Page 53 of Tainted Reasoning

Nicholas and I file into the room behind the butler. We make our way over the discarded bricks, being careful not to catch ourselves on shards of glass. The dust is starting to settle but is likely to linger in the air for a long time to come. My cough is triggered again.

We step nearer to the car, and I see instantly through the smashed glass of the windscreen why the butler was so worried. The body of our dead driver sits there with the word traitor carved into his forehead. Half of his skull is missing where it’s obviously been shot away by a gun. I’m looking behind him for Tamara, but the back seat is empty except for her phone.

“Do you hear noise?” Nicholas questions, and I listen carefully. I can hear voices, and they’re coming from Tamara’s phone. I reach into the vehicle carefully and retrieve it.

“Hello?” I speak into it.

“About time.” A deep toned voice I instantly recognize comes through, and the phone beeps. I pull it away from my ear and note a request for a FaceTime call. My finger trembles as I press it. Tamara’s face appears on the screen. It’s bruised and blood drips from her lip. The phone camera pulls away, and I see she’s naked and tied to a bed. Her arms and legs are secured by chains.

“What have you done?” I ask with my voice quivering.

“Nothing yet. I hope you like my little gift. Your driver was so easy to manipulate, you need to watch your staff better. I gave him the send-off a traitor deserves though. Can’t have him reporting this to the police, now, can we?” The phone swings away from Tamara and onto the face of my old companion. The man who I’ve shared women with, Lord West. “But you know exactly what I’m capable of. I warned you both. I told you to leave me alone. Now, I’ll force you to.”

He turns the phone back to Tamara, and I watch as a bucket of water is thrown over her to revive her. She screams out with wild eyes when she realizes what’s happening. The caller hangs up before I’m able to speak to her.

Nicholas takes the phone from my hands.

“William?”

I don’t hear him, though, as I allow the darkness in my mind free rein. Lord West wants the monster. He’s going to get him!

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