Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 749 : Artem Katz

*Elio*

I was surprised. The man who sat before us all was certainly not the kind of man that I’d expect a mass murderer to look like.

Artem Katz was not very big. He had no defining muscles that one could take note of, nor did he have any defining features that would really make him stand out in the crowd. He didn’t have any unusual marks, scars, or even tattoos that would make one question his credibility.

He looked... average.

How could he have pulled off such heinous crimes over the course of two decades? It didn’t make sense, and truthfully, that concerned me.

A terrible feeling of suspicion crept into my mind. Had Franky and Leo brought in the wrong guy?

The man who was roughly dragged in and forced to sit in front of us was not at all what I’d expected. He wasn’t impressive in the slightest, which only caused the seed of doubt to grow.

“Is this really him?” I asked dryly.

It was obvious that both Leo and Franky were somewhat taken aback by my blatant question. I hadn’t meant it as an insult against them, but more so for the man they’d captured.

“Of course it’s him,” Leo said pointedly. “Do you seriously think that we would have gone through all of this just to bring in the wrong guy?”

I merely shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

“I mean, have either of you actually taken a real look at him?” I questioned. “He’s not exactly what I’d imagined a two-decade serial killer to look like. For all I know, you two could have snatched up the fucking mailman and brought him here.”

Leo shot me a look of indignation while Franky pinched the bridge of his nose and scoffed. Some of the men around them were obviously trying to fight back their grins as I made this blunt observation.

“Do not mistake my evaluation for insult,” I told them firmly. “I have every ounce of faith that the two of you are more than capable of bringing in the right person. It’s just that... I suppose I expected more from this so-called Ghost.”

Franky folded his arms over his chest while Leo took in a deep breath. The room had fallen into complete silence. That was, until I heard a faint sound of giggling coming from behind me. All the men, and myself included, turned our attention to glance at Cat, who looked like she was seconds away from doubling over in total hysterics.

She was practically vibrating from struggling to keep her laughter under control.

I raised a questionable brow at her and signaled for an explanation for such a bubbly response. For Christ’s sake, the woman had been utterly trembling with fear on our way over here before. And now, she was relaxed and eased with amusement.

Had I missed something?

Right as I was about to ask Cat what had tickled her so fervently, she opened her mouth and actually spoke.

“Oh, believe me, Elio,” she began. “I have no doubt whatsoever that they’ve brought in the right man. The guy sitting in front of you there is, indeed, Artem Katz.”

My brows pulled together. “What makes you so sure?”

Cat took a few steps closer and kept her eyes locked on the man whose hands were strictly tied behind his back. Slowly, all traces of bemusement had left her features. It was like she was staring at him through the eyes of some sort of medical professional who specialized in psychology.

I wished I had even the slightest peek inside of her mind just to know what she was thinking about all of this.

“Think about it,” Cat said. “How could a man like him get away with abduction and murdering for over twenty years if he looked like a criminal? Now we finally know why he’s never ended up on the police’s listings or on anyone’s radar. It’s the fact that he looks like your average guy that makes him so unsuspecting. Surely, if he appeared any different, he wouldn’t have been able to get away with it for as long as he has.”

I raised my brows in shock at her observation. I was impressed, to say the least, but I wondered if there was more to her evaluation.

“A fair assessment,” I said evenly. “But what makes you absolutely certain that this is the guy we’re after?”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Cat took a large step closer to the man in the chair and even went as far as to lower herself down to level out her perspective.

My stomach twisted at the sight of her being so close to the man responsible for killing three of our men. I had half a mind to wrap my arm around her waist and haul her back at least ten feet.

And I was fairly certain that I wasn’t the only person who felt the same way. Both Leo and Franky were frozen stiff from the way that Cat chose to move closer.

“Oh, this is without a doubt Artem Katz,” she said insistently. “Had this been literally anyone else, then they would have tried to convince us we’ve captured the wrong guy. He hasn’t muttered a single word of denial since he’s been brought in. I’ve addressed him as ‘Artem Katz’ at least twice already and he has not once tried to correct me. His silence alone is enough of a confirmation.”

