Page 120 of Bratva Butcher

I whipped out my blade and held it to his mouth. He froze, eyes widening in fear. “It’s rude to interrupt people,” I whispered, dangerously low. I traced the tip of the knife over his skin in warning.

“My apologies-s,” he stuttered.

Twirling the blade, I returned it to the sheath on my waist and took my seat again, straightening the lapels of my suit jacket. “As I was saying,” I continued like nothing happened. “I’m going to give you a chance. A chance other prisoners are not usually afforded. I’m not usually in the business of torturing civilians. As far as I can tell, your only connection to our world is Talon, so I’m willing to cut you a break.” I turned my head to the side and barked, “Tate!”

The soldier I had posted at the door entered the room. “Yes, Boss?”

“Bring me the prisoners from rooms four and seven.”

He nodded and left. A few moments later, he returned with two prisoners in tow, both chained by the wrists and ankles. They shuffled forward with slow steps, their heads staying down. One of them was severely malnourished, so skinny that I could see the outlines of his ribs. The other wasn’t quite as bad, but that was only because he hadn’t been down there as long as the first. They both had long hair that went to their shoulders, big, bushy beards and dirt and filth covering their entire bodies.

“Like I said, I respect people who don’t just crumble at the first sign of fucking trouble. I respectstrength.” I looked at Tate as I got to my feet and moved my chair out of the way. “String them up right here, Tate. Where Anthony can see them clearly.”

Tate did as I ordered without delay. Mikhail stepped around so he was behind Anthony, excitement practically vibrating from him.

There was a reason Mikhail was so feared within our circles. His torture techniques were terrifying, and that was coming fromme.

I grabbed the man on the right by his long, filthy hair, and pulled his head back roughly. Faded, brown orbs locked onto me, pleading for mercy.

Fucking never.

“This here is Maxim,” I said, staring him dead in the eyes. “He used to be one of my most trusted advisors.A friend.” My hold on him tightened, and he whimpered. “That is, until I found out he drugged my daughter and raped her while she was passed out. Now… Well, he’s just a thing for me to play with when I’m mad, which, if I’m being honest, is quite frequently.”

Anthony ran his eyes over Maxim’s naked body, noting all the scars that covered his skin, both old and new. Particularly, the ones around the groin area. He turned so pale, I thought he might throw up.

I let Maxim go and moved to the man beside him. “This,” I went on, grabbing his hair and flinging his head back. “This is Erik. He was a soldier of mine. Smart, strong and incredibly loyal. Or so I thought. His daughter was the one responsible for letting enemies through our gates, resulting in our house getting raided. In me getting kidnapped.” Erik’s brown eyes stayed pointed to the ground, refusing to look up. “Funny thing is, that’s not what I’m most mad about. That raid resulted in my children almost being killed.Thatis something I absolutely can not let slide. He had the chance to stop his daughter. Instead, he did nothing. That makes him just as responsible.” I released him with a shove, and turned back to face Anthony.

“Now, here’s what’s going to happen.,” I said, picking up the cheese grater. “I’m going to torture these two in front of you, Anthony, andeverythingI do to them is what I’m going to do toyouif you don’t tell me where Talon is.”

Anthony immediately slammed his eyes shut. With a snarl, I lurched forward and pried them open.

“You keep your fucking eyes open. You hear me? You close them, and I’ll fucking cut your eyelids off. Understand?” I threatened, my face hard and unforgiving.

Pure terror made him nod his head frantically.

I let him go and gave him a nice, pleasant smile like I hadn’t just threatened to permanently disfigure him. “Wonderful.” I turned around to face Maxim and Erik. “Let’s begin, then.”

A few hours later, I walked down the halls of the pit, wiping my blood-covered hands on a black hand towel. Anthony’s eyes had remained open the whole time Mikhail and I tortured Maxim and Erik, watching every punch, every slice we inflicted on them, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

He’d begged us to stop. Begged us to let him look away. Of course, I allowed neither.

It was crucial that he watched and saw everything that would happen to him if he chose not to give me the information I wanted.

EvenIhad to admit that it was a particularly brutal torture session. We’d started off with the basics. A punch here. A cut there. Then, we got a little bit more creative, using the cheesegrater against their skin and holding a blowtorch just far enough away to sizzle the exposed flesh.

I won’t go into all the nitty, gritty details. Some of it might make you vomit, like it did Anthony.

After we were done, we left the unconscious bodies dangling in the room so Anthony would be constantly reminded of the fate he was in for if he didn’t talk.

“So, what happens now?” Mikhail asked, wiping a spot of blood from his brow.

“Now, we wait.” I stopped at the foot of the stairs that led back up to the warehouse, throwing the hand towel into a wicker basket. “We’ll give him a few days to agonise over what he’s seen. Maybe even a week. If he still chooses not to talk, then… Well, it will be his turn to go under the knife.”

Mikhail nodded. “Alright. Sounds like a plan. I’ve gotta go deal with some business, but you’ll call me before you take that next step,da?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I know you don’t like to miss out on the fun.”

“It’s not only that.” His face suddenly turned serious. “If you get Talon’s location, I don’t want you to do something stupid like go after him by yourself with no backup.”

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