"No, Dad. For six days I barely slept and was tortured nonstop. Six fucking days. I've given him fifteen minutes in there. I was in there much longer. What happens after, that was the first time they broke me. That bastard will feel that same pain," I growl.

  I can see it in my dad’s eyes that he wants me to just put a bullet in his head. I know I can do that. I could have done that the first day, but that's the easy way out for him. I want him to be in so much pain when he dies that I feel satisfied knowing he knew how I felt.

  I leave the room and make my way over to where Craig is standing. "Are you going to watch the fight this week?" he asks me as I light up my cigarette.

  My family hasn't followed me yet. That only tells me one thing, that they are worried about where my head is right now. My head is where it needs to be right now. The same place it's been for two years. Killing William and the people who were behind my torture. The Young family is next on my list.

  "Not just yet, mate, but I know I don't have to worry about a thing." I wouldn't have put Craig in charge if I didn't think he could make it work. I know he will be able to control any person who gets out of line. I will only step in if there’s someone he can’t handle.

  "Everything is set up in there. What do you want me to do with the body after?" Craig asks.

  I look over at my family, then make my way over to him.

  What should we do with William after? I have to think about that. I hadn’t considered it before now, because I don’t really care what happens to him after. Throw him out on the street or feed him to the fucking fish. I don’t care.

  “Ask dad what he wants to do.” Pushing myself off the wall, I check my watch to see how long William has left in there.

  “Angel, Alice will be fine, and the revenge you have planned is coming to an end, so what is really going on in that head?” Elijah asks me.

  I shake my head a little as I take in a long drag, then let the smoke settle in my lungs before I let it escape.

  "A lot is going on in my head. You lost a woman you loved. I saw how it almost killed you. Then, you found Gwen, knowing it can happen again…"

  “Angel, the only reason Warren and I can have what we do is because you’ve put yourself in front. You will always be the biggest target. You think of everything, so we can live a life, or at least try.” Elijah taps my back.

  “What did Dad say?” I ask.

  "Nothing you don't already know," he tells me, cutting that conversation short.

  I have a feeling about what it could have been, but now I know. He's told Pike to make sure my mind is clear on the family work and not to let my feelings or worry for Alice get in the way. My grandad did always tell us to fall in love and have a family, but that was also going to be the time when we would never think clearly. Love clouds the mind.

  I take another look at my watch, then turn to everyone. "You ready to see how fucked up the Young family was to me?" I ask them. "Out of the two years, this was the one that fucked me up the most," I tell them as I walk into the large walk-in freezer. We didn't have one for the bar, so I spent the money just for this day.

  “They...made...they said...they would...kill my family,” William stutters, showing just how fucking freezing it is in here.

  "You made me stand in there with no shirt on. At least you're still dressed. I think I'm still nicer than you," I reply.

  I’m not being nice, because I’m about to make him scream. I’m about to make him feel my pain more than once.

  "Craig, take his shirt off," I say as I walk over to the side and place my jacket on the shelf. I take the torch in my hand and flick it on, William starts fighting the cuffs, rubbing against the metal of the pipes.

  “Fuck,” Warren hisses.

  “This is how I lost my family tattoo. They burnt it off.” I turn to the family, and Elijah smiles as he waits for me to burn him, proving to me more that he is as sick as you can get them. Warren looks as if he is about to faint. He’s always been the soft one. Pike looks the same, never showing emotion. Then there’s my dad. He looks at me like he is hurting just from knowing how much pain I went through.

  I flip the torch on and the sound of the flame echoes in my ears. I turn to face William, and the fear in his eyes makes me smirk. I’ve waited to do this to him for so long. Vengeance rushes through me.

  I move the torch closer to his inner arm as I debate where to start. The tip of the flame glides across his skin. The smell of burning hair is pungent in the air around me. It's closely followed with the unmistakable stench of the seared flesh when I move the torch closer. There's no sound of sizzling skin because Williams' screams drown our every other sound around us.

  Pulling the torch away, I look at him. His eyes are so fucking red, water dripping out of his mouth as his gasps for a breath. The torch moves to his stomach, and I let it sit there as he screams. The new smell of flesh burning fills the freezer room. I stop the moment his body starts to shake, but my satisfaction isn't there just yet, so I torch the fucker again. William’s head hangs down, and my dad puts his hand on my arm.

  "He's gone." Dad looks over at me and I turn the torch off.

  For a long time, I just look at him, stare at his lifeless body hanging in front of me.

  Not saying a word to my family, I leave the freezer room and make my way back to the office. That bastard fucked with the wrong family, and the Young family is next on my list.

  ***

  Vinny took Alice home, and I told her I wasn't sure what time I would be back because I had a meeting with someone. She wasn't happy about it, but didn't say anything to argue. She did tell me that Gwen has planned a family lunch tomorrow with everyone, and we are going, so I better get a little sleep before then. She promised to go to the shops to grab a bottle of wine and some flowers. I do love that she gets along with almost everyone in my family. The only person she is not okay with is Warren, and I'm on her side with that. Warren needs to stop fucking Drew about. I've told him that if he stops her from dating others again, he will have to answer to me. If he doesn't want her, then let her move on, or be a man and be with her.

