Ruthless Beasts

Chapter 43

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

ADAM

The rain rolled viciously outside my window, but for once, my mind wasn't present enough to enjoy it. I glanced at my phone what seemed to be every thirty seconds, waiting for a text or a call from Mercer letting me know the status of the donut shop. The place would be uninhabitable; that much was clear. But the cause? Electrical fire? Something deep down wasn't sitting right with that.

My fingers tapped against the oak desk as thunder clapped outside. My nerves were shot. I was getting too damn old for the stress of this, which was insane, considering I still had some years before I even hit my forties. But maybe Ace was right. This wasn't the life I wanted to grow my family in. I wanted to show them honor and respect. Not the ways of illegal affairs and taking anything you want. I wanted to be better. I wanted to be what Belle deserved.

Another clap of thunder and I paused. For a moment, I thought I heard something, but Belle was sleeping and no one else was home. My ears strained against the storm blazing outside, fighting against the creaks of the house settling, as I listened. But silence met me as my imagination toyed with my paranoia.

I picked up my paperwork, shuffling it about as I tried to concentrate. It was useless, I knew. After a day like today, when everything seemed so perfect, my gut told me that the pin would drop, that something would destroy that happiness I worked so hard to gain. Sometimes, it is our own thoughts and self-doubt that are our greatest enemies. The blocks we create, the problems we cause ourselves in the grand scheme of life, they are absolutely nothing compared to what matters. Family. Life. Love.

The thunder rolled again, and this time, I swore I heard a scream. I shot to my feet faster than I would have thought possible, my feet already carrying me through the door and down the long hall, out of the west wing. Exiting the hall, the house was silent. Too silent. Like every heart that beat had suddenly stilled. I stepped slowly, aware of every sound, feeling every vibration pass through my body.

The thump upstairs had me pausing. Belle. She was up there. The only one up there. Passing through the foyer, I paused at the open door. Walking closer, my shoes hit the sticky puddle of blood that pooled from the outside and flowed inside. I swallowed hard, opening the door, meeting the blank lifeless gazes of my two staff members. My palms instantly grew clammy. The meaning of this was all too clear.

Reaching back, I grabbed the gun from the small of my back, taking the slightest comfort in the metal's weight in my palm, the cool smoothness against my rough skin. It was a familiar comfort, a weapon I knew how to use effortlessly, and now, I could only hope it was the defense I needed to protect my wife.

My steps were slowly leading up the stairs, the blood that clung to my shoes leaving sticky prints, showing all who entered the pathway to destruction.

My destruction.

Our destruction.

His destruction.

At the top of the landing, I paused, straining my ears, listening for any sound, any sign, anything to let me know where my wife was. Was she still in bed? I hoped so, but that was a na?ve hope. I knew it the second the thought crossed my mind, then I heard her scream from the library. My Belle never stood in one place long, and it was clear tonight wasn’t an exception.

My hand shook as I crept toward the door. My ears strained as words filtered through the slightly ajar door. Pleas and cries, words of insanity, and I hated it. Hated that she was in this position while I was just downstairs, oblivious to her suffering. Rage boiled within me, disappointment with myself, my guards, the direction of my life that had led me to this point again. This point where my whole being pulsed with the fear of what I might lose. The point where my thoughts of loss had become nearly debilitating. The point where those I love were in danger, again, because of me.

Pushing through the debilitating fear seemed nearly impossible, but I forced my hand onto the door and pushed it enough to look inside. What greeted me froze my soul. I couldn't act in the way I needed to in order to save my wife. Not when my enemy stood over her small body, his stance too unsteady to aim, his proximity to her too much for me to risk. A single shot could bring down his dead weight on top of her fragile body.

I couldn't risk her.

Not my child.

Not my wife.

I did the only thing I could think of, the only thing that would put distance between the monster and my beautiful girl. I charged, my body rushing forward and slamming into Accardo's, forcing him off my wife. But I misjudged, an overstep I should have expected, and instead of landing against the rail, our bodies sailed over it.

