AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He screamed and clawed at the air, trying to reach the tool.
“I ask again.” As soon as I yanked the stake out, blood surged out of the hole and cascaded down the side of his leg. “Who hired you?”
“We never used names! Ok? Just a phone!”
“Where’s the phone?”
Breathing hard, he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head frantically. “I don’t have it.”
Clucking my tongue, I shook my head as well and drove the dibber into his other leg.
“Fuck, man! I don’t have it! I swear! Maynard had it! He did all the talkin’.”
Well, at least that was favorable news. The fact we were already in possession of the phone put me in a slightly better mood. Bennett assured me he knew someone who would be able to get the necessary information off of it. And once this interrogation was over, that’s exactly what we were going to do.
“Did they tell you who you were supposed to kidnap?”
“Leonardo something. I don’t know! I told you, Maynard had all that!”
“Leander?” I ventured, my brows raised slightly.
His eyes widened again, stupidly hopeful, like if he gave me the right answer I would stop making him bleed. “Yeah. Yeah. Leander.”
Elijah tapped Cole on the shoulder and tossed his head to the side. They disappeared silently, leaving us alone now that I had the information I wanted.
“How unfortunate for you, then, that you kidnapped Bennett by mistake… Leander is soveryprotective of his husband.” The information sank in slowly. When it clicked into place, Jesse sucked in a breath at the same time I drove the dipper into his abdomen and up at an angle, through his diaphragm.
“And to make sure this never happens again” — I smiled, twisting the stake up even further — “I’m sending your employers a very succinct message.”
Jesse gurgled and gasped, his stomach heaving as the blood oozed out of it, coating my hand.
“Your brothers got off easy. You’re going to die slowly, Jesse, anticipating each moment until death finally comes. Do you smell that? That gas? You know what will happen when it fills this place up.” I leaned closer until we were nose-to-nose. Another smile graced my lips, as dark and delighted as ever, before I whispered the answer. “Boom.”
Tears streaked down his face, leaving track marks through the crusted blood from his broken nose. “I’m sorry! We needed the money! After the county took our…” He hiccuped and looked at me with sudden realization. “You. It was you, you son of a bitch! You stole our farm!”
Ignoring his self-righteous outburst, I stood and wiped my hand with the handkerchief from my front pocket. Cole and Elijah returned from different parts of the house, each nodding that their tasks were complete.
Elijah cocked his head at me. “Did he just mention the farm?”
“He did.” I wiped the last of the blood away and flung the handkerchief at Jesse with a wrinkled nose before heading toward the front door.
Cole was the last out, pulling the door shut and making sure it was secured. “What are the odds a family that’s more pissed off at you than usual is the one who gets paid to kidnap you?”
“Coincidence?” Elijah asked.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I replied.
Plenty of people had motive to hate me and my company — and they did, passionately. It was one of the hallmarks of being born into the Welles family. Wealth, power, and a burning hatred in the eyes of nearly everyone you meet.
But who was smart enough to use that hatred against me?
Hopefully Bennett’s associate in Chicago could provide the answer.
25
Bennett
“You trust him?” Leander asked, folding his arms while I knocked on the apartment door.
