CHAPTER TWENTY

RITCHIE

THE BACHELOR PARTY

“ I ’ll just have to take the satisfaction of ending Daryl.” I took a swig of my whiskey.

The night leading up to this trip was long but rewarding.

Ezra killed Rosco for kidnapping Simone; he deserved to get that kill which happened days ago. We left his rotting corpse in the torture room with Daryl and Reece to make them suffer even more. Back to last night.

I entered the torture room. The smell of Rosco’s rotting corpse hit my nose. Before I climbed into my torture gear, I applied a small dab of Vick’s VapoRub inside my nostrils to block out the stench. Daryl and Reece’s heads hung between their shoulder blades. They appeared to be asleep. The plastic crunched under my boots as I approached. I placed two gloved fingers against their necks and checked their pulses. They were still alive.

Catch, Ezra, Romeo, and Rémy walked inside the room dressed in full gear. They were ready to get the party started. Stepping around our prisoners, I reached for the silver light fixture on wheels. The heat from the lamp felt like a thousand suns. I knew because I held my forearm under the lamp as long as I could once. It felt like the light was burning a hole through my skin. Luca told me to put cocoa butter on the burn. He said Lexis swore by the stuff.

The heat lamp was one of the many tools we used when we wanted to get people to talk. Tonight, we’d use it just for fun. I figured; I’d watch blisters form on their skin as we got them prepared for their deaths.

After flipping on the switch, the bright light radiated their flesh.

“The girls did a number on you guys,” I chuckled.

Daryl and Reece groaned under the heat.

“That light will have you wide awake in under a minute. Soon you two will scream. Your voices will bounce off the soundproof walls. Allowing the girls to continue resting peacefully. Tori is asleep at our new home.”

Brock kept an eye on her.

“You’re no better than me.” Daryl’s words came out hoarse. The only thing they’d been given was water.

I reached for a water bottle and poured a little down their throats. Wouldn’t hurt to hear their last words and audible screams. I tossed the empty water bottle into the makeshift garbage bag to my left.

My eyes moved over the silver tray, then I selected my tool.

“The difference between me and you...” I pointed the blade at his chest.

“...I’d do anything in this world to protect her. I’d never exploit her like you did.”

“You saw her as a vulnerable little bird and decided to rescue her. Tori isn’t a little bird. When her back is against the wall, she’s a rottweiler. The woman can survive in the roughest of conditions,” he winced.

The heat from the light was charring his skin. I could smell his skin burning.

“Yes, she’s from the streets, but when a person is raped, their power is stolen. And trying to get that part of them back is difficult. The last thing you wanted to do was help her heal.”

“I did,” he bit out.

“Dressing a woman in pretty clothes, housing her in a castle, and forcing her to be your woman was not helping her heal.” I brought the saw down on his shoulder.

“Awe,” he roared.

I tugged my goggles over my eyes, then I continued.

“She deserves to be loved and cherished. I don’t give a fuck if she is a rottweiler. Even the most loyal animal desires compassion and love from their owner. My woman will have the world at her fingertips.” I brought the saw down again, and again. “She will understand that she’s all that matters to me. That I have her best interest at heart.”

My eyes narrowed as I slid the saw back and forth until it cut through his muscle and bone.

His arm dropped to the floor.

Catch approached Reece. “I’m going to kill you for what Daryl did to Bianca’s brother.”

Reece’s cold eyes stared through Catch.

“In the mafia world women and children are off limits.” Catch cut his eyes at Daryl.

“You strapped a vest lined with explosives on a teenage boy.” Catch slid the saw through the flesh above Reece’s elbow.

I winced. “That looks painful.”

Daryl’s mangled body thrashed in the chair as he watched his lover be tortured.

“We do this every day,” I stated.

“We torture our bosses’ enemies. Don’t worry, you and your boyfriend will be together in death. I widened my arms for theatrics. “Your body parts will sink to the bottom of Lake Michigan together.”

The guys burst into laughter.

Reece’s arm hit the floor with a thud. “I’m not sure I’ll ever unsee that fucking vest on Kam’s body,” Catch admitted.

All of a sudden, Daryl’s body convulsed. Shit, that fucking lamp burned a hole through his flesh.

“Shit, I forgot about the lamp. It always does the job,” I snickered as I turned it off, then pushed it into the corner.

“This is it,” I stated, stepping back in front of Daryl.

“You shot Ezra and me several times. It took us a while to heal.” I glanced to my left.

“Ezra, grab a saw.”

I tapped my saw on Daryl’s thigh. “Ezra and I will hack off the rest of your limbs.”

Drool hung from Daryl’s mouth.

Catch grabbed a scalpel off the tray. He slashed x’s all over Reece’s chest.

