Page 119 of Deadly Vows

“You know, I could sit here all night. I enjoy this, I really do,” I say to the man before me. His body convulses against the chair as he attempts to get away from my blade. But it’s plunged deep into his thigh. And he’s tied to the chair.

I twist the blade, and his screams fill the air, sending ripples of excitement up my spine. I move the blade up his thigh, watching in fascination as the flesh separates, the blood welling to the surface. Finally, I rip it from the muscle, holding the tip under his chin.

“I just want the password,” I say.

We’ve been going at this interrogation for hours. The firewall is strong enough that even Romelo can’t access it, not even from within. So, we have to go old school and actually get the password to get into the system and have access to all the data I want. This particular government entity will have access to potential buyers, enemies of the country, and information on specific individuals that I will need to blackmail to propel us even further into this sphere.

But to do that, I need the damn password.

The man looks at me through tears, furrowing his brow as he attempts bravery.

“Go…to…hell,” he grounds out, his head dropping as soon as he finishes.

I smile, angling my head lower so that he can look me in the eyes.

“Look at me,” I say.

He slowly lifts his gaze, his breathing ragged. I slowly push my finger into the open wound on his leg. Then, I add another, andanother, until he is screeching in pain, and my hand is ripping into his flesh. The warmth of mingled blood and muscle engulfs my palm, and I form a fist to tear it even further. He pulls desperately at his ties, his screams maniacle.

I hear the screams of the remaining agents, one of whom has settled into hysteria as she begs for his life. We made sure to leave one woman and two men alive. It’s a form of psychological torture without having to touch them first. One of them is going to break before the other—whoever is most desperate to live.

Suddenly, his eyes roll back, and he spasms violently before he hangs his head. I am suddenly ripped away from him, Romelo holding me as Nicolai goes to check his pulse.

“Dammit, Luca, you’re supposed to scare him not kill him he may have had the information we needed!” he snaps.

I try to pull myself down from the high that I feel, especially from the feel of the thick blood still trickling between my fingers. It’s an addictive thing, holding someone’s life in your hands.

As Nicolai checks on the unconscious man, I turn my attention to the two remaining agents. The man has a look of false bravery on his face, but the woman has tears spilling down her cheeks as she stares beyond me, trembling.

I study her closely as her gaze finally meets mine. She’s an attractive woman, though she comes nowhere close to Elise. Her eyes are brown, and she has a light dusting of freckles over her nose. I take a step towards her, and her terror intensifies.

She’s going to be my break.

I slowly squat in front of her, and I grab her face with the same hand that was in her coworkers thigh. She grunts in disgust as blood oozes between my fingers and her skin. Before I can speak, however, the other agent speaks up.

“You won’t get anything from us. We have trained our entire lives for more than this, no matter what you bottom-feeders do,” he snaps.

I stand, removing my hand from her face to look at him. His features are twisted in hatred. I can’t help myself. I laugh. And his expression forces my laughter to come out harder than I would like, until tears are in my eyes.

“Bottom-feeders?” I chuckle, forcing myself to calm down.

“Do you think I don’t know who you are? Who you took money under the table from to come after me?” I laugh, shaking my head. “Or why you were so eager to try and fuck with my empire?”

His bravery disappears as he realizes I’m here for more than just information.

“Wow, they really hire anyone these days, huh?” I laugh, moving away from him.

“How about we play a game?” I ask, moving back to the woman.

She closes her eyes, shaking her head vigorously. “Please, please, no!”

I roll my eyes at her pleas. If only she knew how much I hate begging.

“I have people waiting and not a lot of time,” I say, moving to the black bag we brought. I rummage through briefly, my smile widening as I land on a pair of pruning shears.

As I look up, Nicolai is still checking the unconscious man, and Romelo stands by the computer awaiting the password.

“I’m going to ask a question.” I quickly cross the room, standing over the woman. And as I lower myself, her whimpers grow louder as I bring the shears to her tied hands. “And each time you don’t answer, well, that’s a finger.”

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