43. CHAPTER 43

43

JULES

Wow. This warehouse is impressive. We arrive at the location that’s on the outskirts of town, the entire facility is like a security compound. High fencing with barbed wire runs around the perimeter, cameras installed in every corner of the yard where the large warehouse is situated. Lev slows the car down as we approach the secure gate where one of the guards lets us in, and we drive towards the building to be greeted by two more of Carlos’s men.

The three of us get out of the car first, leaving Zac and Jez inside the vehicle.

“I’m Stephan. We’ll be right outside the main doors until you’re done. Leave the bodies inside when finished, we can dispose of them.”

I look over at Lev, who looks as dumbfounded as me. Who the hell is Carlos, really? Because a set up like this is not from no small time importer. The guard’s appearance and demeanor are entirely different from the guys he has working for him back home. These guys look like the real deal. Dressed sharp, focused, and professional. I’m impressed.

“Sounds good. Come on you two, lets get the fuckers inside,” Lev says, and we go to grab them from the car. Lev handles Zac from the trunk, while I take hold of Jez. Ivan reaches into the car and grabs that black case, and I’m dying to know what’s in it.

“Where are we?” Jez asks, and I ignore him.

“What are we doing here? People will miss us, you know? The cops have probably already been told,” Zac shouts as Lev literally drags him into the warehouse, while we follow behind.

“No they won’t. You have no family or friends apart from each other. The other two morons are in jail, so I doubt anyone will miss you. Especially your smell,” Lev says, sneering in disgust.

The warehouse is like I thought, one large open space, a few containers lay around randomly on the floor and a small office that’s empty is situated in the far left corner of the warehouse. As I scan the room, with a firm grip on Jez, I find what I’m looking for. Heavy metal chains hang from the ceiling at the other side of the warehouse, and I push Jez along in front of me.

“Ivan, give me a hand, hold his arms up for me.”

Ivan tugs on Jez’s arms, locking his complaining ass into position as I guide the chains over to his wrists and lock them into place until he is secure, dangling like a piece of meat from a hook.

“You can’t do this! I didn’t do anything!” Jez screams, and so the begging begins.

“What do you want me to do with this dickhead?” Lev asks.

“Secure him to that chair. I want him to watch,” I say as I remove my coat, and roll up the sleeves of my shirt. It’s freezing in here, but it doesn’t get to me. Hot blood of determination and anger courses through my body, heating me up enough for me to function.

“Secure him with what? I haven’t got anything,” Lev moans.

“I have. Here,” Ivan says as we both turn to see him open his large black case and remove a long piece of rope. What kind of Mary Poppins shit is this? Wait…is that a tattoo gun in his bag?

“What else you got in there?” I ask, genuinely intrigued.

“Tattoo gun, knives, more rope, cable ties, clamps, pliers, scalpel,” he says but I cut him off by holding up my hand to stop him.

“Why?”

“He loves to play as much as I do, but he carries his stuff around, just in case an opportunity arises,” Lev says, chuckling. I remember when we were younger, Ivan had an unhealthy obsession with what the body could tolerate in terms of torture. It appears he has perfected his craft, because this is some crazy shit.

Ivan drags the random chair over to us, and Lev secures Zac with the rope.

“Let Jez go. Take me, but leave him out of it.”

“Why should I? You both hurt Kai, and you need to be punished,” I say.

“It was me! I stabbed the fucker. You’d do the same if one of yours betrayed you,” he shouts, the real Zac joining us, finally.

“How did he betray you, exactly?” I ask, while moving around Jez, inhaling his terrified pants, the stench of fear so strong I can taste it.

“He left! You don’t just leave. The fucker always thought he was special. But he was weak,” Zac says. I watch him for a moment, looking at his ugly face, thinking that was the last thing Kai saw before he got hurt. I’m gonna slice the fucker open.

“How old are you? Ten?” Ivan asks. He actually looks like he pities the idiots and their idea of betrayal. They’ve no idea.

“Who is Kai to you, anyway?” Jez says, and I move my focus back to him.

“I’m his uncle.”

“Jules?” Jez rasps.

“Yeah. You fucked with the wrong guy. You see, I believe in consequences, and because I’m a nice guy, I want to rid you of the guilt. Cleanse your soul, so to speak,” I say, and I move closer to Jez.

