Page 56 of Dark Torment

JONATHAN

“Let’s play a game.”I clap my hands, and he groans from the chair.

We’ve barely been at this for an hour and he’s whining. Like really. All I’ve done is break his knees and punch him a few times for his smart-ass remarks.

He’s fine.

“Why does your father want Olivia dead?” I ask him, bending down to retrieve the knife from the floor.

He glares at me before his eyes move to the knife. “I don’t know,” he answers. It’s an obvious lie. The guy would suck at poker.

Stepping closer to him, I run my knife across his neck, enjoying how he swallows in fear before running it lower. Moving down his chest and back up again, letting him stew in the fear of what will happen next.

“The human body is such an amazing thing, don’t you think?” I ask him. It’s a rhetorical question that I don’t expect him to answer, but it distracts him just enough.

In that brief moment, I slowly sink the knife tip into his abs. The skin is easy to break, but he sucks in a breath of shock.

Pulling the blade back out a few inches away from him, I thrust my arm hard. The knife slices through the muscle, and a loud pop echoes around the room, blending with his screams of agony.

“There are so many places to stab someone without it killing them. Well, unless you’re left to bleed to death, which would take hours.” I pull the knife back, and he cries out again.

Music to my ears.

“Why?!” he screams, his eyes closed as his body shakes, trying to adjust to the new pain.

“You’re going to need to be more specific with your questions, Ben. That has a very broad spectrum of answers.” I tsk, and he convulses, shaking his head.

“Why won’t you kill me?!” he snaps.

“Well, I thought that would be obvious. I can’t kill you without my answers. So, we’re playing a game.” I smile widely at him, pleasure pulsing through my blood.

This is where I thrive. Where I feel fucking alive. I need the power of having someone’s life in my hands. The feeling of their blood coating my fingers.

Olivia makes me feel alive too, but in a different way.

“For every lie or question unanswered, my knife will find another non-lethal place to stab. Your abs may hurt like a bitch, but I didn’t go deep enough to puncture any organs.”

“No,” he whimpers, and I laugh.

“Yes.” I wave the knife in his face. “Shall we play twenty questions?” When he doesn’t respond, I keep going. “What does he need from her?”

He sighs, hanging his head, and I know it’s his answer.

I move behind him, stepping back from the chair, and lift my arm before forcing the knife into his shoulder.

“AHHH, GODDAMN IT!” he screams out. “Money!” he screams again, then shakes his head.

I pull the knife out and move back in front of him. “You’re richer than she is,” I say, narrowing my eyes.

“She doesn’t know about it.” His head falls backward, losing the strength to hold it up.

Dropping the knife to the floor, I pick up the pliers and inspect them. “The last man I used these on called my girl a fat cow. All that was left of his fingers when I was finished was the bone.”

He shivers in fear as his head lifts back up to watch me lower the pliers to his pinky.

“Please,” he begs, and I chuckle darkly.

Adrenaline is pumping through my veins, knowing the kill is coming soon. “Answer my questions, and I promise to make the last of the torture quick before I end you.”

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