Page 20 of Black Wedding

“Please…please stop. I will tell you everything. There’s a new gang on the streets. They are recruiting people from different families, trying to get as many rats as possible. Everyone knows that if the O’Keenan Family weakens, even the slightest, the Doughty’s will exploit it. But the fact you two are uniting has everyone shit scared. They hate how powerful your families already are separately, let alone what it would be like with the O’Keenan’s money and Doughty’s ruthless behaviour. When people are scared, they try to capitalise,” he whimpers. I watch as the blood drips down his body and feel that tingle of power rushing through my body, it’s a heady, intoxicating sensation that I crave. I start to answer him, but Liam speaks for the first time.

“That’s bullshit. Everyone knows I’m not with my father, that I don’t work for the Family and haven’t for a long time.” Art has the nerve to chuckle.

I slice quickly across his lower abdomen, probably a little too close to his dick, given the way he yells and attempts to jump back while being tied down. Now it was my turn to chuckle. The stupid fucker made the cut worse. Who tries to jump while there’s a knife piercing his skin. He’s lucky little Art didn’t suffer, instead, his happy trail is a bit less happy though. I, on the other hand, am a lot happier and feel a lot lighter. I don’t know what it says about my personality that I love to cut people up and watch them bleed, of course, only if they deserve it. And right now, Art deserves it as I hate the way he was laughing at my Liam.

Whoa, did I just say my Liam? Fuck. I need to get my head screwed back on and worry about the feelings I’m developing for him some other time.

Art’s whimpering stops when I pull the knife away, and he addresses Liam again, clearly understanding my warning. “Sorry, Sir.” He bends forward like he is really trying to bow, having realised Liam’s fundamental importance and how fucked he is. “People are idiots. They think you leaving your family was all a ploy. They are laughing at the idea of a female boss. No offence, Brianna, Miss. I think you will be a great boss, but others do not feel the same way. They think it’s all a ploy to make it look like you’re the leader, but really, the Doughty’s are pulling strings behind the scenes.”

I look over at Liam, his face is a mask of indifference. Knowing not to show emotions in these scenarios is one of the first things Jimmy taught me, but right now, I want to know what is going through his head. Is there really a chance the Doughty’s are trying to take the Family business from within? I have never had reason not to trust Liam, and I sure as fuck won’t be starting now. We will need to have a very serious fucking chat about how real this threat from his father is. Given the way his eyes flick from me to Jimmy, I’m guessing he wants to know how significant a threat my family could be. Fuck me. Could my dad hate the idea of me ruling so much that he would threaten me, put me in danger? The simple fact that I don’t know the answer speaks volumes, and I need to look into that. But that doesn’t explain who this new threat is.

“Okay, so we have established that both my family and Liam’s are against our wedding and us ruling. Fine, we get that. But I also notice you are using our families to get out of explaining who the real threat is. Who recruited you?” I ask calmly.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything! I refused to be a rat. I work for you, I promise!” Art screeches and the desperation almost hurts my head.

“We both know that is a lie. So I am going to give you two options, and you better take the right one. However, I would prefer the wrong one, personally,” I mused, thinking of the blood dripping all over Art’s helpless body.

A cough from behind pulls me out of my musing. Jimmy knows me so well, having done this with me lots of times before. “Option one, you tell us who this new fish in town is, and I will give you a kilo of smack to do whatever the fuck you want with it. You want to smoke it, snort it, fucking bathe in it, I don’t care, but your intel better be good, or you will pay back the cost plus interest and damages. Option two, I will continue to cut along every area of your body until you are singing the correct name and begging me to stop. Still, by that point, you will have angered me. So, I will put the word out that you are done. Nobody in this town, shit, in this country will sell to you again. You will have no choice but to go cold turkey and withdraw. You will also find no work amongst me or any industry associated with me. Blocked means you are done. So, what will it be?”

The luminous lights that fill the room glisten off the bloody knife as I twirl it in my hand, letting him know what my preference is. I hear Jimmy walk away, closing the doors to the room as he goes. All eyes are focused on his departure, but it’s not long until he returns. He is carrying a brick of uncut snow, showing Art that we are not pissing about. I can see the concern in Jimmy’s eyes; he is not happy I am offering up over fifty thousand pounds worth of product. Still, he doesn’t see the big picture.

The shit Jimmy is holding in his hand right now is uncut, pure, and Art is not used to taking the good stuff. Our product is legit, and my Gramps ensures they don’t water it down with anything dangerous, but we still dilute it. Mainly for the money, but also so these assholes don’t overdose and kill themselves. There’s no regular income from a tweaker if they are dead. So, I will let Art take one hit from the good stuff, and when he is out of it, I will arrange for someone to steal back our product. So, Art gets the best hit of his life, and I get my heroin back. It’s all good.

Looking at Art, I can see he is still contemplating his options, hoping option number three will pop out of thin air. Bored with how long he is taking, I take a firm grip of my knife’s handle, and without warning, I slam the blade down into the top part of his thigh. The blade penetrates right through skin, muscle, and fat until it reaches the hilt of my handle. Art’s screams fill the room even worse than before, and it’s like music to my ears.

“I’m sure by now you can tell that Bree here is very serious. Now, if you don’t want her to twist the knife even further into your flesh before moving onto the other parts, I suggest you start talking.” Liam doesn’t look at Art as he addresses him. Instead, his gaze is firmly on me. His dark eyes blaze with desire, and he is looking at me like he has never seen me before. I feel naked, like my body is heating up with every lingering glance. He is turned on by watching me, and fuck if that doesn’t hit me in all the right places.

“You’re fucking psychopaths, both of you! Fucking bitch, no wonder people are trying to kill you!” Art screams and I audibly tut. What a fucking idiot. Why the hell would you antagonise the girl holding the knife in your thigh.

