Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 274: AXEL DUNCAN’S LITTLE SISTER
"Close? How close?" Ranon took a pair of scissors from the table, and Arlo flinched when he saw them. He still remembered the pain from Hazel’s stab in his leg.
Ranon then walked over towards Arlo again. He crouched down and put the tip of the scissors under his nails. No. He was not going to stab him like his wife did.
"Talk," Ranon said, putting the pressure under the nail to let Arlo know his intention. "So?"
"You are going to die."
However, based on the look, Arlo would be out first. He screamed until his throat ached when Ranon put more pressure under his fingernail and jerked up to pluck the nail from his finger.
It was not a clean cut, as the nail still hung by tender flesh. Ranon didn’t seem satisfied to see it. He moved to the other nail.
"So, how close?"
But this time, even before Arlo could answer him, Ranon had plucked another nail from his finger. The tip of the scissor dug deep under his nail before he jerked up.
On the third attempt, Ranon didn’t even bother to ask, as he continued to the next finger.
"Fine! Stop it, you fucking shit!" Arlo thrashed his body, but he was too weak, especially not when Ranon had broken his leg. "This person has a personal grudge against you!"
"And then?" Ranon moved to the fifth finger.
"Stop! Argh! Fuck you and your wife! Fuck your daughter! I am going to kill them both!"
Ranon stopped. He narrowed his eyes. "What?"
***
Jack was waiting for someone. He closed his eyes and enjoyed his cigarette. He rolled down the car window so he could feel the cool evening breeze to calm his nerves.
At that moment, he was sitting inside the car he had parked near a football field, while his men surrounded the vehicle for protection.
The Barlowes were a family of businessmen, and while they had people whom they could use as bodyguards, they were not as lethal as the people from the Lozens or the McKennas.
"Are you sure he will come?" Michael asked, his bandage on his shoulder peeking from his jacket.
"He will." Jack opened his eyes and looked at his second son, who was sitting on the shotgun seat. "You shouldn’t be here. Your wound..."
"I am fine. I want to be here," Michael said quickly. He had been agitated since their last encounter with the McKennas five days ago.
When they learned about Arlo’s kidnapping, the first thing that Jack did was to come to the McKennas for help.
However, to his surprise, Kyle turned him down.
"We can’t waste our source for him. This is what Ranon wanted. He is going to use your son to lure us out; we can’t fall into his trick." Kyle offered his condolences, as if Arlo had died instead.
"So, your solution is that we do nothing?!" Jack roared angrily. "That’s my son!"
Kyle nodded at Michael, who was sitting next to Jack. He had been hushed ever since they arrived.
"You have your other son, Jack." Kyle looked sympathetic.
Meanwhile, Deryl eyed Michael. He noticed the holster behind his jacket. Michael carried a gun to his study room. What a brat! But at least this young brat had more guts than his older brother.
"We know it very well that by the time Ranon had his hand on your son, Arlo was as good as dead." Kyle didn’t sugarcoat his words.
And if Jack was not too emotional, he knew that as well.
However, how could he give up on his son and his grandson?!
"So, you will not do anything?!"
Kyle sighed deeply. He leaned his back against his leather armchair, intertwining his fingers, as if giving Jack a condolence.
"There is nothing we can do."
And when Kyle finished his words, two things happened very fast, and two gunshots rang through the walls in the room.
Deryl saw it when Michael reached for his gun, but he was ready. He raised his faster than Michael. Because, despite his age, he had been in this field for decades. The gun was the extension of his hand.
Before Michael could aim at Kyle, Deryl had hit him first. He didn’t make a fatal shot; instead, he shot Michael’s shoulder.
Michael missed his aim, as he shot the floor instead, and his body tumbled back with blood soaked through his jacket.
"What does this mean?!" Jack immediately supported Michael’s body and pressed his hand on the wound.
"I should be the one who asked you the question." Deryl stood up from his seat. "What the fuck was he doing? He aimed the gun first."
