The cold steel returned to Lana, digging harder into her cheekbone. Carl shunted her towards the exit with her neck secured in the crook of his arm.
His body clung to her back and his knees banged into her legs as he walked. “Really? You’re going to kill me? I’ve already shot a hole in your brother.” His head bobbed backward, acknowledging Marcus. “I should’ve wrapped the motherfucker in a body bag, like a cheap gift - all tied up, just for you, pretty boy,” Carl sneered. “You come one step closer and I’ll blow off this little bitch’s pretty face. You’ll have her death on your greedy hands.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched helplessly as Jamie’s chest grew, inhaling the reality. She strained her neck, hoping to glance back, to see Marcus for one last time but Carl’s hold only tightened, and he guided her further and further away.
“I promise you this, asshole, I’ll blow a hole inyourfucking ugly face if you hurt her,” Jamie snarled.
Carl puffed out his chest. “Hey, hotshot. You think you’re the good looking one? Well guess what, you little pussy, I’m the one holding the gun. What have you got? Your dick?”
Jamie’s neck tilted with a sudden stiffness. “No, you fucking asshole. I have this…”
Whooshing smoky breath ruffled her hair. Carl’s squeezing arm released her neck and the gun clattered to the floor. A loud grunt left his lungs as he wilted, sliding down her stiff back. Lana spun around to find Marcus, barely standing, with a glass ashtray in his bloodied hand.
“Put your arms around me, baby.” A slow smile crept over his pale face and he clutched his side. “I told you, beautiful, I’ll always protect you.”
Heaving sobs racked her body. “You’re alive. You’re okay. You’re okay,” she chanted pressing her hands to her heart.
34
Carl’s eyes drifted open.
A fabric bag covered his head, shrouding him in darkness. It tightened around his neck with a draw string. The smell of pig shit clung to his nostrils.
His heart beat raced as he tried to free his arms, but they were tied behind his back with a plastic cord that bit into his flesh, growing more painful as he struggled.
Rattling from side to side, he soon realised he was tied to a wooden chair that creaked under his weight. His ears pricked, and a threatening chill coursed over his scalp.
Silence.
Then from close by, the sound of heavy footsteps thumped closer, signalling there was more than one person, but he couldn’t be sure.
The tie around his neck loosened and the cloth bag was abruptly ripped off his head. His eyes were slits, blinking rapidly to focus on three shadows towering before him.
As his gaze adjusted to the low lighting, he scoped the room. It was a large barn with chains hanging from railings and gulleys set out in rows.
Bringing his gaze back to his captors, he studied the figures before him. They wore balaclavas and camo combat gear. Their eyes were cold and menacing as they observed him quietly.
One of the captors leant forward. He was the tallest of the group by a few inches. A dark green jacket hung loosely at his sides and the black material covering his face bulged at the sides like his hair was braided.
His dark eyes were unforgiving. “What ya got ta say for yourself, ya stupid fuckin’ asshole?” he snarled with a thick Dublin accent.
Carl narrowed his eyes, daring to stare back with an air of importance. “Who the hell are you? Where the hell are we?”
A second man chuckled. He was broad, with muscles that packed out his clothes making them almost too tight. “Don’t you remember, Carl?” he sneered with a broad Belfast cadence. “You’re in Italy.”
The two men looked behind at the third captor who stood farther back. His eyes gleamed with malevolence.
“You’re pathetic,” snarled the shorter man, turning to face Carl again.
Carl’s nostrils flared. He tried to sit tall even though his hands were secured at the back of the chair. “I’m not pathetic!” he spat.
“Ya really tink you could come to Italy and try ta kill Marcus?” scoffed the man with a southern Irish twang.
Carl’s shoulders slumped, and he swallowed loudly.
“Have ya been ta the dentist lately?” the tall guy asked Carl with unnerving calmness.
Carl’s brows snapped up. “Why?”
