Maybe there are more to kill.

 

***Yegor***

 

I’m staring down at Ruby’s angelic face, basking in the fact she is sleeping in my bed without a care in the world. Just like the content feeling that’s rooted deep in my heart. The bumpy ride that led to this moment is something I will value and draw energy from. Especially because I know there will be lots more of that shit coming our way.

I breathe in a few more moments with her before I meander away and close the door behind me. I take my time descending the stairs to the meeting Ford requested. He wants us to meet in the living room along with Afon and Borya. Yeah, this should be nice and cozy with those two fuckers in the same space.

They need to put their differences aside, and let’s hope they do, because there are more important things going on right now. Like killing my brother. Not to mention, we are having the party before the actual act. Funny, because Paco doesn’t know he’s the guest of honor. It’s presumptuous to celebrate his death prematurely, but I’m totally good with that. Because one way or the other, he is going to die.

“Congratulations are in order, I hear.” Afon slaps me on the back.

Smiling proudly, I say, “That’s right. My wife is sleeping upstairs.”

“Took you long enough to tie that one to you. Happy to know you finally managed to get it done. So, what is this other thing?” Afon rubs his hands together gleefully. “We get to host a party and kill people? Fun times.”

Borya enters the room and smacks Afon upside  the back of the head, he signs as we both pin our eyes to his hands. Being deaf doesn’t hold him back at all. He uses American Sign Language to communicate and can lip read as well, which can be handy in certain situations. Ford made sure that all of us learned the basics of ASL so communication is possible. As long as the man isn’t giving a dissertation I can usually follow along. “We’re only going to take Paco Hurtado out.  He’s the one who slipped through the cracks during  the snuff movie wrap up.”

Ford strolls into the room with Tarzan behind him.

“Have a seat.” Ford points to the two couches that are positioned across from each other.

Tarzan plants her ass on a cushion  and immediately bounces back and glares at Ford. Damn. I so don’t need to know about her ass being red and burning from the spanking she got. Hell, from the one I requested that my boss give her because I didn’t like her interfering with my woman. Yes, I know she did an awesome job with training my wife, but like I told Ford…that’s my job from now on.

Ford grabs Tarzan by her waist and drags her onto his lap. “I called you guys because I’ve been in contact with Peacock. He told me that Paco has been bumping heads with Ricca ‘The Fox’ Dantano. From the outside, it might seem like they are walking hand in hand, but the reality is that Paco wants to incorporate The Fox’s gang into his. The Fox can’t point to any physical proof, but he knows Paco is behind some personal as well as business failures. The Fox gladly accepted our invitation and is looking forward to the party. Needless to say, so is Peacock. He’s also bringing his wife.”

Tarzan glows with excitement. “She’s badass. One of the best hitmen, or should I say hitwomen? Fuck, assassins, out there.”

“Why are all of the woman kicking ass all of a sudden?” I grumble, because fuck…I know it’s kinda badass that they can defend themselves and shit, but it’s kinda intimidating and unsettling at the same time.

“I need to get me one of those.” Afon chimes in.

Borya stands up, walks over to Afon and smacks him on the head…again.

Afon jumps up and pushes Borya in the chest, causing him to step back  and brace himself. “Try it again, fucker. I’ll kick your ass.”

“You find your own woman. Stay the hell away from mine.” Borya signs.

Afon throws his shoulders back. “Aw, come on now…learn to share, she’s…”

“Afon.” Tarzan snaps.

He ducks the punch Borya throws at his chin, and then holds his hands up in front of him. “All right, all right. I’m only screwing with your head, Borya. I have no plans for your lady. But you need to tell her that she’s yours. For real, put a ring on her finger already, because you’ll lose her if you don’t. For fuck’s sake, man the hell up.”

“Can we stick to my fucking problems right now? Because my woman is lying in my bed, naked I might add, and I’m standing here listening to fucking schoolboys going at it.” I growl out my frustration.

Afon turns. “Ah, yes…let’s discuss your woman, because that went well.”

“Afon.” Tarzan cracks out again

“Fine.” Afon snaps and heads for the door. “I’ll be going now. Text me the details if there’s something I should know. All of you idiots have something to put your dick in. I’m off to find something warm and tight to wrap around mine.”

“Use your hand later, idiot. Now sit the fuck down because I wasn’t done talking,” Ford bellows. “I’ve got some information about The Fox. He’s been known to organize high roller cruises, and the…”

“Dammit.” Another few curses leave my mouth. All eyes are on me when I start to pace the room. “Ruby’s friend took this job as a waitress on classy cruises. The night they were taken, she asked Ruby to help her out and come along. The snuff movie fuckers snatched them up the second they stepped foot on that fucking ship.”

“So it could have been this Fox guy that had her taken instead of Paco?” Tarzan asks.

