting for us. My name is Hawk, I’m going to be your host on this magical interrogation ride. You’re probably thinking you can handle the pain. I’m here to tell you, that’s okay. Keep telling yourselves that. We’ll disabuse you of the notion soon enough.”

I didn’t laugh, but Jasper was performing like he was the master of ceremonies and this was our three ring circus. Then again, maybe these assholes were very much our monkeys.

“Don’t everyone volunteer at once, we’ve taken the stress out of deciding who goes first for you.” He mimed pulling out a card and flashing it at the room before he glanced at it. “Clive… do we have a Clive here?”

The man in question gave a little jerk, yanking his death-filled stare off of me to look at Jasper.

“Winner winner, chicken dinner. Good afternoon Clive, I’m Hawk.” Jasper strode over to him. “How are you today?”

“Fuck you,” was Clive’s response.

Jasper made a buzzing sound then swung his fist hard and fast. It caught Clive right in the jaw. He snapped his head too hard and hit the wall behind him, leaving the first stain of blood.

“I’m sorry,” Jasper said easily, barely even winded. “You chose the wrong answer. Would you like to try that again?”

“Sometimes,” Mickey said in a low voice, his lips barely moving. “I forget just how much he enjoys this part.”

Clive spat blood out as he glared at Jasper. He was on his knees, having collapsed there after the first blow. He fought to get up as Jasper waited, humming the song from Jeopardy.

Yeah, Mickey was right. I’d forgotten just how much fun Jasper could have with these interrogations.

“Go to hell,” Clive said and Jasper made the buzzing sound again.

This time he slammed his fist so hard into the man’s gut that he actually gagged and coughed up bile that Jasper dodged neatly.

“That’s two strikes,” Jasper informed him conversationally. “Would you like to try one more time? If not, I’m sure you can phone a friend or pass to the next player?”