Page 44 of Sweet Revenge
Rather than answering questions he already knew the answer to, I stalked back over to him and grabbed him by the bound hands. Tugging on the paracord, I yanked him into one of the bedrooms. The place was trashed so badly, I had to steer him around overturned furniture and broken glass. Well, the broken glass I didn’t avoid nearly as much as some of the other stuff. He grunted and groaned a bit as shards bit into his shoulder and when I rammed him into the corner of a table. I didn’t give a shit. He didn’t even know what the wordpainmeant yet.
Once I reached the bedroom, I went over to the corner where I had a hook hanging from the ceiling for just this occasion. I hoisted my scrawny brother up off the floor like he weighed nothing and I slipped the paracord around the hook. He could only keep his feet on the floor if he stood on his tiptoes. Swaying back and forth, his head still lolling to the side a bit, Dezzy tried to focus his eyes on me. “Come on, man. We’re brothers. I was only looking out for you.”
“Looking out for me?” I repeated. “Bullshit.”
Elisa stood in the doorway, partially in the hallway, probably so she could back away if necessary. Ordinarily, she liked to see me beat the shit out of people, but I had a feeling this would be different for her. She’d always been fond of Dezzy, just like me, and she probably didn’t particularly want to see me bash his skull in, but we both knew how this would end.
“What are you doing here, Dez?” I asked him, slipping into the same frame of mind I always entered when I needed answers. My personal emotions fell to the wayside, and I eyed this bastard like the mob boss I’d fought so hard to become, someone he’d threatened.
“I got your text and wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything,” Dezzy said, doing his best to look me in the eyes while he lied. He couldn’t do it, either because of his head injury or because he wasn’t man enough.
“You’re still fucking lying to me.” With my palm open, I slapped him hard across the face. His head spun around, colliding with his arm. “Tell me the truth.”
“I am telling you the truth. I was afraid for you, man. I wanted to help.”
I slapped him again from the other direction this time. My ring bit into his cheek, cutting it slightly. He winced as blood trickled down to his jaw.
“If you were trying to help, why didn’t you call me first?” I demanded.
“You said no communication.” When he tried to look back at me, his head slid backward again. “That’s why I didn’t call.”
“Then why did you come in here with your gun drawn, ready to shoot me?” I wanted to know.
“In case you had some trouble. I didn’t hear anything when I pulled up, and I didn’t see your car. I’m telling the truth man.” He tried to adjust, lifting up a little, but it was clear his legs were about to give out from the difficult position and his wrists and shoulders were already hurting.
I slapped him anyway. “That’s bullshit. You pulled your gun on me when I came through the door,” I reminded him.
“I didn’t know it was you.” Tears sprang to his eyes, and he began to whimper. “Come on, man. We’re brothers. We’re best friends. You know you can trust me.”
I wanted to believe him. Moments from our life together flashed before our eyes. Swimming in the family pool in the summer, going on trips for the holidays, the time he’d given me a bite of his donut when Dad had told him I couldn’t have any. We’d been best pals growing up, and that had continued into adulthood. At least, I’d thought it had. If I had to leave my kingdom to anyone, it would’ve been Dezzy.
Why couldn’t this all be a misunderstanding? Why couldn’t I just believe that he hadn’t meant any harm?
But no, I’d seen his eyes when he’d come at me in the kitchen. He’d known exactly who I was and what he was doing. He’d wanted to kill me.
I couldn’t go soft on him. I needed answers.
With a deep breath, I dug into my pocket and pulled out the one weapon everyone in the gangster world feared—my brass knuckles.
“God, no, Daemon. Please. Anything but that.” The tears picked up as Dezzy’s eyes went frantic again. He knew the pain these knuckles could inflict because he’d seen me literally kill people with them by pounding their heads in until they resembled hamburger meat. He had to know this was going to be unpleasant. I pulled my arm back, ready to punch.
“Please, Daemon? Please don’t hit me with those. I’m telling you the truth!” Dezzy cried. “I swear to god, I was trying to help, and I had nothing to do with Raven.”
I had been about to punch him, but when I heard him say Raven’s name, I stopped. “Raven?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I don’t know how she found you. Please don’t hurt me.”
“Son of a bitch!” I let my fist fly, slamming right into his nose which cracked, spraying blood all over the place. Wiping my face with the back of my hand, I let him know he’d fucked up. “I never told you about Raven, Dezzy. The only way you’d know about her is if you’re working for La Rosa.”
“No, Daemon!” Dezzy yelped, but by then, my anger had been unleashed. I punched him again, this time in the eye.
“Why the fuck did you betray me, huh?” I demanded to know as the punches continued to fly. “Was it for money?” I punched him again. “Power?” Another blow, this time, snapping his head back so hard it hit the wall. “Jesus Christ, Dezzy, we’re brothers!”
“No, we’re not!” he screamed at me. My fist hovered in the air next to my head as I stared at him. Blood dripped down his nose, staining his teeth pink. Both eyes were swollen, and his cheeks looked like raw meat. “We arenotbrothers, Daemon Petrov. That’s why I betrayed you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Dez?” I took a step forward but lowered my arm.
With fresh tears bursting from his blackened eyes, he said, “We’re not brothers. We’re not anything. I was helping the La Rosas because they’re my family.”