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“Stash him away. Make sure no one sees you.”
“Sure, Boss.” Mattia makes a move to pass Sansone who grabs him by the arm before. “Keep his existence quiet, especially from anyone in the organization.”
“Even Jamal?”
“Anyone.”
Mattia nods, his mouth down-turned in concern. He reapplies the gag and removes the hostage from Mr. Murphy’s basement.
As Sansone and I return home, I peek at him from time to time. My gut tells me he has something to get off his chest.
“I have one more thing to handle before I join you.” He kisses my forehead and leaves me in front of my house.
I check the locks on the windows and doors, making sure there are no vulnerable openings for another person to exploit tonight.
When I pass Aurelio to check on Jinx, he asks, “Is everything okay?”
I look toward where Sansone went. “I don’t know…”
CHAPTER 31
Sansone
Today is a new day, but the suspicions I have thanks to a stranger trying to break into a home I share with Zakiya haven’t dissipated. If anything, a night to sleep on it has deepened my mistrust. I hope to resolve my questions with the answers from my hostage.
My men from last night sure as shit didn’t give me satisfactory responses when I questioned their failure to capture the man trying to break in.
“This place looks pretty sinister. I hope our guest feels the same.” Zakiya peeks at the processing plant with more curiosity than fear.
Unlike other DeLuca properties, this one is in the center of a bustling industrial complex. Loud machinery pollutes the air as much as smoke stacks from refineries down the road and other manufacturing plants. Maybe the vibe Zakiya picks up on is how mundane it is watching people go about their normal days while behind the scenes, shit is about to get violent.
I take her through the building, waving to the manager and stopping to give her protective gear before moving on to ourultimate destination. Mattia awaits us with our guest. He set up the room to Zakiya’s specifications.
“I hope you enjoyed your rest last night because if you don’t give me the information I want, you’ll enjoy a more permanent version.” I nod to Mattia. “String him up.”
Zakiya surveys the table full of blades of varying lengths and thicknesses before choosing one.
I crouch by the man’s head. “Who do you work for?” When he doesn’t immediately respond, I point to Zakiya. “Let me explain what’s about to happen. My wife is a master at skinning people alive. For every question you don’t answer honestly, she’ll apply her blade to you. Now, while I admire her work, I don’t expect you to. And if you survive being skinned from all the questions you don’t answer, you’ll force me to get involved.”
Before Zakiya closes the distance between them, the man pisses himself and says, “I work for the Association.”
“Seriously, I didn’t even make my first incision?” Zakiya’s pout over not cutting the man prompts him to volunteer information I didn’t ask for and more.
He links the Association to Dusan, confirming one of our hypotheses.
Zakiya crouches by his head, allowing her blade to hang at his eye level. “Have you been to his house?”
“Yes, several times. When he doesn’t trust mercenaries to do the job, he’ll call me.” He contorts his body until he swings from the chains.
Zakiya backs away and we watch his gyrations until he exhausts himself.
Once the fight drains from him, he says, “I’ll tell you everything I know if you promise not to kill me.”
“As Dusan’s man, why aren’t you willing to die for him?” I don’t hide my skepticism from the stranger.
“When a man values his people, he gets loyalty in return. Dusan built his empire on fear, intimidation, and blackmail. He never had my loyalty.”
When Zakiya glances at me, a questioning arch to her brow, I motion toward the opposite end of the room. “He could help us speed up our plans. Allow Omari to concentrate on something else.”
