Chasing Fire (The Fire Duet Book 1)

by Billie Lustig

  “How do we know you’re not making this up?” Liam asks.

  “I’m not,” she barks. “Why the fuck would I make this shit up?”

  He shrugs.

  “To gain our trust? To make us believe you switched teams?”

  “I do want to gain your trust. And I want to switch teams because I sure as fuck don’t trust the one I’m supposed to be on.” She scowls.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t trust Junior with my life. Discovering who your leak is showed me just how involved Junior really is. He may be family, but trust me, my brother would rather see me buried in a box.”

  “Who is it?” I finally ask.

  “Fernando.” The name rolls off her tongue laced with hate and disgust, like this isn’t just about sides.

  It’s personal.

  “Who the fuck is Fernando?” Liam blurts out. “We don’t have anyone on board with the name Fernando. You’re delusional, girl.”

  Her face tenses, and her eyes widen. She takes a deep, aggravated breath, then leans towards Liam.

  “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t delusional when he almost finished what you started an hour ago. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t delusional when he almost choked me to death while he stripped me naked, making sure I would do as he said. And I’m pretty damn sure I wasn’t delusional when he pushed his disgusting fingers between my legs yesterday morning. The asshole. Besides, you think he would use his own name?”

  “He touched you?” My voice automatically rises, and I can literally feel the anger seeping out of my pores.

  I already wanted the fucker dead as soon as I heard he was a rat, but now that I know he touched her?

  I’m going to make him suffer.

  “Callie!” My fist slams on the table when she doesn’t respond immediately, just winces at my move. She gives me the slightest nod, but I see it, and I redirect my gaze to Liam.

  “Who the fuck is Fernando, Liam?” I growl.

  “How the fuck do I know? She’s the one who knows him.” He points at Callie.

  “Well, I don’t know what you guys call him. I know him as Fernando. Black hair, brown eyes that look like they’re owned by the devil. Psychotic grin. Basically Liam, but dark,” she deadpans.

  He pulls a face at her like she’s family, and it’s kind of weird to see since he was strangling her less than an hour ago. I ignore the thought, needing to keep my focus on the issue.

  “Callie, go to your room.”

  “Excuse me? What am I, five?” she asks bitterly.

  “We could easily put you back in the cell, if that’s what you want?” Liam chuckles, even though every feature in his face tells me that he’s being serious.

  “Do that and I will make your life miserable.”

  “You already do,” he shoots back at her.

  “Shut up.” I jump in, pointing my finger at them. “Both of you. You’re not going back to the cell. Liam is just kidding.”

  “I really wasn’t,” he mumbles.

  “Shut. Up. Callie, please go to your room. And stay there until one of us comes to get you.” She scowls at me defiantly, and I have to avoid looking at her so I won’t drag her over this table and fuck her in to submission.

  Fuck, this woman tests my patience.

  “Baby, please?” I rephrase. Even though I’m not the kind of guy that asks.

  Or pleads.

  Or suggests.

  I command.

  I demand.

  I tell.

  But this girl’s got me doing all kinds of weird shit.

  She lets out a deep sigh before she gets up and walks out the door like she is royalty.

  When the door is closed behind her, I bring my attention back to my brother.

  “Do you trust her?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I do,” I affirm without hesitation. I know I should be more careful, I know I should check the facts before I blindly trust her.

  But it just feels right.

  Liam examines my face, his eye roll telling me how annoyed he is.

  “Fine. I’ll follow your lead.”

  “You better, asshole. Now who the fuck is Fernando?”

  “Fuck if I know,” he shrugs. “I’ve never even heard the name, and half the men in our crew have black hair and devil eyes.”

  “Who did we employ in the last year? Or maybe after Cristina?”

  He’s quiet for a few seconds, thinking it over before he raises a finger with every name comes up with.

  “Lukas Graham, Ferry Lawson, and Jim DiMonica.” Our eyes lock, then they both widen simultaneously when we realize only one of those three has black hair.

  “Ferry,” we say out loud together. I slam my fist on the table in victory, feeling fucking pleased it’s the one person I can’t stand, anyway.

  “You do realize he’s mine now, right?” I ask before I get up to put my words in to action.

  “By all means, baby brother.”

  28

  Kane

  Present Day

  As soon as we have ‘Ferry’ cornered on the first floor, he knows he’s fucked.

  We don’t even have to say a word. I stalk towards him, looking at him like a maniac, because frankly?

  I feel like one after I heard that he touched Callie.

  He may have initially thought I was just in a bad mood, but the second he saw Liam and six more angry faces behind me, he knew it was game over. He mumbles something about killing us, but I just take it as an invitation to give him his first punch in the face. He tries to fight back, but the scrawny little bitch doesn’t even stand a chance against me. Within half a minute, I have him locked against the herringbone floor while Jeremy ties his hands behind his back.

  He blurts out some shit out about ‘coming in peace’ and everything being a ‘mistake’ before I tell him to shut the fuck up.

  Because fuck me, there is gonna be a lot of pain raining down on him before peace will be within his reach.