“You’re gonna kill us, aren’t you?” he asks.

“Yes, but not yet. We’ll take a while to get there first.”

Before he can respond, I form my hand into a fist and pull back my arm. My muscles coil, then release like a spring, smashing him in his face. The pain, like a sharp shock from contact with his stiff jaw, travels down my forearm. But it’ll be worth breaking every damn finger.

Zac yells out for me to stop, and Jez swings his face back to face me and grins. The fucker actually grins. In the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve learned you have three different kinds of reactions. One is begging and offering to do anything or to sell a family member to save their life. Two is remaining calm, accepting your fate, and not fighting it, then the third is like what Jez is displaying. Anger and annoyance, becoming a mouthy shit, thinking if they spout enough hatred to you, you’ll suddenly get feelings and let them go because they hurt your sensitive soul. I actually prefer those as it makes it more fun to break them down into nothing. Which I will, with my very own fists.

“I should’ve had a turn too, finished the pathetic loser off. It was fun to watch him cry like a baby,” Jez says, and that’s all the green light I need to get this party started.

“Ivan, take his top off.”

With a huge smile, Ivan grabs one of his knives from his bag and strolls over to Jez and uses the knife to slice through the material of his sweatshirt, ripping it off into pieces, revealing Jez’s naked chest. I want to see the damage caused, for his skin to turn from pale to purple. Jez shivers from the freezing air, but he does a good job in schooling his face like this doesn’t bother him.

I begin the onslaught of beating his body until my muscles ache with overuse. I start with his ribs, my fists connect with the hard flesh, dull thuds mix with the occasional sound of crunching bones. His yells of pain ring out in the large open space like a symphony. I use him as a punchbag, alternating sides until his skin reddens. My hands hurt like a bitch, but I power through. I grunt with every hit, my fists now smashing his face, my goal is to keep going until his face is left in a pulp of mushed flesh and blood.

“Ahhh!” he shouts, when I connect with his mouth. Blood flows like a tap from his nose. The sounds are spectacular. Crunching, wet squelches with every punch, destroying his face.

My arms scream in protest at the exertion. I’m covered in sweat and puffing air like I’ve run a marathon. I remove my shirt in hopes of cooling down, and fall into a steady rhythm.

One-two, one-two, one-two.

I mix the hits between face and body. The shouts of pain have become low whimpers, his body becoming more lax as he slumps, suspended by his arms. Every time my fist connects with his flesh, an image of Kai’s broken body blurs my vision. The hate builds and builds with every blow. I’m angry, I’m pissed. Angry that Kai left, pissed that he lied, seething that he got hurt and I wasn’t there to protect him. Vengeful enough to spill blood in his name.

My arms turn to jelly, exhausted physically, but mentally I’ve barely begun. I’ve no idea how long I’ve been at this, but Jez is unrecognizable. Still alive, though. Barely.

I flex my fingers and wince at the pain in my hands. I don’t think they’re broken, but they’ll definitely be swollen. Turning to look at Zac, I’m almost tempted to challenge him to a fight. The anger and devastation written over his face is almost too much to resist. He has nothing to lose and would probably be a good opponent.

“You’re a fucking monster! I should’ve stabbed that bastard in the neck, bled him like a pig!” Zac yells.

“But you didn’t. You hurt my man, and I’ll hurt you. Nobody touches him but me.”

I wipe the sweat off my brow and look over at Ivan.

“Want to give us a demonstration with your bag of fun?” I say to Ivan.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he says and all but skips over to his case of goodies.

“Now, let me show you my new toy. I had it custom-made in Europe and have been dying to use it,” Ivan says as he removes the tattoo gun from his bag. He even has his own extension cable to run from the socket. I watch him set the gun up and wonder for a moment what’s so special about it as, so far, it just looks like an average tattoo machine.

“What are you gonna do? Tattoo pretty flowers over his body?” Lev says snarkily.

“I could, but I’d prefer to use this,” Ivan says and holds up the needle that you normally attach to the gun. However, this needle is different; it’s shaped similarly to a razor but a lot smaller, and it looks like it could cut through leather with ease. Ivan is one crazy sick fucker to think of this, but I’m down to watch.

“What are you gonna do with it?” I ask.

