Indebted to the Mafia King

*Cal*

Tony takes a little longer than I'd like with the cartel bastards the Saints captured. By the time his men haul in two guys who are, I'd say, unrecognizable, I'm basically digging a hole in the floor with all my anticipation and agitation, having spent the last hour pacing.

The guy I cuffed in the basement looks up from his spot in the corner, and his eyes widen when he sees two more of his people have also been taken by us. He doesn't have any strength in him to say anything, but he's been pretty quiet anyway compared to some of the smart-mouthed assholes I've beaten the shit out before.

"Hey," Tony greets me, walking behind his guys who are now restraining the newly kidnapped men to chairs, away from the first one. "Brought you a little present."

I grunt. "After the day I just had, you have no idea how glad I am to see them," I tell him, darting a deathly glance to the newcomers and cracking my knuckles.

"I owe you already. I'm glad I could return the favor for once," Tony says, smirking at

me.

I shake my head, not the slightest interested in going back to that conversation. I've already told him several times that he owes me nothing. Everything I did to help him and Chloe was because he's a good friend of mine, and that's all.

I never expected him to do the same for me, but I do appreciate it. I know he feels partially, if not completely, responsible for the cartel coming after me, but this is just how things work in our world.

I don't hold it against him.

"Did they say anything?" I ask, pulling away from everyone else so we can have a one- on-one conversation.

"Not much," he answers simply. "They seemed to be in control of one of the bars in New Jersey, but considering the documents we had access to, they are close to the new cartel boss. Funneling drugs into the states through Miami, up the eastern seaboard. We just don't know who's in charge yet. We didn't really have much time to interrogate them before the police arrived, so we can continue here."

I nod, considering what to do next. "Great, I need to vent some of my anger. That'll be a good workout," I murmur through gritted teeth.

"You look like shit, man.'

I narrow my eyes at him, silently threatening him to stay quiet if he doesn't want me to take my frustration on him, too.

"Sorry," Tony adds, tucking his hands in his pockets in surrender. "It's the truth,

though. Now, let's get this over with so you can get back to your lady and fix whatever it is that went wrong between you two."

"How do you know something went wrong?" I frown.

"Come on! It's written all over your face. Plus, a little bird told me someone stormed out of the bar a while ago, so I guessed you guys had an argument or something."

I grunt, turning my back to him. "Let's fucking deal with them, shall we?"

My footsteps echo through the room as I approach the new guys who are now tied to two metal chairs in the middle of the room. Their old friend in the corner is still quiet, watching the scene unfolding before his battered eyes with great attention. He looks slightly scared, and I'd say he was probably expecting someone to come rescue him, instead of two more of them to be taken for interrogation.

This gets me a little more excited than earlier. At least we're getting somewhere, and apparently, the enemy was not expecting it.

"Now, who wants to go first?" I ask threateningly.

No one around me makes a sound. They just watch as I get closer to the guy on my left. He looks more terrified than his friend. His eyes are swollen, there's a huge bruise on his cheek, and his lip is split. Dried blood covers his mouth and chin, and there are stains on the collar of his shirt. His shoulders are shaking slightly, and even though he has his hands tied behind his back, I can also tell they are trembling.

"You look like you have something to tell me," I continue, lowering my voice and leaning forward to look him in the eye. His pupils are dilated, and he smells like cheap liquor and weed, which makes me nauseated. I throw a punch in his stomach, making him groan and bend over in pain.noveldrama

I give him a second to compose himself and think about what he'll do next.

When he looks up at me again, I grin at him.

"Just to let you know, I can stay here all day. Not to mention I had a fucking terrible day, so I'm looking for someone to vent my anger on. That someone could be you or your friend here.” I point to the guy on his side. “It's up to you.” I take a deep breath and crack my neck before addressing him once more. "Now, I want to know who the fuck is ordering you to follow me around and attack me," I demand in a snarl. "Give me a name, and I might consider letting you walk out of here alive."

"I-I don't know what you're talking abo-" he chokes out, and my fist meets his jaw before he has the chance to finish the last word.

"Don't fucking play that game with me, or I swear to God, I'll tear you to pieces and feed them to the dogs," I threaten, my patience wearing thin. "I'm not in the mood for games, so you better tell me something useful, or you're as good as dead."

He spits a mouthful of blood close to my feet, and I sneer, rolling my eyes at him before punching him again, this time making sure he's left unconscious. I can go back to him once he wakes up.

I look to my right and head for the second bastard. I could stay here all day beating them up, but I'm already tired of all of this. So, with that thought in mind, I grab the gun from the holster in my belt and point it at his forehead, watching his eyes widen in fear, and maybe a little surprise.

"I won't repeat my question. And I won't play nice anymore," I inform him darkly. "If

you don't fucking tell me who your boss is, I'll shoot you right now."

He swallows hard and nods at me, signaling he will cooperate. "His name is Milo Moralez," he finally spills. "He's Mateo's younger brother."

I bite my cheek so hard that the taste of copper fills my mouth. Everything is starting to make much more sense now.

"Mateo doesn't have a brother," Tony chimes in from behind me, clearly as angry and annoyed as I am. "We investigated everything about him and the cartel a while ago." The asshole in front of me scoffs, and I press my gun harder against his forehead, reminding him that I still have the power here. "Milo wasn't active in the cartel until his brother died. Or, more accurately, was murdered." He glares at Tony. "Then he had to take over and get revenge for his brother."

"Revenge my ass," Tony snarls, and I hear a commotion behind me that I assume is caused by his men trying to hold him back. "He fucking tried to kidnap my wife and daughter."

"Where the hell is Milo now?" I cut in, hoping to end this argument that will get us nowhere. Tony has every right to be angry, but I can't let him ruin this now that we're finally getting some clarifying answers.

"I don't know. He changes places everyday," the guy replies. "I swear!" he yells when I cock the gun in front of his face. "I really don't know, I'm not that close to him." "Why me? Why is he coming for me if Mateo had a problem with the Saints?"

I don't mean to throw Tony under the bus or anything, but this is a question that's been bugging the both of us for a while now. I don't think Tony will mind me asking. "He knows you were helping the Saints and thought it would be easier to get your family first,” he explains, and it doesn't sit well with me to hear the De La Cruz cartel thinks the Irish Kings are easy. I'll show him 'easy." "Then he'd go after the Saints and get revenge on the group directly responsible for his brother's death."

"He should have known better than to come unprepared because now he's got a fucking war coming his way." Tony grunts behind me.

Before I have the chance to tell him to chill so I can carry on with my questions, a loud ruckus starts upstairs, causing all of us to turn our heads toward the closed door. Even behind thick walls and a metal door, the noises in the bar are so loud that it seems like it's happening right inside the basement.

"What the fuck is that?" Sam asks, looking around as if to make sure all of the enemies we kidnapped are still here.

But I know what this means.

Milo and his cartel have finally come to rescue his men.

The animal within me snarls as I prepare for battle.

This is it.

This is the moment I have been waiting for.

"They're here," I inform everyone around me. "Let's get this fucking over with."