Page 12 of Madness

What the fuck?

“He’s lying.” Tristan said and punched him in the face. The sound of bones crunching was swallowed by Daniel’s grunt of pain.

I stared at my cousin. He needed to know his place. If I wanted him to exact pain, I would’ve told him to. Tristan had become increasingly reckless lately, and if he didn’t get it under control, he was going to lose his chance at being a capo.

But I wouldn’t show my annoyance in front of our captive. I couldn’t show weakness in the ranks.

“Who sent you then?” I focused back on the man whose nose was now broken. The drip of blood tapped a steady rhythm on the dirty ground.

“I don’t know.” He said. “We’re guns for hire. We were told a target would be here tonight and to take him out.”

I nodded at Bash, and he jerked Daniel up. He hissed in a breath and staggered at the pain in his leg. His jeans were soaked dark red from the gunshot wound. His shirt soaked from the wound of his missing finger.

“Do you know who I am?” Daniel’s eyes focused on me, and I saw the moment of recognition. If he was afraid before, it had nothing on the terror radiating from him now.

“I had no idea you were the target.” He begged. “Please. I wouldn’t have taken the job.”

He shook his head back and forth. Bash forced his head back until he stilled the movement and exposed his neck. This was why he was my second in charge. He knew exactly what I wanted without me having to say it. We’d trained and lived together for years. If I could form feelings enough to have friends, Bash would be my only one.

I traced a line down Daniel’s neck; drops of blood leaked from the shallow cut. I narrowed my eyes at the sight. Why wasn’t I feeling the excitement?

“I-I-“Daniel stammered, and I pulled the blade back.

“Yes?” I stared into his eyes, trying to absorb his fear. To thrive on it. But still nothing.

It was like the last few times I’d fucked someone, which had been months ago. It was boring. I’d been pushing boundaries my whole life, and now there was nowhere left to go. Maybe this was my existence now. If taking a life wasn’t going to give me a rush, then what would?

“I know how to get in contact with him.” I raised one brow, knowing he’d feel the need to fill the silence.

“I have a phone number.” Daniel said. I watched as his eyes flicked to each of us. He lingered on Tristan for a brief second. I turned to look at him and saw why. His face was etched in fury. He advanced, towering over our captive.

“You think a number will save your life. You shot at us.” Tristan punched him again. Daniel’s head snapped back, and blood sprayed on the brick walls.

“Useless.” Tristan shouted as he hit him over and over again. He struck with the precision of a killer.

“Fermare!” Stop.I commanded, but Tristan was lost in a haze and didn’t hear me.

Bash dropped Daniel as he tried to push Tristan back; Daniel’s body fell to the ground with a thud. Bash shoved at Tristan, but it didn’t stop him from pulling his gun and shooting our informant. The sound bounced off the brick walls.

“Stupid0cazzone.” You dumb fuck.Bash yelled. “How are we going to get information out of a corpse?”

“He didn’t know anything.” Tristan said unapologetically.

I swung before he could prepare for it. My hit landed hard across his cheekbone, causing maximum damage. He slipped in the blood pooling on the ground and fell beside the dead body. I placed my foot on his throat, keeping him in the dirt and filth.

“Remember your place.” I growled. I dug deeper into his throat and watched as his eyes bulged. I didn’t enjoy this. Tristan was my cousin, and I didn’t want to hurt him. But if he couldn’t respect the family, the order, I wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him. “You don’t kill without my word. You don’t shit without my say-so.Comprendere?”

“Yes.” He said through clenched teeth. I pushed again, cutting off his air, to make my point.

“You can explain to Leif that you lost your temper and killed our chance for information.” I released him, and he stood again.

But now, there was a slight rounding of his shoulders. Good, he should be ashamed of his actions. I didn’t care that he’d killed someone. We killed every day. I cared that he couldn’t fucking listen. He wouldn’t make a good capo if he couldn’t fall in line. He’d put the family at risk by losing this chance to gain the upper hand.

“Dispose of the body. Cut off his hands and have it delivered to the Gallos. Let them know who they’re coming after.” I picked up the dead man’s ring before walking away from Tristan without confirming he’d heard my order. He’d do it or face worse consequences than a punch to the face.

I felt Bash fall into step beside me. We both remained silent until we reached the car. He got behind the wheel after opening the back door for me.

“He’s becoming reckless.” He said as we drove away.