Page 66 of Hearts Of Darkness

Right now, my wrath is a frenzied paroxysm in burning shades of red. He’ll pay for this. They all will. But first I have to get the hell out of this room.

I have no idea where Tomas and Joseph are being held, but something tells me I’m about to find out. There are footsteps outside my cell. There’s aclunkas a heavy bolt is shunted back, and then the door opens. I’m blinded by dazzling sunshine before a large silhouette steps into view. A split-second later, a bucket of cold water is being chucked at my head. My lungs burn as I fight for air. I cough and splutter, and strain at theropes that bind me. At the same time, I hear my jailer chuckling.

“Look what we have here… The great Dante Santiago. Strung up in my basement like a pussy.”

Rodrigo

He collapses into a chair and tosses a large hunting knife and a bottle of tequila onto the table next to him. He sighs contentedly and sizes up my torso, deciding which part of me to carve up first.

Just a foot closer, dickhead… Then I can wrap my legs around your treacherous neck and snap you like a twig.

“I can smell your anger.” He grins at me, his damn singsong voice a torture all by itself. “It’s so toxic, it’s got its own shitty odor.” He pitches forward, rips off my gag and steps back before I have a chance to react.

“I’m going to rip you apart, Rodrigo—limb from fucking limb.”

That wipes the smirk from his lips. “Last time I looked,I’mthe one with the knife.” He jerks his head at the serrated bastard lying in wait for me on the table.

I silently revise my plan. I’m going to choke him with his own vocal cordsbeforegauging out his eye.

“Emilio knew you’d figure it out eventually.” He sighs and leans back in his chair. “It was just a matter of getting you on that plane. We never expected you to take the bait and fly all the way to Colombia.”

He’s mocking me, and so he should. My arrogance stopped me from listening to Joseph; it stopped me from decoding the warning signs that have been flashing fucking neon for the last few weeks. Like a fool, I believed in my own infallibility.

“How?” I grit out.

“Precision and audacity,” he taunts, turning my favorite phrase back onto me. “We were watching you from the moment you landed. We had cameras rigged up all the way along this track. We were just choosing our moment.”

“Where the fuck is Emilio?”

“At your compound, probably sticking it to your American. I hope she has a high pain threshold.”

I block out the cruel bite of his words, reverting back to cold disinterest. It’s my survival mechanism. I need to believe that she’s safe in my bunker. I’ll deal with the consequences of what she’ll discover there on my return.

“You killed my men,” I hiss through gritted teeth. The hurt from my shoulder is spreading across the rest of my torso like a flesh-eating disease.

“It was my pleasure.”

“Where’s Grayson?”

“Waiting patiently. He’s next on my kill list.” Rodrigo picks up the knife and takes a swig from the bottle. “Emilio’s consented to letting me have a little fun before I kill you. I’m calling it payback for that stunt you pulled on the plane last week.”

A low growl rumbles up from my throat. “I should have broken your neck when I had the chance.”

“You’re an arrogant son-of-a-bitch, Dante Santiago, but not for much longer.” He swaggers a foot or so toward me. “You and your men have lorded it over us for too long. What makes you so damn special? Any fool can point a gun.”

“That’s a pretty accurate description of yourself.”

“Enough talking.” He presses the blade against my throat. He’s so close, I can smell his sweat and excitement. His eyesare glittering with the thrill of the forthcoming kill, and he can’t contain a moan of pleasure when the first crimson beads appear on my skin. “I’m going to enjoy every moment of this.”

Any minute now, you bastard. I’ve got a little something for you, too.

I’m not scared of pain. I’ve never broken under torture before. I’ve been beaten, water-boarded, electrocuted… The most they’ve ever gotten from me has been my spit in their faces. But the way Rodrigo is grinning is making my blood freeze in a way it never has before. I’ve developed a weakness since then, and if I don’t break free these men are going to devastate her.

“Do you know what I’m planning to do to her first?” he drawls, as if reading my mind. Like it’s no big deal to him. Like it’s not the biggest mistake of his life saying this shit to me. “I’m going to make her strip, and then I’m going to make her hurtbaaad. And after that long, long night is through,ifshe’s still alive, I’m going to take this knife and—”

With a roar of rage, I yank at my restraints, ignoring the pain obliterating my left arm, and slicing more of my skin open on the jagged blade of his knife.

“I bet she tastes good, Dante.”

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