Page 4 of Trapping His Darling

“Do you need something?” I inquired before Roger could interject.

The soldier glanced at Roger, then back at me after receiving some hidden permission. “You’re needed down at the wharf.”

“What is the nature of the situation?”

“We have apprehended a rat.”

This was business.

I began walking toward our waiting vehicles, a rare smile gracing my lips at the news. This was exactly what I needed. I needed to pummel someone until they revealed all their secrets.

We climbed into the vehicle, and the foot soldier drove us to a warehouse in the wharf district. The air was heavy with the lingering scent of blood. I inhaled deeply, savoring it. This was my element. I might have been a timid child, but now I was a merciless man. And no one had seen my true capabilities yet.

I relished the sensation of making our enemies beg, and the wretched soul before me was no exception. I would extract the answers I sought from him before ending his life.

“Has he revealed anything?” I asked, approaching the guy who had been stripped naked and strung up from the rafters with heavy chains.

“No. Not yet.”

I removed my outer layer, rolled up my sleeves, then donned brass knuckles. I exhaled softly, centering myself. This wasn’t the same solace as the icy waters outside my house, but it would suffice.

He didn’t see it coming. I slammed my fist into his face, shattering a few teeth. His agonized screams sent shivers of satisfaction down my spine. It was a thankless task, but someone had to do it.

The rat spit and sputtered blood and chunks of enamel all over. Emitting a low growl from the back of my throat, I grabbed the pliers from the table to my right.

“If you don’t talk, then I will make it so you never talk again,” I warned quietly. “And since death is too easy for a rat, this means I will be forced to maim you, and let you live as a walking example of why you don’t betray me.”

One of the men grabbed his head and forced his mouth open. “Is that what you want to be?” I asked. “Do you want to be a shell of a man, blind and deaf, missing all his fingers and toes, teeth and nails, his dick and his tongue?”

I reached in with the pliers and broke a tooth off. The man hollered in agony.

“I have all the time in the world to take you apart piece by piece. It will be slow. It will be painful. And worst of all, you will live through it.”

Panting, the rat spat his blood out. “Y-you have no idea what’s coming for you.”

The men in the room tittered even as I chuckled. While his threat might worry lesser men, especially after the incident with Don Ricci, I was thrilled to hear that I had an adversary to vanquish. Not even an hour into training to become Father’s second, and I was receiving threats.

“And what, exactly, is coming for me, hmm?” I swung the pliers in my hand.

He watched as they circled around and around, fear watering his eyes. It sent shivers of joy down my spine. I loved the scent of terror in the air.

Since he took too long to answer, I swung the pliers around and down on his face. Blood gushed from his jaw.

“I am the next leader of the Bratva. I fear nothing.” I beat his face again, just enough that he could still answer my questions. I couldn’t break his jaw just yet.

Spitting onto my shoe, he glared at me.

I held back my anger. “Who do you work for?” I asked calmly.

He just regarded me with hatred, though it seemed a little more respectful than it had been two minutes earlier. He’s not so cocky now.

But he was a stubborn fool.

I pried his fingernail off his pinky.

He grunted as he watched me, a lone tear leaking out of his eye.

“I will ask one more time and then I will scoop one of your eyes out to keep on my bar for everyone to see.” I waited for a beat. “Or maybe you’d prefer I do both eyes, so you don’t have to witness my men tearing apart your beautiful wife and daughter, before your spirit meets theirs on the other side.”

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