Nazai dug into his pocket and pulled out a book of matches. Neil quickly started shaking his head from side to side.
“Please, no, no!” he begged. His body twisted and turned.
“Too late. Give your son a fuck you in hell.” Nazai struck a match and tossed it. Flames instantly engulfed Neil’s body, rushing up from his legs to his head. His screams were gut wrenching and struck my eardrums.
“Nazai,” I mumbled, holding my mouth over my hands. My stomach grew queasy as the smell of burning flesh flooded my nostrils. His skin began to char as he screamed and struggled to break free. The flames crackled and popped as the oxygen around us enhanced them.
“Nazai,” I called out again. Bile built in the back of my throat.
The rope holding Neil gave way and his burning body went crashing onto the ground. He was barely able to move. His body twitched as it continued to burn. His screams had died out. The smell of his flesh melting away intensified.
I hunched over, holding my stomach, attempting to swallow the bile threatening to come out. My eyes watered and my skin ran hot.
Nazai pulled his gun out and aimed it, pulling the trigger and finishing Neil off.
“Now it’s over.” Nazai turned and looked at me. His eyes bucked realizing the state I was in. “Shit!” He rushed toward me and grabbed me. “I guess my baby doesn’t agree with burnt flesh.”
He assisted me out of the kitchen toward the door. The fresh, cool air felt like heaven against my hot skin.
“Get this handled,” he told Jackson as we passed him.
“Will do, boss.”
Nazai led me to the truck where Dante was waiting on the outside. I took a few deep breaths of the clean air.
“How you feel now?” he asked once we were in the truck.
I held my chest and closed my eyes. “Better. Especially now that he’s gone.”
Nazai’s hand landed on my thigh. I peeked open an eye and looked over at Nazai. “I told you to leave it all to me. No one threatens my family and lives to tell about it.”
____
A week had passed since Nazai killed Neil and things were starting to settle. I had seen a doctor and learned I was eight weeks along. I had gotten pregnant the night of my wedding when Nazai took my virginity and hadn’t known it. It worried me since I had been drinking and had taken drugs, but the doctor said everything looked fine.
Now we were at the meeting house while Nazai led a meeting. I was starting to learn how things ran here. Each brother ran their own businesses, but there were times they needed to come together and work a job. Each brother was like a piece of the puzzle. Emmet was the brains who got the jobs in motion. Ezra was the legal help who stayed on standby if the family needed representation, but he also didn’t hesitate to take a job. Lucas was the doctor who patched everyone up when needed, but he and Emmet rarely went on jobs unless more hands were needed. Even River, as the muscle and protection, played a part in the puzzle. Then there was Nazai, now the leader, but once happily took the kill jobs. It was amazing watching all them co-exist and work together because I had never seen this before. Even when my parents were alive, it was always every man for themselves.
A lot of the freelance cases they handled dealt with attacks and assaults against women and children. When they used the portal Emmet had set up, the jobs could vary.
“Tell me what’s going on with the blogger, Emmet? Were you able to get inside her files when Ezra brought you her laptop?”
“The laptop was wiped clean.”
“What? How the fuck did that happen?”
“She had magnets set up that crashed her system if the laptop ever passed through her door. I’m sure whatever was wiped is backed up somewhere, but it’s gonna take some time to get it. Her security is tight and she’s not an amateur. It’s clear she’s been heavily looking into the trafficking and missing kids in the area. It’s obvious she hasn’t let what happened to her sister go. I’m not sure what she has on our family, if anything, but I plan to find out.”
Nazai pushed a heavy breath through his nose and rolled his neck between his shoulders. “And Ezra?”
“I’m handling it,” Ezra replied. By the tick in Nazai’s jaw, I could see his patience was growing thin with his brother.
“Make it sooner than later. We have much more important shit to worry about.”
I zoned out as Nazai continued talking. As much as it annoyed me that I couldn’t go out in the field like I wanted, I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t feel good to finally be able to sit back and not have to worry about anything for a change.
When the meeting was over and everyone prepared to leave, I watched as Carson followed Emmet. He was still mentoring my brother and Carson was enjoying himself. My brother was no longer that timid kid he once was and that made me happy. All I wanted was for him to be accepted and have confidence in himself.
“I spoke with my dad this morning. His lawyer friend is working on the paperwork to make us Carson’s legal guardians. He’s gonna make some calls and get it moved up and processed too.”
