"Pick up damnit." I pace outside the house as the line on the other side rings.
"Hello?"
"Lina! You and Kaz need to go to the safe house. I've already sent men your way to make sure you get there safely."
"What's going on? Did something happen?"
"Right now's no time for questions, do as I say. I'll explain later." I hang up and head back inside the house.
"Sir, he should be out cold for hours. What shall we do with him?"
I look at Ricky's unconscious body lying on the floor. I have no idea what to do with him. I never would have expected him to attack his mother, maybe yell at her a bit and cry but I never expected that he'd raise his hand to her. There has to be some kinda reason to why he did what he did. He always praised his mother like she was some sort of Virgin Mary, it just doesn't add up.
"Load em' up in the car. I'm taking his ass home."
I watch as three of my most biggest men pick up the fallen giant. They set him in the backseat of the car then get inside themselves.
"Are you sure you wanna take him back to the mansion?"
"Do I have to repeat myself? Hurry up, crazy here won't stay down for long."
There was an unspoken feeling floating around in the car. Between my unease, the tense guards and the sleeping demon I'd say that whatever I was feeling would only worsen. I can feel it in my gut that this is the beginning of something more horrible than I can imagine.
"Boss, what do we do from here?"
The car comes to a slow stop outside the mansion. My skin crawls as I peer at the huge place. Something is off, I know it is.
"Do a sweep. If the girls are gone take him below and chain him up. I'm not risking anything."
They nod and leave the car, taking Ricky with them. That damn bastard. I love the fuckwad but he's incredibly selfish and an extreme narcissist. I let myself sink low into the seat.
"Just what the hell is going on inside that fucked up little head of yours?"
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
"Shit."
I had tons of missed calls and messages, most of them being from Nando and the goons but one sticks out the most. I dial the number and wait for the line to connect.
"Yo."
"Mi mariposa, please let me explain."
"Explain what? Carlos you don't have to-"
"No Dee. I made a promise that no matter how busy I got that's I'd make time for you."
She sighs into the phone.
"I know that you're a busy man. I knew that when I left so please don't feel obligated to constantly remind me. I know that you care for me, I care for you too but I shouldn't be a distraction."
"You never fail to amaze me. You're a wonderful woman mi mariposa. Are you free anytime this week?"
"Yeah, I have the weekend off."
"That's perfect. I'll see you then."
"Bye Carlos, I'll see you soon."
I hated myself for not being able to spend time with her. I missed her. I hated Ricky more for being the reason why I can't see her. I get out of the car and head downstairs. The stench of death was overwhelming down here. At the end of the hall, the door to his cell is open and inside he's chained to the wall.
"Wake him up."
The guard holds smelling salts to his nose and he jerks awake.
"Tsk tsk, you're all dismissed. I need to talk to him alone." Once the room clears and the door shuts I stare at the man before me.
"I'd like to say that this is the first time I've been chained up in my own house but we both know that's not true."
"Ugh, if you're talking about the BDSM you and Kaz are into please spare me the details. I'm here to talk about what happened back at house."
His eyes instantly turn dark and he glares at me. Damn, it was a good call to restrain him. Fucker's terrifying.
"Bájame de aquí."
(Get me out of here.)
"You know I can't do that. Just tell me what went down back there and maybe we can come to a compromise."
"Me jodiste. ¡Eso es lo que pasó, idiota!"
(You screwed me. That's what happened, you idiot!)
"You screwed your own damn self! Since I first saw you again I've been nothing but honest with you. It's not my fault that you constantly continue to fuck yourself over."
"Carlos, sácame de aquí y te juro que haré que tu muerte sea rápida."
(Carlos, get me out of here and I swear I'll make your death quick.)
I raise my brow at his comment. "Your threats don't scare me, puta."
"No hago amenazas. Saldré de aquí y vendré por ti primero."
(I don't make threats. I'll get out of here and come for you first.)
Ricky has never scared me before. I've seen some of his most evil times but nothing he's ever said or done can compare to the look he's giving me now. His eyes burn with hatred and it makes my gut ache. Is this what his victims see before he takes their life? It's much more horrifying than actual death.
"I'll give you some time to cool down. I'll be back in a few, maybe then you'll be willing to talk."
I get up from the cold steel chair and close the door to his cell.
"¡Te mataré! ¡Hijo de puta, te destriparé como a un pez!"
(I'll kill you! Son of a bitch, I'll gut you like a fish!)
His screams echo through the empty halls. I hurry up the stairs and lock the basement door behind me. I didn't leave because I wanted him to calm down. I did it because I was scared, my whole body was shaking. The man I looked up to for so long, the same man who'd give his life for me without a second thought. He was the reason why I was head of Arañas Rojas, the gang HE convinced the others to let me join was now the same man who was making promises to have my head.
The worst part about all of this is that I believed him. This time I had poked the sleeping bear too hard and now it was coming after me. It was only a matter of time before it's jaws clamped around my neck and I was totally powerless to stop it. I could keep him locked away but how long will those chains hold him? What horrors await me when he's finally out? My mind races, thinking of different ways he would torture me, of possible ways I could calm his rage.
That's when a sudden idea popped into my head. One I knew that would get me out of this for sure. But was I really willing to sacrifice the main reason for all of this for my own safety? I scoff at myself. I had become the thing I most hated, a coward.