Page 151 of Wilde and Deadly

Then the doors closed, sealing her in with Black Eyes, who took up a parade rest stance behind her, blocking her escape.

“You’ve caused a lot of problems for us, Rowan Bristow.”

Her gaze snapped toward the new voice. He was a brute wrapped in a tailored suit, his shoulders broad enough to block the light. His face was all sharp angles and cruel lines, a scar cutting through the stubble along his jaw.

This guy was the muscle, not the big boss in charge.

“Good,” she said. “I hope I was a royal pain in your ass.”

He chuckled, but there was no warmth in the sound. “I did hear you’re a fighter. You like to win.”

“Untie me, and I’ll show you how much.”

Cold, assessing eyes raked over her—a man appraising the durability of his new toy before deciding how hard he could break it. He tsked, obviously finding her lacking in some way. “Gabe Bristow’s prodigal daughter. Tell me, does Daddy Dearest know about your... extracurricular activities?”

She remained silent, her gaze tracking his movement.

“Revenant One, you’re dismissed,” he ordered, without taking his eyes from her.

The black-eyed bastard—Revenant One—didn’t hesitate. He was gone without a sound, the door clicking shut behind him.

Rowan’s hands curled into fists behind her back. The fucking zipties were cutting off her circulation and her fingers tingled painfully.

He stopped in front of her, towering over her smaller frame. Not for the first time in her life, she wished she’d inherited her father’s height as well as his bullheadedness.

“Not feeling chatty?” the brute said and lightly trailed his fingers over her shoulder. “That’s all right. I have ways of making you talk.”

She curled her lip in disgust. “I’ve dealt with men like you before. You’re nothing special. You don’t scare me.”

“I doubt that very much.” He leaned in close, his breath hot and moist against her ear. “You have no idea what I’m capable of. But you will learn. And by the time we’re done, you’ll beg to lose.”

Her skin crawled, but she forced herself to remain still. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.

The backhand came so fast she didn’t see it coming. Pain exploded across her cheek as she stumbled sideways, vision blurring, blood filling her mouth. He seized her by the throat and slammed her against the wall, cutting off her air. Just as darkness started to creep in at the edges of her vision, he released her. She crumpled to the floor, gasping and coughing.

He loomed over her, a twisted smile on his face. “That’s better. On your knees where you belong.”

Rage and humiliation burned through Rowan. She glared up at him, hatred blazing in her eyes. “Fuck you,” she spat, blood and saliva spraying from her lips.

His boot connected with her ribs. Pain exploded through her side as she curled in on herself, struggling to breathe.

He drew a knife from under his suit jacket and crouched down, laying the flat of the blade under her jaw, forcing her to look up at him.

“You know, I’ve always been fascinated by the human body.” His voice was deceptively soft, but his eyes glittered with cruel anticipation as he traced the knife along her collarbone, leaving a thin red line in its wake. “The way muscles and tendons work together, the intricate network of nerves...” He pressed the tip against her shoulder, just hard enough to dimple the skin and draw a pinprick of blood. “I’ve always wondered just how much you can cut off a person before they break. Physically. Mentally.” The knife danced along her collarbone, then traced her arm down to her bound hands.

She curled her fingers into tight fists, but he drove his thumb into a pressure point, forcing her fingers open. The tip of the blade pressed into the skin at the base of her index finger.

“How do you think Daddy would react if he received your trigger finger in the mail?”

Rowan’s stomach churned with revulsion and fear, but she forced herself to meet the brute’s gaze defiantly. “He’d hunt you down and tear you apart piece by piece.”

He chuckled, and he sounded genuinely amused. “Maybe thirty years ago. Now he sends the likes of Davey Wilde to do his dirty work.”

Then the door opened again.

Revenant One stepped in again, gave the room one quick, assessing scan, then moved aside and held the door open. The air itself seemed to still, tension stretching taut as if the very room was recalibrating in response to this new man’s presence. Even the brute went still like an animal that had just realized it wasn’t the apex predator in the room anymore.

This man wore power like a pristine suit, tailored just for him.

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