“You’re x’d the fuck out. Your boyfriend messed with the wrong guys,” Catch yelled.

“That’s right, you shouldn’t have underestimated us,” Romeo said.

Rémy pushed the meat grinder in front of Daryl and Reece.

“Did you know there’s an art to chopping up bodies?” I smiled. “We have to cut your body into small pieces, so you’re never found. The meat grinder is our friend. Although this time we aren’t grinding up your entire body. Just a few pieces.”

An evil smirk lifted the corners of Rémy’s mouth. “I’m going to chuck your arm into the grinder.” Rémy leaned over and grabbed Daryl’s arm off the floor.

Romeo picked up Reece’s arm.

Rémy flipped the switch on the meat grinder. It hummed to life.

I squeezed Daryl’s jaw, forcing him to watch. “First, look at your boyfriend. He’s almost ready.”

Catch picked up the machete off the table. His eyes met Daryl’s. “You don’t fuck with the mafia.” He swung the large knife through Reece’s neck.

“No,” Daryl roared at the top of his lungs.

Reece’s head flipped in the air, then smacked the plastic sheet.

“Keep watching, motherfucker,” I ordered.

Romeo and Rémy took turns pushing Daryl and Reece’s arms through the meat grinder.

Daryl dry heaved.

“Ezra, grab a bucket,” I said.

He obtained the bucket, then placed it under Daryl’s mouth just in time. Liquid gushed out of his mouth and into the bucket.

Catch, Romeo, and Rémy tossed Reece’s body onto the floor. They got down on their knees and started to dismember his body.

Ezra and I stood on either side of Daryl.

“This is for allowing that sick motherfucker, Rosco...” I pointed to the corner. “...kidnap our women.”

Ezra and I slid our saws through his thigh muscles.

“You thought it was a fucking joke to watch that asshole kidnap Simone and Tori? He treated them less than human,” Ezra growled.

“No one fucks with our women,” Ezra barked out.

“You probably felt like a big man shooting us while watching the bullets strike our bodies. You better believe we enjoy carving your ass up,” I bit out.

Ezra and I stepped back, staring at our handy work. There was only one thing left to do.

I picked up the bloody machete Catch used. And I whacked the side of Daryl’s neck. The machete slid through his flesh. His head hit the floor and rolled a few feet away.

It was finally over.

We stuffed their remains into heavy-duty black plastic bags before heading out on Catch’s rented yacht. Romeo steered us towards the center of Lake Michigan.

Daryl, his boyfriend, and Rosco’s body parts were scattered throughout the lake. We had tied them up with chains and cinder blocks to ensure they would stay submerged at the bottom.

Catch chuckled, bringing me back from my thoughts. “That was fucking epic last night.”

We arrived at the club, then settled in one of the four V.I.P sections. The guys sat on the long blue leather C shaped sofa surrounding a large blue table filled with liquor. The base of the music shook the floor.

Catch finally removed his sunglasses and placed them in his inner jacket pocket before pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

I stepped to the banister overlooking the entire downstairs. We had a perfect view of the dance floor.

The girls hadn’t arrived yet. They were at the casino. I ordered Brock to keep me up to date on how Tori was handling the Bachelorette party.

So far, so good.

“Let’s get some fucking bottles popping over here,” Romeo shouted over the music.

I turned from the crowd and returned to my friends. It was always hard to remove the bodyguard hat. While I stood at the banister I counted the exits, how many of their security team walked along the main floor, and how many people were dealing pills out in the open.

The topic of conversation shifted to Catch’s upcoming bachelor party.

Later on, I would be the entertainment for Tori as I gave her a special striptease before making love to her with unrestrained passion.

Romeo glanced at the name tag of our server. “Rainy, could you bring us five bottles of your best champagne?”

“Correction, make that four,” Romeo clarified.

Ezra’s brows lifted. “You’re not drinking?” he asked.

“I am. I’ll share a bottle with Catch. He won’t drink that much. He’ll be too busy obsessing over his fiancée.”

“That’s pretty rich coming from you, Ritchie. Doesn’t Brock keep tabs on your woman?” my cousin jested.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that. Every man at this table would do the same for their woman,” I retorted.

“It’s true. I even put a tracker in Simone’s purse,” Ezra admitted before taking a sip of his whiskey.

Romeo pointed at Rémy. “And he put a tracker on the bottom of Asia’s shoe. Now we can check our phones and know exactly where she is.”

I shook my head, then looked over at Catch. “See?”

The server brought over the bottles of champagne and asked, “Can I get you fellas, anything else?”

“Not at the moment,” I replied.

She smiled. “Just holler if you need anything, guys.”

I grabbed one of the bottles and stood. “Gentlemen, grab a glass.”

