21. Rueben

Rueben

I should have known that bringing the Diseased Cunt onto the farm would be a bad idea. What the fuck I was thinking when I let Jasper convince me to bring her here? Then there was my demon, who wanted to wait. And fuck her. Like that would ever happen. I might be crazy but not that crazy.

I should have never listened and just went ahead and killed her that night. Then Jason and his asshole friends wouldn’t have come here and put a bomb in my fucking home, almost killing two of my blood-brothers.

Fuck her and use her to take down her old man.

I snort.

Senator Deymar won’t give a fucking shit about his daughter. Most Dukes don’t. They only see women as liabilities. Property and objects they can do whatever they want with.

The blizzard is hitting full force and I spend most of the night in the barn, not wanting the animals to get spooked from strange noises. Especially Juniper, who likes to run away at any given moment, and I don’t feel like dragging my ass out in the cold to look for her. I really don’t understand why Mose brought the goat home if he barely takes care of her. If not for Jasper and Tyson, we would probably not have animals on the farm, since they are the ones who do most of the work around here.

Close to morning, when Diva is getting restless, I take her on a walk. Besides, I am stiff from sitting on hay bales. The wind is blowing strong, making it hard to see anything, especially since everything is covered in snow.

Diva and I check the area around the houses, wanting to be sure there are no more surprises and when I find nothing, I check other parts of the property. Except for the snowstorm, the farm is quiet. I even debate going to see how Roy is doing, but fuck him. He almost killed Jasper and Mose…and her.

As much as I hate the Diseased Cunt, there had been a time when I…cared for her. But she had to fucking kill my sister and I will never forgive her for that. I will destroy her just like she destroyed my life. When I am done with her, she will thank me for putting her out of her misery.

Close to the pasture, Diva starts barking before suddenly running away.

“Diva!” I yell as I rush after her.

After I lost my parents, I was so fucking depressed I contemplated taking my own life. That was until Tyson and Ansel brought Diva home. She was a pup, only skin and bones and covered in fleas. She needed me and I needed her. If something ever happens to her, I don’t know what I will do.

It doesn’t take long to find Diva. And Jason. He has his gun pointed at Diva, who is on the verge of attacking him, hackles raised, snarling at him.

I take out a cigarette and light it. I take a few long drags, anger filling my veins. “Shoot my dog, Deymar, and I swear to God I will eat your liver for breakfast and send your head to your father as a gift.”

“Call it back and I will lower my weapon.”

I take another drag from my cigarette. “Tell you what. You either lower your weapon or else I will let Diva rip off your balls.”

After a moment of hesitation, Jason puts away his gun. “Look, I am not here to cause any trouble.”

“Really? Because shooting me in the neck and putting a bomb in my house sounds like trouble to me.” To Diva, I say, “Sit.” She obeys me without hesitation.

Jason shrugs. “I was only trying to get my sister back. Besides, from the looks of it, I missed my target. Else, you wouldn’t be standing here. And no one died in the explosion.”

After almost killing me, he is trying to play the good guy. The wound on my neck is itching, but I resist the urge to touch it. The most important rule as a mercenary is to never show weakness in front of the enemy, as they will use it against you.

I take another drag of the cigarette. “Your sister belongs to me now. Malaky sold her to us.”

“People can’t be bought,” Jason scoffs. “It’s illegal.”

He’s one to talk about morality?

“So is killing or pimping your sister,” I point out.

Jason grins and I want to punch him so hard, he will never smile again.

“Since you brought it up, do you know why Olivia killed Camila?” Jason asks.

I keep smoking calmly while I try to keep my emotions in check. It’s not like I haven’t asked myself this over and over again. Why? Camila and the Diseased Cunt were inseparable. There had been moments when I jokingly said they would marry each other.

“Because the Diseased Cunt is as deranged as you are?”

“Diseased Cunt?” Jason laughs. “That’s what you are calling my sister? I guess it is fitting since she has been spreading her legs for men since she was sixteen. God knows how many STDs she has.”

I take a long drag from my cigarette. My anger turns into so much more.

“It’s this exact reason that got your sister killed.”

“Yeah? What does the Diseased Cunt whoring herself to the entire city have anything to do with her killing Camila?”

The grin on Jason’s face spreads even more. “I know she was fucking you. Or was it the bastard? What’s his name?” After thinking for a moment, he says, “Tyson. Or Ansel, the orphan your family took pity on?”

When I don’t reply, Jason says, “I guess it doesn’t matter. Maybe she was fucking all three of you. Well, Camila found out Olivia was cheating and came to confront her about it. A fight started between the two of them. Your sister was so furious about Olivia not being faithful and threatened to spill the beans. I am not sure what happened next since I was in my room, but I could hear them shouting at each other. Not long after the fight started, Olivia told Camila that if she said a word about what she learned, she would kill her. Look, I don’t know what you know about Olivia, but ever since she was little, she has been a bit… not right in the head. Not wanting to have to deal with a body, I decided to put an end to the fight—then I heard a gunshot. When I made it to Olivia’s room, Camila was already dead.”

It takes a lot of self-control not to go straight to the house and put a bullet between that whore’s eyes. She killed Camila because she was a fucking cheater? Her not being able to keep her legs shut is not something new to me, but I never knew the reason why she killed Camila. I did ask, but she never said a word about it. Now I know why.

“The Diseased Cunt is mine to do as I want with her. If you don’t want to share the same fate as your buddy Roy, I suggest you leave,” I say.

“Not without my sister,” Jason insists. “Is Roy dead?”

I shrug.

“I guess I now have a widow to console. Pretty cute, too. I could lend her to you from time to time,” he chuckles.

I wonder how Tyson never killed Jason when he had the opportunity. A few minutes in his presence and I am more than ready to rip out his heart.

