The sound of my brass knuckles landing a solid blow on Carl Owen’s right cheekbone makes a satisfying crack as the bastard’s head flies back, nearly knocking him over. Thanks to the soft white glow of the security camera screens, I can see the trickle of blood running down his face and staining his shirt collar as he trembles.

“Hey hey, none of that,” I growl, patting his face and making him look up at me again. “You fall asleep on me and I’ll make you regret it when you wake up.”

“Please, I-” he stammers, but I interrupt him with another punch to the jaw that knocks a tooth out, sending it clattering across the floor.

I have Carl in one of the money counting rooms under the casino, surrounded by security camera live feeds while I deal with him. All things considered, he has it better than a lot of people I’ve interrogated. His clothes are still on, his joints are all intact, and I haven’t yet been ordered to cut anything off him.

But I’m still trying to figure out why Jerry had such a sudden change of heart.

Not long after Hadley and I parted ways and I kept searching the house for any clues as to where Carl might have been, I got a call from Jerry himself. He told me there had been a change of plans regarding Carl.

That part isn’t too unusual in the mafia. Deals change and get made in the blink of an eye, especially when the person in question catches wind that his life is in danger. People will give up just about anything to spare their lives from the kind of punishment the mafia can dole out.

But Jerry was pretty confident that I wasn’t supposed to take any deal from Carl Owens. He was worth more than just the debt; he was going to be the message that makes sure the casino runs very smoothly for the foreseeable future.

Jerry didn’t give me specifics, but he did call me back to the casino with a very interesting update.

The reason I couldn’t find Carl at the house was that Carl was at the casino. Jerry told me he’d had a chat with Carl, and that he would soon be trying to leave the casino and head back to me. He wanted to keep Carl a little closer to home, so he had me intercept the guy in the parking lot.

I had to admit, waiting for him by his own car and watching his face go pale was a satisfying experience, after everything I’d heard about the scumbag. It was even more satisfying to tackle him to the ground and subdue him before having him dragged down here to the money counting room. As if it weren’t obvious, this room doubles as an interrogation room of sorts. Can’t see bloodstains in the carpet when the lights are off so often.

Simply put, Jerry gave me orders to beat the living shit out of Carl. He said specifically not to kill him, and with every punch, I’m curious to know why.

“Still with me, Carl?” I ask mildly as I flex my fingers, waiting for him to lift his head again. I reach down and take hold of his chin and force him to look up at my hardened face. “Can’t tell you how bad it’ll get for you if you pass out on me. Just telling you for your own sake.”

“This shouldn’t be happening, this is a mistake!” he blubbers. “I’m protected!”

“Is that so?” I chuckle, letting his head fall and pacing around him slowly. “Carl, I’ve got to hand it to you, you had a smart business model. But seriously, where’d you get the stones to try to pay us off with our own money? How stupid do you think we are?”

He struggles for words, and I slap him across the face before pulling a chair up and sitting across from him, putting the back in front of me and leaning my arms on it to stare at him.

“And how the fuck do you think you can treat your girls like that, huh?” I say in a lower tone. I shouldn’t be talking about this part, but this one’s personal. The idea of some fuck like Carl screwing over people like Hadley and Vanessa pisses me off on a deeper level than just business. “If Jerry starts thinking you’re trying to flex nuts with us, don’t think for a second that he’ll hesitate to have me cut ‘em off.”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” Carl sobs. “I-I just thought we had a deal! Y-you talked to Jerry, didn’t you? He talked to you, right?”

There’s that deal I was suspecting, but I don’t know specifics yet. I start to wonder if I can use this to my advantage.

“Words are one thing,” I say, standing up again and pacing slowly in front of him. “You proved that words aren’t enough though, Carl. You’ve got nobody but you to blame for this.”

“But- but I told them, I’ve got the girl ready to hand over to you!”

I pause.

Something clicks in my head, and my grip on my brass knuckles tightens. I know Hadley lied to me about it being Vanessa on the phone, and I know she was in trouble. Hadley believed I was going to kill her boss, and she wouldn’t have left if what Vanessa said on the phone wasn’t far more important than stopping me from murdering a man.

