“You watching this, green eyes?” he asks me.
I blink rapidly, utterly confused now. What the fuck is going on?
The boss steps closer to Axe Man, and I realize he has placed gold brass knuckles on his right hand.
“A few people made reports to me and they told me you pissed on her, Pico. You beat the shit out of her. And then you hit her again, right in my fucking face. Is it true what I’m hearing, Pico?”
“Please, Jefe, I didn’t know who she was. I swear to God.” Axe Man clings to the knife, bleeding out on the floor.
“You know what? I didn’t expect you to know, Pico. I honestly didn’t.” He rolls his sleeves up as he says this. His movements are so slow and his voice is eerily calm. He takes one more step forward.
And then, out of nowhere, the boss becomes so livid that I hear his teeth chomp down and grit together.
The strands of his smooth, wavy hair flies everywhere as he yanks Axe Man up by the collar of his shirt, reels his arm back, and repeatedly punches him in the face.
I gasp sharply, jolting.
More blood gushes across the cell floor, and Axe Man groans as he falls, but the boss doesn’t stop there.
He punches him again.
And again.
And again.
But, still, he doesn’t stop.
He is relentless.
And his face is so casual with each blow that it terrifies me.
How can he not be showing any emotion—anger at least?
He doesn’t quit punching until there is a puddle of blood surrounding Axe Man’s face. When he brings himself upright, he’s panting so hard and ragged that I shiver. He’s like a raging bull that finally pinned the aggravating human on its back.
Deadly.
“You see what happened?” the boss asks, huffing. “This is what fucking happens when you don’t know your shit around here. If you don’t keep yourself up to date—go that extra fucking mile to make sure shit like this doesn’t happen—then you will get fucked up. Just like this piece of shit right here!” He looks at all of the men standing in the hallway and then he drops Axe Man.
Axe Man collapses on top of the pocketknife, but he barely moves. He groans and blood gushes out of his mouth, seeping down the corner, over his chin.
The boss snatches out the handkerchief from the pocket of his shirt to wipe off the brass knuckles. He then slides the brass knuckles back into his pocket, tossing the handkerchief at the Axe Man.
“Now get cleaned up, you sloppy piece of shit. You’re getting your blood all over the fucking floor.”
The boss’s eyes swing over to me and he walks casually in my direction, as if nothing ever even happened.
Horrified, I lower my gaze to the bloody man on the floor. His face is butchered, and he still has the blade jammed inside of him. For a split second, I feel terrible for ever putting it there.
But then I remember him urinating on me, beating me senseless, and starving me. He deserves this. Actually…no. He deserves far worse than this.
“Let’s not be so fucking stupid next time. Do you all understand me?” the boss demands.
“Sí, Jefe,” they all say in unison.
“Bueno. Patanza!” he shouts. The woman that let me go to the bathroom walks through the crowd of men.
“Sí, Jefe?”
“Take her up to the mansion. Put her in a nice room and make sure she is showered, fed, and in la arte galería a las nueve. No later.” I assume he says this in English so I won’t think I’m being dragged off to meet my doom.
Patanza looks me over, flaring her nostrils. “Sí, Jefe.” She walks forward and all of the men step back to let her through. “Come on,” she commands lightly.
She walks down the hallway and I start to walk with her, but not before looking back at the boss.
He’s already watching me, his face smooth—clear of emotion. His dark eyes hold mine as I scurry down the hallway, and he doesn’t let up, not even when I make it to the door that Patanza is now holding open.
I look away first. I know he won’t, plus I shouldn’t do anything to further upset him. Not after witnessing what just happened.
When I’ve met up to Patanza, she shuts the door behind me and I follow her through the cramped gray room.
There are small screens on one of the walls across from me, and on one of them I see the boss and the rest of the men standing in the hallway. He is pointing fingers and shouting at each of them.
I’m surprised it’s in my defense.
There were cameras in there the whole time?
How in the hell didn’t I notice?
I spot Ronaldo on another screen and he’s sitting in the corner, trying to hide in the shadows. Now I believe him when he said the boss is crazy. I believe that the boss really did that to him.