  “We’re here,” Pike says.

  I look up from my phone for the first time since getting in the car.

  Elijah has been messaging me, letting me know that the pawns have all just burnt another load of drugs that went out on the street. If the Midlands think we're going to stop at just one, they are wrong. I plan on burning down every fucking load they bring to London. They are not fucking up my city. Now, I just need to find out who the fuck is giving the guns to O'Reilly, then I can start working on a plan to take down the king in this game.

  We both make our way directly to the room. Since Alice is not with me, I don't have to go through a fucking maze hunt. Vinny called me once Ben got here and told me which room to go to. Knocking on the door, I take a quick look around to make sure there isn’t anyone else around us.

  When we walk into the room, Pike stands next to me. “This is Pike.” I look over at Ben.

  "Hi. Alice told me about you," Ben says. He takes a step back from the window. "The Young family is planning to attack in two days, so you better make a move first. They are planning on hitting the club while it's open. They don't care who they kill." He stops for a moment and looks out the window. "Every family in England, Ireland, and even some others know you have a girl, and they're all trying to find out who she is. I told Vinny to take Alice to her apartment tonight because there are men outside your house. They’re all waiting to see who she is. She is not safe going there," Ben says.

  This is the first time I'm left alone with him, and I can see the worry surrounding him. There was worry the first time I met him, but I put that down to meeting me for the first time. I have a feeling he is worried every day about being in the Midlands, knowing that they are out there looking for Alice. This is one of my questions. Who is Ben to Alice? Why are they both so protective over each other? He comes from America. His accent is fading from him being in England so long, but you can still hear it. The only thing I can think is that he is part of Stuart’s team over there. That should be my next question for Alice, because if I ask Ben, he will only say to ask her. I have too much shit going on in my head at the moment to argue with him about it.

  "The Young family, we will attack first. Why do so many families care about making us fall? I understand the Young's. They have been—"

  "Everyone wants London, and they know that if they hurt you, London will be open for the taking. Families are working together to take you down. The Frost family has been in control of London too long, and families are fed up with the rules you have in place. They all want you gone, and Alice isn't safe in your house. She’ll be in her apartment from now on." Ben almost shouts the last part at me, and I don't like that.

  “I won’t let anyone touch Alice.”

  “You have no idea the things the Midlands have planned for her when they find her. They won’t kill her. Fuck, killing her would be better. Harvey is going to take her, and then he is going to fucking give her to any man who wants a piece of her—”

  "Alice is mine, and anyone who even thinks about touching her will die by my bare hands," I interrupt. There is no way I'm going to let anyone close to her, never mind the Midlands.

  "You already have a war with every family in London. Now there’s this new O'Reilly gang. I trust you won't let anything happen to Alice, I do. But I don't care about your war with the Young family or this O'Reilly gang, or even the Midlands. The only person I care about is Alice, so she stays away from your house." Ben takes a step closer to me. "If I have to put a bullet in you myself to keep Alice safe, I will."

  That is a threat no one else would dare say to my face. Ben’s got some balls on him. He knows the only reason I haven’t put a bullet in him for saying that to me is Alice. She has made it fucking clear that Vinny and Ben remain safe or we’re over. They better not end up in danger from the Midlands because of anything I do either.

  I light up my cigarette and think. Fuck, Ben's thrown some heavy information at me tonight, so I sit down on the chair. I agree with Ben that Alice is safer away from my house for the moment. If people are sitting outside watching my every move, it won't be long until they find her. I close my eyes for a moment as I tap my fingers on the desk and think about what our next move will be.

  "We have to attack tomorrow," I say. My eyes still closed. What is the plan? "Alice will be at my dads' house. He has every inch of that place alarmed, and they will have security at all times. Vinny will come with us." I stop as I take a drag and continue to think about how we are going to do this.

  “Where are we attacking? How many men are we talking about?” Pike throws questions at me, and at the moment I don’t have answers.

  “What time you planning on attacking? Most nights they are in the warehouse. That’s where they meet up to talk about the attack on you,” Ben says.

  I open my eyes.

  “We attack the warehouse. As soon as dad’s security tells me Alice is there safe, we move in.” I look over at Pike. “Elijah, Warren, Vinny, you, me and some of the lads, we’re going to finish one fucking war,” I say as I stand back up and walk over to Ben.

  "If anything changes, I will call Vinny. Alice doesn't know I'm here because she will kill me for not seeing her." Ben looks down at his phone and I see Bruce's name appear. "Hey." Ben looks at me. "The same place. I've dropped off the package. I’ll stay here since my work is done...uh, I've paid for the room. What's happening?" Ben looks at me. They are planning something. "Meet you there in the evening." Ben ends the call.

  “What was that?” I ask him.

  "You burnt the fucking drugs again. They're coming down in the evening to talk to the Youngs about you. Until then, I don't know," Ben says.

  I smile when I realize I might be able to kill two fucking birds in one night.

  "We will leave you with your girl then. Call Alice to let her know the Midlands are coming down. I will tell her she is not working. She can spend the day with my sister at my dad's house," I say as we make our way to the door.