After that, what happened next was a blur of movement. Deryl and Kyle let them leave, and Jack rushed Michael to the hospital.
But he still remembered what Kyle said.
"No, Dad. He already lost one son; let him keep this one." Kyle lowered the gun in Deryl’s hand as he aimed for Michael so he could quiet him down from wailing.
And that was it; years of cooperation ended just like that.
There was a time when the Lozens, the McKennas, and the Barlowes acted like they were family, but in the end, what put them together was profit.
When you lost your value, then you were replaceable.
"They are here," Michael said, as he nodded at the four cars that approached them.
Michael’s words brought Jack back to reality. Five days had passed since Arlo and his grandson went missing, and Jack was still trying to find them. But without the McKennas’ help, it was very difficult.
Therefore, Jack used all the means that he could to get his son and grandson back.
"Stay inside the car," Jack said to Michael as he stepped out.
On the other hand, a few people came out of their cars as they surrounded the third car, creating a protective barrier for whoever would walk out of there.
Jack smirked. The McKennas used to do that job for Arthur Lozen whenever he had a meeting with a client, which meant they did it for him, because Jack was the one who connected Arthur with his clients.
Therefore, even though the McKennas were tough and lethal, the Barlowes were resourceful.
From inside the black car, someone came out. A man in his late thirties.
What caught Jack’s attention the most was the striking black rose tattoo on his neck. He was wearing a brown jacket, and when he opened the door, Jack could see a woman inside. He knew that woman.
Of course, he had run the necessary background check for the information that he needed. That woman was Amelia, the ex-wife of the tycoon from the Starling family. James Starling.
James Starling recently got divorced from Laurel Leighton.
What a small world...
"I know what you want, Mr. Barlowe," the tattoo man said, after their small talk.
They carried the conversation lightly, but the tension was palpable. Their men were on guard with their hands at the ready.
"I know where Ranon is." He lit his cigarette.
The way he called Ranon’s name was very casual, as if he had known the man personally.
"We can get it down quickly, but I need you to agree to my terms." He didn’t beat around the bush. "How long has he had your son?"
"Five days."
The other man nodded and then smirked. "We don’t have much time left, apparently."
***
The first thing that Hazel heard when she opened the door was Arlo’s wail of pain. She grimaced because the sound grated on her ears.
Meanwhile, Ranon was crouching down on top of Arlo; he seemed to be engrossed in whatever he was doing, while the latter kept throwing profanities at him.
Blood filled the air and stained the floor. Hazel hesitated to get inside because she always disliked this part of an interrogation.
Every interrogation with torture always looked too messy for her taste.
"Do you get something out of him?" Hazel asked, and she ventured inside, but she didn’t get too close to where the blood pooled around Arlo and Ranon.
"Yeah." He knew it was Hazel because of the faint scent of perfume she was wearing. She started using perfume in this scent because Ashlyn liked it.
Hazel was happy when Ashlyn told her she smelled good.
"Axel’s sister is Daniel’s lover," Ranon said curtly as he plucked the last nails. He was going to go to Arlo’s toes, but he was not in the mood to touch another man’s toes.
He stood up and turned around to face Hazel, while Arlo whimpered. He lost all of his fingernails. His fingers were soaked in blood from the tender flesh.
Hazel raised her brows at Ranon. "You are very thorough, even in terms of tormenting someone." She then caught the scissors in his hand, as a smile crept on the corner of her lips. "Can I have a moment with him?"
Hazel thought Ranon would disagree, but when she looked at him, she saw how distracted he was. The thought that Daniel was behind all of this didn’t sit well with him.
Of all Leighton’s children, he was the closest to his older brother.
"Don’t take long." Ranon leaned in and then kissed her. He didn’t touch her because his hands were bloody, but he made sure to bite her lip. "I’ll wash my hands first." Then he stepped away and left.
"That’s unnecessary," Hazel grumbled. She shifted her attention back to Arlo.
"Where are Aubrey and Bryer?" Arlo asked between his whimpers.
