Chapter 54 Ethan's pov

Chapter 54 Ethan's pov


I waited to feel the pain, but it didn't come. I slowly turn my head and figured out that some guy was standing behind me and he had dropped dead like a dried leaf. And Noah who screamed my name a few seconds ago, Stood few feets away from the body, his gun pointed at the guy on the floor. Noah is a fast and accurate shooter, so if the guy on the floor moves the slightest bit another bullet was going to come for him dead or not.
"Do you still think you're in the position to laugh?"
"You still can't harm me" he spat, more blood spilled out of his mouth but he didn't stop talking. "my brother won't let you harm me " 

"Who do you think gave us your address?"

"You’re lying.I know my brother won’t do..."
Before he could finish, I punched him hard in the face. The impact echoed through my arm, knuckles cracking against bone. Joe staggered back with a grunt, teeth clicking together violently. He barely stayed on his feet. I didn’t wait for him to recover, I cuffed his hands behind his back with the handcuffs I always walked around with ,habit drilled into me like a reflex, like a police officer who never really clocked out. Metal snapped shut around his wrists.
Then I grabbed him and dragged him up.
“Maybe he’s tired of your bullshit. Now move.” I turned him around and pushed him towards the direction of our car. It's already late and I want to get back in time to go see Alex at the hospital.

"You still can't hurt me" Joe's annoying voice interrupted my train of thought.
Noah's hand connected with his face. He more blood spilled out of his mouth. "Alex won't let you harm me , no matter how angry he is." How could he still talk with an injured mouth.

"Only one way to find out." I pushed him forward, "So Shut the fuck up, and keep moving". 

We walked for awhile and finally got to the car. Noah entered the driver's side of the car and I entered the passenger's side with Joe.

The drive to the airport felt longer than it should. When we got to the airport I uncuffed Joe's hand . "Don't try anything funny." I warned.

"Don't you like surprises." His face looked like a baseball bat was used to slap him across his face.

I ignored him and handed the cuffs to Noah. At the airport, Noah and I walked side by side with Joe between us, each of us gripping an arm as we moved him toward the private terminal. He limped, but he didn’t resist. 

The plane took off not long after. And two hours later, we landed in New York.The city welcomed us with cold air that slaps the face without a care of who you are ,and a sky that looked clear for the kind of night we were having. I guided Joe into the car again and put the cuffs back on him. I reached for a plastic bag.
For a moment, I considered covering his head, keeping him disoriented and unaware of where we were or where we were going. But I decided against it. I let my hand fall back to my side.
I decided against it.
Because I was ninety percent sure he wouldn’t come out alive from what I was about to do to him. The car rolled forward.
The road stretched ahead, dark and winding, lined with trees that swallowed light whole. The engine hummed steadily, the tires crunching softly over gravel as we turned off the main road.
That was when my phone vibrated. I checked it instantly. It was a text from Rico.
Rico~ cabin is all set.

I smiled to myself and put my phone back in my pocket. Joe was definitely going to regret messing with my man.
Twenty-five minutes later we arrived at the cabin. The cabin wasn't fancy, it wasn't made for relaxation. I had it built in the middle of nowhere, for situations like this where I want my victims to scream their heads off and no one, not even a single soul would hear them.

I stepped out of the car first, the cold biting through my jacket as soon as my boots hit the gravel. The forest around the cabin was silent , excepts for the distant sound of crickets, and the wind.
Joe looked around as Noah dragged him out of the back seat.
“This is it?” Joe scoffed, even with blood crusted around his mouth and his face already swelling. “You bring me all this way for a shack in the woods?”
“Shut up,” Noah said flatly, slamming the car door.
I didn’t respond. I just watched Joe take in his surroundings, the way his eyes flicked from the trees to the cabin to the darkness stretching endlessly behind it. Fear was slow with him, but it was there, beneath that smugness like rot under polished wood. there was no sign of Rico anywhere.maybe he'd already left.

“So what is this place?” Joe asked, trying to sound amused. “Some kind of boy scout hideout? You going to scare me with ghost stories?”
Noah grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward. “I said shut up.”
Joe laughed, the sound wet and broken. “You know, for men who wants to scare me,, you’re both surprisingly tense.”
I unlocked the cabin door and pushed it open. The hinges creaked loudly, the sound echoing too far in the stillness.
“ Get inside,” I said.
Joe hesitated just long enough to be irritating. “Or what?”
I stepped close enough that he had to tilt his head back to look at me. “Or you find out how much patience I have left.”
That did it. He moved his legs. The cabin smelled like dust and old wood. Bare bulb lighting flickered on when Noah hit the switch, casting harsh shadows across the empty room. There was nothing here that suggested comfort— no couch or decorations, Just a table, two chairs, and a door at the far end that led down to the basement.
Joe’s gaze lingered on that door.
“What’s down there?” he asked, trying and failing to sound casual.
Noah answered by yanking him toward it.
The basement was colder. Concrete walls. Chains bolted into the floor and walls, a single chair bolted down in the center. Joe stopped dead when he saw it.
“You can’t be serious,” he said. “This is illegal. You know that, right?”
I grabbed his jaw, forcing his head back. “You tried to have Alex killed.”
“That was business,” Joe snapped. “You don’t understand—”
I let go and nodded at Noah.
Joe struggled as we forced him into the chair, the metal scraping loudly against concrete. Noah tied him down efficiently, movements practiced and emotionless, restraining his Wrists, Ankles and Chest. Joe cursed the entire time, alternating between threats and laughter that didn’t fool anyone.
When we were done, he was breathing hard.
“You think this scares me?” he said. “You think Alex will forgive you for this?”
I leaned in close. “This has nothing to do with forgiveness you piss of shit.”
He swallowed.
Noah stepped back. “I’ll be outside.”
I nodded.
When Noah left, Joe looked around again, finally letting the fear surface.
“So what now?” he asked quietly.
I didn’t answer. I turned and walked back up the stairs, shutting the basement door behind me and locking it.
Joe’s voice echoed up anyway. “You won’t get away with this!”
I ignored him.
Outside, Noah leaned against the car, arms crossed. “You good?”
“For now,” I said.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out immediately.
Alex: I miss you.
Alex: Please come back quick.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I typed out quickly.
Me: I’m on my way. I promise.

I looked up at Noah. “We’re done here.”
He nodded once, no questions asked. We drove straight to the hospital. By the time we got to hospital, it was really late. The hallways were quiet, I walked to Alex’s room slowly, like I was afraid of what I’d find. He was asleep.
His breathing was steady, his face relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen all day. His hair was a mess against the pillow, one hand curled loosely near his chest, and I spotted the ring I gave him.
"Fuck" I muttered. 
My love for this man keeps growing by the seconds. I stood there for a long moment, just watching him.
I pulled a chair closer and sat beside him, careful not to wake him. I didn’t touch him. I just sat there, watching my pretty boy sleep. 
"Mine" I muttered again. 
He is all mine. Joe Blackwood will pay with every drop of blood in him for threatening my man's life.