  This is going to be a long night for all of us. No one is getting any sleep until the Young family is taken care of.

  Chapter 25

  Angel

  From the moment we left the hotel, there has only been one thing on my mind, attacking the Young family. I know it should be Alice, but I know she will be safe. No one will be able to get past the gate to my dad’s house, so I know I don't need to worry about her.

  The Young family have been on my mind for hours now. Everyone knows where they have to be. We were going to hit them during the early hours of the day when the bar is closed, but now that Alice will be off work, I plan on hitting them before midnight.

  “Vinny called. They are on the way. He said Alice is fighting him, wanting to know what the hell is happening. All I’m saying is good luck,” Pike tells me.

  I’ve had a few calls from Alice this morning, but haven’t answered them because I was working on tonight's hit.

  I know I have to tell her what is happening eventually, but I didn’t want to do it over the phone. I turn to my dad as he starts laughing. “Elijah’s lucky Gwen is a low-maintenance girl and doesn’t—”

  “I think Alice is low-maintenance, or will be once I get the Midlands out of the way,” I say.

  "Ha. Alice knows what she wants, and has one very strong power. She knows how to get what she wants. So, if I were you, just tell her and save yourself the headache. You already carry too much in that head," my dad says as he and Elijah start talking about his club.

  Warren had to kick a few guys out, which turned into a fight. It ended up getting worse when they wouldn’t stop, and Warren shot one in the fucking leg. I had to pay him a visit in the hospital to talk to him and make sure nothing would go to the police. It's a good thing grandad drilled it into us to always have money ready for paying someone off. There’s often a need to make sure someone keeps their mouth shut. The list is long at times, but I've made sure we have money for everything. A couple of grand thrown at him and nothing is said. So simple.

  “Angel, I’m thinking a girls’ holiday, and—” Ellie began.

  "The answer is no,” I interrupt, “not just for Alice, but you, too. There is no way you are going anywhere at the moment."

  There are too many families who would jump at the opportunity to attack Ellie if she were miles away from us right now. I’m not about to let that happen to her.

  “I was going to say you can up the security.” Ellie starts pouting. “I knew I should have asked Elijah,” she says.

  “Elijah would have said the same thing,” I tell her.

  “Same thing about what?” he asks, looking over at me.

  "Our baby sister wants to do a girls’ holiday," I say, and he starts laughing, making me laugh, too.

  “Not happening,” Elijah says.

  I give her a kiss on the head.

  “You know, this is so unfair. You have Gwen, Angel has Alice, Warren…well he has a beautiful girl but keeps fucking it up, and me, I have no one.” She looks over at me, then at my dad.

  “Sweet pea, even if I said go out and find a nice man who won’t be scared of your brother, you’d still have to get through them. They are only protecting you.” My dad pulls her in for a hug. “I might be about to help with a holiday, though. I was planning on going to America to visit the Carter family. You can come, but you’ll have to stay with my security at all times.”

  "Really?" My dad nods and Ellie starts jumping up and down. "Thank you so much! I love you, Dad," she wraps her arms around him.

  I look at my dad, and he shakes his head.

  There is no way she is going out of this country, not when we are already at war with every family in England.

  I hear Alice laughing, and turn to face them. Drew is telling her something, which has her laughing hard. Gwen walks over to them, and Alice gives her a kiss on the cheek.

  As they make their way over to us, Alice says hello to everyone. Then she stands in front of me with her hands on her hips. My eyes move behind her to Vinny.

  “Don’t look at me. She’s been driving me fucking crazy.” Vinny walks over to Pike and the others.

  “What would you like to know, my beautiful—”

  "Don't try to sweet talk me," she interrupts.

  I have to press my lips together to keep from smiling. She is so cute when she's mad.

  "Word has gone around that I have a girl, and some families are watching my house waiting to see her. You are safer at your apartment. I don't like it, but it is what it is," I explain. I hate that she is not in my bed, not there for me to watch as she sleeps.

  "Midlands?"

  That one-word question has so much fear behind it, and I fucking hate it. Soon as the Young family is finished, the Midlands are next on my list. O'Reilly will have to wait. I hate hiding her because of them. They are going to die, or leave her alone. Those are the only two choices they have.

  “One of them, yes. Ben called to say that they were sitting outside my house. That’s why Vinny took you to your apartment.”

  She bites her bottom lip and nods her head as she looks at me. She knows they are getting closer to finding her, but she also needs to know that I won’t let anything happen to her.

  I take her hand and pull her closer to me. "You have enough of us here to make sure they don't get you, and they will have to shoot me to get to you." I wrap my arms around her and give the top of her head a kiss. "I love you," I whisper.

  “I love you too.”

  I let her go, and get back to everyone just watching us. "I've got more men outside Alice’s apartment. Vinny, until things blow over, make yourself comfortable on the sofa unless I'm there. Pike, if things get too much, you are also with her. Elijah, Gwen only leaves the house if needed. I know she listens to you. I had to find the one girl in the whole of fucking London who wants to talk back to me," I say.

 

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