A smirk spread across my lips as I continued, “We’re here in Vegas to celebrate Catch tying the knot tomorrow.” With a pop, I opened the champagne bottle.

The rest of the guys howled with excitement.

I poured champagne into each of our glasses before returning the bottle to the table. “I’d like to propose a toast to my cousin,” I said, raising my glass high.

“Here’s to many years of blissful happiness with the one woman who stole Catch’s heart.”

“Thank you,” Catch stated.

“Salute!” we yelled as we clinked our glasses together.

We gulped down the champagne and placed our empty glasses on the table.

“It’s time for cigars.” Catch opened an expensive box of Cuban cigars sitting on the table.

“Ezra, now that we finally have time to kick it. Tell us how you know, Simone,” Catch suggested as he passed cigars to each of us.

I hadn’t pressed him about his obvious obsession with Simone. At the time, his job was to keep Tori safe. Hell, it still was.

“Five years ago, I met Simone in a nightclub in the heart of downtown Chicago. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen,” he said, staring into space.

“We spent a week together while I was on shore leave. There was no way I could let her go after that week.” There was a pained expression on his face.

“A scum sucking Irish asshole was after me. Simone wasn’t safe. Later I went to work for Nick.” He poured whiskey into his glass and knocked it back.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough for now. What matters is you crossed paths again. It looks like you two are getting along,” I said.

He smiled. “Yeah, we are.”

Boisterous laughter erupted behind me, and I turned to see five women approaching. They were all tall and lean, with perfectly styled hair and revealing dresses that left nothing to the imagination.

“Take a look at these gorgeous men,” one of the two blonde women said. “Hi, I’m Stacy. My friends and I are having the best time in Vegas and plan for even more fun tonight.” A flirtatious giggle fell past her lips as she tossed her long, bouncy blonde curls over her shoulder.

“This is Maddy,” she gestured to the other blonde beside her. Maddy’s eyes roved over Ezra.

Stacy continued. “And we have Rose, Penelope, and Veronica.”

The red-head Rose winked at Catch while Penelope smiled at Romeo. Veronica fluffed her dark locks as she eye fucked Rémy.

“You guys look like you’re having fun,” Veronica stated as her hungry eyes danced over each of us like she’d be thrilled to fuck us all.

“We’re having a private celebration,” Catch replied tersely.

But the women seemed unfazed by his words and proceeded to squeeze onto the seats between us, their flirtatious demeanor not faltering for a second.

“You guys are the most handsome men here tonight,” Rose purred, leaning towards Catch and taking in his scent.

Maddy’s gaze was fixed on Ezra, a clear longing in her eyes as she suggested buying four more bottles of champagne to join in on our celebration.

Meanwhile, Stacy licked her lips as her eyes roamed over my muscular frame.

I gestured to Catch and clarified, “This is a bachelor party. For him.”

The women erupted in laughter.

Stacy interjected, “Why aren’t you guys at a strip club?”

I replied, “Because he specifically wants to celebrate his last night as a single man at the same club as his fiancée.”

The girls exchanged glances before Rose whined, “Sounds like she has you whipped.”

Catch clenched his jaw and admitted, “She does.”

I added, “Not one man at this table is single.”

Veronica sighed next to Rémy and remarked, “The good ones are always taken.”

“There are plenty of single men in the club. Go mingle and have a good time,” I urged.

With a pout, they exited our booth.

Ezra politely said, “Enjoy your evening, ladies,” as Penelope gave Romeo’s shoulder a reassuring pat before walking deeper into V.I.P.

After lighting my cigar, I loosened my tie. “Could you imagine if the girls saw them sitting with us?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t have been a fair fight,” Romeo stated.

“You’re right, they’ve been bitten by the torture bug,” Catch chuckled.

Hearty laughter exploded around the table.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I retrieved it and stared at the screen.

Brock: The girls are here. They’re on dance floor number two.

Me: Thanks, Brock.

My gaze swept over the guys’ faces. Romeo, Rémy, and Ezra stared at their phone screens, too. They must’ve been notified the girls had arrived.

“The girls are here,” I said aloud.

Catch strolled over to the banister, puffing on his cigar. This was his first time leaving our table.

“Dance floor number two,” I shouted.

Catch nodded.

“Do you think we dodged a bullet?” Ezra asked.

I arched a brow. “You mean with those women?”

He nodded.

“I definitely hope so. For their sake,” I chuckled.

“I know I’m not seeing this,” Catch growled.

“He has his hands on my woman,” Catch roared.

I stalked toward my cousin in an effort to calm him down.

My eyes moved over the scene on the dance floor. Sure enough, some poor idiot had an arm wrapped around Bianca’s waist from behind.

Catch’s sinister eyes met mine. “He’s fucking dead.”