Page 8 of Exposing Adonis

Leo’s head lolled from one side to another, a bruise forming on his cheekbone. The hit was not enough to break anything, but just enough to sting. It was a fine line to walk. It was enough to let him know that we were serious, and willing to do him harm. But not enough to send him to a surgeon. A pack of ice and a Tylenol, and he’d be right as rain.

Hugo had a particular talent for towing this line. Mostly because he was a psychopath.

“I don’t know anything!” Leo was crying, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his head, into his tearful eyes.

I was never able to cry on command like this. And he was most definitely crying on command. Everything was too well timed for it to be genuine. I wonder why the company, the more common term used to mean the CIA, had never recruited him.

“You set up the hit on Rashid Khan.” Hugo ranted on, kicking at Leo’s knee right below the kneecap. Leo winced, his leg twitching up. But he made no move to retaliate. He simply twisted his wrists in the handcuffs, continuing to look for vulnerabilities. “Then you killed Dieter Müller when he found out who you were.” Hugo slapped Leo in the temple. His blond hair swung as his face whipped to the side. “We know who you are. Don’t make this harder on yourself.” Hugo punched him in the cheek, and Leo’s head twisted in the opposite direction with a harsh grunt.

The cover ofscared and cluelessshed off of Leo like snake skin. His jaw ticked, the muscle tight and controlled as he clenched his teeth to keep from making any more noise.

Hugo punched him in the gut and mentioned another death attributed to the Ferryman. Then he did it again. He hit him again, and again. One after the other. Each time, Leo whined with a helplessness that wasn’t congruent with the slow movements of his hands as he tried to slip out of the cuffs, and blinked into the darkness looking for an escape route.

He hadn’t given up yet. I suspected he never would. I wondered if he’d go so far as to break his own thumbs to get out of the handcuffs.

His sister probably would.I tried to keep my grin to myself as I thought of Lea.I bet I could get her to confess all her sins if I tied her to a chair and knelt between her thighs.

“Please, I don’t know anything!” Leo’s cry pierced through my, admittedly, uncivilized thoughts.

We’d be done here soon. There was one more test to see if he was the man we thought he was. Just one last thing to see his mettle.

Hugo stepped away from Leo, and brandished his beretta. With a great flourish, he pointed the barrel at the sky, showing the metal of the bottom of a magazine to show that it was loaded. Leo didn’t miss that particular gesture. Then Hugo pulled back the slider, charging the weapon then released it. The loud, metallic click resounded in the empty space.

Hugo slowly lowered the pistol to Leo’s head, putting the selector switch from safe to fire with a flick of his thumb.

“Tell me how much you were paid, or I will …” Before Hugo could finish, Leo’s hand jutted out, grabbing the barrel and pointing it away, his other hand going for Hugo’s vulnerable, exposed throat. The handcuffs dangled off the back of the chair, swinging harmlessly, unlocked.

The clever fucker had gotten himself out. I had no idea when, or how. But he had done it. I don’t think anyone had ever busted out of their handcuffs before.

Hugo laughed. “Tres bien!”Good job!

His voice was getting strangled and choked as Leo tightened his chokehold. Even through his face covering, I could see Hugo’s cheeks rounded in a smile. “I think we should make him a permanent team member!”

“Alright, lad!” I said, stepping into the light, my hands up in a sigh of surrender. “We were testing you before we put you in the field. We’re friends …”

Leo didn’t turn to me, his eyes fixated on the enemy in front of him like a good warrior. His grip on Hugo’s throat tightened, ready to kill one enemy before dealing with another. Gone was the innocent act of a poor, defenseless nurse. Here was the killer, unleashed. He never looked more like his sister than in that moment.

Fuck, this whole performance was impressive. I expected, at worst, to see him break after Hugo pulled the trigger near his head. It was loaded with blanks. At best, he’d keep his dignity intact and show us what he was made of. But to escape and turn the tables? Damn. That was a league of its own.

A loud crash of steel on steel froze us all in place. The shout of female voice made ice crawl up my spine as I knew that my time was up. She was absolutely going to end me.

The door swung open and an angel of vengeance appeared. Lea stood in a fighter’s stance, legs apart, fists up and ready. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on Hugo, then her brother. Then, finally, on me.

If looks could kill, my skin would have melted off.

She pulled at Hugo’s shoulder, pushing Leo away, his hold around Hugo’s throat releasing. The Frenchman sputtered, still laughing, loudly sucking in air between gasps.

“He’s good!” Hugo said, and clapped twice as he pulled down his face covering, revealing a pearly white, and delighted, smile.

Lea’s eyes looked at Leo’s face. Then she turned to me with a gorgeous fury. “Did you hit him?”

Venom dripped from her voice, and I winced. The sound of it burned my flesh.

I heard the loud slap before I felt the sting of her palm against my face. I should have been chastised. She was a lady, and I had violated her trust. But instead, a fire in my chest made me want to take her against the wall. The fire was frightening, as it threatened to burn the veneer of civility that I had tried to erect around myself over the years, threatening to unleash the most feral part of myself.

Chapter 4

Lea

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