talk to the bosses,” I said. “But don’t expect this to lead to anything. If anyone knew what Paulie was up to, they were smart enough to keep their mouth shut. Do me a favor; keep yours shut, too—at least until I talk to the guys and get a better idea of what’s going on here.”
“Too late.”
Fuck.
“Who’d you talk to?”
“Guys on the street. You know, the dealers who worked in the area at that time.”
Those dealers still worked for the bosses, so I was sure word had spread. I was surprised Mario hadn’t said anything to me about it.
“Did they know anything?” I asked.
“Nothing. Not even one of ’em had a clue on what Paulie was up to.”
He sounded deflated. I knew it wasn’t just from searching for Paulie’s killer.
“All right,” I said, “I’ll take it from here, but I want you laying low. If rumors start flying that Paulie had a side gig, the bosses are going to be pissed, and it’s not going to look good if you’re the one spreading them.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“While you’re laying low, how about you get some sleep? You sound like shit.”
I checked the screen of my phone. I’d been talking to Billy for almost ten minutes, and the girls hadn’t made a noise. I hoped one of them was still on her knees, her tongue running over the other’s cunt. I fucking loved watching them eat pussy.
“I’m fine.”
It made me crazy whenever he said that. He wasn’t healthy. He wasn’t rested. He wasn’t eating. He definitely wasn’t sleeping. He was shooting as much heroin as his body could handle. Every time I spoke to him, he sounded worse than the last time.
“You’re not fine. We both know it.”
“Don’t fucking worry about me. If you lecture me every time we talk, I’m going to stop calling you.”
If he stopped calling me, I’d have one of the guys track him down and shadow him, sitting with him every minute of the goddamn day. Telling him that would only start a fight. And fighting with Billy meant he’d only use more.
I couldn’t be the reason he cooked up more dope…considering I was the reason he’d started using in the first place.
“I’ll call you when I know something.”
He chuckled. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah, tomorrow.”
I hung up and set the phone on my desk, knowing I’d call him whether I knew something or not. Maybe if I could get some answers or at least a little resolution, Billy would go to rehab for me.
I shook the mouse beside my computer, and the monitor lit up. I clicked on the feed for the master bedroom security camera, and a full-angle shot of my room popped up. I zoomed in on the bed. One of the twins was on her back, her head on my pillows, her knees bent. The other was buried, face-deep, in her cunt.
Just how I wanted them.
I exited the feed, left my phone on the desk, and walked to my bedroom.
Nineteen
Kyle
The lights flipped on. I could almost feel the electricity running through the wires and into the bulbs. It was like the current was running through me. It drove my eyes open, made my head thrash back and forth; it forced me to scream. It felt like I’d been electrocuted—not just pain, but an excruciating amount of agony pounded in every part of me.
And I was still here…in the torture chamber. Still tied to the chair. Still naked.
When I tried to speak, my tongue ached from where I had bitten into it, where Breath had chomped on it. My cheeks hurt from where he had squeezed and slapped. My toes…
I looked down, and the ends of my toes were raw. The tops of my feet looked like a dog’s chew toy. My ankles looked like they had been painted red. The babies hadn’t just bitten me; they had fed on me. And the blood wasn’t just on my body; it was all over the floor.
It reminded me so much of…
“I thought you’d find this scene familiar.”
I jumped at the sound of Breath’s voice, which came from behind me. I didn’t know how, but he’d read my thoughts without even seeing my face. There was only one other time I’d seen so much blood. Breath knew that. He’d done this on purpose.
He wanted me to relive it.
He moved in front of me and knelt in the red puddle. This was the first time I’d seen him in the light. He was thinner than I’d imagined.