Chapter 5. Messed Up

Ash’s POV

I glance at the man and almost feel pity for him. His breathing is labored, his breaths coming out in shallowed gasps. He sounds like a train whistling and rattling. I’m guessing a punctured lung would cause that. It comes from all the beatings which we’ve been giving him.

He put himself in this mess. No one steals for me and goes scott-free. No one. Precious stones and jewels I harvested with time, effort, and hard-earned money. Something tells me things run deeper than that. A setup, maybe, or was he sent by someone?

His mouth opens, drawing my attention to his face, which is all bloodied and unrecognizable. It looks like someone has rearranged his features. It’s a fucking bloody mass of pulp. I glance down at my curled fist, which is coated slick with blood. His blood. I should finish him once and for all, snuff the life out of him with one more punch. Just one more punch and it would be all over for him.

A face flashes before me