I nodded at Dean who gave another quick shot to Wasden’s ribs. “Now tell me who would want to hurt Tess?”
He took a minute to answer, breathing through the pain. “Marcello.”
“What the fuck would Nathan Marcello want with Tess?” I snapped, annoyed with the bastard for lying to me.
“Money.”
I paced through the room. “Are you fucking telling me that Nathan Marcello is responsible for putting Tess in the hospital?”
“Yes. He wants more than what you gave him.”
“I told Marcello that Tess was off limits. Gave the bastard money. He knows not to touch Tess.” Little shit had to be lying to take the heat off himself.
Dad’s head snapped to me. “You gave Marcello money?”
“No way is he dumb enough to do exactly what I told him not to do.”
“He doesn’t care about the money,” Ray whined, blood still dripping from his nose. “He wants you.”
I ran a hand through my hair. Could all of this be my fault? I ignored Ray and turned to Dad. “I gave him half of what Ray owes. Told him to leave Tess the fuck alone. He was only after her because this fucker owed him a half.” I gestured down at a sniveling Ray.
“Obviously the motherfucker didn’t back off,” Dad roared. “He thinks he can hurt one of the Hawes family and we’re going to roll over and give into him?”
I was having a hard enough time thinking through everything without Dad’s tirade. I held up my hand asking for silence. One problem at time.
I walked around behind, looking down at where he was strapped to the chair. Gesturing to his ankle, Charlie grabbed and held on while I kicked his knee out of its socket. His screams filled the room.
Nathan Marcello had hurt Tess
I would deal with him. But right then, Ray Wasden was my target. He was the one who’d borrowed the money from Marcello in the first place, putting the focus on me, and in turn, Tess.
Casually, I walked around the front and watched him; his face scrunched in pain, tear tracks down his dirty cheeks. Good. The bastard needed the lesson. I nodded toward his arm and waited for Brock to cut the zip tie. Once his hand was loose, I grabbed his hand and stood in front of him. I took hold of his pinky finger and separated it from the others.
“Does Tess belong to you?”
Snap. I bent his pinky back until his nail touched the back of his hand.
“No,” he cried.
“Will you leave her alone?”
Snap.
“Yes, please just stop.”
“The problem with that is I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt once before and you chose to ignore me. Hopefully, the next time you choose to go against my will, you’ll remember what happened here.”
I drove home the message, not stopping until all of the fingers on one hand were either broken or dislocated.
“I’m done.” I walked back over to the chair and picked up the bottle of scotch..
Dad snapped his fingers at Charlie. “You know the drill. Do whatever you want to him then leave him for cleanup.”
“You got it, Malcolm.” Charlie hauled Wasden’s limp body off the ground.
“Dean, I want to know what Marcello wants,” I said
“Fuck that.” Dad turned to Brock. “I want Nathan Marcello dead. I’m done with the sick motherfucker trying to destroy everything our family built. I want him out of the picture.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Brock nodded at both of us and left.
“I hope Tess is all right,” Dean said, following Brock out the door.
They both had jobs to do. Brock would need to follow Marcello, learn his habits to find the best way to deal with him. Better to take your time than to risk getting caught. And Dean I knew Dean would set up whatever security was necessary to make sure Tess was safe. He knew me well enough to know that would be my biggest worry.
“Me, too,” I said to the almost empty room.
A hand curled around my shoulder. “Go back to the hospital. You’ve gotten your revenge, or part of it. You’ll feel better if you’re there when she wakes up.
I drew him into a hug. “Thanks, Dad.”
I walked out the door, the only place I wanted to be was by Tess’s side. My eyes were the first thing I wanted her to see when she woke up.
The city past by me in a blur, my only goal, getting to the woman I love.
When I arrived at the hospital, I was directed to a private room, exactly like I’d requested. Elena sat by the bed, holding Tess’s hand, the same as when I left. It settled me to see someone with her, someone who cared about her. Ashton stood by the windows looking out over the city.
Elena gave me a teary smile when I walked in. “She’s still sleeping.” She stood giving me the chair.