Page 69 of What I Should Have Done

And wood thumped against the rock wall.

“Feisty one, aren’t you?” the slimy man hissed. As I glanced to my right, in walked my kidnapper, and Thompson’s killer. The rest of his men wandered the hallway outside of this little room. I watched as they slowly passed back and forth.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, scanning across his hardened face. Average looking man. Nothing about him screamed killer to me, yet the brutality he delivered was on a different level. His dark hair was short, clean cut. Nothing distinctive about his nose, though his lips were a little overly full for such sharp features. His brows weren’t prominent, and his eyes were nothing but black, beady soulless pits.

There it was. Everything else about him may not scream psychopathic killer, but his eyes sent a wave of chills up my spine. Everything that had been trained to fire under circumstances like this zapped to life. Every defensive skill strained to reach my sniper rifle resting on the single chair in the corner by my right shoulder.

“What I want is to get paid,” he said, strolling into the room with his hands casually by his sides. An athletic frame sat beneath black clothes, tight enough I could make out a hint of muscling, but nothing impressive. Nothing like Mikey.

“Paid? How am I worth any money?” I tracked him as he plodded down toward my feet.

“That’s what I do, kitten,” he replied, pausing by my toes.

“You’re a mercenary for hire,” I gasped, finally connecting the dots. “Wait, I know you!”

“You should. Your government has wanted me for years and years. Normally, I avoid coming around places like this, but the money was too good to pass up.” He reached forward and trailed a hand over my bare foot. Nausea curled in my throat. Snapping my eyes shut, I begged for someone to put my boots back on.

I felt vulnerable enough being stripped down to nothing but my combat shirt and pants. “Stop,” I hissed.

“So, you don’t like that,” he muttered to himself, pulling his hand back. My brows stitched together and I opened my eyes. I’d expected him to continue. To make it worse.

“Aren’t you here to hurt me?” I questioned.

He grinned. It wasn’t unusually sleazy. It didn’t send that twinge of disgust into my stomach. Which only heightened my wariness more. “No, since technically that’s not what I was hired to do. But I’m getting bored. So, maybe yes. But not in the way you’re probably thinking,” he answered. Walking around the end of the table, he slowly meandered up to my left side.

“What do you mean?” I hesitantly asked. My voice hitched. The first unintentional sign that fear laced my bones.

His eyes slid to my thigh as he paused and faced the table. “You know, it doesn’t have to be painful for you. But that’s up to you and what you choose because either way, I’m getting something out of this.”

He reached forward, his hand trembling, and he brushed it very lightly across the top of my quad. “Something very satisfying for me. As satisfying as…” His voice trailed off, the volume dimming as if someone turned a dial down.

A tremor surged across my skin, rippling with a current of trepidation.

“As satisfying as…what?” I asked, not even sure I wanted to know. He seemed too casual about this entire thing, and it rocked me to the core.

He placed his hand directly onto my thigh and slid his empty eyes up to mine. “As satisfying as something more unique. More…enjoyable for me.”

Hollowness swallowed me up whole. I was powerless to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do.

“It’s been a long time since a woman crossed my path. Normally, it’s men that I’m hired to obtain. They’re more difficult to work with.” He lifted his hand and approached my head.

“You should remove my cuffs instead of being the fucking coward you are and see how difficult I can be,” I snarled.

He smiled at me and brushed some hair behind my ears with a tsk of his tongue. “Already trying to find a way to escape. I’m not that dumb, kitten. I can’t just let you out of these cuffs.”

I bit down on my tongue, frustrated and helpless. Revolting disgust heaved through me as he leaned forward toward my face. Cheap alcohol washed over my nostrils as he exhaled. “I’ll be in your mind forever, kitten, after this. That’s the beauty in it.” His eyes narrowed in on my hair. “And you are so incredibly beautiful.” He rubbed his hands together, excitement flashing across his empty eyes.

Adrenaline surged through my veins, carrying the jolts of fear down to my fingertips.

He smoothed down his shirt and stopped at the belt around his waist. “You’re going to do what I tell you to, or then I’ll become rather angry, and you don’t want that.”

My bottom lip trembled as he methodically undid his buckle. I hated how calm he was. I hated how even and casual everything about what he was doing exuded from him.

Pressure built behind my eyes. I was strong. I was powerful. Yet, as I laid on this table, unable to move, unable to do anything to stop him, I felt absolutely helpless. But I refused to beg him to stop. I would not wilt at his game. Grasping at what little control I did have, I would fight for as long as I could.

A snap from his button seared into my ears and I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut as his pants fell to the ground. Hands snapped around my chin, clenching so tightly, my jaw pumped hot with pain.

“You’re going to look at me while I rip you apart, piece by piece,” he snarled. The calm demeanor on his face snapped away in an instant. Lines carved deep into his features, carrying a wave of insanity with them.

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