It was time to put an end to this shit. Once and for all.
Chapter Fifty-Four
If you want the honor, it’s yours.
Leyton had been waiting for Max’s call. He’d almost given up hope, but he should’ve known that Max would come through. After spending the last few hours pacing the floor, checking on Jase, tending to Ashlynn, and damn near going stir crazy, Leyton was glad the time had come. After all, Leyton had promised Jase they’d find Moroso, and that was exactly what Leyton intended to deliver, even if it meant they’d had to dangle Moroso’s sister out there as bait.
Though taking care of Moroso wouldn’t bring Derrick or Sal back, it would hopefully give Jase some closure.
“You ready?” Leyton asked Ashlynn when she appeared in the living room a minute later.
Her eyes widened slightly, and he saw the moment she realized what he was referring to. “The warehouse?”
He nodded.
“I’ll get Jase.”
“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she answered brusquely. “That bastard deserves everything that’s comin’ to him.”
Leyton didn’t disagree, but he had to make sure. Tensions were high, everyone was rightfully pissed, but… It wasn’t as though she hadn’t seen a man die, even at her own hands, so Leyton wasn’t sure why he was worried. Perhaps he only wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. He’d do anything to keep Ashlynn and Jase safe, and he’d be more than willing to do what needed to be done.
Yeah, he was sure that was what it was. He wanted to ensure their safety. He’d prefer that neither of them go, but it wasn’t his place to tell them that, so he didn’t say anything more as Ashlynn walked away.
While she got ready and informed Jase, Leyton doubled-checked his weapons. He’d need them tonight, because one way or another, Marco Moroso was going to die. And should he be given the opportunity, Leyton was going to gladly put a bullet in the bastard’s brain.
Granted, he wasn’t sure Jase would give him the chance, but he was still going to be ready.
Fifteen minutes later, Rock was behind the wheel of the Escalade, Jase and Ashlynn in the backseat and Leyton in the passenger seat. Behind them were two additional vehicles, both carrying more men whose sole job was to protect Ashlynn. While they’d been waiting for Marco to make a mistake and show himself, they’d stocked up on protection for her, ensuring that the tragedy that had taken place at her house didn’t happen again. There would be people out looking for Moroso and his sister. His people. Moroso’s disappearance wouldn’t go unnoticed, which meant they were running out of time to get this over with before all hell broke loose.
The warehouse was a good forty-five minutes away, but Rock made it in record time. Clearly he was as interested in the outcome of this as the rest of them were. This asshole had taken down two of their own, and it was time he got what was coming to him.
After circling the building twice to check it out, they pulled inside the building, via the loading dock at the back. Rock parked alongside Max’s Escalade, then closed the bay door before they got out.
Leyton waited for Ashlynn, took her hand, and held on to it as they met Jase at the front of the SUV. Not once did Jase turn to look at either of them. He was focused on one thing and one thing only. Ready to get this over with, Leyton led the way toward the five men now standing around the man of the hour. Marco Moroso.
Max, Brent, Victor, Dane, and Snarly circled the bleeding man chained by his neck to a pulley in the ceiling. They’d obviously started the proceedings before their arrival, and they’d done a number on Moroso already. It was a gruesome sight but one Leyton didn’t mind seeing. Every time he thought about Jase’s brother and Sal, he wanted to tear something apart.
“Kill me now,” Marco demanded, snarling at Max.
“Not yet,” Max replied casually. His tone reflected that deadly calm he was known for; his body language said he was holding back. “I’m not done with you yet. I’m waitin’ for an answer. Where’re my guns?”
Marco spit in Max’s direction. Snarly pulled on the chain, lifting Marco off the ground enough that he had to stand on his toes to keep from suffocating.
Jase took a step closer, as though he wanted a front-row seat to the event. Leyton remained where he was, holding Ashlynn’s hand while Rock stood behind them, keeping an eye on the entrance. Leyton watched as Max interrogated Marco, never getting his hands dirty. That’s what he had Snarly for. And Snarly was a crazy, sadistic bastard who clearly didn’t have a problem with the dirty work. In fact, Leyton was pretty sure the guy enjoyed it.
For a solid ten minutes, Max continued to question Marco while Snarly did what he did best.
Finally, when it looked as though Marco had had enough, Max came to stand in front of him. “Last time,” Max stated, his voice low. “You give me an answer, or when I walk out of this place, I’m gonna pay a personal visit to your sister. And she ain’t gonna be too happy to see me.”
Marco’s eyes widened. “Leave my sister alone.”
Max reared back and punched Marco square in the face, causing Marco’s head to snap back as though his neck were made of rubber. “Like you left my brother alone?”
“Don’t touch her,” Marco seethed.
“Where’re my fucking guns?” Max asked, his tone lethal.
When Marco didn’t respond, Max glanced over at Dane. “We’ve gotta take a trip.” But before Max could get two steps away, Marco was pleading.
“No! I’ll tell you where they are. But you have to promise to let them go. Unharmed.”
Max pivoted back around to face the battered, bleeding man. “You tell me where the guns are, and you have my word. I won’t hurt them.”
Marco must’ve believed him, because he was suddenly cooperative, grumbling an address.
Max grabbed his phone, dialed, and then waited until someone answered. He repeated the address to whomever it was on the other end. Leyton had no idea who Max had pulled in for this, but he knew that Max wouldn’t let it go until he got what he wanted out of the man. And trusting Moroso to tell the truth wasn’t an option.
Silence reigned for the next ten minutes, but then Max’s phone rang. He answered, seemed pleased by the response he received, then instructed the caller to do what was necessary to collect the guns.
And then, when he hung up the phone, Max’s attention turned to Jase. “If you want the honor, it’s yours.”
Leyton didn’t move, kept his fingers firmly twined with Ashlynn’s. He already knew how this would go down. If Jase needed him, Leyton knew he’d ask for his help. But Leyton doubted it would come to that.
Before Marco had a chance to beg and plead for his life, Jase was standing before him, his shoes causing the thick plastic sheeting that’d been rolled out beneath Marco to rustle while the barrel of his gun rested dead center in the middle of Marco’s forehead.
“Kill me,” Marco grumbled.
“It’ll be my pleasure,” Jase said, his voice as even as his hand. “A woman once asked me whether or not I’d kill a man if I had to. The answer to that was easy. That woman was the one you put a hit out on. The woman you planned to take from me.
“You killed my brother, took the life of a man I respected, and almost killed someone else close to me. You deserve to die, but more importantly, you deserve to suffer.” Jase pressed the gun closer, denting the skin on Marco’s forehead. “The woman you ordered the hit on … she wasn’t simply Max’s sister. She’s the woman I love, the woman I intend to spend the rest of my life with. You’re just damn lucky you didn’t get the chance to take her from me, because not only would I put a bullet in your skull, I would force you to watch me gut your entire family and leave them for dead.”
Marco’s eyes slid up to Jase’s face, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything before the chain pulled taut once more, lifting Marco off the ground. He thrashed around for a moment, gasping for the air that wasn’t filling his lungs. And then he was back on his feet once again, hacking as his lungs filled once again. Jase didn’t move from his position as Snarly did this several more times, dragging out Marco’s torture. After Snarly put him on his toes one last time, he moved out from behind Marco.