And now, this. I slowly make my way around behind Carl, and I reach down to take hold of his thin hair and pull his head back to look up at me.

“Oh, do you now? Maybe you’re right, I don’t think we’re on the same page. Care to elaborate?”

“I-I-I made a deal with Jerry!” he says, suddenly energized by the thought that there might be hope for him. “I offered your people that simpering bitch Vanessa in exchange for clearing the debt, as-as-as an apology! B-but he said it wasn’t enough!”

I let his hair go, and I slowly started to move across the room to a corner next to the security camera feeds.

“Go on,” I say, sounding interested, as if I’m really second-guessing myself.

“So I... I told him,” he breathed, sounding ragged and desperate. “I’d throw in another girl, the prettiest one out of the bunch! You’ve got to see her, she’s stunning. Listen, you should be going to collect her right this second, give her right to Jerry! Or even better, just take her for a trial run! Her name is Hadley, she’s staying at this very hotel! I’ve got her room number, you could go have a first go at her before your boss does!”

I find what I’m looking for, and a dark smile crosses my face. I reach down and pick up an extension cord coiled up in the corner. I slip my brass knuckles off and put them in my pocket before picking up the three-pronged head of the extension cord, feeling the weight of the end of it.

Swinging that end around in a small, slow circle, I let Carl get a look at it as I approach him, glaring down at him with an uncaring expression.

“Two girls for a cleared debt, huh?” I say.

“Y-yeah, I swear! Check with Jerry, I’d bet my life on it!” he splutters, pupils widening at the sight of what I was approaching him with.

“I bet you would,” I say coolly.

I lash the cord across his face, and the pointed metal catches him right on the sore cheekbone I’d been punishing a moment ago. He howls in pain as blood flies from him, and he barely has time to recover before I whip him again across the torso, and again, and again. I don’t hold anything back. He deserves every one of the bleeding welts I’m giving him.

“I don’t understand!” he sobs when I finally let up for a few moments.

“You don’t need to,” I say calmly. “You just need to let me know just how you’re feeling.” I swing the cord around again, seeing the glint of red on its tips.

I’m much, much more furious than I’m showing. It’s tempting to kill Carl right now, orders be damned. Conscience be damned. Everything be fucking damned.

So, the fucker thought he could trade a couple of lives for his safety? Trade up the women he was using to make him rich? And Jerry just rolled with it? And to top it all off, one of the girls he’s trading is Hadley?

I have all the info I need right now. I could beat Carl to death with this extension cord like I really, really want to, go grab Hadley, tell her to scatter the girls, then run off with her to wherever the fuck we want.

But then, I would just be hunted down by Jerry for the rest of his life. I’m good at lying low, but traveling with a partner would complicate things, especially since I’m sure Hadley would want to make sure Vanessa gets taken care of, too.

Decisions, decisions.

I lift the cord again, and Carl winces... just before I catch something out of the corner of my eye on one of the camera feeds.

A familiar figure is making her way into the casino, strutting with bold purpose. I’d know that stride anywhere, even if I can’t see her face.

It’s Hadley.

I clench my jaw. If she’s here, that means she’s in danger, because Jerry and his guys are going to be looking for her. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if I get the order to grab her, but that would be all too convenient. I have to get out there to intercept her. If she doesn’t know what she’s walking into, it could be the end of the line for her. Even I might not be able to save her from whatever Jerry has in store.

Of course, knowing what I know about Hadley, she’d just as soon bite someone’s dick off and get herself killed—still not a good outcome.

So, that leaves me with the question of what to do with Carl here.

I have to make a call fast. If Carl dies, then I’m going to have to move fast, because that will mean Jerry knows I’m his enemy. Either way, my working relationship with Jerry is about to end. But if he lives, it might buy me a little more time to figure things out with Hadley and maybe get a better plan of escape from this tight spot we find ourselves in. That, and I know Hadley doesn’t want him to die. Whether she just has a conscience or doesn’t want his blood on her hands, I don’t know.

But damn, the satisfaction of icing this fucker right now would make it worth it.

He looks up at me with pathetic, evil, pleading eyes, and my grip on the extension cord tightens. I step forward and hoist my weapon once again, smirking down at the bastard.

“Smile for me, Carl. One more time.”