“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
He slapped me across the face, and then laughed.
“I think you’re a bigger pain in the ass than Aideen was.”
I scrunched up my face in pain before I turned my head back in his direction and glared up at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You shouldn’t,” he countered. “Mouthy pieces of ass give me headaches, and you and Aideen are a cut above the rest. I don’t understand what Ryder and Kane see in you both.”
I wasn’t fazed by the insult.
“You won’t ever want to meet Bronagh or Keela then, they’re worse than us.”
Big Phil lips quirked before he walked away from me and moved over to a fireplace across the room. He opened up a small bag of coal, threw two or three pieces into the already lit fire along with some wooden sticks. He reached over and lifted a poker from its stand and used it to move around the fire contents.
I used his distraction to take in my surroundings. I was surprised at what I saw because for some reason, when he said he brought me to his apartment, I envisioned it as being small, dark, cold and dirty, but it was the complete opposite. The sitting room I was in was really spacious and even with the lights dimmed, you could see everything clearly—the decor was beautiful. I wasn’t expecting such an evil scumbag to be living in such a nice place.
“Why’d you pick such a nice place to live?” I asked, still glancing around.
“Because I have standards,” Big Phil replied in duh tone.
I rolled my eyes.
“It wasn’t nice when I moved in,” he continued. “I decorated it because once Kane is dead, I plan on ending my life too. My son is gone, and once his life is avenged, there is no reason for me to exist anymore. I want the place where I’m going to die to be comfortable… the condition it was in before didn’t cut it.”
If I didn’t know what a scumbag he was, and what a monster his son was, I’d think him a pretty great father.
“I won’t kill you,” he suddenly said, regaining my attention.
He was still hunkered down in front of the fire, but the poker he had a few moments ago was still in the fire—the pointy end was anyway.
“Why not?” I asked, curious to know why.
I wasn’t pleased with his answer because if he didn’t kill me, it meant I would leave here and go back to my life of nothingness.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were sad with my answer.”
I shrugged. “I rather die than listen to you talk, but you can’t blame me.”
I wasn’t letting him know a thing about my life, it would only give him more information about me, and he had enough of that.
Big Phil laughed. “Smartass.”
I looked away from him and scanned the room once more. If I wasn’t going to die here, then I needed to figure a way out. The door leading out of the sitting room was closed, and the only other exits were two windows in the room. I wasn’t sure how high up the apartment was, and from my angle, the window I could see out of, there was no fire escape next to it so I had no way down even if I somehow managed to get free and get it open.
“If you aren’t goin’ to kill me,” I said and returned my attention to Big Phil. “What are you goin’ to do with me?”
He smiled at me but it didn’t improve his face whatsoever, in fact, it only made him look creepier.
“You’re the bait.”
I blinked. “Lucky me.”
“I’m goin’ to contact Kane, tell him I have you, then set up an exchange. I’m not playing around anymore. He took a life, and I plan to reciprocate.by taking his.”
I felt like I was in a very bad non-fantasy Avengers film with the crap this man was spewing.
“He won’t leave his fiancée and son.”
“Bullshit,” Big Phil growled. “I know Kane, and he considers you family. He will come for you if I ask, he will know I hold your life in my hands.”
I set my jaw. “Fine, let’s say he comes, he won’t be alone and you know that.”
“I have more than one bullet, Branna. Kane will die tonight, and if another Slater brother or two being put down first gets that result, then so be it.”
“You disgusting son of a bitch!” I bellowed and fear shot through me. “Stay the hell away from me family!”
He laughed at me then took out his phone. “Give me his number.”
“Fuck you!”
He moved across the room to me in a couple of seconds and fisted his hand on my hair. He pulled my hair with such force that I felt him pulling clumps out at the root. I screamed and tried not to give into him, or the pain, but it hurt too much.
I cried out Kane’s number so Big Phil released me, punched the numbers into his phone and put it to his ear. He stroked my face as I cried from the throbbing in my head. He remained in front of me when he began speaking.
“Guess who?” Big Phil sneered.
I closed my eyes and wished for a way to get free so I could push this waste of space into the burning fire across the room and finish the job Kane started all those years ago.
“You know why I’m calling you. You’re missing someone from your close knit group, are you not?” Big Phil chuckled after a couple of seconds. “You always were a smart cookie.”
I heard shouting then.
“There is no need for that language, or for the yelling, I’m on the phone with you, not a thousand miles away. I can hear you perfectly.”
He was such a dickhead.
I jumped and opened my eyes when the phone was pressed to my ear.
“Confirm you’re here.”
I licked my lips and said, “Kane?”
I heard sharp intakes of breath, then a whimper or two. Big Phil then pulled the phone away and put it on speaker so he could hear what was being said to me.