I rub a hand over my mouth while I think things over. “Could be. Or Paco tried to pin him with the murder or tried to pull something else. Maybe he didn’t want to marry Ruby because she was a virgin. Or something entirely different is going on.”

Ford’s voice catches our attention. “We need Ruby here to talk things through. Does she know Paco, or hell, The Fox, anything? If so we need to know.”

He’s right. “I’ll go get her.”

I take the stairs two at a time and it only builds my anger. I know she told me some, but I sure as hell know my boss will lob  question after question at her. We need to know every detail. Even if it’s the brand of shoes she was wearing or a fucking speck on her shirt…we need to know.

I swing the door open, and my gaze fixes on the bed. Shock slides through my veins when I see it’s empty. Scanning the room, I come up with no trace of her. Where the hell is she? Suddenly, I see a tiny shred of red peeking from behind the bedside table.

Rounding the bed, I see Ruby huddled against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes fly open and a look of sheer panic floods her face. I can’t help but fall to my fucking knees and pull her against me. Her fists wrap around the fabric of my shirt as she tries to drag me even closer.

“You scared me.” Her words are muffled against my chest.

I scared her? “Gorgeous, why aren’t you sleeping in the bed?”

She ignores my question and seems to brace herself because she’s pulling away from me. “I have to pee.”

Yeah, right. “You can’t use that line with me, Ruby. I can see right through that shit.”

“Not shit, I said pee.” She laughs, and it’s like she has to make a fucking effort to make it sound like actual laughter.

“No one is ever going to take you again, Ruby. I promise you now and forever. I will be right here by your side, and I will fight or kill every single person who dares to try and harm you.” The vow is just as much for her as it is for me.

She stands up and smooths out the shirt she’s wearing. “Right, well…I’m gonna, go…uhm.”

“You need to come with me downstairs. We’re talking things through and something came up, we need you to tell us your story so we’re not missing anything.” As soon as I’ve said those words, I see fear in her eyes right before she pushes it way and nods.

“Okay, lemme throw on some pants.” She replies absently while she reaches for her bag and pulls out a dark green yoga pants.

After putting them on, Ruby takes out a large gray sweatshirt and throws it over the shirt she was sleeping in. Right next to the fucking bed. On. The. Ground. Sitting up for crying out loud. My heart breaks when I realize no one was there for her after her ordeal. And then here I come and demand she cut Nathan and Tarzan out of the picture.

Dammit, I’m an asshole.

When we walk to the living room, I sit on the couch and make sure Ruby sits next to me so I can tuck her underneath my arm. From now on, I’ll be the one she can lean on, but first.

“Tarzan.” My boss’ head snaps my way when she hears her name.

I let out a heavy breath because in one way, this will be easy…but in another way, I’m going to hear about my dick getting soft from my other boss.

“I’d like to make sure you’ll still teach Ruby how to fight. I’ll train her too, but…yeah. You should...” I clear my throat, because that’s all I have right now.

Tarzan’s eyes widen before her head flashes to Ford. It’s as if she needs his permission or some…shit… In a way she does; I made him punish her for it. See? Yeah. But when I look down and feel Ruby’s hand lean on my thigh, while she pushes herself up to give me a soft kiss on my cheek. The thank you that flows from her mouth might as well hotwire my dick, because he’s trying to wave you’re welcome at her from behind the zipper. 

“We should really have a new rule that allows us to have dude meetings without estrogen present.” Afon mutters.

“Careful now.” Tarzan snaps.

“Sorry, Boss.” Afon replies.

I’m pretty sure his attitude  is piled up frustration because his dick isn’t getting any action.

Tarzan leans forward and puts her elbows on her knees. “We were going to continue our sessions anyway. Right, Ruby?” She doesn’t give my wife time to agree before she lays out the situation. “We need you to tell us exactly what happened the day you were taken. Start with the time you woke up and don’t spare any details. Even if you think it’s nothing, it might trigger something that can lead to more information. Okay?”

Ruby nods and starts to relay the memories she already told me, about her friend and what she remembers from that night. Everyone else in the room is quiet until she finishes with the words, “And then everything went dark.”

“You were drugged. What do you remember after you woke up? Were you on that bed where we found you? Do you remember anything else?” Tarzan’s voice is gentle.

“I woke up because Ava was shaking me. The moment my eyes flew open, I threw up. God, I was so sick, and I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Ava kept shaking me, telling me to wake up and get on my feet, but I couldn’t. We were on the floor, in a room with steel walls. No windows, just a door. There was a tiny bed in the corner and a desk in the middle of the room. When I finally was able to get on my feet, the door flew open and three men stepped inside.”

