The Disciples: A Dark Romance Collection

by Sweet, Izzy

  Coming up to the side of the car, I see that the driver side window is shattered completely, destroyed by a bullet. The entrance wound is on the side of his head. The exit wound has left the right side of his face missing. This isn’t a small caliber type of bullet wound. From the large hole in the right-side car door, I can only assume someone decided to make sure he was dead.

  Looking across the field I see a couple of spots that could hide a sniper.

  Walking up to my side, Simon points to the rocks building into a hill. “Large caliber, off that hill over there.”

  “Any evidence left?” I ask.

  “Just a shell and a couple of cigarette butts. Looks like they are from a Japanese cigarette manufacturing company.”

  Nodding my head, I say, “This explains how we didn’t see Marshall disappearing only to end up with the Yakuza.”

  “Yeah, I am guessing so. But something feels wrong about it. I mean, why the fuck would they even care about Marshall or feel the need to kill Thomas?

  “We need more information,” I say as I stand up from looking at the mess.

  Sighing, I walk back to my car with Simon by my side. “Get a guy over to Thomas’ mother’s house. Let her know what’s going on and see that she and his sister will be taken care of financially, indefinitely.”

  “Got it. I need to make a call, I want to see if they really do have him in their hands. And I need to check with a guy I know inside of their group who may know about what they are up to.”

  “Go for it, but bring me two of their men if Marshall is indeed in their hands. I don’t give a fuck who they are or what they could know, just bring me two of them. Meet me at the warehouse.”

  “You sure…” Simon starts to say.

  Looking at him, I don’t bother to reply. This is my fucking outfit, he will do as I fucking want.

  Getting into the car, I nod to Andrew as I say, “Pay your last respects, Andrew, to Thomas. Make sure you understand what they did to him.”

  Getting out of the car, Andrew walks up to the BMW. He stands there for a long moment before coming back to the car.

  When he gets in I say to him, “Contact our good friend Detective Sommers. Let him know that there is an issue here he will be getting contacted about. We want him to fully investigate the situation.”

  “Yes, sir.” There is a small hitch in his voice as he shifts the vehicle into drive.

  “Let’s head to the warehouse.”

  * * *

  Simon calls me on the way to the warehouse.

  His voice stiff as he says, “My contact has dropped off of the face of the earth, and from what I’m hearing, Marshall was seen going into their little compound on his own free will.”

  “You trust the source saw him?”

  “Yeah, completely, it’s a video feed after all.”

  Smirking, I say, “Bring me two of their men.”

  “Got one, I’ll have Thaddeus bring another.”

  “Good.”

  The snow bursts from the sky, eventually turning all the ugly fucking dirty gray world back into a white covered shit hole again.

  Sitting outside of the warehouse, we wait for my men’s arrival.

  Already present, though, is James along with Peter. The men are all sitting in the car with me now. I tried to reassure them I am perfectly safe on my own but even they will not bother to listen to me. It seems the death of Thomas has them feeling protective and murderous.

  Simon arrives first with Philip sitting beside a gagged man in the backseat of the car. The man is thrashing around in the seat.

  Getting out of the SUV, I stand by as James and Philip yank the screaming man from the car. He’s gagged but his screams reach a fevered pitch.

  Little bitch knows he’s in the shit, I guess.

  I follow behind them as I talk to Simon. “What’s with your contact’s silence?”

  “More than likely he was made in some way. Not surprised but I would have preferred he fucked up at another time.”

  “You and me both. Still, things will proceed regardless. Anything I should know?”

  “I called around a bit on the way here. Looks like they are taking over the docks by force right now. Not much the Italians would have been able to do without us. Do you want me to send out the troops?”

  “Yeah, I do. Take whatever space the Yakuza have there for the Italians. Then keep our guys there to act as guards. Keep all inner circle men on a two-man cycle. I want the buddy system in place as of right now. They are to be in pairs until this issue is resolved.”

  Rolling his eyes, he says, “That means me included, doesn’t it?”

  Chuckling, I nod my head. “Yeah, you and Philip. Me and Andrew, so on and so forth. From this point on, Paul will be with the children at all times. James as well. I want Bart on Lilith at all times when she is not in the home.”

  We enter into the back room as the men are securing down the man. His eyes are darting around wildly as he takes in all of us surrounding him.

  Removing my jacket, I hand it to Andrew. Rolling up the sleeves of my white dress shirt, I walk over to the guy, “I doubt you have information that will be of value to us, but I’m going to check.”

  Ripping the tape and gag from the mouth of the guy, I look into his brown eyes. “You’re going to die tonight. Do not doubt it, and it’s going to be painful regardless of what you do or do not tell me. But I’ll make you a deal. You tell me everything you know and I don’t kill your whole fucking family.”

  A wad of spit lands on my eyebrow as he sneers, “They will know where I’m at, you pile of shit…”

  Laughing loudly, a couple of the guys behind me start to chuckle. “Oh, I am positive they do, dead boy. They just won’t be able to do shit about it.”