For the first time since he’s been brought in, Artem actually revealed a legit expression. The corner of his mouth curled into a disturbing smile.

“Clever girl,” he remarked snidely.

Whatever doubts that may have been floating around in my head had all but evaporated by those two words he spoke. That was more than enough of a confirmation for me.

Hell, I could have kissed Cat for her sheer cleverness. Fuck, I wanted to take her home that very minute screw her silly.

There were no words to describe how undeniably sexy Cat was when she let herself become so lethal. Some would have found it scary, but I easily counted it as just another one of her incredible characteristics that made me love her.

I couldn’t have wished for a better woman to have by my side through all of this madness. Right when I thought that this had all become far too much for her to handle, she proceeded to surprise me and step beyond her own boundaries.

She’d literally laughed and glared death straight in the face simply to prove a point.

I knew right then and there that I would never be able to keep her away from this life. Cat was truly her own person who was going to do what she wanted, regardless of the potential dangers and threats.

I knew that it should have bothered me, but it wasn’t as though Cat was ever careless. She was strategic in the way that she spoke. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But something in the back of my mind told me that Katz wasn’t going to address us again so easily. The man was clearly very good at keeping quiet. Someone with a list of kills as long as his wasn’t going to talk so willingly.

But there was really only one thing that I needed to know.

“Well, Katz, sorry to have brought you in like this,” I said coolly. “But I had to stop you from killing any more of my men.”

Silence.

“I understand the need to stay silent, but there is just one thing that I, myself, am dying to know. Did Antonio Junior hire you?”

Artem merely glanced at me but continued to remain silent. I nodded my head and hummed before turning to Leo.

“Take him to a cell. Keep him alive, but only barely. I want him to survive, just survive, for as long as possible,” I instructed sharply.

‘Let him experience the kind of torture and hell that he’s inflicted on so many countless others,’ I thought darkly to myself.

A small hissing sound escaped Katz. We all glanced down to find the man sneering in anger and disgust at his situation.

It was as though he couldn’t be bothered by the fact that we had abducted him and brought him here. It took every ounce of self-restraint not to laugh in the guy’s face.

He let out a long breath and spoke with a tone of disinterest. “The contract paid me twenty million. If you can offer more, I’ll tell you who paid me,” he said bitterly.

This time, I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling at the man’s utter audacity. Had he completely forgotten the fact that he was the one who was tied up? His life was on the line, and he was trying to strike up a deal regarding money.

I wondered what about the situation made the asshole think that he was going to walk away from this thing alive.

And if that wasn’t the most hysterical part of it all, Katz had just basically confirmed my suspicions about what I’d asked him.

I shook my head and bit back a sneer. And here I thought the man was actually smarter than that. Apart from that slight misstep with Cat, the man had successfully remained quiet and resolute the entire time.

I turned to face him. “I don’t need to know anything more now. I know that Junior hired you by how you responded. If it wasn’t him, you’d never try to negotiate,” I told him.

That was all I needed.

The look on Artem’s face was one that I wished I could have framed for the sheer look of stupidity and pure disbelief. Any bit of leverage the man may have had was now gone. We had confirmation of not only his identity but also the identity of his employer.

“Maybe all these years of that monotonous routine of yours has left you a tad bit rusty,” I snarked.

I turned back to face Cat and told her that we were done here. She moved to gather up her bag while I leaned over to speak to Leo.

“Take some guys and go get the mole. Bring him there,” I told him.

He nodded his head and left immediately without another word. Cat gave me the look that she was ready to leave, and I was more than ready to take her home. I slipped my arm around her waist and led us back toward the main doors.

With one last sparing look at Artem Katz, I glanced back at Franky.

“Leo will be back with the mole,” I said. “Take care of them both. Let me know when it’s done.”

I didn’t even bother to glance over my shoulder. I knew that this would be the last the world would ever see of Artem Katz. His dismal self-given title as The Ghost was about to take on a new, truer meaning.

And none of it seemed to bother me in the slightest.