I finish my cigarette. “I wonder why you want to get the Diseased Cunt back so badly.”

Jason smiles sheepishly. “She stole something, uh, important to my family and until she says where she hid it, I can’t lose sight of her.”

“I don’t care what she did or stole from the Deymar family. She is mine!”

Jason smirks. “I see you grew fond of her. How about I let you have her until you get bored of her but with the promise you won’t damage her permanently?”

I shove my hands in my pockets. “How about you get the fuck away from my property?”

“It will take only a phone call to have this shit hole destroyed,” he snarls.

He can threaten me all he wants, but not my home. Not the Lair which I spent hundreds of hours perfecting for when my blood-brothers found a wife. The Lair was never my dream, but that of Jasper and Mose.

“Last warning, Deymar. Leave while you can.”

Jason’s hand goes to his weapon. “Not without Olivia.”

A figure appears behind Jason.

Ansel.

I thought he was in the house, fucking the Diseased Cunt. Ever since Ansel and I met, years ago, he has always had my back.

If Jason wants to be stubborn, it is fine by me.

“You had your chance, Deymar,” I say as Ansel hits him in the temple with the back of his handgun, hard enough to knock him unconscious. Catching Jason was easy. Too easy. I try to scan the surroundings, but the wind is too strong. I will have to call in for backup. “How did you know we were here?” I ask Ansel.

“I didn’t. I was just patrolling around when I noticed you two.” Kicking Jason in the stomach, Ansel adds, “Let’s take him to the shed.”

I grab Jason’s legs while Ansel grabs his arms and we start moving. Diva follows us. Noticing blood on Ansel’s hands, I ask, “How did you hurt yourself?”

“It’s Roy’s blood.”

“If you still had energy left after fucking the Diseased Cunt, it means one thing: her pussy is trash.”

Ansel grins. “Best pussy I ever fucked. Perfect in every way.”

Wait. He actually fucked her? His face turns serious. “She is still healing from what you and Tyson did to her and I didn’t want to wear her out.”

“Like you didn’t kick her in the ribs,” I remind him.

“Only because I thought she was choking on her own vomit.”

When we reach the shed, I say, “Is that what you are telling yourself so you can sleep well at night?” Before opening the door, Ansel lets go of Jason, who hits his head against the frozen ground. “I don’t get why you pretend you like her. For years, you hated her as much as Tyson and I. Did you know she was a cheating whore and that’s why she killed Camila?”

“I never once hated Olivia.”

We get Jason inside the shed and turn on the lights. Roy, or what is left of him, welcomes us with a look of absolute terror on his lifeless face. I have seen many bodies but none like Roy’s.

“What the fuck did you do to him?”

Ansel doesn’t even bother to look at Roy. “Showed him what happens to those who hurt Olivia.”

Out of all my blood-brothers, Ansel has always been the more level-headed. Probably because he grew up in foster care and knew that stepping out of line would get him in trouble. But the moment the Diseased Cunt is back into our lives, he starts acting strangely.

“Did you at least learn what he knows?” I ask.

Ansel unties Roy and throws his mangled body into a corner like it’s nothing more than trash. Diva goes over to sniff him. A moment later, she growls.

“He had nothing useful for us. I even made him tell me his Social Security number,” Ansel replies as we put Jason on the chair.

Anyone can have useful information if they are asked the right questions.

“What about that Spencer guy?” I ask.

“No one important. Just some family member Olivia cares about.”

If the Diseased Cunt cares about this Spencer dude, then it is worth learning more about him. I want to hit her where it most hurts her.

We tie Jason to the chair. “And Carlos?”

“Wherever Carlos is, Roy had no idea,” Ansel replies.

No wonder Jason sent Roy to put the bomb in the house. He was useless.

“Wanna bet I can make Jason talk before nightfall?”

Ansel takes out a cigarette. “You are bad at betting.”

I narrow my eyes.

“Do you still have something worth betting?” he asks.

“Fuck you!” I snarl, not liking to be reminded I suck at something I enjoy doing. Maybe I should find a new hobby.

“Nah, the only one I want to be with is Olivia,” Ansel laughs.

The door opens, and Tyson enters. I guess he heard what Ansel said, as he asks, “You want to be with the bitch?”

Ansel lights his cigarette. “She’s my woman now.”

“Yours?” After scrutinizing Ansel from head to toe, Tyson says, “I don’t see her name tattooed on your skin.”

After taking a few drags from the cigarette, Ansel says, “I might.”

“Who would want the name of a cheater on their skin?” I huff. Jerking my chin in Jason’s direction, I add, “He finally told me why the Diseased Cunt killed Camila. Because my sister found out the Diseased Cunt was fucking men and threatened to expose her to us.”

After throwing a glance at Roy’s dead body, Tyson leans his left shoulder against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. “All women are whores. They claim they want to wait until the wedding night when in reality their body count is in the three digits.”

“Or they are raped by those they trust the most,” Ansel comments.

Raped? What the hell is Ansel talking about? “Are you saying the Diseased Cunt was raped?”

“If you think she wanted to be a pornai, then you are delusional,” Ansel replies.

Like I care. Even if she was raped by every man in Veross City, I don’t feel bad for her. She took everything away from me. Fuck her!

“She deserves it for being a cheater and a killer,” Tyson says.

It doesn’t surprise me that Tyson thinks the same as me. He might even hate her more than I do.

Before I can say, ‘Let’s get the party started,’ a blaring car horn has me pulling out my gun and rushing out of the shed. The others follow me.

The horn honk is coming from the front gate. A car I don’t recognize is parked in front of it. The driver’s door opens, and I almost shoot the one stepping out of the vehicle.

“I am here to visit Olivia,” Alma says.