Page 109 of Crimson Tears

She pauses, her hand on the end of the syringe ready to bring him his end.

“Do you really know anything of value to me? How close were you really with my father?”

Green shakes his head. “They aren’t where you think they are, the kids. He hid them up north.”

I want to ask Nessa to wait, but I don’t think Green here knows we have other people who likely have this same information in the next room, which makes him useless to us.

“Everyone may be afraid of the name Donovan O’Neil.” Nessa presses the plunger and Green’s eyes go wide. “But soon they will learn to fear the daughter that slayed him more than they ever feared him.”

Green’s body begins to stiffen in pain. “He’s n..not the real monst..ter.”

Nessa leans in his face as he grits his teeth in pain, fisting his hair she spits in his face. “That’s right.I am.”

We stand by and watch as he hollers in pain.So much for not losing our hearing.His body convulses, spit foaming at his mouth until he goes still.

Part of me expects Nessa to look worried or bothered by what just happened, but when she glances up at us, there is a joyous smile on her face.

“One down,” she laughs.

And just one to go.

???

“Havoc,” Nessa says as we leave the room where the man who haunts my girl’s nightmares just took his last breath. It was nowhere near as bloody as I needed it to be. “You start with this guy. I don’t care what information he has right now. I want you to make it hurt.”

Havoc nods, rubbing his hands together as if this is his specialty. Actually, I know that it is. He was one of the best torturers the Shades had.

“Cillian, you and Damien actually get the information from him.” She turns and points a finger at Damien. “No swords, we actually need to know what he knows.”

Damien raises his hands in surrender. “Agreed. But I can use the miniature ones, right?”

Havoc scoffs and rolls his eyes, but I’m already grabbing three of them before we go in the room.

“Good choices,” Damien says, walking by me as we all step into a larger room.

“I thought this one might need more attention, so I gave him the larger room,” Alexi says.

Evie leans back and whispers something before kissing his cheek, and the guy actually blushes. I wasn’t aware stone was capable of that, but the women that Nessa surrounds herself with tend to surprise me.

I can see my girl is tired, this has already been a lot for her. She went from resting and healing to being out in a club and actually working. She doesn’t want us to see it though, so I keep the information to myself.

However, I think Boris is also aware of her lack of energy from the way she keeps leaning on him. It makes me wonder when she last took pain medication for her ribs and if they’re bothering her right now.

She said they’d been feeling better, just a dull ache that flares up if she moves too fast. I have a feeling she might be hiding how sore and traumatized she really is.

She wouldn’t let either of us sit in during her talk with Dr. K, which is totally fair on her part. I just wish I knew how to help her better. There will never be enough apologies in the world to fix what I did by walking into that warehouse unprepared.

But I can start here, with this.

We all turn our attention to Havoc as he gets started. You would think eight people in a room while bloody justice is exacted would feel like too much, but it’s oddly comforting. I know that every person here would die for the woman I love, as Havoc turns the man in front of us into a sobbing mess.

He’s careful though. He pushes and makes it hurt, but he doesn’t drive him to insanity. There is a method to his madness, and it is beautiful to witness.

When Gray is about to pass out again, Evie calls for Havoc to stop. The two of them seem to have a well working system. She keeps him aware of the limits and he listens. There is no hesitation either. The second she says ‘stop’, his hand pauses in mid air right before punching the man in the jaw.

Gosh, this is like a party. I had no idea how much I needed to witness this bloodshed in order to feel better. Don’t you just feel exhilarated?

I warned you I was insane, and I did not say that lightly.

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