Page 141 of Voracious

But she doesn’t know that with her senses all being cut off. Two weeks is nothing, she hasn’t forgotten how to speak and looks to me, hoping I’ll be her savior.

“Help me, I’m sorry, Ana.”

It’s the wrong thing to say because Vlad storms forward and punches her in the ribs. The force has her swinging like a pendulum on the chains and I squeeze my lips together, trying not to laugh.

Humming in my head, I go to the table while Val studies a wooden bat and Dima joins in on whatever he’s doing with another. There’s more of them lined up against the wall but they’re going to break upon impact. A hand strokes down my hair, making me turn and Vlad is there with a smile on his face.

“What do you need, solnyshkuh?”

Him to stop smiling at me. Fucking weirdo.

But I don’t tell him that and focus on the one thing I want.

“A fire poker and a foundry furnace.”

He’s trying to work out what I want to do with them, but I focus on the missing jewelry from her body.

“Where’s her rings and necklaces?”

I can’t fucking think with the screaming and turn to the cunt exasperated of her noise.

“Yulia? Shut the fuck up, you’re being a bad guest.”

Dima laughs and comes to my side with a cloth bag clinking as he places it in my hand.He’s not put off by this torture and he ignores Vlad’s presence as he holds my hip and kisses my forehead.

“Ready, lisichka?”

There’s a disgusted groan coming from the shadow I’ve collected, and Vlad can’t control his mouth.

“She has a name, use it.” He looks at the hand on my hip and adds, “Stop fucking touching her, she doesn’t need help standing.”

I repeat the same conversation I’ve had with him multiple times as I lean further into Dima.

“Don’t talk to him like that and go away, why are you even here?”

Valentin chokes on his laugh and drops his chin to his chest as Vlad pins him with a deadly look before gesturing to the swinging cunt that is Yulia.

“That bitch took my kid from me, there’s nowhere else I’d be.”

“What do you need her jewelry for?” Dima stops me arguing with the dumbass as he gestures to all the items she treasured over lives. She hurt people just to have them on her skin and they’ll be there forever when I’m finished, but he lowers his voice to say, “I’ll get you a better ring, don’t keep her tainted ones.”

“What the fuck are you buying her a ring for?” Vlad interrupts a conversation he wasn’t part of. “You’ll have to ask me and the answer is fucking no, it will always be no.”

I watch them both because that doesn’t make sense. If I buy Dima a present I don’t need to ask anyone’s permission so why does he need to? He might work for Vlad, but his money is his own.

Dima ignores him and he kisses my forehead as he gestures towards Val. “Go sit with him, I’ll make sure she’s still alive for you.”

My head moves back, and I look around, expecting Yulia to be on the verge of death since Dima doesn’t like torture, something to do with all the blood and how messy it gets, but he does it now. There’s no hesitation as he shares a look with Vlad and they each pick up a mix of different-sized knives before moving as one.

I stand beside by Val, he moves things off the table then taps the wood so I don’t sit on the floor. I’m so engrossed as I watch Dima work that I don’t open the bag and lift myself up, crossing my legs under me, and taking notes of what he does. He’s good at it and he doesn’t go too far that she’ll die straight away. It’s not as crazy as Vlad who works around him, whispering things that have Yulia thrashing, impaling the knives deeper into her body.

The door opens, stealing my attention as Tali walks in and he stands at my other side with a burger in his hand. He holds it outto me while we watch the entertainment together, alternating our bites and providing commentary.

“I bet she passes out in the next ten minutes.”

Val scoffs at Tali’s suggestion and I shake my head as I take another bite. “No, she won’t. Dima promised she’ll be awake.”

I nearly choke when a puddle that’s the wrong color to be blood forms on the floor. Our audience of three groans in disgust as the orange-brown liquid runs down her leg and Vlad pushes against her back as Dima quickly steps back, grumbling, “What the fuck? Don’t fucking push the cunt at me.”

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