Page 23 of Destruction

A maid slips in quietly and curtsies to me, which is fucking bizarre as hell. They didn’t do this shit to Master.Whatever. Istand up from the rocking chair and let her sit down. I stride out of the room, meeting Benjamin in the hallway. Neither of us say a word until we get to Master’s office.

“Status report?”

“Jenna is still working on getting our men out. Keegan is waiting to find out if he needs to wake up a judge, but Jenna doesn’t think so. We pay her enough that she should be able to handle this. Then again, we paid the cops, too.” Benjamin cringes as he meets my blank stare. The energy pulsing around me feels like a hurricane, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it—not that I’ve tried. My fury is too high to give a shit.

“What about Marcus?” I snap out, only to be interrupted by a ping from Benjamin’s phone. I growl at it wordlessly, not needing any more distractions.

“Uh, good news on that front. Kind of. He found the cop. And the judge. But there’s bad news. Both are personally on the payroll.” I raise my eyebrows at that. Something is dead wrong.

“We can’t do shit about a judge. Not right now. It’s too dangerous if people we’re paying are coming after us. The cop though… I’m sure we can figure out a way to redirect suspicion there. Tell Marcus to pick him up.” I glance at my watch, pleased that Marcus made it within the two-hour mark. I may hate being the Boss, but at least I know how to encourage the other Boys.

Benjamin looks like he’s about to say something. The hesitation pisses me off, but finally, he nods and messages Marcus back. It doesn’t take long before a response rolls through. “Where do you want them to take the cop? Back here?”

“Hmm…one second.” I grab the desk phone and dial a number I’m way too familiar with now.

“Do you have any news?” Roman answers. Neither of us need greetings anymore, not with this shitstorm.

“I have the cop who signed off. We know who the judge was as well. Both were on our personal payroll. Marcus is pickingup the cop. I had a thought… Would Tennant like to use him for training? I’ll send Benjamin your way with Marcus and our captive.”

Roman goes silent, and I can only imagine he’s checking in with his people. I glance at Benjamin while I wait for an answer. His eyes are wide and his jaw drops. I’m sure he didn’t expect me to drop him in the deep end like that, but fuck knows this is the best time to do it. Not to mention, Tennant is one of the most skilled interrogators I know. Perhaps even the best, as right now, my own emotions are too close to the surface.

“We’ll take him. Tennant likes presents. Send them our way. A word of warning… Tell Benjamin, Tennant won’t take it easy on him, even as an ally. He’ll likely hit harder because of it.”

Grunting my understanding, I agree with the philosophy. “Thank you. Please make sure Tennant doesn’t kill my Second, and I’d prefer him to not lose any appendages.”

Roman just laughs before the phone is disconnected. Twisting my lips into what I hope is a smile, I try to encourage Benjamin. From the way he tenses, I’m certain I’ve failed. Neither of us say anything until Marcus arrives.

When he steps into the doorway, exhaustion is etched all over his body. His hair is in disarray, as if he’s run his hands through it repeatedly. Everything about him screams frustration. I know I pushed him hard, but we needed the answers.

“I have him. He’s wrapped up tight in the back of my SUV. What did you decide to do with him? Should I drag him in?”

Shaking my head, I gesture to Benjamin. “No. With the police breaking rules, I don’t want him here. Not to mention, I think it’s best to use him as a learning experience. You’ll be heading to the Amato’s. Tennant will take the cop for practice with Benjamin. I’m sure advanced interrogation techniques will be fun, if nothing else.”

My attempt at joy falls flat with Benjamin, but I shrug. Sometimes things need to be done. Learning violence is always necessary—and fun. Hopefully, Benjamin can make it out without any injuries. From Roman’s warning…that does not sound likely.

I wave both of them off. Benjamin stands up and follows Marcus out without a word. I cringe, knowing I’m going to hear all about this from my best friend later.

I swivel around and stare at the Family motto. I’ll make Master proud. After all, it’s Courage. Loyalty. Victory. Benjamin has the loyalty, now he needs to find the courage to cut his enemies down. If Tennant can give him that? I’ll thank him.

My curious nature has always been my downfall. It’s how I found myself entangled with the Amatos in the first place, though never did I expect it to lead mehere. Everything I’ve been through, all the pain and suffering, the permanent damage to my body, and it is Roman’s belief in me that has me stumbling.

I won’t let him down. He’s given me far more than I could ever repay him for, and there’s nothing in this world that would have me disappointing him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t question his mental state.

Nevertheless, here I am in one of Tennant’s favorite torture chambers, waiting for Benjamin and Marcus Martelli to be escorted here, along with their “present” to Ten.

“Sit, Agnellino,” Tennant says, pointing to a chair near the far edge of the room.

“I’m fine.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion, Jude. It’s going to be a long day. I’m going to put both of you through your paces. Ideally, I’d test you both physically before we got to this part of the curriculum, but I can’t say I’m disappointed by the change; it’s refreshing. Now, it’s just you and me, so sit. There will be plenty of time to prove yourself and your strength later. Besides,” he grins, “if anyone dares question your resilience, I will be happy to put them in their place.”

Arguing with him is futile, especially when I know he’s just trying to look out for me. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that I’m not on my own anymore, that other people are around who care for my well-being.

I hate admitting my limitations. Being deaf has never bothered me, not really. It’d be pointless to gripe about something I was born with, but thanks to my bitch of a mother trying to kill me, I will never be able to walk the same again.

Jayden’s insistence and continued work with me has given back much of my range of motion and strength, but it’s not the same, and admitting that is a hard pill to swallow. Especially when the Family is now counting on me to survive my trials with Tennant, and stand by Roman’s side.

I refuse to look weak in front of the Martellis, especially when one of them has already gone out of their way to insult me. As much as I hate Tennant stepping in, I’m glad he did—not that I’ll ever tell him that. After a lifetime of being othered, and treated like shit by my family, my tolerance for such things is at an all-time low. I would have hated to kill the bastard and make things worse for Roman, especially when he has so many more important things to worry about right now.

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