  His eyes widen as I slam my fist into his jaw. My knuckles feel the tingling sensation as they connect with the man’s jawbone.

  “Now, why is Marshall coming to your group?” I ask calmly.

  The next twenty minutes go much the same way except I have switched out with another man. I stand back, watching the interrogation go on. They say torture doesn’t work on getting information out of people, but I find that to be a lie.

  It works just fine for me tonight.

  Bart is bringing in the second man as I walk over to the first, putting the pistol to his head. I say to him, “Your family is safe Haruto.”

  Pulling the trigger, I look into the eyes of the second man. His face is clean and unmarred by violence.

  Shaking my head, I say, “Haruto had information for me. I hope you do too.”

  Walking over to the sink, I pick up a large bucket of water. Pointing to a second chair, I say, “Let’s try this waterboarding thing. I hear it works wonders.”

  * * *

  The long night has drained me of any humanity I may have had going into it.

  Doing the things we did tonight always does that to a person. It’s a hard life we lead, most would never be able to do the things we do. Those who can surround me.

  The bodies have been dropped off at the homes of their families. I don’t doubt the message I am sending will be received loud and clear.

  A war has begun, now it’s time for me to end it as swiftly as possible. I don’t do the fight-here—fight-there type of fighting.

  No, I drop the fucking bomb and walk away with a clear conscience.

  Simon is in my car with me and he is dropped off first. “Simon, check on everything we got from those two. It wasn’t much but the rumors of Marshall and a new pipeline of heroin is bothersome to me.”

  “I will. It might explain where he was for so long after the initial deal went south. Maybe he was with his source or with the Japanese.”

  I wait until we are at my own home to let my defenses down. The shoulder holster I have under my arm will be there for the time being until the uproar is done.

  The day is just beginning as I walk in the door. I hear the running of feet as Evie comes tearing into the hall to gre
et me. She wraps her arms around my legs, “Heya! Missed you!”

  She darts away again after a light hug and kiss on her cheek.

  Adam comes in second to greet me. He is about to speak to me then stops as his eyes take in my whole person. Glancing at my reflection in the glass next to me, I can see what he sees. I have flecks of blood on me here and there. Looking down at my shirt, I see it’s splattered as well. My gun is peeking out from under my armpit as I pull my suit jacket off.

  “Sir… Evie has…” He stammers out before saying, “Sir… are you okay?”

  I close my eyes for a moment then open them back up to look at him. “Yes, I’m fine, Adam, and do not call me sir. You may call me Matthew or Father if you wish, but not sir.”

  He gulps then says quietly, “Father are you sure? You have blood on you.”

  Squatting down before him, I nod. “It’s not my own. It was another man’s.”

  “What happened?”

  “He was a part of a group who wanted to hurt our family so I stopped him.”

  “Good,” he says quietly. “No one hurts us, right?”

  Nodding my head, I stand up. “Was there something else you wanted to talk about?”

  “Yes. I asked Evie what she wanted for her birthday and she told me it was a puppy. A real one but…”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “Mommy has said we can’t have one, they are too much work and…”

  “I’ll get your mother’s approval. You just need to find a good breed that is very protective. I want you to research them before we go to pick one up.”

  Grinning from ear to ear he says, “Got it. Can I have one for my birthday too?”

  “Would it drive your mother crazy?” I ask.

  “Yes!”

  “Then we already know the answer. But the same rules apply, it has to be very protective of you two. The animals must serve a useful purpose.”

  20

  Lily

  Sleeping without Lucifer in bed with me proved to be difficult last night.

  The bed is much too big and much too cold without him in it. I spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to rest without his arms around me. Without him pressed up against my back, keeping me trapped.

  What was he doing out so late at night? Had he returned to the strip club? To Cherry? Or was he out hunting Marshall down?

  I know Marshall was the topic of some unpleasant conversation last night and Lucifer seemed to be of a mind to do something about him.

  Too many scenarios were running around in my brain for me to sleep comfortably.

  Peeking at the clock, I see that it’s a little after seven in the morning and Lucifer still isn’t home yet.

  Crawling out of bed, I shower and get dressed for the day, and try not to worry about him. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself, obviously.

  Still, I can’t help but wonder where he is…

  Checking the weather, it’s bitterly cold outside which is completely normal for this time of the year, but it’s the weekend. I’d like to take the kids out and do something. Maybe we could go see a movie together.

  Checking myself one last time in the mirror, I pull open the bedroom door to see Lucifer approaching.

  Immediately I feel my lips pulling into a smile and a pleasant warmth fills me. Is this happiness?

  I hold the door open, my heart fluttering as I wait for him. His eyes sweep over me, warming with heat. Taking a step forward, I try to wrap my arms around him.

  Shaking his head, he holds out his hand, pushing me away.

  My heart falls instantly.

  “Don’t touch me right now, Lily.”

  My face falls and I jerk back. Why did he reject me? Did I do something wrong?

  Before I can fully process the hurt, he grabs me by the arm and pulls me into the bedroom with him.

