Page 138 of Vito

"The successor information can wait for now," Lixin says, eyeing me closely. "What I want to know is about the evidence, Eden. Your brother would've told you where he hid it."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

He smiles, and it sends chills racing through me. He steps closer andpetsmy head. "Sweet Eden. Did you know I sent the kill team to slaughter Aiken like a pig?"

My heart thunders, and pain swells in my chest. I suspected it, but to hear Lixin admit it—so casually, so…sadistically—is nearly too much.

"I told them to play with him." He continues to pet my head gently, so at odds with his vile words. "Make it last, to make him bleed." He drags his thumb down my cheek, pulling on my gash and making it bleed again, before resuming his gentle caresses. "To not finish him before they left, but to leave him on the verge of death,lingeringso he knows the end is coming and there's nothing he could do."

My whole body shakes. Because with every word, I see Aiken's murder happening before my eyes. And it's worse, so much worse, than watching it on the tablet I found.

Because his killer, his executioner, is making me bear witness to it while he touches me.

"I hate you," I choke.

"Sweetheart." He lowers and runs his nose along my cheek. "I want your hate. I want your tears. I want your blood. I want to shatter you into amillion fucking pieces."

I notice he's hard. I close my eyes and try not to be sick.

A zipper sounds, and my eyes fly open. Novak pushes closer. "Enough of this shit. It's time to stuff this bitch's mouth. We'll get all the details we need from her after we have our fun."

That’s enough to snap me out of the horrendous pain that's drowning me as I visualize Aiken’s murder all over again while the man responsible touches me.

"Put your dick anywhere near me, and I'll bite it off," I snarl and snap my teeth. "Ask Amazu how hard I bite."

Lixin fists the back of my hair, yanking my head back. "That's not nice, sweetheart. I was being so gentle with you."

"Fuck. You," I spit. He cranks my neck back further, making me internally scream in pain, but I swallow it.

Power. Take back some power.

I start to laugh.

Mancini frowns. "She's fucking broken already."

"Or insane," Amazu mutters, rubbing his cheek.

"Stop." Lixin jerks my head. "It." He jerks it again.

The tendons in my neck feel like they'll snap, and my hair feels like it's being ripped out. But I still laugh until tears leak from my eyes.

"You're all so fucked, With a capital F."

Novak pushes closer, ready to pull out what I'm sure is his pathetic dick.

"You assholes ever hear of the Black Ghost?"

That gets their attention.

Tension increases in the room.

Lixin eases his grip, and I lift my head out of the painful position. I let my impassive mask fall away, letting them see the darkness in me. The sly, cunning bitch that I am.

"You arenotthe Black Ghost," Mancini sneers.

"Of course not. The rumors are the Black Ghost is a man." I turn to Lixin and Amazu. "You know I left home at fifteen, lived on the streets. That part of my history is easy enough to find out. But then I disappeared, and you couldn't find more… Did you stop to thinkwhy?"

"You're trying to say the Black Ghost rescued you and took you in?" Amazu puffs his chest but I see the nervousness under that bravado. "Nice fucking try."

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