“So many options, man. We could flay him, cut out sections of his skin, or give him a circumcision.”

“A what?” I ask.

“Circumcision. You know, when they cut off your foreskin.”

“I know what it is, but why?” I say.

“Because it fucking hurts, and it’s fun. Trust me, anything to do with the dick has them screaming, unlike anything you’ve ever heard.”

“That’s an awesome idea. What if he’s already cut?” Lev says.

“Then we’ll do something else. Just watch and enjoy, boys.”

“I should’ve filmed this shit, Aaron would’ve loved it,” Lev mutters to himself.

“Don’t you fucking touch me!” Zac wails. Like we’d listen to him.

“Why not? Dicks that are cut are pretty hot,” Ivan says as he finishes assembling his kit.

“You’re not looking so hot, Zac,” I say.

“Fuck you!”

“No thanks, I’m happy fucking Kai.”

“You’re disgusting, fucking your own family. Maybe that’s where I went wrong, should have fucked him so bad you would never get to again. Always thought he was soft,” Zac says, his lip curled in disgust. He gets what he wants from me, a reaction I’m only too happy to show him. I swing my arm to the side and with sharp force, I backhand him across the face. It lacks the depth and impact of a punch, but I like the demeaning nature of it. It’s almost a dismissive act. My knuckles sting, already sore from beating Jez, but watching Zac’s face jolt to the side, his nostrils flaring in resolve, trying not to show how much it hurt, makes it worth every bit of pain.

“We need to move this along. Ivan, get started,” Lev says, and Ivan happily obliges. He kneels at Zac’s feet, still tied to the chair, and opens his jeans and pulls out his sad flaccid dick.

“Yes! He isn’t cut,” Ivan says, on the verge of becoming overly excited. Lev stands to the side and watches with complete focus. He loves this kind of shit, and he and Ivan together will be a nightmare.

“Get off! No!” Zac screams as Ivan turns on the gun.

“Don’t be ungrateful, trust me, you’ll love the look of it when I’m done,” Ivan says, as he then lowers the vibrating blade around the tip of Zac’s cock. With precision, he pulls the foreskin over the head and moves the blade down his shaft until the flesh rips apart. Wow. The screams. I want to close my eyes and absorb the pain, its so alluring to hear this fucker hysterical. He’s shaking so hard that Lev has to hold the chair still so he doesn’t fall over. Lev is completely enraptured by the process. Ivan is completely unbothered by the yelling, his tongue touching his upper lip with concentration, and all I can do is sigh with relief. We’ve got them. Kai will never have to think about them again.

Kai’s face again appears in my vision. That cute dimple, his ravenous and innocent eyes, so contrasting in their wants and desires. The tattoo gun stops whirring and Ivan sits back with the blood covered piece of skin. Zac is bleeding profusely from his dick, where Ivan went a little too deep, but who the fuck cares.

“Still want to talk shit?” I ask. He doesn’t answer. His pale skin is drenched in sweat, his eyes have glossed over, his mind not in the room with us.

“Finish it, Jules. We need to leave,” Lev says, and I nod in agreement.

I walk over to Ivan’s case and retrieve a long sharp blade. Feeling at peace, I stride over to Jez, who is barely conscious. I hold his head back and slice the blade across his throat. His throat gapes open as loud wet gurgles leave his mouth before he stops breathing. One down, one left to go.

Spinning around, I look at Zac, and what a fucking sight. Lev is still holding onto the chair as Zac’s weight falls to the side. Without any words, I walk over to him. His eyes open, staring at me as though he’s looking through me.

“You never should’ve touched what’s mine. Now you pay the price,” I say, my face contorting into a bitter smile as Lev yanks his head back for me, and I slowly slit his throat, watching and listening to every gasp and gulp, and admiring the fountain of blood that now spills down his body.

As soon as he takes his last breath, the cold from the night sends icy chills across my bare chest. I’m covered in blood, my body hurts like hell, but all I want to do now is go to Kai.

“Here, put your shirt and jacket on. We got a suite at the local hotel, and the concierge sent some new clothes to our room. Then you can go to your boy,” Lev says.

“Thanks for this,” I say to him. He stares at me, blank of any emotion I could read on his face, and he nods.

“No thanks needed. Now let’s go. Ivan, pack away your shit, we need to head out,” Lev says, and Ivan gets to work.