  I prefer to take this outside so we can just toss him overboard in the Atlantic when I’m done with him, so my men drag him out to the helicopter platform. He is on his knees with his hands still tied behind his back. The air is warmer than a few days ago, indicating that we are getting closer to the coast. His face is flushed with anger and a hint of misplaced arrogance.

  If he still thinks he can fight himself out of this one, he is even dumber than I thought. He’s now surrounded by six of our best men holding him at gunpoint while Jeremy brings me my black briefcase. He holds it open with a knowing grin, displaying a variety of knives, tools, and other sharp objects.

  I hold up my hand and shoot him a smile

  “Not yet. I’ll be right back,” I say while I move my feet across the platform towards the door.

  “Where the fuck are you going?” Liam yells at my back.

  I turn around with a smug grin on my face.

  “Sharing the fun, of course.”

  He shakes his head, and I keep walking inside. Not only do I want to give Callie the option to hurt the son of a bitch who had the nerve to touch her, but I also want to see what she is really made of.

  Is she cold and heartless like her family?

  Is she really on our side, or is it just an act?

  Can I really trust her?

  I’m dying to know the answers to these questions. Not just because I don’t appreciate being played, but because there is something about this girl that keeps me interested. Keeps me longing to feel her close to me, to touch her, to kiss her, to feel her skin against mine. There is something about this girl that has me addicted to her.

  She opens the door as soon as I knock, like she was waiting for me behind the door. She looks irritated, her eyes flushed with frustration.

  “What is going on, Kane?” She wrinkles her nose and narrows her eyes.

  She is so fucking cute when she does that.

  My hand reaches out for her, and I yank her into my chest, wrapping my arms around her tiny body. My nose inhales
the scent of her flowery shampoo, and for a second, I close my eyes to just enjoy the feeling of her body pressed to mine. I like the weight of her arms snaking around my back. I pull my head back a bit and cup her face with both hands while I brush my nose against hers, locking our eyes.

  “Are you okay?” I ask with genuine concern. I know she acts tough all the time, but I’m guessing that being violated against ones will does something to a girl. It does something to me.

  And she is my girl, even if it’s only for the remaining time on this yacht.

  She lets out a sigh and gives me a coy smile. I brush her lips with my thumb, as if I can magically make her sorrows disappear by wiping them away.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I just want the fucker to stay away from me. That’s all.”

  I press my lips against hers, trying to comfort her with my touch. My tongue sweeps the seam of her lip, demanding her to open up to me before I push it inside, tasting her like I have been longing to since the second she left my bed this morning. When I feel her relax in my arms, I break the connection of our lips, keeping my forehead pressed against hers.

  “He won’t touch you ever again. Come on.” I don’t wait for her response and tug her hand, dragging her behind me.

  “Where are we going? What did you do to him?” she asks while her small feet try to keep up with me.

  “You’ll see.”

  A minute later we step onto the helicopter platform, and she stops dead in her tracks, dropping my hand when she sees Fernando, or Ferry, or whatever the fuck his name is, on his knees. His head is down and considering the blood on his face that wasn’t there when I left, he must’ve said some things to piss Liam off.

  “What are you going to do?” she asks quietly, staring at him.

  “Punish him,” I reply, looking at the concern in her eyes. “Come on.” I walk over to Jeremy, still holding my briefcase. My eyes roam the torture instruments, silently debating which one to pick, while Callie slowly moves next to me, her arms wrapped in front of her body. She seems unsettled.

  “Is this the fucker who touched you?” I grab a knife and point it at his face. He looks up into Callie’s eyes, and his face turns all shades of red. “The one working for your dad?”

  He is livid.

  Good, so am I. My gaze focuses back to Callie. She nods once when she feels my eyes pointed at her, her eyes never leaving the son of a bitch on the floor.

  He growls at her before he spits at her feet.

  “Hija de puta, I knew you were a first-class whore. Just like your mother. Junior will make you pay for this.”

  I watch her stance change before my eyes, going from timid and unsure to aggressive to the core within a heartbeat. She yanks the knife out of my hand before she takes two long strides towards Fernando and squats in front of him with a menacing grin. She points the knife under his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye while she cocks her head with arrogance.

  She is a goddamn warrior, this one.

  “That’s okay. Junior wants to make me pay for a lot of shit. I don’t mind adding this to the list.” Her voice is soft but all the more threatening.

  “You know what we do with traidoras, sí puta?”

  She casually shrugs his shoulders.

  “I do. I just don’t care anymore. But you know what I do care about? Letting the whole world know that Callie Reyes will no longer be anyone’s goddamn toy. And the psychotic fucks who just won’t listen. Like you,” she emphasizes, pressing the tip of the knife into his forehead, piercing it just enough to make a single drop of blood run down his face. “And I think I will brand you to set an example.” She takes the knife from his forehead before she places it a little higher, pressing the tip into his skin once more.

  He clenches his jaw and whimpers at the pain I don’t need to imagine, but is surely running through his head. She ignores him and slices a perfect C in the middle of his forehead, like she’s holding a pencil on a piece of paper instead of a seven-inch combat knife.

