Page 60 of Vail

“You’re aware of who I am, of the reputation I have. And yet, you came for one of my men. Why?”

“He’s not yours.”

“No?” I asked calmly. “Is he yours then? Are you the one fucking him every night? No, that’s me. So, tell me again how he’s not mine?”

“He belongs to Gil.”

“Ah.” There it was. I knew this had to do with Gil and there was the confirmation.

There was no point in me sending this asshole back to Gil with a warning. He tried to take Vail and he or one of his accomplices shot Oleander. That was a quick trip to never seeing sunlight again, or much of anything. I withdrew the knife from my pocket. It was a good thing I’d sharpened it this morning.

Flipping it open, I watched as the blade caught the light, how it glinted off it to accentuate the sharp edge. “If you don’t start talking, I’m going to start cutting.”

The man pressed his lips together.

“Very well.” I jutted my chin.

Sheldon and Oleander lifted the man. Oleander only used one arm but with Sheldon’s help they could easily pick him up, even though he bucked against them. The man’s feet were still bound but he could stand. They released him as he leaned against the wall. If he tried to lash out, he’d fall forward and with no way to brace his fall, his nose would break.

I stepped close and started at the base of the man’s throat, pulled the knife down his shirt, through his clothes, piercing his flesh until I got to his jeans. Then, because they were in my way, I stabbed his waist right above the denim and started sawing downward. Blood ran, screams emitted from him, and I reveled in every fucking second of it. Once I got through the thick material of the top of the jeans, I easily sliced through the rest all the way down to his feet. His flesh was now cut from throat to ankle.

Standing, I looked him in his eyes. Tears ran from them. His brown hair was a mess, plastered to his forehead from sweat and blood. Sheldon didn’t go easy on him when he bound him and put him in the back of the SUV.

“Where’s Gil?” I asked.

Breaths came in fast, pained pants. “Fuck. You.”

“Very well. Hands please.”

Sheldon cut the zip tie holding the man’s hands together. The man tried to struggle. Oleander couldn’t get a good enough hold with one hand and went to use the other. I didn’t want him opening his stitches.

I reached for the door and pulled it wide. “Reghan, get down here!” I heard his booted feet descend the stairs. He closed the door behind him to keep the sound within. “Hold him so Ollie doesn’t hurt himself worse and I have to answer to Vail.”

“Yes, sir.”

First, I took the fingers on the hand Reghan was holding. “You have ten chances to tell me where Gil is before I start cutting off appendages.”

One by one, I went from finger to finger, peeling off his nails, driving the knife too deep on purpose each time. His cries got louder. It was number eight when he began to talk, though it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Gil loves him. Vail doesn’t know what he wants.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Gil took care of him. Gave him everything he needed.”

Without finishing the last two nails, I lifted the knife and drove it into his shoulder. “Do not tell me what Vail needs. Gil beat the shit out of him and here you are defending him. Try again,” I growled and twisted the knife in the muscle.

He cried again. “Please, stop!”

“All you have to do is tell me where he is.” Wrenching the knife from his shoulder, I found his fingers once more. Number nine and ten were now without their nails. “On to parts of your body that are easily cut off.” Crouching, I parted the fabric at the front of his waist with the knife. “Good, you have both testicles. Which one shall I sever first?”

“No! Please!”

“An address,” I growled.

“He… He…”

The knife cut through his flesh, slicing into him, taking out one of the testicles. Blood ran from him, down his jeans, some dripping to the floor. He didn’t offer anything else up, so I cut the other one off. Now he only had a sad excuse for a cock remaining.

The man sagged against the wall. The more blood that left him, the weaker he became. “He never told me. He just said not to tell you anything and I’d be rewarded.”

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