  Shutting the bedroom door behind him, he grabs me by the arms and holds me away from him. “Let me get clean first. I don’t want to get you bloody.”

  His words shock me into awareness.

  Looking him over, I finally notice his shirt and pants are speckled with blood. “Are you hurt?”

  He shakes his head and smiles at me tenderly. “It’s not mine.”

  I return his smile for a moment. “That’s good.” As he relaxes and begins to pull away, I just have to ask, “Is it Marshall’s?”

  I wouldn’t be surprised if he found him and did something to him.

  He shakes his head and turns away. Loosening the tie at his throat, he yanks it out of his collar.

  I don’t know whether to be relieved or completely horrified that it wasn’t Marshall but some other man splattering Lucifer with his blood last night.

  Never in a million years did I ever think my life would come to something like this. That I’d ever have to accept these things as a normal part of life.

  “Did you find him last night?”

  Tie gripped in his hand, he asks coldly, “No, why?”

  “I heard you talking about him during that meeting…” He gives me a sharp look and I know I’ve somehow made a mistake. I lick my lips nervously before explaining. “I wouldn’t be upset… it would just be nice to know...”

  How do I even say this?

  “Know what, Lily?” he asks impatiently, taking a step towards me, his tie gripped in his fist.

  Pressing back against the door, I consider my words carefully. My pulse is racing so fast I feel sick, and I know I’m not feeling sick for the right reasons.

  “What do you want to know?” Lucifer presses, closing the distance between us.

  I take a deep breath and can’t believe I am actually going to say this. I’m an awful, horrible human being, but, “It would be nice to know if I’m a widow or not. It would save me a lot of paperwork.”

  Lucifer blinks at me as if I surprised him and then he’s grinning. Leaning over me, he chuckles. “No, I haven’t made you a widow.”

  I open my mouth, meaning to say something but he talks over me.

  “In fact, you will never be Marshall’s widow. I’ve taken care of that.”

  I frown at him now. Totally not following. “You mean Marshall is under your protection or something?”

  “Absolutely not.” His eyes flash with menace. “I’ve taken care of all the paperwork for you. You and Marshall are no longer married.”

  “What?” I ask stupefied. I don’t think I heard him right. There’s no way he could do something like that.

  “You and Marshall are officially divorced, and the judge, my judge, has granted you full custody.”

  “But I don’t remember signing anything? Wouldn’t I have to go to court to do that?”

  “What part of I took care of it all for you are you not comprehending?” he asks, caging me in with his arms like he’s afraid I’m going to bolt or something.

  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be married to Marshall. Even before he proved himself to be an irredeemable scumbag that would trade away his own children I was planning on divorcing him.

  But I should get a say in this. It should be something I get to do myself. I’d like to sign that paperwork myself, with flourish.

  “You had no right.” I frown up at him angrily. If he’s telling the truth, and I’m very afraid he has managed to do this, it’s yet another thing he’s taken away from me.

  “I have every right,” Lucifer glares down at me.

  “No…” I shake my head.

  “Yes,” he snaps. “I have every right because you are mine. And I had to, in order for us to be legally married. I won’t let something pesky like the law get between us.”

  “Don’t think for one second I want to marry you now! How could I after you did that?”

  “It’s too late, Lily,” he grins as if he’s enjoying this or something.

  I suck in a shrill gasp. He can’t be saying what I think he is saying. “What do you mean?”

  “We’re already married.”

  “W
hen?!”

  “As of today.”

  “No,” I shake my head in denial. Am I still dreaming? “There are vows, and things to sign… and a priest for Christ sakes!”

  “We’ll have a ceremony for our friends and family this spring. In fact, you should probably start planning it.”

  “But…” I gape at him.

  “No buts, Lily. On paper we’re legally married and no judge in this state will overturn it.”

  “You can’t get away with this. There’s no way this is legal.”

  “The method may not be legal but the final product is.”

  I keep shaking my head and he keeps grinning. And then it just hits me, it completely sinks in. He did it, he really did it. Without my permission, without my consent, he divorced me from my husband and married me to him.

  “I can’t believe you!” I scream and try to shove him away. “How dare you. You had no right.”

  Face going cold, Lucifer grabs my hands, easily fighting me off as I try to slap him and pulls them up, pinning them above my head. “I have every right, Lily, because you are mine, and I take care of what’s mine. It’s time to accept it now, you belong to me. No more fucking games.”

  “You’re horrible, you’re despicable,” I spit back.

  He nods his head. “I am not a good man. I will never deny it. Some of us are just destined to be bad men.”

  I open my mouth and his finger presses against my lips to stop me. “But you can count on me to take care of you. You can count on me to always do what is best for you, even if you don’t see it that way. Even if you don’t understand how it’s in your best interest.”

  Leaning into me, his eyes lock on mine, not letting me look away. “I protect what’s mine, and I will let nothing, not the law, not other men, not God his fucking self, come between me and my family. I will do everything in my power to protect you and our children. I will kill for you. I will die for you. And I will break the law for you as long as you are taken care of in the end. Do you understand?”