Page 24 of Blade

“Have you seen her?” I quietly asked, staring at the sparkling aqua water as I forced myself to quit looking up there.

“Who?” It was his turn to appear as if he had no idea what I was talking about. He lifted his sunglasses and blinked innocently.

“You know who, Manny. Sage.” I motioned toward the room that Sage was essentially a prisoner within.

He sighed heavily.

“Dude. If she was yours, I’m sorry, but you need to let it go,” he quietly replied as he sat up and leaned closer to me.

“She was like a little sister to me,” I furiously whispered.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he dropped his head. Then he lifted his gaze and stared me in the eye. “There’s nothing I can do. Even though I’m his son, I’m one of seven. I’m not his heir or favorite and therefore, I’m expendable. He’d kill me as easily as he would a fly buzzing around his food.”

Even though I knew that, it only made me more frustrated to hear it spoken aloud.

Suddenly there was a commotion behind us, and a small voice cried out. We turned in time to see Ricardo stumble outside and fall to his knees. Luis was hot on his heels. He grabbed the boy and dragged him over to one of the tall palms that lined the pool.

Two of his henchmen took over. One ripped the young boy’s shirt off, the other tied him to the palm tree. Ricardo was crying by then and his thin, tan back was shaking with fear.

“I’m going to ask you again, boy,” Luis announced with his usual deadly calm. “Who gave you that note?” That’s when I noticed what he had coiled in one hand. The sun that had been creating happy little glints in the water, was bouncing off the metal in the cat-o’-nine-tails. Luis released the coiled length and it fell open like the sinister slither of a serpent.

Ricardo began to openly sob, and his soft, golden eyes met mine through his shaggy bangs, but he quickly averted his gaze. He remained silent and I knew I couldn’t let this happen.

Immediately, I started to get to my feet. Manny grabbed my arm, halting me before I made it an inch off the seat. He shot me a look of warning, but I shook him off and got to my feet.

“Luis… he’s just a little boy,” I cautiously began.

Behind me I heard Manny whisper, “Fuck.”

Luis’s gaze moved to mine in what seemed like slow motion. “Are you telling me what to do?”

In an attempt to placate him, I held up my hands. “I’m not saying that, I’m just asking you to think about this.”

The seconds ticked by ominously as he stared at me. Finally, he grinned, but it didn’t sit right with me. The maniacal look in his coffee-colored eyes had warning bells screeching in my head.

“You’re right,” he announced jovially. Then he motioned to his goons, and they released Ricardo. The boy glanced around before backing away, then darted off before Luis changed his mind.

Smart kid. I’d go to his house later and give his mom enough money to go somewhere far away and start a new life. It would mean I’d need to work for Luis longer to save up again.

My heart was pounding and the longer Luis was silent, the more I was finding it hard to suck oxygen into my lungs. Luis snapped his fingers and pointed at me. Before I could process what was happening, the two assholes were on me.

“Dad,” Manny blurted as he stood.

“Don’t, or you’re next, son of mine or not,” Luis warned, eyes flashing. For a split second I saw true evil. Not just a crooked sadistic piece of shit.

Unadulterated evil.

Though I struggled and fought, I couldn’t break free. At seventeen, I was no match for two full-grown meatheads. It took them no time at all to have me secured to the tree Ricardo had so recently vacated.

They cut my shirt off and Luis grabbed my jaw in a bruising grip, turning my head to the side to look at him.

“Was it you? It was, wasn’t it? You always did live up her ass. You were probably the little fuck that took what was supposedto be mine, weren’t you?” he demanded, his words practically dripping ice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insisted though my heart was now racing at breakneck speed. “I haven’t had anything to do with her since I hit puberty. She was just a kid.”

“Hmm,” was the only reply I received. He stepped back. The crack of the whip barely registered before fire and pain erupted across my skin. I kept telling myself that I deserved it for putting a young boy in danger. I deserved it for all the shit I’d done. I deserved it for everyone in my life I’d let down—Sage, my mom.

Determined not to show him any weakness, I gritted my teeth and swallowed my scream. After more lashes than I wanted to count, I was on the verge of passing out from the agony, but he didn’t stop. Over and over, I told myself I deserved this punishment.