The water soaking my shirt shouldn't have been so freeing. The icy air against my skin shouldn't have been calming. But as I fell over the edge to what could possibly be my demise, all I could think about was the peace I felt knowing Bellamy was safe to run, safe to hide, safe to live until Ace and Mercer came to her aid. And they would come; I knew that for sure. Mercer didn't want to be away from our home longer than necessary.

I clung to my gun as I grew closer to the bottom, knowing the importance of protection if I survived the fall. But as the ground grew closer, fear took over. My grip loosened, and when my body finally met the grass below, the impact was too harsh. It shook my teeth and radiated pain through my body. My hand released my weapon. My gun skidded across the ground just out of reach. I struggled to breathe; the air stuck in my lungs as the pain in my body consumed me.

Frozen in time, I finally gasped, breaking the spell as air entered my lungs. A cough tore from my throat as I brought my arms up, placing my palm on the grass as I pushed myself up, then instantly collapsed as a sharp intense pain crawled up my body.

My leg.

My fucking leg wasn't working, and through my muddled thoughts, I couldn't figure out why.

I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate, and when I opened them again, my enemy, the man I loathed more than life itself, stood over me, laughing. Why? Fuck, everything was so fuzzy. Did I hit my head?

"Can't walk with your bone hanging out of your calf, can you?" His laugh made me grit my teeth. What was he talking about? He continued, ignoring the confusion I'm sure my face displayed. "Lucky for me, I landed in a cushy bush. You though? You deserve this; you deserve more than this. You deserve the death I'll grant you for killing my brother." His fingers threaded in my hair as he forced my gaze up. "You'll fucking die. And the pleasure it will bring me will nearly match the pleasure of fucking your worthless whore of a wife's cunt."

My wife.

I pulled back, forcing his grip to tear away from my scalp as I struggled to push my body up. "You'll never fucking touch her."

"You won't stop me." He disappeared out of sight, standing behind me for a moment before he slammed his foot down against my calf. My vision instantly greyed. Nausea rolled through me as I thought I'd lose consciousness. "You can't fucking walk by yourself. You think you'll stop me?"

His foot released my leg, and he stalked away. The moment he was out of sight, I pulled my body forward, moving slowly toward my gun. If I could reach it, I could end this. But even moving just the few feet to where it fell seemed impossible. I scooted, rocking my hips and slinking forward with my good leg, as I reached my arm out, stretching for the weapon. Only another few inches. I could do it. I fucking knew I could. But just as I was close... just as my fingers grazed the metal, a rope wrapped around my neck from behind.

My hands left their quest for the weapon, instead going to my throat as I gripped the rope, trying to prevent it from strangling me as my back arched. Accardo leaned down, his breath a disgusting odor that surrounded me as he spoke. "You thought I'd let you get that?"

I shook my head no because he would never let me do anything. I'd do it on my own.

"I'm going to kill you. String you up from that tree in the garden your former wife loved so much. Gut you, maybe? Slice you up and hope that animals find you before your friends do."

Animals?

I suddenly noticed the barking of Lady locked up in the house, itching to get free. Would he set her free to consume me, to feast on my remains for Mercer to find? Would Belle find us that way? I hoped not. I hope she hid. I hoped she called for help. I hoped she removed herself from danger because the thought of my life being snuffed for nothing, for hers to not be safe...

I couldn't handle it.

Accardo pulled the rope, strangling any thought from my mind as he heaved and hefted my body, dragging me across the grass as I struggled against the rope and the pain that was fading into a numbing throb. Shock? It had to be. Fight or flight had kicked in, and I couldn't worry about the pain when I needed to fight. I lost my chance of retrieving my gun, but I could still fight against him, struggle, making anything he planned to do to me infinitely harder.

Sticks and stones ground into my body as I was pulled through the threshold and into the rose garden. Rocks created a painful pathway as I held tight to the rope at my throat, trying to force space between it and my neck to allow me air. How my neck hadn't snapped yet, I'd never know, but for now I was thankful for the reprieve.

He stopped in front of the oak tree that lived in the center of the garden and dropped the rope. I gasped as I took in the unobstructed air, savoring the luxury, even knowing it wouldn't last. "When your wife last sat on that bench and gazed at this tree, I bet she never thought it would be the place you died."

