Page 53 of Black Wedding

His hand advances slowly, and I know I only have a minute to stop him from exposing me. Once my tits are out, it’s a slippery slope, one I’m not sure I can ever come back from. So, just before his hand can connect with the fabric, I pull back and punch him as hard as possible on the nose.

Luther recoils in pain as a delicious crunch causes his nose to explode, blood flying everywhere. I made sure that my hit was at the exact angle needed to fracture the nasal bone across the bridge of his nose. With any luck, I will have deviated the septum or fractured the cartilage too. Both of those will cause lasting effects.

When Luther finally stops literally rolling about in pain, he stands to tower over me. His murderous expression is covered in blood, making him look even more dangerous. He looks like he wants to kill me, which is not great, but at least he doesn’t want to take my clothes off anymore. Instead, he continues to yell expletives at me, telling me what a bitch I am and how much he plans on ruining my life. Apparently, he’s going to rip me a new asshole.

I know I should be scared, and I definitely am not looking forward to more pain, but that punch reminded me that I can fight back. Until the stupid fuckers realise they need to tie me up entirely, I will do everything I can to fight them.

Luther looks like he is about to advance again, and I tense my muscles and hold my breath, awaiting the impact. Ironically it’s a skill Jimmy taught me, a better way to absorb a blow. I push all thoughts of that traitorous scumbag out of my head and focus on Luther.

Before he has a chance to land another blow, another guy runs into the room. He is young, his baby face with little patches of acne makes him look a lot younger than he probably is. I would guess late teens. He looks flustered and a little confused as he stares between Luther and me. He quickly catches up with what has been happening, and although he looks pissed, he also looks a bit scared of Luther.

“What the fuck, man? I thought the plan was that we just leave her in here until we deal with Doughty. You weren’t supposed to hurt her,” the youngster states, and when Luther turns his murderous glare on him, it’s not surprising when he recoils.

“I don’t remember agreeing to anything like that. She fucking murdered my brother! Of course, I am going to punish her” Luther shouts.

“Your brother was a rat. He got what he deserved!” I shout.

Upon reflection, taunting a psychopath with a murderous glint in his eye probably wasn’t my best move, but I am never one for keeping quiet when I should. Instantly, Luther launches at me, his fist raining down multiple blows all down my body. The pain is excruciating, and he is hitting me in so many places that I have no idea where to block. I try to curl up with my arms covering my face and my legs protecting my stomach, but this just leads to Luther raining blows down on my side and back. My ribs feel like they are cracking further, and my kidneys are about to explode. My voice begins to go hoarse from all the yelling and screaming. I plead with him to get off me, but he is too far gone in such a murderous haze.

If the young lad hadn’t been in the room and hadn’t been able to pull Luther off me eventually, I probably would be dead. It took three guys in total to be able to pull him away from me, and still, he was snarling and spitting like a feral animal. As I lay here in a ball, watching him being dragged away, I try to catch my breath and hope I can heal from this damage.

My breathing is ragged, and the pain in my chest when I try to inhale is excruciating. I feel as though I can’t properly catch my breath. Using short, shallow breaths, I get enough oxygen to function for now. Given the amount of pain I’m in all over, and the blows I just received, I would put money on me having internal bleeding. If I don’t get out soon, I am going to die here.

They drag Luther out, and the young boy stays behind. He looks very uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot as he looks over my broken body.

“What’s your name?” My voice is raspy, and it hurts to speak. I try to catch my breath, but the pain is unbearable. My breathing sounds wheezy, almost like it is creaking. I know I am not getting enough oxygen as my vision is starting to waver, and those telltale spots have begun to appear. I try to blink them away, but that just makes me dizzier.

“Vinnie Marcushio,” he whispers, and I want to laugh, but my body betrays me. There’s no way this is the criminal mastermind behind all the threats.

“Who is behind this, Vinnie? I know you hate Liam, and Luther hates me, but I know neither of you are the brains behind this. Tell me. I’m going to die here, so you may as well.” At the mention of my death, his eyes got as wide as saucepans, and he looks genuinely terrified.

“No, you can’t die...you can’t. That’s not a part of the plan,” the youngster mumbles, looking around frantically.

“What is the plan?” I pant as I lay there on the floor. I can’t even pull myself to sit upright.

“Vernon is going to be pissed,” Vinnie mutters, and he is pacing around the small room. He doesn’t look at me when he talks; I’m not even convinced he replied to me.

“Vinnie!” I shout as loudly as I can to get his attention, and struggle to catch my breath, which only leads to a dry hacking cough that causes even more pain all over my body. “Listen to me, please. I need to know who is responsible for this,” I plead, tears flowing down my cheek as I try unsuccessfully to sit up.

Seeing me struggling, Vinnie holds out his hand to me. I allow him to pull me up, crying out in pain when the movement makes my body feel as though it’s on fire.

“Your dad. He doesn’t want you to lead. He convinced me to be the face of this shitshow, or he would take his revenge on me. I stole money from my father, but it turned out it was Vernon’s money. That’s what got my father killed. It was me. But your dad found out the truth and blackmailed me into doing this to work off my debt. Things started going to shit when he brought the crazy twins on board,” he replies, and I shake my head as much as the pain will allow. I’m so confused.

“Wait...what do you mean he brought both twins on board?” I ask.

“So, Art owes Vernon a lot of money after he smoked meth he was supposed to sell. To pay off his debt, he had to pretend to be a rat, to place all the blame on me. I’m an obvious choice since Liam killed my father. Plus, it shifts the focus away from him and keeps you distracted. He wanted you and Liam to fight and fall out. He never intends on giving London over to you. He wants the whole business for himself. When Luther found out you killed Art, he went crazy. Jimmy assured him that he would stop you before it went that far. Nobody knew you had it in you to slit his fucking throat. You’re a beast,” he jokes, looking at me in a mixture of admiration and sadness.

As his words register, I realise the true extent of their betrayal. “I never slit Art’s throat. When I left him, he had wounds to the arteries in his legs, and he would have died from them without prompt medical attention. But I can fucking assure you I didn’t slit his throat. I marked him as a rat. I wanted people to know I don’t fuck about. That message would not have gotten around if I had killed him. Dead people can’t talk about their fears,” I explain, and this time it’s Vinnie’s turn to look confused.

“So you didn’t kill Art?” he asks, and forgetting about the pain, I shake my head in denial. I soon regret it as it feels like my bruised brain is bouncing around like a football. I try to remain as still as possible.

“No, he was alive when Liam and I left him with Jimmy. If anybody killed him, it was Jimmy. I’m guessing that was the plan all along. To send Luther into a murderous rage, desperate for revenge, the same as you are for your dad. I take it the plan is to keep me here, lure Liam here, and then kill him?” I ask, and he nods.

“Your father says that if Liam is killed, you will not want to try and rule anymore. So he plans to try and suppress you in any way he can. Although he did clarify that if it came to it, the best solution would be to kill you and make it look like Liam killed you. That way, he has an excuse to go to war with Desmond. Desmond is his real threat; he is convinced Liam is working against you,” he explains, and the tears start to fall.

“I know my father is ruthless and power-hungry, but I really thought he loved me. I had no idea he would be willing to sacrifice me for power if it came to that.” I’m not really talking to Vinnie at this point, just musing out loud and in general. My heart is breaking now that I know the truth. This whole time the real enemy has been my own father.

Vinnie mumbles something that looks like an apology as he shifts around uncomfortably again. He is just a kid, messed up in adult stuff. He should be out enjoying life.

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