Page 57 of Sworn to Revenge
“Bay’s started her hunt,” Pedro smirks, pulling out his pocketknife and, with one swift motion, stabbing it through the Frenchman’s hand strapped to the chair. He doesn’t move, won’t even feel the pain at this stage. I think. I hope he does though.
“Now I feel better,” Pedro turns to me with a satisfied grin, and I chuckle.
“Stop playing,” Mariano sighs. “Flavio’s man went outside to check for damage from the small earthquake. Bay needs to get the information and lead them out now.”
“The Guardian’s roar caused it,” I inform him. “The earthquake,” I clarify. “He’s very impatient.”
Mariano’s eyes widen. “He can cause earthquakes even when he isn’t here?”
I nod. Seems like they haven’t fully grasped the Guardian’s powers yet. “He’s sending his power through me.”
Pedro clenches his fists, but before he can react, Mariano pulls him forward. “We need to move. Now!”
“Follow,” I command in a menacing tone, and the Frenchman—now mine—begins fighting against his restraints.
“Release his straps. He’ll follow,” I inform Pedro, and he obeys without question. Once the last strap is undone, the Frenchman walks steadily toward me—like a fish swimming straight into a shark’s mouth.
“Now we can leave,” I say proudly, smirking at my captive. Mariano doesn’t waste any time, pushing me out of the room and into the one next door.
The other Frenchman sits slumped in his chair, blood pooling beneath him from the mess Mariano left behind. His lower body is slick with it, thedark crimson staining his clothes and spreading across the floor in uneven streaks. He thrashes weakly against the straps holding him down, desperation etched into every strained muscle. His wild eyes land on the first Frenchman standing next to me.
That finger—barely clinging by a shred of flesh, dripping in a slow, steady rhythm—is still bleeding. Thick, dark drops hit the floor, each one louder than it should be in the suffocating silence.
That’s going to attract some real sharks. Just great.
“Antoine, you coward! You talked!?” He shouts, cursing in French, one of the languages I had to learn for survival with Alin.
“He won’t answer you,” I say in French, watching his eyes widen in fear. “Don’t worry. It’s your turn next,” I add with fake flirtation before turning to Mariano. “Cover your ears.”
“Here, take mine,” Pedro says, handing Mariano his earplugs. Mariano shoves them in quickly, covering his ears with his hands while Pedro tightens his grip over them—just in case.
I use the hunter’s screech to compel the second Frenchman too, and now both are under my control.
“What do you need to know? You can ask them now,” I say to Pedro while Mariano removes the earplugs like they’re disgusting sea slugs stuck in his ears.
“Where’s Will?” Pedro asks immediately, but their eyes remain fixed on me.
“Answer!” I command.
“He’s keeping an eye on the De Rosa mansion,” Antoine says in French, his voice hollow, distant, warped by the lingering grip of my screech. The other just keeps repeating, “I don’t know.”
I’m about to translate, but Pedro’s already calling Flavio, warning him. Luckily, the entire family is here at Anita’s.
“You speak French?” I ask, surprised, as Pedro hangs up.
“I’ve got some secret powers up my sleeve too,” he smirks before his eyes settle on mine again. “It’s still there,” he adds, and I raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“The flashing in your eyes.”
Pedro
Mariano and Luca are already waiting for us in the car when we exit from the back of the warehouse. We manage to get out just in time, before Flavio’s men return, and I exhale in relief as the trunk door of the SUV shuts on the two Frenchmen, along with Mariana. They’re tied by their hands and feet, lying on top of each other like sardines.
“Mariana can’t suddenly wake up, right?” I ask Bay, remembering she mentioned that women have an easier time breaking free from her control.
She opens the backseat door of the SUV and turns to me just before sliding in, “It’s easier for women to break free from my hold, but it’s still not easy. Unless I’ve given them specific instructions beforehand, like I did with Cora,” she explains, and I relax—we’ll have a smooth ride at least.
“What’s going to happen with Flavio now? What will you tell him?” she asks as I take the seat next to her, leaning over to pull her seatbelt.