“What do you think they’ll do with the bodies?” I say.

“No idea, but D said we can trust them. Don’t worry about it.”

That’s good enough for me. I dress back into my shirt and coat, which will both need replacing, and we walk out of the warehouse with a quick exchange of goodbyes with Carlos’s men. Lev warms up the car as we leave the compound and head to wherever this hotel is. I need to get cleaned up as I’m now itching to get back to my man. My Kai. And when he’s better, he has some explaining to do, along with a punishment for ever thinking of leaving me.

Fortunately, my coat covers the evidence of the carnage we left behind at the warehouse, enabling me to go to the hotel and clean up. After a shower and a change of clothes, compliments of the concierge service, I take an Uber to the hospital, leaving Lev and Ivan behind.

When I get to the hospital, I walk as fast as I can to Kai’s room. As I arrive at his door, I notice that Tim is not here, only Jenny, who is fast asleep in the chair next to Kai’s bed. I quietly walk over to the other side of Kai, so as not to wake Jenny, and gently stroke my bruised fingers down his pale cheek. His chest steadily rises and falls, no other sound in the room, apart from the beeping monitors.

“Hey, you’re back,” Jenny says, yawning as she stretches in the uncomfortable stiff chair.

“Any news?”

“He started to wake earlier, the sedation had worn off. He was quite agitated, so they gave him something to put him back to sleep again.”

“Why didn’t you message me?”

“Because it happened so fast, and it didn’t take long for the doctors to settle him.”

“You should’ve told me. Anything that happens with Kai, even a sneeze, I want to be informed.”

Jenny goes silent and looks at me, wide eyed in disbelief.

“Okay, you need to back the hell up. I didn’t see the point in worrying you.”

“Not your call to make.”

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean? He’s my son, Jules. Of course it’s my call.”

“Kai’s an adult and he’d want me here.”

Jenny goes quiet again, her face now in contemplation. Her eyes narrow on me, questions buried under that curious gaze.

“He called out for you.”

“What?”

“When he was panicking. He muttered your name several times before he went under again. I didn’t realize you’d gotten so close.”

“He’s everything to me.”

She nods slowly. “Yeah I know. He’s family. I’m sorry, I’m just tired.”

I’m seconds away from telling her Kai is not family. He’s my soul. My life eternal. My beginning with no end. But of course, idiot Tim enters the room to ruin the chance for me to come clean.

“Jules. You’re back.”

“Anyone tell you what a perceptive cop you are?”

“Jules!” Jenny hisses at me.

“It’s fine. Why don’t we go get some rest. Jules is here to take over.”

“I don’t know. What if he wakes again?”

“Then I will call you,” I say, not taking my eyes off Kai’s face. Her presence is starting to annoy me as I want Kai to myself.

“Just a few hours, then I’ll be back. Call me if anything changes.”

“I will. Now go.”

Jenny runs her hands through her hair, then walks over to the other side of the room and collects her coat and handbag. She gives one last look at Kai and gives me a small smile before turning to leave with Tim in tow.

Finally. Alone.

I remove my coat and close the door to Kai’s room, strolling over to his bed to take the seat that Jenny just vacated. I take Kai’s palm in my hand and watch every breath that leaves his body.

“You come back to me now, sweetheart. We have things to discuss. Your bad behavior, for one. Being stabbed won’t get you out of being punished.”

Beep, beep, beep. The sounds start to feel like a relaxing melody, my shoulders relax but my mind won’t quit.

“They’ll never bother you again. I got rid of them. For you. I’d do worse to protect you, Kai. From this moment on you will not leave my side.”

Beep, beep, beep.

I roam my eyes over his chest and abdomen, noticing something is missing. My marks. My branding. I bet he missed it when he left. While I can’t do anything to his chest or stomach, you know, because he was stabbed, there is one place I can reclaim his body. I stand and move to the other side of the bed and pull down the sheets until that hot as fuck tattoo comes into view. Needing a taste more than I need to breathe, I lower my mouth and suck on the thorns of the rose, suckling at his skin, drinking up his sweetness. My teeth gently bite down and the monitor to his heart increases in pace. I move away and lick where a bruise now forms, pleased with how it looks. Hopefully when he wakes he’ll feel it.