I start to slowly turn the knife, and at the same time, Liam raises his arm and punches Art in the side of his cheek. His fist must have connected with Art’s nose because the crunching and snapping sound can be heard, loudly indicating the break in Art’s nose. Blood sprays from his nostril, hitting both Liam’s hands and spraying across my chest as I was still kneeling in front of Art. His screams echo around the room, but his speech is practically unintelligible. Blood, sweat, and tears are all mixing together to form just a mumble of bodily fluids.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think that is the answer she was looking for. If you call my girl a bitch or any other unpleasant name, not only will the drug offer be off the table, but I will let her cut your dick off. And as you so politely stated, she is a psychopath who would do it,” Liam spat out. Of course, the idea of me being a psycho isn’t one that scares him all that much.

“Fine. His name is Vinnie Marcushio, but you didn’t hear it from me. Now can I take my shit and get out of here?” asks Art, hopeful that his torture is ending, but I’m more concerned with addressing the curse words that come out of both Jimmy and Liam’s mouths. Clearly, this is the name of a guy I should already know.

“Who is this guy?” I ask, standing up and pulling my blade with me as I rise. The slice of it leaving Art’s leg is divine, and his screams are worse than when the knife went in. Blood spurts from the wound in all directions, and it’s clear I hit a major artery when I went in. “Put your finger in the hole in your leg, or you will bleed to death,” I add before looking between Liam and Jimmy for answers.

They both look to be really fucking disturbed by this news, and I feel like I should have heard this name before; he is clearly a significant player. Fuck, I hope this isn’t a sign of how fucking terrible I am going to be at this whole leader thing. I mean, I don’t even know who my enemies are. I must have voiced that last part out loud because Liam takes hold of my hand, staring intently at me like there’s a message he is trying to get across with his eyes.

“This isn’t because of you, Princess. This is all your father and me. Vinnie Marcushio is the son of Leonarda.” He looks at me like I shouldn’t know that name, and when it becomes clear I don’t know what he is talking about, he continues, “He is what started all of this; he’s the reason we met. He was your father’s money man, washed the cash for him, and he suspected your father was guilty of ripping him off. He showed me everything I needed to convince me that I would take the case, but then minutes before your father realised he was innocent, it was too late. I was making my move, and all forms of communication were turned off, so I didn’t get caught. Your father faked all the evidence he showed me and then refused to pay me, even going as far as telling Vinnie, his son, that he played no part in his death.”

I can literally feel my mouth hanging open with every word Liam speaks. Given how Jimmy is shaking his head and pacing like a caged lion, I know he is telling the truth. I can’t find the right words. Unfortunately, Art doesn’t seem to have that problem.

“This is why your father’s men are jumping ship like it’s the Titanic. Your father is a lunatic, clearly a trait you fucking inherited.” I’m in no mood for this shit. I take my blade and quickly slice two lines on either cheek, long and deep. This is a sign that is synonymous with my Family. It’s the sign we have been carving into rats since we became a firm many years ago. Sometimes it does more for your reputation to let them live and send a fucking suitable warning to everyone else that you won’t be crossed. Everyone will know Art is a rat now, and nobody will want to work with him.

“So last week, when word got out that you two were getting married, we got a threatening message from Vinnie. He was drunk and ranting about how he wouldn’t stand by and let Liam gain power. When Leo was killed, he came to us asking if we knew anything. Your father told him Liam was working for his father and was trying to bring down your Family to gain power. He had no idea that you and Liam would end up forming this fucking alliance. He just thought he could pass the blame onto a rival Family and hopefully take your father down a peg or two, Liam. Like I said, though, we didn’t know that by doing that, it would place a target on your back, Bree. He clearly thinks this is Liam’s big plot to take over the Family and is determined to stop it,” explains Jimmy.

“You are both wrong. He knows you killed his father. He knows because he was the one hacking your files and stealing your money. He hated his father being a slave to the O’Keenan’s and felt that the Marcushio’s have what it takes to be their own crime Family. This is just him taking out the competition and getting his revenge at the same time,” Art discloses, further solidifying his status as a rat. I don’t think he is even aware he just confirmed the actions of his new boss or that he was working against the Family. Asshole.

“Then we will just need to make sure we take him down before he gets to us,” I assert, standing tall and firm in my resolve that this fucker will pay for trying to bring down my family and me.

I nod to Jimmy, signalling that I am done here, before leading Liam away from this building. The feel of his hand against mine, the blood of our enemy smudged between them, is a heady sensation. That, combined with the way he is looking at me, makes me realise I made the right choice in choosing Liam as a partner and that I am so fucking screwed. I am falling for this guy, and I don’t know if I want to stop myself.

Fuck! I knew she was a badass, but I never really knew how much until just now. I don’t think I ever questioned that she would be more than capable of getting her hands dirty if she needed to. Still, I just assumed I would be the muscle of our little partnership. Instead, she blew that theory so far out of the fucking water that I don’t even think it’s wet anymore. If it wasn’t for her family’s ridiculous rule that only men can lead the Family, then she wouldn’t need me at all. I don’t know why but that’s a fucking terrifying thought.

Walking out of the warehouse in comfortable silence, the sexual tension continues to grow between us. Bree’s eyes keep flirting over me, and whenever she catches me staring, looking at her in amazement, she turns her head. It’s like she is worried that after everything I just saw, I would want to run in the other direction away from her. I don’t.

As we reach the car, I quickly scan the surrounding area and see that we are very much alone. I note a couple of security cameras, no doubt belonging to Vernon, that I will need to get Kellan to take care of later. But right now, I need to show this girl exactly how I’m feeling.

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