Page 59 of The Devil In Disguise

My eyes widen a fraction at my own sudden outburst, and he looks more pissed than anything else. Must have hit a sore spot for him. In the next blink, he swings out abruptly, catching me squarely on the lip. The unexpected blow has me stumbling backward, both hands reaching for my mouth instinctively.

Some blood from where my lip split marks my fingers, and I spit onto the floor, taking my place back in line silently. Some eyes are on me, but luckily the man is storming out of the room as Ringleader zips his pants back up.

Nina looks paralyzed, broken. Completely shattered as a person. She curls in on herself and stares blankly at the ceiling. Meanwhile, Ringleader is sporting a smug grin on his face as he walks away to grab a water bottle for himself.

Eyes so dark they look black, pinning each of us in place while he chugs his drink. “That was only the beginning, ladies. I’m just getting warmed up.”

Chapter 24

Renato comes to his senses on the third slap to the face. In his disoriented state, he takes in his favorite torture chamber, where the lucky target is none other than himself. He pulls at the chains his arms dangle from, attempting to kick the shackles on his feet simultaneously as he takes in a sight out of his very own nightmare.

The guys are standing behind me, concealed by the shadows. We each hold a different weapon in our gloved hands. Marco holds pliers in one hand, Luci has a butcher knife in his, and I have a hammer in my left hand.

Incoherent words are muffled by the tape on Renato’s reddening face. Shaking my head side to side, my finger rises over my lips, hushing him. When he’s quiet, the tape is ripped off his face and discarded on the floor.

“No use in struggling or screaming. You designed this place, you know it won’t help you,” I taunt.

In a strained voice, he scoffs. “Think you can stomach it without covering up your face like the coward you usually are?”

“You’re wrong.” My voice betrays no emotion as I prowl closer. “I plan to be the last face you ever see. No mercy is ever given. Remember?” I echo his favorite phrase back to him.

Luci steps forward, voice booming. “You know why you’re here, Renato. It’s your day of reckoning.”

Marco is next to come forward, getting in his face. “Where the fuck is she?”

Instead of deigning any of us a response, he lets out a demented laugh that grates on my ears. Hurling my hammer at his stomach shuts him off with a groan. As much as I’ll enjoy picking him apart until he’s nothing but dust, something tells me we’ll need a Plan B if we want answers. Renato’s anger and greed overpower anything else in his life.

I should have stayed with her. She would still be here if I didn’t let my own anger get in the way and drive her right into Renato’s trap.

Luci looks at me inquisitively and I nod once, jaw tight and brows furrowed. Reaching Renato, he slaps his face with the flat side of the knife.

“You’ve caused an awful lot of damage.” With the tip of the knife, he slips it under the lowest button on his shirt and slices clean up, leaving his sweaty chest exposed. Luci remains calm and collected during their stare-off while Renato looks like his head might explode.

Renato’s nose twitches. “I won’t give up shit. Do you know how many years I’ve waited to ruin the last of the Rojas family? I’ll die knowing I won.”

Luci slices his outer thigh in quick succession. “Tsk. Wrong answer, try again.” Deep, long cuts on his chest and stomach drag out Renato’s barely-contained screams as Luci spells out the word PIG with the edge of the knife.

Walking up with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, I squeeze it over his first fresh tattoo. “You won’t win,” I say. “If you ever thought I was crazy before, that’s nothing compared to the insanity that will consume me until this world is burnt to the ground as I search for her.”

When he finally catches his breath, he pants out, “Kylo, you are,” he pauses to groan again, “pathetic.”

Reflexively, my hand runs through my hair and I'm tugging it again.

“You can’t fucking keep her from me,” I growl at him. Even in pain, he struggles to twist his cruel lips up in a mocking grin. My hands reach for his neck and squeeze tight until his face turns a dark shade of red and his eyes bulge out a bit. I stop myself and shove myself off him.

“Marco, stay with him. Luci, come with me,” I nod my head towards the mostly empty table in the far corner, Renato’s shrieks following our every step.

We reach the table and I pull out a laptop from one of the rusty drawers, setting it in front of Luci.

“We can’t waste more time hoping he’ll give in. He’s the most stubborn person I know. Call Benito and have him work even harder on this; it should be his main priority. Maven runs that NGO for women in danger, Fenix, see if she can help us out here, too. Anything you think of, try it.”

Luci nods, the wheels in his head already turning. He takes a seat and I leave him there to focus my energy on Renato. I want him to suffer, truly suffer. I want him to feel every drop of pain without being able to hold it in. On my way back to him, I pick up a handful of the dirt that’s been sitting in here for years with ants crawling around the debris.

I see that Marco peeled off each one of his fingernails with the pliers. “Grab me a piece of tape,” I tell him in passing. Renato’s tired eyes widen when he looks at my hand, then my face, and back again.

“Open up,” I sing-song, whistling as I walk closer to him. Frantically dodging my hands, I latch onto his nose to hold him steady. Marco returns with the tape and Renato looks apprehensive. It’s a rare sight I revel in. Eventually, his mouth opens slightly to take a breath and I take advantage, shoving the dirt into his mouth, quickly replacing my hand with the tape and releasing his nose.

Moments later his face pales slightly, taking on a yellowish tint. “Aht, aht. Swallow it,” I chide. Marco brings over a blindfold and noise-canceling headphones, placing them on Renato as I walk to my toy box and pull out my electric prod. With the butcher knife now in hand, Marco stands behind a trembling Renato. We look at each other, and on my nod, strike at the same time. The prod shocks his throat, holding for a few seconds, and Marco makes a deep incision on his backside.

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