"Neither did I," I scratched out, my voice painful as it left me.

He carried on like he didn't hear me, like I wasn't struggling to get my lungs to work and my body to move. I hadn't given up the fight. No, I'd never just hand him a win. But the longer I lay here, the more it became apparent that I was fucked.

Sucking in all the air I could manage, I closed my eyes, tightened my abs, and forced myself upward, curling around my knees until I was stable and sitting. A fucking mistake, as instantly, a bout of lightheadedness swam in my head before Accardo yanked on the rope, forcing me backwards so he could drag me just a little further. When I was close enough, he adjusted the rope under my arms and bound my hands, winding it in such a way that it no longer strangled me, before he tossed the rope over a thick branch and heaved, pulling my body off the ground and using his waning strength to dangle me from the tree. Then he took the rope and tied it to the water fountain, leaving me hanging.

"How's that leg?" The fucker smirked, knowing damn well that my leg was snapped in half.

"How's your brother?" I retorted.

It wasn't the wisest decision, and I fucking knew it. But I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth. Hell, I didn't really want to. I wasn't afraid of dying. I'd done everything I'd wanted to accomplish in this world and more, except being a father. And while I would love to experience that gift, I'd love to buy my wife time to escape more. She was my priority, not the death I knew he'd gift me.

His arm raised up, the gun whipping across my face as he slammed it into my cheek, forcing my face to turn in a snap. Blood pooled in my mouth as I turned back toward him, spitting the saliva and blood that had gathered at him. He only laughed, not fazed by my actions.

"You have a little fight in you, do you?" He mocked as he stepped forward, holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. His grin grew as he took the tip of his blade and poked it into my exposed flesh, tapping it against my bone.

I bit down on my tongue, willing myself not to make a sound as my vision grew fuzzy. I'd been shot before. Burned half my body when Accardo attempted to burn me alive, and somehow the memories of those pains had faded from my mind, becoming less excruciating than the pain I was feeling in this moment.

Willing myself to move, I used my good leg to kick out, kicking his arm and knocking his gun from his hand. It was a temporary fix, but all I could do in the second. I didn't have use of my hands. I could barely use my body at this point. When had I become so fucking weak? When had I let a single man take me down so fucking easily?

"Your son didn't," I taunted. "From what I hear, the old man of a brother put up more of a resistance than your kid ever did." My voice was so fucking rough. "Tell me, how did it feel to watch your son die? Was it as satisfying as it was for me to kill him?"

The blade moved fast, slicing through my flesh by my collar bone, flaying open the skin as blood poured out. "Your skin peels away so damn easy, like a fucking fish." The sharp edge ran down my bicep, and I closed my eyes against the pain. "Anyone ever tell you your flesh is as soft as a peach?"

"Why don't you suck my cock and tell me if I taste as good as one too?"

"That wasn't a compliment. I hate peaches. The taste is disgusting, the skin... vile." His blade skimmed over my body as he decided the next place he'd find joy in slicing. "But I think your cock will be the first piece of you I feed to the fishes. What a lovely little treat they'll have."

"If I'm going to die, at least something will get one last enjoyment off my dick." I grunted as he pushed the blade into my inner thigh, not deep enough to damage anything, just deep enough to remind me that if I moved, that blade was going to nick my body in the most unpleasant of places.

"I'll get enjoyment removing it. You've always been dickless in my eyes. Going after my brother when you could have just come after me. Killing my child to rescue your whore." He tsked and my blood boiled at the name he called Belle, but I was not about to react and cause myself more harm in the moment.

"You're one to talk. Your son was a grown ass man when he died, and he didn't deserve the pure joy that Bellamy could bring. Fuck him, I'm glad he's dead." I winced as he sunk the knife into my opposite thigh, blood instantly trailing down my leg, seeping warmly into my cold, wet pants. At least when my body is found, the rain would wash away the blood. Bellamy didn't need to see all of that, too. When he let go of the handle, leaving the blade sticking from my leg, I continued, "If I recall, you went after my wife and child. Who is really dickless here?"

"They were casualties of war," he gritted out.

"We weren't even at war until you forced me to lay my family to rest," I growled, becoming more agitated as the memories kicked in.

