Page 48 of Lethal

Cole doesn’t react, but there seems to be a storm of emotions emanating from him. If Brent is being honest, he wasn’t allowed to use them on Becca since he didn’t pay for it... But it seems that’s where his dark pleasures reside. Maybe he fucked up and marked her, making his fears of a hit being taken out on him founded. I can’t give myself away by asking Jasper if he knows anything regarding The Guild, so I wait to see if Brent gives us anything else.

“Listen, I picked up that little whore at the designated location. Input the code on the cage I was given and had my fun with her.” He seems to relax the more he talks, and something in me snaps. I fucking hate when they don’t show me fear. These hard ass, above being tortured, cunts are zero fun. “If anything happened to that used up slut, that’s on her. She was broken inside when I got her. I specified wanting someone with a little fire left in them.”

He sneers and levels me with a glare. “I actually think I should be compensated for being offered damaged goods. Her snatch was so loose it was like shoving a hotdog down a hallway.”

Cole’s spine stiffens, but he doesn’t show any other outward signs of hearing what Brent said. It’s not even my sister, but I want to do the vilest things I can think of to this man for talking about her that way. I saw what she looked like in that video, and how he treated her.

“You haven’t finished recounting everything like I asked, Brent. Let’s take it from the top once more,” I order, moving to sit on the table next to him.

“I picked her—“

“Brent.” I tsk with annoyance, making sure the sound is as taunting as possible. “I told you to start from the beginning. Surely you had to pay first and even before that had to be introduced to the Tulip Broker.”

A stillness overcomes his face, and I worry I said something wrong. Could I have given it away that I’m not who he thinks I am? Well, at least not here for the reason he thinks. I’m an assassin for The Guild now, thanks to my men.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here, but I’ve been ordering playthings from the Broker for a while now and—“

“Tulip Broker,” I say, cutting him off. Digging into the side pocket of my pants, I draw out a knife and snap it open with a loud snick.

“What?”

“Tulip Broker. Give his name the respect it deserves. You’re already in the deep end.” I trail the point of the knife across his cheek, knowing it’s more threatening than my finger, not to mention my touching him will certainly push Cole over the edge.

He gulps, and continues on, “Tulip Broker. My deepest apologies. I’ve worked with him enough to know I didn’t fuck up that long ago. So can we skip the games? I wasn’t followed when I went to the pickup location. I didn’t do anything that would permanently scar her. I didn’t share any information about where I got her, and I sure as fuck left her in the cage alive, bolting it shut as instructed.”

“Tell me, Brent. How did you contact the Tulip Broker?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions?” he snaps, apparently getting frustrated with the situation. “Is this some kind of test or—“ His gaze narrows on me, then flicks to Cole. “The Tulip Broker didn’t send you, did he?”

Before I can come up with a response, a muffled crack sounds from him and he’s suddenly wheezing.

“What the fuck?” I jump from the table and grip his jaw as his eyes roll back. “Cole, what was that?”

“Son of a bitch. No,” he shouts, hands fisting in his hair and pulling. It’s the only response I get out of him, but from the reaction, it seems my fears are probably correct.

Brent’s body convulses and I grab the first thing I find to my right. A display of small potted cacti decorates the middle of the table. I reach for the one that seems to have the most needles sticking from it, wanting to give the most amount of pain possible before whatever he did to activate his death does its job.

With the plant fisted in one hand, I tilt his head back. He doesn’t put up a fight, going with my manipulation easily enough. Yanking his jaw open is a little harder, only because of his seizing muscles, but once it’s hanging wide, I shove the tip of the plant inside, murmuring, “Nevermore.” I make him deep throat that bitch, and hope with every dark shred of my soul, he feels the needles scraping him to shreds, choking him as the poison frothing at the corners of his mouth takes his life.

Or maybe the cactus takes it first. That’s the explanation I’m going with at least.

I killed a man with a cactus.

Chapter 22

Raven

The upside down plant protruding from his mouth mocks me. If I thought I’d have enough time, I would have used it to sodomize him. What could be more humiliating than having a cactus shoved up your asshole and it ripping your bowels open? That would’ve been a kill to brag about.

Not this, though. Sure, it’s amusing to watch his body convulse as his face turns multiple shades of red as he suffocates. Of course, I enjoy watching him die, but at the same time, it leaves a grainy taste of dissatisfaction in my mouth. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. He didn’t even remotely get the amount of torture he deserved.

We could’ve made it last for years. To draw it out for as long as Becca was used against her will. To inflict every little shred of pain she’s felt over the years back on him. But the fun of exacting justice was stolen not only from me but from Cole. He should’ve been forced to live out every ounce of pain we could have wrung from Brent’s body.

Instead, he took the easy way out... like a goddamn pussy.

What kind of fucked up spy movie shit was this? Some sort of hidden kill switch in a molar to take his life? Not only that, he didn’t use it until he realized we were trying to extract information from him. Was it a precaution of his own design, or something the Tulip Broker forced on his clients? And why even use it?

We’ll never know now.

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