Page 115 of Cartel King

Dumb fuck.

“Yes. That’s why I’m asking. You’re proving nothing but your stupidity by being evasive. Tell me, and we can come to some resolution that allows you to live. You’ll be my bitch now, but you’ll survive. Keep testing my patience, and I’ll torture you for days before I hack you to pieces and send them to Dillan one at a time.”

That doesn’t strike fear in him the way it should. That tells me a lot. He doesn’t fear failing Dillan. If this was Dillan’s operation, and I let Gareth live, then Dillan would go after him. That should make him more than a little nervous.

“It’s not Dillan, is it?”

“Didn’t take you long.”

“Then who is it?”

Gareth’s lip curls in disgust, but he says nothing.

Very well.

“Hold out his right arm.”

Javier and Jorge step forward to follow my command. I withdraw a knife from my belt. This isn’t some pocketknife. It’s not a switchblade. It’s like a miniature machete.

“You gonna cut off my hand first?”

Gareth’s going to wish that’s what I planned. It’s my turn to remain silent. I need not say anything, since my men know what I’m doing as I step in front of him. I put the blade at a forty-five-degree angle at his wrist while Jorge holds his now bare arm still. When I press, Gareth realizes I don’t plan to amputate.

I intend to fillet.

The blade breaks the skin, and I push it toward Gareth. He releases a blood-curdling scream as I work the knife up his forearm. The knife’s sharp enough to peel him like a tomato. I see it more like peeling a mango.

“Stop!”

“Tell me who.”

My demand’s met with silence. I move back to his wrist, ready to begin another cut. I pause, giving him a chance. He remains quiet. Who does he fear more than the pain he’s experiencing?

“Who’d you fuck over worse than the O’Rourkes? You’re working off a debt to someone else.”

“I can’t say.”

“Why not?”

“You’re only going to kill me. They’ll kill my family for my failure. They’ll torture them if I narc on them to you.”

That doesn’t narrow it down by much. Any syndicate would do that. But there are only two that would risk fucking with another syndicate’s vassal. Both could have reason to target Ellie. Both have reason to target me. It shocks me that either would take my sister.

I pull out my phone and turn it on. My GPS is off, so that helps minimize the risk someone could track me. I wish we had jammers. I tap a number in my contacts.

“What do you want?”

“Always a pleasant greeting, Dillan. Gareth took my sister.”

“What?”

I tap the speaker button and hold the phone out to Gareth, who looks like he’s barely able to keep from peeing himself. His arm’s gushing blood that’s pooling at his feet.

“Gareth took Catalina and brought her to your warehouse in Hoboken.”

“Feck him up, but that piece of shite is mine, Enrique. We had nothing to do with this. I get to punish him for setting us up.”

“If he survives, then I’ll drop him someplace you can find.”

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