Page 102 of Descent

He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“Wrong answer,” I grit out, before lowering the torch back to the bowl.

It heats up in no time, burning even through my gloves as he begins to scream. The sound of the rat squeaking as well as chewing and tearing flesh is audible through the bowl, as Lewis’s cries for help fall on deaf ears. We all watch him squirm and shout. To my surprise, Ronan and Asher hold up well. Perhaps they have more potential than I realized.

“Give me a name and it’ll all go away,” I offer.

He can’t speak though, he’s in too much pain. Instead, he groans and screams, his body shaking in shock at being eaten and clawed alive.

“Vincent, enough,” Asher says. “He’s no good to us dead.”

I look up at the youngest Putnam. “He’s no good to us alive. He knows too much.”

“So, what? You’re just going to kill him? An Elder?” Asher challenges.

“Well, I’m sure as shit not letting him go. We’d all be dead by morning, isn’t that right?” I ask the practically seizing Lewis. He doesn’t speak, just moans and shakes as he stares up at the ceiling.

Ronan nods his head. “Vincent’s right.”

A few more minutes go by, before the squeaking stops and Lewis’s sounds fade altogether. Ronan reaches down, feeling for a pulse before he shakes his head.

Rot in hell motherfucker.

Removing the torch and the bowl, it takes a moment before the blood-soaked rat scampers out of Lewis’s body. A decent sized hole is now in the center of his chest, organs half chewedthrough and oozing blood. It’s a gory sight, one that honestly rivals any I’ve ever seen. It was no doubt a painful death, but for a man that molested his six-year-old niece and got away with it thanks to the Brethren, it wasn’t painful enough, in my opinion.

“What now?” Asher asks.

My eyes swing up to his.

“Now, it’s time for you to have a chat with your daddy.”

Chapter Forty One

Asher

Istill don’t think this is a good idea. When we grabbed Lewis, we thought we were finally going to get some answers. Instead, we walked away with a body to dispose of and more questions than ever.

My dad was dating my wife’s mom? While her dad was?

I know how hypocritical it seems for me to be shocked, but my dad doesn’t share, and he doesn’t lose. Ever. If he truly wanted Giselle for himself, there is no way he would ever let Henry have her. And then for him to disappear for half a year mourning her? He didn’t even shed a single tear when my own mother passed away.

That kind of care, maybe even love, is unusual for my father’s character. However, it seems very typical stalker behavior. For him to obsess over something he lost, latch onto the first reminder of it, and never let go.

Ronan didn’t want to say it, but we were both thinking it. The way that he’s taken an interest in Skyla since she arrived is an added clue. I’m just not sure how he will react when I confront him.

Never thought I’d say this, but thank god Griggs is with me. Ronan is in his car, down the block a little ways. My dad doesn’t need to get suspicious about why we’ve been spending so much time together, and he sure as hell won’t open up when there is more than one person in a room. So, I’m going in alone. Though I imagine by the time I step inside, Griggs will have already broken in and be in the shadows waiting for anything, really.

I tuck my keys into my pocket as the butler opens the door for me. I head straight towards my father’s office, rehearsing all of the key points I’m going to bring up so I can trick him out of some information.

Though, as soon as I step through the foyer, a chill runs down my spine. The scars on mine and my wife’s back will serve as a forever reminder of this room, of this house, of this…man.

As soon as my father’s eyes come to mine through the open doors of his office, I lose my nerve, just for a second. A cold chill runs down my spine as he inspects me like a piece of gum beneath his shoe. Pushing it down, I roll my shoulders back, lift my chin and close the distance between us.

“Asher, you didn’t tell me that you were coming,” he says, in a tone that would be considered anything but pleased with this unexpected visit.

“My apologies. I didn’t really know I was coming until I was here.”

He frowns as he takes a seat behind his desk.

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