Page 74 of Furever Loyal
He couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the confusion on Kvoss’ face. The Assassin was rarely left befuddled or unsure of himself, but right now, Kincaid had him dead to rights and it felt great.
“We do?” Kvoss asked at last.
“Of course. You see, this is Melanie Girard. Related to Samuel Girard. Our loveable puppy dog here—Laurent—when he found out Samuel was dead, went after the killer. Revenge, of course. He probably swore a blood oath to Melanie or something that he would avenge her brother’s death, in the hopes she might love him more.” Kincaid shuddered. “Though I don’t know how she could love such a pathetic excuse for a man.”
“How is any of this proof?” Kvoss asked. “I already know all this information.”
Kincaid reached up and flicked a finger against Kvoss’ forehead before the man could react. “Because they came afterme. I was the one they set out to get revenge on, therefore I must have been the one who killed Samuel, don’t you see?”
“No,” Kvoss said. “They just didn’t know I was there.”
Kincaid sighed. “I’m done with this. I’m done playing games.” He lunged into the circle of light, drove his fist down into Laurent’s knee and snarled into his ear. “Where is Haley?”
Laurent screamed with pain behind his gag, the muffled sound dissipating in the vast emptiness of the warehouse. But he didn’t start speaking. His eyes were wide and sweat rolled down his temple in nearly a constant stream.
“Why are you so pathetic?” Kincaid asked. “You’re so terrified, yet you won’t give up her location? If you give it up, there’s a chance I’ll let you go. Not good,” he admitted casually, “but there’snochance if you keep holding back.”
Laurent was shaking now. He started blubbering, trying to speak through the rope gag.
“If I take this out,” Kincaid said harshly, “you are going to tell me where Haley is. No begging for your life, no prostrating yourself. You will simply tell me where she is, then I will put it back in. Anything else, and I’ll borrow one of Kvoss’ knives and cut something off that doesn’t regrow. Understood?”
Laurent hesitated, his eyes darting to the left, where Melanie sat, similarly tied up and gagged.
Good. Fear for her safety too.If Laurent thought that Kincaid was going to kill her as well, then it would make him even more compliant, he hoped. Truthfully, Kincaid wasn’t sure he had that in him. Melanie was not of the blood, she was just a human mated to a shifter.
Reaching out, he grabbed the gag. “Nod if you understand me, Laurent.”
It was tough to make out through his overall trembling, but he was fairly positive Laurent nodded. So he pulled the gag out.
“Speak.”
Waiting patiently, he urged himself not to lose his temper. The man was giving him what he needed most, the location where his mate was being held. Anything other than that, including his burning desire to separate Laurent’s head from his body, were secondary concerns. Kincaid needed to stay on track. Laurent took several weeping breaths, but then he looked up at Kincaid and seemed to be gathering his words.
That was when Melanie went berserk. She started thrashing in her chair, eyes red with madness as she reached out for Laurent. The sheer intensity of her movements managed to dislodge the gag from her mouth as she jerked her head back and forth over and over again. The instant it slipped free, she started to scream.
“If you say a damn word, I’ll slice your balls off and feed them to you, you pathetic sack of shit! Keep your mouth closed if you know what’s good for you!”
She went on and on, screaming profanities and insults in a tirade that had Kincaid genuinely feeling sorry for the man.
“Why do you put up with this?” he asked softly as Kvoss finally came forward and shoved the gag back into place.
That didn’t stop Melanie. She continued to scream at him through the muffle. The words made no sense, but the gist of it was quite clear.
“You know,” he said, turning to Kvoss, ignoring Laurent for the time being. “I have to admit something. I didnotsee this coming. I thought she was just this normal human, mated to a scumbag piece of shit like him.”
Kvoss nodded. “It is…unexpected.”
“I thought he came after me for Samuel’s death out of family obligations, but now I’m getting the feeling he was forced to do it.”
The Assassin nodded his agreement.
“Well, are you going to tell us?” Kincaid asked, turning his attention back to Laurent.
Whatever courage the man may have once had, the ceaseless screaming of Melanie had stripped it away from him at some point, likely years prior. He was more afraid of Melanie than of Kincaid. Yet despite all that, he seemed to realize that it was all over now. There was no going back.
“I’m sorry,” Laurent said quietly, surprising Kincaid yet again. He’d been expecting silence. “I actually do not know. That’s all I was going to tell you. She was the one who took her. I wasn’t there.”
Kincaid’s eyebrows rose again at that information. His gaze swung to Melanie, who gave Laurent the most contemptuous of stares as he slumped down into his chair, not looking anywhere but at the ground.