  “Te haré pagar, coño!” he cries out.

  “Make me pay?” She chuckles. “Yeah, I don’t think so, Fernando.” She waves the knife at Liam and I, both of us looking at her in awe. “These blond motherfuckers over here? They’ll probably kill you before you even have the chance. But when they find your body? There will be a big, pretty C on your forehead telling the rest of Spain to not fucking mess with me. And don’t worry, I’ll say hi to your mom.” She gets up, her face filled with disdain before she throws her knee against his nose. His body falls back, and all I can hear is him screaming against the pain of his broken nose.

  “I’ll see you in hell, asshole,” she snarls before she spits on his face. She turns around and holds the knife in the palm of her hand while Liam and I stare at her like we just saw water burning. A strange sensation swirls in my stomach, and all I want to do is kiss her.

  Looking dumbfounded, Jeremy reaches out before he carefully takes the knife out of her slender hand.

  “Huh.” Liam huffs next to me, like he’s speechless. I look at him with owl eyes, because to be honest, I’m not sure what to say either. His eyes move from her to me, before they land back on her.

  “From now on, you’re eating with a plastic knife,” he quips before he claps me on the back. “Have fun, jackass.” He shoots me a smile before he turns to Callie.“That was entertaining, Red.”

  “Thanks.” She quickly glances at him from the corner of her eye, a pleased smile curving her lips.

  “I still don’t trust you, though,” he adds while he walks away.

  “That’s fine,” she calls out before her eyes trail back to me. I reach out a hand and tug her to my chest where she lays her palm in mine.

  “That was freaking hot,” I grumble, grazing on the skin of her neck, making her whimper in my arms, while I quickly glance at the men still surrounding the son of a bitch.

  I instinctively push my hand under her shirt, stroking the small of her back while I drop kisses below her ear. She lets out a soft moan, enticing me to go further even though we are on the middle of the helicopter platform.

  “One day I’m going to fuck you right here, under the goddamn stars,” I whisper before I hear a soft chuckle behind me. I roll my eyes and look at Fernando laying on the floor, his head resting on the cold concrete floor, his mouth in an annoying grin.

  “You’re picking the wrong Reyes, Carrillo.” His laugh is unsettling, like he is actually losing his mind. I imagine any normal person would be freaked out about it.

  All I imagine is every fucking way I can make him shut up.

  “What are you going to do with him?” Callie looks up to me through her thick lashes as I stroke her perfect skin.

  “Make him wish he was dead.”

  “And then what?”

  “Grant the man a last wish.” I release her from my grip so I can grab an icepick out of my briefcase.

  29

  Callie

  Present Day

  I want Fernando to die. He deserves to die. The world will be a better place without him.

  When I pressed that knife into his greasy skin, I felt like a goddamn badass.

  I took back control.

  But here we are only five fucking minutes later, and I feel like my stomach is going to roll out of my body any second now. Like I said, I’ve heard the stories. The rumors.

  The legends.

  So I shouldn’t be surprised by how this show has been unfolding in front of my eyes for the last few minutes. But some time in the past week, I guess I’d let myself believe Kane was better than that. He couldn’t really be that bad, right? Sure, he was a bit dominating, very dominating most of the time if I’m honest, but other than the occasional knife thrown at my head, he’s treated me better than any other man in my life has.

  That’s what I told myself when I made the decision to expose Fernando. I honestly don’t trust Junior, and I felt like I would be safer with Kane. But
right now?

  I’m not so sure anymore.

  He’s gone from stabbing Fernando in non-vital places in his legs to pressing a fork into his eye.

  A fucking fork.

  I don’t know why Liam is stressing about me coming near any knives when his brother is deadlier with a fork. Fernando’s excruciating cries seep through my bones and have goosebumps erupting all over my body. I try to keep breathing while I cover my mouth with my hand, disgusted at the sight of him.

  “You know, if you were just a Hispanic rat, I would have just tossed you overboard. Fed you to the sharks, making you pray you’d drown first. But then I found out you touched my girl.” Kane quickly glances at me, and I suck in a shocking breath.

  I’m both repulsed and touched that he would do this for me.

  That he would kill for me.

  That he feels the need to protect me, even though what we have is just until he gets back whatever my father stole from him and his brother.

  “Now I’m just forced to make it painful,” Kane continues.

  “Go to hell, Carrillo,” Fernando murmurs loud enough for him to hear it.

  “Oh, I am, in time. But when I’m done with you, you’ll be begging to go to hell.” He presses the fork deeper into his eye, making Fernando scream before he yanks it out and holds up the fork with Fernando’s eyeball on top of it.

  My heart drops, and my stomach takes on a life of its own while I stare at it in shock.

  Holy-motherfucking-shit.

  Unable to stop the spinning inside my stomach, I run to the railing before I throw half my body over it while my stomach pushes out everything in it. I can’t get the sight of Fernando’s eyeball looking at me from the tip of the fork out of my head, and I keep gagging at the image until there isn’t any bile left in my body.