“Come on, Cain. I know you. What do you have against me? You wouldn’t kill someone because of their last name, would you?”
“Please.” Cain cocked her head to the other side, only this time she frowned. “You’re not going to sit there and act innocent, are you?”
“You’re the head of your family. You know what that’s like. My father’s no different from you. The grudges between you two have nothing to do with me. Just like all these goons standing around here, I was following orders.”
“So you were following orders, or did you feel some overwhelming compulsion to hang out with Blue? I didn’t realize your charity of choice was to give large cash donations to gamblers with shitty luck.” The laugh came again, and again it gave him no comfort. “But enough about that. Blue’s a dead subject. Why we’re here seems like a more interesting topic of conversation.”
“Why are we here?”
Katlin took a case out of her pocket and placed it on the windowsill behind her. She then took the time to study the area outside. Stephano knew Cain and her guards would’ve taken extra precautions to lose any shadows interested in them. He’d even heard rumors of escape routes dug from private homes for just such occasions, so he was afraid that any help from the feds would never materialize.
“I’m here to share with you what you’ve shared with so many.” The needle came out of the little black case, looking surreal in Katlin’s black gloved hands.
A bead of sweat rolled down Stephano’s neck.
“You’re here to sit back and enjoy the ride,” Cain said. Someone standing next to Katlin lit a small cooking torch and poured a bag of white powder into a small metal container. “I’ve never indulged, but from what I’ve read on the subject, I understand that’s exactly what it feels like. A nice long ride no one wants to end.”
“That’s too much,” Stephano protested weakly. A slight chemical smell in the air mixed with the mildew and rot, and he could almost feel death walk through the door.
“Are you kidding? I spared no expense on your behalf, Stephano. If a little makes you fly, then I want you to soar. And if you’re worried about the quality, don’t. I had one of my associates buy it from one of your dealers.” The plunger squeaked when Katlin dipped into the hot liquid and filled the syringe. “I would think you deal only in quality.”
Stephano was mesmerized as Cain pulled a switchblade from her pocket and opened it with practiced flair. He closed his eyes as it sliced through his sleeve and barely opened them when Katlin tied the rubber tubing into place, making his veins plump up like they were anxious for what came next.
“Don’t do this.” He knew the plea made him sound small and weak, but Cain’s expression didn’t change. “You’ve always been so sanctimonious, but we aren’t so different. Except for where we come from, we’ve got the same blood running through our veins.” Someone out of his eyesight tapped on the vein in the bend of his arm.
“You ask for salvation by insulting the memory of my father, saying our blood is the same?” Cain pressed her hands together to keep from hitting him. “You and I are nothing alike. I indulge in what I peddle, so to speak, so why is it you look at that needle with such fear?”
Katlin stepped closer, inserted the tip of the needle into the bulging vein, and barely pushed the plunger. Cain judged from the way Stephano’s carotid was pumping, the coke would course through his body rapidly. And from the way his eyes were glassing up, the high would kick in sooner rather than later.
“See, that’s not so bad, is it? See what you’ve been missing just pushing this crap to other people?” Cain nodded, and another shot hit Stephano’s system.
“I feel so great I could run a marathon,” the condemned man said. He sounded as if he were vibrating with energy, and the ropes around his hands pulled tighter as he pushed against them. He apparently thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to break free and seemed oblivious to the ties biting into his skin.
Cain watched Stephano slide further and further into a world the cocaine was creating in his head. From what she could see of his hands, they were swelling and turning blue as he pulled on his bindings. She couldn’t tell if they bothered him.
“You can’t hurt me, you know.” His head fell forward, and he laughed so hard his eyes filled with tears. “Even after all we did to you, there’s nothing you can do to hurt me.”
Cain held up her hand, making Katlin hold back on the huge syringe that still held three-quarters of the original amount. “What things?”
Stephano jerked his head up, as if remembering Cain was still there. “What do you care?” The laughter had died down to some high-pitched giggles, and he appeared to be enjoying himself.
“I don’t. I just thought you would get off on the telling. If what you did hurt me, just think what telling me about it will do.”
The smile on his face made Cain think he agreed with her logic.
“You still crying over that retard you were related to?”
Cain used every bit of her self-control to refrain from getting up and slitting his throat when he spoke of her sister in such a flip tone. “If you’re referring to my sister Marie, then yes. Her death is something I’ll never get over.”
Stephano’s head fell back, and he started laughing again. He laughed so hard he choked on his saliva, but for the longest time, he didn’t stop. “She cried for you in the end, you know. Really, she cried for you the whole time, but after the show Danny put on, we just ignored the whimpering. The way that little simple brain thought you would save her from the bad men was heartwarming.”
So caught up was Stephano in the telling of the story, he never noticed that Cain was almost breaking the arms of her chair. “I wanted to call you so you could hear her screaming, but Gino wouldn’t let me.”
“Gino was there?”
Cain barely recognized her own voice.
“Was he?”
Everyone jumped as Cain shouted.
“Yeah, we both were. Danny called us after he nabbed her. You should’ve heard him. He couldn’t believe he caught her so easily. He really wanted your woman, but you ruined that for him. Kept going on about how he got a hard-on every time he looked at the blonde you were fucking every night, but that the retard would really get to you.” He stopped talking and smacked his lips together like he was thirsty. Even though they were still sitting in the dark, dank room, Cain knew that his senses were heightened, giving him a feeling of euphoria.
“Finish your story, Stephano, and I’ll let you go.”
“He had her tied down when we got there, had her spread out and naked like some sort of freak show. The retard shut her eyes and just kept calling your name over and over. I’m not into that shit, but for a fucking deadhead, she was kinda hot.”
Cain’s hand shot up, and when Lou pulled his gun out and pointed it at the man’s head, she warned him with her eyes. As painful as it was, she wanted to hear the end of this story. “Why were you there?”
“I just went to watch, but Gino, he wanted in on the action.” He shook his head and laughed again. “He’s my brother, but that bastard will fuck anything. The burns on the tips of her nipples, those were mine. I couldn’t just sit there with my dick in my hand the whole time doing nothing. Gino got a real kick out of the way that got her hips to buck.”
“Give me that fucking torch.” Cain held her hand out as she stood.
Without being asked, Lou ripped Stephano’s shirt open.