do it.”
Terry moved toward Gabe, slipped off his suit jacket and tossed it over the long metal table spanning the entire side wall, before rolling up his sleeves. “You’re gonna miss this, aren’t you?”
Gabe glanced over his shoulder and winked. “Nope.”
He was bullshitting and Terry knew it. Knew it like he knew a shot of vodka would be perfect right about now. Not once did Terry ever take pleasure in killing or torturing a man, it was just a job that had to be done. Maybe that’s why he’d taken to the bottle lately. He couldn’t be happy without being drunk most of the time.
Gabe on the other hand thrived in this lifestyle. He was born for this. Terry often wished he could switch places with Gabe, but he knew his old friend would never accept.
“Was Mima pissed about you leaving?”
“Yes and no. She knew I had some things to finish up before I was done for good. But I think she believes I’ll never return every time I have to leave.”
Terry chuckled. “Can’t blame her, I guess. She doesn’t understand what we do.”
“Speaking of women, how’s Mary?”
Terry shrugged, unsure how to answer him. But inside he cringed at the mention of her name. He wanted to see her again, face-to-face, but he was afraid she’d reject him because of who he was. She didn’t need a man like him in her life, and for that he felt ashamed.
Business always got in the way of personal life, and it was different for him than it was for Gabe. Terry was the boss’s son. Any relationship with a woman made him and the business vulnerable. He didn’t dare get in too deep with a broad or risk everything. He couldn’t handle another repeat of what happened to his mother. He couldn’t allow an innocent woman like Mary to suffer as his mother did.
And Mary still hadn’t changed her message on the damn answering machine.
He stared down at the leather satchel rolled out to expose Gabe’s toys, wanting to forget his twisted thoughts and the sexy caramel eyes that tormented him.
The ice pick was fast and efficient, easy to hide. The handsaw made dismemberment a breeze. Several other gadgets Terry knew nothing about looked grossly sophisticated, but the one that shocked him the most was the oversized eyelash curler used to slowly and painfully sever a man’s nut sack.
His balls shriveled at the thought.
“Mary’s too good for me. I haven’t spoken to her in a while.” His answer would have to be good enough.
Gabe grunted. “Mima’s too good for me too, but that didn’t stop me from moving in. Quit being a fucking dumbass and go take her out to dinner or something.”
Terry smacked Gabe’s shoulder, all in good fun of course. He knew Gabe could take him in a second. “Shut up about me. Soon enough you’ll have Mima knocked-up, buddy. Then you can worry about telling your kid what to do.” He cleared his throat, unable to stop himself from staring at Gabe’s profile. His long-time friend had the look of a happy man. He appeared more at ease these days. His smile was quick and sure, his eyes held a spark of something Terry didn’t recognize in his own. Terry looked tired and fed up, whereas Gabe had the happy face of a man who just got laid.
Terry was suddenly overcome with a pang of jealousy. “Do you have any regrets?”
Gabe turned with the razor sharp weapon in hand and studied him for a few breaths. “The only thing I regret is the lack of power and running water out there. First two things on my list as the man of the house. Oh, and adding a driveway. I’m tired of parking the truck a kilometer down the road. I’m getting too old for that much exercise.”
“What about Diana? Are you going to bring her there or have her parked here?”
Adolfo struggled but the restraints held him fast.
Gabe spun around and glared at him. “Do you mind? We’re having a conversation here. Just be thankful you’re not going to the pigs.”
Adolfo’s eyes widened and his body stilled.
Gabe turned to Terry with an annoyed look on his face. “I’ll keep Diana here for now until we have a proper driveway. Mima refuses to move to town even when I offered to buy the biggest house in Silver Creek. And she’ll never move here. I already let go of my apartment. But I know she loves her land. Maybe one day I’ll build her dream house right there...with a pool and a helipad and the whole shebang. My princess would need a new suspension if I brought her up there.”
Terry chuckled. He couldn’t picture Mima agreeing to a pool and a helipad, but he respected what Gabe wanted in life. He was like his big brother, and even though Ben had managed to trick them a few months back, Terry trusted Gabe with his life. His buddy deserved everything good, and that included Mima Etu.
Terry’s thoughts drifted to the incident when Gabe crashed his plane in her backyard. Even though his dad questioned Gabe’s motives, Terry never gave up on him. He wanted to be there with Ben, and he was right not to trust him. In his heart, Terry knew Gabe never would’ve taken off with all that blow. Besides, Colton promised Gabe a tidy retirement package for all his hard work over the years. Gabe didn’t need to steal to walk away big from the family business.
Fate had taken over and made Gabe a different man when he crashed his plane and Mima found him.
“Are you really happy with her? I have a hard time imagining you gutting a deer instead of a man.”
Gabe’s big shoulders lifted as he took a deep breath. “I’ve never felt more at peace out there. It’s so quiet in the mountains I can actually hear myself think.”
The weird smile on his face almost made Gabe look childish.
“Which must be boring as hell,” Terry added with a grin.
“Not really. I thought it would be at first, but all this—” Gabe waved the hatchet around and Adolfo shrieked beneath the duct tape, “makes me happy to live quietly for a change. You know what I mean? No more looking over my shoulder. No more doing what everyone else wants. Nice walks along the property. Outdoor sex. You should try it sometime instead of making your dick raw with your hand.”
“Fuck off.”
Terry knew right then Gabe was exactly where he needed to be. “God you’re pussy-whipped already, aren’t you?” He didn’t dare admit he was jealous. Before Gabe could respond he continued quickly, “I thought Dad wanted him to go to the pigs?”
After giving Terry a deadly glare about being pussy-whipped, Gabe walked over to Adolfo with all the calm in the world and ripped the duct tape from his mouth. Adolfo squinted hard as part of his thick black mustache tore off with the tape.
Terry cringed. God, that must’ve hurt.
“Wanda put a stop to that after Ben. The pigs are on a diet.”
Adolfo’s eyes widened but he made no other sound, only pursed his lips shut and glared at them.
“Any last words, amigo?”
Terry’s heart hammered as a sly smile curved Adolfo’s bruised and bloodied mouth. His black eyes held no remorse. He wasn’t afraid to die. “Yeah. This is only the beginning . . . amigo. You boys are stupid if you think killing me is going to be the end of this.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Gabe blurted.
Adolfo smiled as he eyed Terry, completely ignoring Gabe hovering over him. “You kill me, everything you love will burn.”
Fear gripped Terry by the enemy’s stark threat. He rushed him, grabbed his blood-soaked hair, and violently yanked his head back. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Answer me!”
Adolfo’s evil laugh sounded hollow off the three-foot thick cement walls. He had nothing left to say and they weren’t going to waste any more time.
Gabe