Every muscle in my body goes rigid. This part is all new to me. She only shared the part how she ended up with that snuff movie making gang, how they snatched her from that cruise…not what the fuck happened afterward. I bite the inside of my cheek, because I don’t know if I’m ready to hear this shit. And she went through it.

Her hand on my thigh tightens, and I cover it with my own, lacing her fingers with mine.

Somehow she feeds on my support to continue. “Two of them grabbed me and kept me in place while the other dragged Ava to the desk. He…he…”

Aw, fuck. “They raped and killed Ava right in front of Ruby, made her fucking watch.”

There. That part needs to be skipped because it cuts straight through my heart and I don’t even have the images branded on my brain like Ruby does.

“Yes.” Ruby’s voice trembles. “They did. While they all kept saying; He’s coming for you. Paco Hurtado wants to fuck your cunt and slice your neck.”

“They said he wanted to fuck and kill you? Those exact words?” Ford asks.

Ruby nods. “Yes. That’s the same line they kept repeating to me.”

“You weren’t to be touched at all because Paco wanted to fuck you himself and then kill you. That’s…” Ford locks eyes with mine. “Not wanted to marry her then?”

I shrug. “Could have been a trick to scare the shit out of her and mold her into agreeing to anything. Who knows? Maybe it’s an order of business? Paco and The Fox…the fucker might have set it up to rip away the option for The Fox to fuck her.” Hell. “Or rape and kill her and then throw her on the fucker’s doorstep.”

“Who? What are you talking about? What do you guys know?” Ruby is bouncing her gaze back and forth between me and Ford.

Turning my body slightly toward her, I make sure her eyes meet mine. “Do you know about a guy named Ricca Dantano? They also call him The Fox.”

“The Fox? For real? That’s just weird. And no, I haven’t heard of anyone by that name.” Ruby shakes her head.

“Were you dating anyone at the time?” Tarzan asks. “Someone who you ran into? Had an eye on you maybe? Did you receive any gifts or flowers, or did anything unusual happen in the days leading up to when you were kidnapped?”

Damn, Tarzan is good.

Again, I find myself chewing the side of my cheek because bright green jealousy is running through me. Something I’ve never encountered before and it’s about shit that happened before I even met her.

“No boyfriend, no flowers or,” Ruby’s eyebrows lower as though she’s thinking things over.

“What’s that thought, Ruby? Let us know, even if you think it’s nothing. Don’t mind your husband next to you looking all ferocious and ready to start dismembering bodies. It happened in the past, so don’t worry.” Tarzan chuckles.

Ruby’s gaze meets mine, I try like hell to school my features but clearly, I fail.

Her fingertips brush my cheek and my woman shoots me a cheeky grin before she leans in and whispers, “That’s a very sexy look.”

The clearing of a throat reminds me there are other people in the room and by the way Ruby’s cheeks flush, I’m sure she forgot too.

“Right,” she said. “Well, there was this guy about a week before it happened…I worked as a secretary at a car dealership. He came,”

“Where? What kind of cars? Name? Was it a family business?” Afon is holding his iPad and is waiting for her to answer his questions.

I’m sure it’s because he wants to dig in, or get the info to our computer nerds who can dig in deeper.

“Sports Car Valley. They sell,”

“Ferrari’s.” I finish for her, because yeah…I know the company. “It’s a family business. Hamm, an older couple.”

Ruby nods. “I’d worked for them for about two weeks when I realized their son is a total asshole. He made it clear I should reveal a nice amount of cleavage because that holds the client’s attention.” Ruby’s clenching my hand in a death grip.

“What happened, Ruby?” I manage to keep some of the bite from my tone.

She tenses, and I squeeze her fingers gently, encouraging her to continue. “Like I said, there was a guy who came in and he was interested in buying a Ferrari. I was working a half day, I was leaving and was outside when I realized I forgot my purse. So I went back in and leaned over the desk to grab my purse and,”

I can’t help but groan. “Ruby. Bending over? Really?”

She rolls her eyes. “Hey, that’s a huge freaking desk we’re talking about. Bending over instead of going around was saving me at least a minute or two. Anyway…when I turned with my purse in hand, that asshole son of theirs tapped a client against the chest and sneered; ‘What did I tell you? That’s a nice piece of ass. I can probably get her to spread her legs for you,’”

I’m off the couch, gripping my hair with two hands. “He’s dead. I’m heading over right now.”

Ruby gasps behind me when I pull out my gun and double check to make sure it’s loaded.

“Sit your ass down, Yegor.” Tarzan waves a hand toward the couch. “Wait till you hear the rest. For all you know, there are more bodies to add to our kill count, and I can come with you to share in the fun.”

Fuck, she’s right. It would be a shame to have to go back to kill some more. “Go on, Ruby.”

She closes her eyes with a little shake of her head. Clearly disapproving, and yet there’s a smile painted on those lovely lush lips.