Page 98 of End It All

"The moment you take your aim off me, you're as good as dead," Harlow promised.

"Quincy, you move and I'll kill him."

I sat back, taking in a long breath. It had felt like I'd been holding it for a while there. The strong scent of blood and gunpowder overwhelmed my senses for a second as I adjusted. "Go ahead, you're the one who will have to explain why you're going to war with the Vitales."

Daiki’s face paled for a short second before he regained his composure. For all his bravado, he still lacked in certain areas. "That may be true, but if you die, then there's no one who will give a fuck."

He wasn't wrong, but I smiled. "Eh, I don't know. Someone I know might set fire to everything you own."

"Father will be upset," he tried convincing Harlow.

"Damn, you really don't know your own brother," I said, standing up. I stretched as if I had no cares in the world. "You know, you could have hid out for a bit longer like the coward you are."

"Shut the fuck up." He jerked the gun my way and that was his first mistake. The moment he took his gaze off Harlow, he attacked. Harlow's knife went right into Daiki’s shoulder.

He dropped his weapon, and we were both on him in a split second. We made quick work of tying him down to a kitchen chair. As badly as I wanted him dead, I needed answers first.

"Was the hit on me ordered?" I asked. I dragged the sharp end of the blade just under his chin making sure not to go too deep but enough to make sure he felt the pain. Blood bubbled up and ran down, joining the rest.

"?????????"I'm not talking.

"?????????????????????????."Good, I want to have fun. Keep your mouth shut for as long as possible, I said.

A flicker of fear shimmered in his eyes for a split second. It was all I needed. Harlow stood on Daiki’s other side.

"I've wanted this for years," Harlow said.

I didn't doubt it. I gestured to his brother. "Please, get a few cursory stabs in."

Harlow didn't hesitate as he picked up Daiki's discarded gun, put it against his ear and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged into the opposite wall. The ringing in my ears covered the shout from Daiki as he flailed. Blood dripped from his ear, and Harlow being the psycho he was, pressed the hot metal of the gun against his brother's temple, leaving a small round mark.

"If I wasn't having fun, I'd pull the trigger right now," Harlow said. He backed up, and I knew it was my turn.

I wanted to smash his face in but since I still needed him to have the ability to talk, I settled for his body. I swung withevery ounce of strength I had. Blow after blow rammed into his torso. With each one the chair scraped over the marble floor with force. Daiki coughed, and by the tenth hit, he was half bent over, retching. Bile hit the ground and Harlow and I jumped back.

"Gross," I said.

Harlow didn't care; he was all too ready for his turn. He took his brother's face and forced his head back. His knife was steady in one hand as he held Daiki’s eyelid and sliced it off. The curses in rapid-fire Japanese wasn't what I wanted to hear, so we both ignored them.

I traded with Harlow again and grabbed one of his hands. His middle finger was the first to be broken. The loud crack as I turned and forced it all the way to the left was a sound I was going to enjoy repeating. I gave him ten seconds to come to terms with the pain before I did it again. Each time, I let the pain and shock settle in before breaking another. I did it with both hands. Each digit was sticking up at odd angles. The tips were already changing colors, shifting to a dark purple hue.

There was no rest for him. Harlow and I continued to switch off, upping the torture each time around. It was like we were in some silent battle of who could hurt Daiki the most. I hoped I won with each scream I successfully pulled from him.

The knife in my hand was covered in his blood as I dragged it down, finishing off my design of a lotus flower at the same time Harlow carved kanji into his flesh.

"No," he gasped.

I cupped my ear and squatted down to get close, smiling at his pathetic state. "What was that?" I rubbed my ear as if that would help. “Shit, might have blood in there.”

He took in a shuddered breath that sounded wet. "No."

I'd nearly forgotten my question in the midst of fun. Was the hit on me ordered? Apparently not.

"Then why try and get me killed?"

He shook his head.

I walked back over to the huge kitchen, way nicer than anything I could afford lately. I'd turned the stove on in the middle of torture and had a few things getting nice and hot. I made sure to grab the heat resistant glove and picked up the fork. "Now, Harlow, you're the master at using these things as weapons; what do I do here?"