Page 30 of Cruel Vows

Aiden grabs a dagger from the counter and holds it out to me. “I figured you would want to do the honors. Get out a little of that rage my sister keeps surfacing.”

I take the knife, turning it in my hand and grinning when the blade catches the light, reflecting it straight back onto Fred. “You’re the one who threatened my wife?”

Fred glares at me, his jaw tightening. “Didn’t know she was your wife.”

Aiden clicks his tongue, his head shaking. “Now, Fred, don’t lie to us. Noah knows about the wedding, but that’s not what he’s interested in right now, is it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been lurking around my weapons warehouse.”

I trail the tip of the knife along the back of Fred’s hand, blood pooling where the skin is sliced. “You should be honest with us, Fred.”

Though I know that Fred has every intention of keeping his mouth shut, there’s a small quiver in his upper lip that gives him away.

Fred, like many others I’ve had the pleasure of speaking too, will start telling us everything we need to know once his limbs start coming off.

I keep the sharp edge of the knife pressed against Fred’s hand as I turn to Aiden. “You know, I think Ellie is planning something.”

“Yeah. She probably is.” Aiden smirks and crosses his arms, one shoulder rising and falling.

“Any advice?” I move the knife up Fred’s hand to his wrist where the ropes are.

His sharp intake of breath is enough to let me know he’s hopeful, so I skip the blade over the rope, dragging a line up his arm to his shoulder.

I sigh, digging the tip into his bicep, the sound of his pained groan music to my ears. “For dealing with Ellie, I mean. It’s clear that Fred here doesn’t need any help. He’s such a loyal little solider to a man who would kill him for breathing the wrong way.”

Aiden chuckles. “What makes you think she’s up to something?”

“She’s busting my balls less each day.” I take the tip out of Fred’s arm, using it to trace a line along the juncture between his ear and his head. “She gets home from work most days and she makes dinner before going to bed.”

Tears spring to Fred’s eyes, but he grinds his teeth together, hands tightening over the arms of the chair. “Noah is going to kill you for this.”

“Noah’s going to kill me for a thousand different reasons, so if you’re trying to intimidate me, I would try harder.” I slip the dagger between one of Fred’s fingernails.

His screams echo off the walls as I pry the fingernail from his hand. Blood pools and drips onto the plastic under my feet.

Fred lunges against the ropes holding him back. “You’re going to fucking die for this.”

Aiden hums as if he didn’t hear Fred. “The best way to deal with Ellie is to pretend you’re oblivious to her scheming. She likes to think that she’s the one in charge, but she’s not.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Fred snorts, his bloody finger curling tighter on the arm of the chair. “Sounds like you have a problem getting your bitch under control. You just need to fuck her into submission. That’s all whores need.”

“Oh, Fred,” I say, drawing out his name even though all I want to do is slit his throat. “That was a mistake.”

Nobody gets to sit here and insult my wife.

I head over to the counter and grab a butcher’s knife, grinning as I stride back over to Fred. “You see, I can complain about my wife, but you don’t get to say shit unless it’s telling us what Noah is plotting right now.”

Before he has a chance to say anything, I pull back.

Exhaling, I swing the knife down, cutting off his hand at the wrist.

Fred’s screams are piercing. They cut through the room as blood pours from his hand.

Aiden grabs the butane torch and hands it to me. “You better cauterize that. He hasn’t given us enough information yet, have you, Fred?”

I grab the torch and turn it on, adjusting the dial until the flame glows white-hot.

The smell of singed flesh fills the room as Fred screams and thrashes against the ropes.

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