Page 74 of Your Hate, My Claim
With precision and force, he aims the tip at his Adam’s apple and pushes through the skin slowly. Rivers of blood pour around the blade and down Bruno’s torso. He gurgles and shakes the further the blade goes in. Noah just watches, entrapped by the show. I look around and all of us are entranced by it. Noah has a way of killing that's hard to look away from.
“That was fucking beautiful,” Ivan praises, and Noah proceeds to remove his knife, wiping the blood on Bruno’s pants before placing it back in his pocket. Without a word, he moves away and stands a short distance from us, close enough to watch what happens next. Bruno is gone and we are better for it.
I put my hand out to Lucas while keeping my eyes trained on Gabriel’s final moments. Lucas places a small sharp knife in my hand, and as soon as the cool metal touches my skin, the world stops. No noise. Nobody else here. It even feels like I’ve stopped breathing, just so I can soak in this moment. Just me and him.
I run the knife across his left eyebrow, watching the sun glint off the steel.
“The time has finally come, Gabriel. You didn’t listen. Thought you could lie to me. Ignored my warning of what would happen if you touched him. But this is about me too. Your reign is over. Everything your family built is gone. And it only took two hours to destroy it.”
“I should have killed you when I had the chance. You will never have peace, Carlos. You’re a Silva. Always looking over your shoulder,” he says, defiant to the last minute.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m already at peace. I will live. And you will rot in the ground with nobody to mourn you.”
I run the tip of the blade down toward his eye and push it through the pupil. The sound and texture, like a spoon mixing slime, is enough to upset the hardest stomach. But this is artistic to me. It has meaning. As soon as I remove the eye, and the blood curdling screams start to lessen, I hold the eye on the tip of the knife to show him.
“This is for everything you watched that you destroyed. My mother. Simon. Me,” I say as I throw it to the ground next to Lucas’ foot.
“Lucas, open his mouth,” I say and Lucas does just that. Gabriel attempted to struggle, but with the agony he is in, he has weakened. Without any precision, I stab the knife into his tongue, pulling it out of his mouth before cutting part of it off. This knife is so sharp, normally used for hunting, so it does the job quickly and efficiently.
I hold the bloodied tongue in my hand, watching the waterfall of blood spill out of his mouth like a horror movie. It’s beautiful.
“This is for every fucking lie and evil thing that ever came out of your mouth. The manipulation, the disgust for how I choose to live, for how you promised you wouldn't touch him,” I say and throw it on the ground next to his eye.
He is losing so much blood now, that I need to end this the way I planned. I look at Lucas and nod. He hands me the black satin scarf that Gabriel had used on Simon's mouth to silence him. I’m going old school with this. This was a part of Simon, so he is with us, getting his own revenge.
I stand behind him and place the scarf around the front of his throat, holding both ends behind him. Placing my foot on the wooden pole, I use it to leverage my weight and pull back against his neck as hard as I can. His feet kick out, his free hands try to pull the material away, but I’m stronger than him. I twist the ends of the scarf around my fists twice to get a tighter grip and pull harder. Because of the bleeding, it doesn’t take long for the choking noises and spasms to end. When his body slumps, it feels like I’m breathing fresh air for the first time.
I stand back and roll my shoulders, which are burning like a bitch and I really need a fucking shower.
“Impressive,” Lev says.
I was so focused on Gabriel, Lev’s voice makes me jump, bringing me back down to Earth.
“How does it feel? Freedom,” Dima asks, and I smile.
“It feels…better.”
“Better? That's anti-climatic,” Ivan says.
“I just need to do one more thing, then it’ll be perfect. But that can wait until I return home.”
“Are you coming back with us?” Lev asks.
“No. I have some legal stuff to do with the Marins before I can come back.”
“When you do, let me know. You can join me for a drink at the bar,” Dima says and pats me on the arm. All of them turn and leave without another word. I’ve no idea where Noah went. Lucas and Mark stand to the side, and it's the first time I’ve seen them relaxed.
“I’ve arranged a house for us until we can leave. We should get going,” Lucas says, just as Igor returns.
“Now that's a beautiful sight. I would keep them as ornaments if they didn’t rot,” Igor says, pointing to the two dead bodies.
“I assume I can trust you with their disposal?” I ask.
“I’d be honored. It's the least I can do considering what you’ve handed over.”
“Enjoy it. See you around, Igor.”
“Good luck, Carlos. You need any weapons, I’m your man,” he says, laughing as we walk away and get into Gabriel’s old car. Lucas and Mark sit up front and I let myself slump in the back.