"My goal was you. They were just collateral." He shrugged, and his blatant dismissal of the death of the people I loved ticked me off. Sure, I may have been the goal, but their lives mattered. They were everything to me, everything I had at that moment, and he stole them for a war he declared without my knowledge.

"They were more than just collateral to me." I growled the words.

After pulling the weapon from my thigh, he ran the tip of his knife over the scars he created along the side of my body. The scars that went all the way down, deforming me and making me feel like a fucking outcast in my own damn skin. "I didn't kill you. But this... this was the next best thing. They spent years calling you the beast, all of you, the beasts of the trade. Killers. Murderers. Ruthless animals. All because of this pretty little scar you carried. Put there because I was stronger and smarter than you. I still am. Your men aren't here to save you. That girl, she'll die too. She's so fucking weak; she could barely fight me off up there. Maybe I'll cut that child out of her stomach, claim my grandson as my own before she goes. Maybe, I'll wait. Have my fun with her, torture her for weeks before killing her. Either way, that little piece of my son is all I have left, and it's mine. My grandson is mine."

I closed my eyes against the intrusive thoughts he was putting into my mind. I would allow none of that to happen. Not to her, not to Belle. Even if I died right here, right now, I knew that Ace and Mercer would save her. Or they would die trying. She was our light in this dark world, and I'd be damned if I let him take our light.

"Granddaughter," I gritted the word out through my clenched jaw.

He froze. His movement stilled as he gripped the hilt of the knife. "Granddaughter? That's impossible. Mafia men only have male children."

"Clearly, it's not." Did I sound that stupid when I half-jokingly told Belle that? Jesus.

"I've always wanted a girl," he mused. "I… A girl? This changes everything."

"It changes nothing. You will not touch a single hair on my child," I challenged.

"The amount I could marry her off for. The deals I could make. The—" I couldn't listen to what he planned to do to my daughter for a second longer. He'd never get his hands on her. I struggled with the ropes, not caring as I brought my knee up just enough to knee his stomach, knocking the wind from him.

His curses filled the air, battling against the howling wind and pounding rain. "You fucking bastard. I'm going to take joy in killing you." He stepped closer, his knife by my throat as he yanked my hair back.

"Do it," I challenged, and for a moment, I thought I heard the faint sound of a dog barking. "Fucking kill me. Mercer and Ace, they'll never let you have her. You distracted them for a while, I'll admit. Good planning on your part. But distractions only last so long. They'll come for her."

"And by then, you'll be dead."

"Probably. And you'll swiftly follow." I smirked. "Meet you in hell because I sure as fuck plan on taking you with me."

"You'll have a long wait. I've got plans for them too. Bloody, painful plans." His smirk sent a stone of dread sinking in my stomach. "Maybe I'll make them watch as I fuck her. Think they'll like that? Hell, I'm not sure what the fuck you've been up to here in this mansion of yours, but I'm sure watching happens a lot around here, since you're all so fucking close."

"As tight as they come," I confirmed. "Which means they'd kill you for touching her just as quickly as I could, if I hadn't fallen from two stories up."

"Poor planning on your part."

"I agree." The blade was like ice, the metal cooled from the rain. "Guess we're both guilty of poor planning."

The sharp tip pricked my skin, but I held his gaze, wishing there was more than a few inches distance between us. "My planning is impeccable."

"If that were true, then your son wouldn't have died at your feet." Why did I insist on taunting him so much? I didn't know. But there was something so fucking satisfying about the fire that burned in his angry eyes.

"Anything you'd like me to tell her? Final last words for me to whisper while I fuck her?"

I thought about all the things I didn't say but should have.

I loved her.

I didn't regret her.

I never had.

I loved her.

She was it for me.

If something happened to her, I'd never survive.

She was my life, and I didn't know just how much I’d missed living.

I fucking loved her.

I wished I told her that the most.

"No."

"Fantastic." Accardo laughed as he tilted his blade up, angling to perfection. "Then I'll finish my work here, carve you to pieces, and deliver them to her in a box."

I held my breath, and the tip pierced deeper and my blood flowed free. This was it, the end for me and I… well, I was at peace with it.