Promises and Pomegranates by Sav R. Miller

“Ready to tell me why the don sent you to rough up my wife?”
He nods, coughing, opening his mouth to speak. But all that comes out is
an ear-piercing wail, and I stuff the gag back in his mouth, the muscle
beneath my eye twitching. I’m tempted to push the gag back until he’s
suffocating on it, unable to even breathe, but I close my eyes and try to calm
myself with a few inhalations.
“I’m going to take the gag from your mouth one more time,” I say finally,
exhaling slowly. “And the only sound I want to hear from you is the answer
to my question. Got it?”
Nodding again, he starts groaning, clearly trying to speak. I tug the gag
free, leaving one end of the cloth hooked inside his dry lips, just in case.
“Money,” he chokes out, voice catching from where his mouth is
parched. “The don said he needed money, and you’d be more willing to dish
it out if he threatened something you care about.”
My stomach churns, irritation growing into a quiet fury. “His own
daughter?”
“He’s in trouble,” Tony grits, pinching his eyes shut and hissing when I
press one finger against a broken rib. “Fuck me! I’m answering your
questions.”
“Too well, I’m afraid.” I dig my palm into his ribs, shifting my weight
until they fracture more, and he screams out. “It sounds rehearsed. Like
Rafael knew I’d find you.”
Gasping through the pain, Tony thrashes on the table, straining against
the straps keeping him down. “Of course, he knew! That’s why he used
Vincent in the first place, to make it easier. Aren’t you fucking known for
being able to find anyone?”
“I’m known for a lot of things,” I say, wrapping my fingers around my
scalpel, grazing a red nipple with the sharp edge, not surprised to learn
Vincent was a pawn. “Particularly, performing autopsies on the living.”
“Oh, Christ, no. Come on, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
I pause, the tip of the blade resting near the linear wound on his chest.
“Why’d he push the kidnapping narrative?”
Tony shakes his head. “Not him, Carmen. She leaked it to the press
immediately. Said you’d been fired or something, and were retaliating by
taking her firstborn.”
Scoffing, I roll my eyes internally. Of course, she did. Jealous bitch.
“What else?”