Page 117 of Menace

I tried to flinch away from the knife. My flinch made him smile.

Then he bent over me, meeting my eyes, the smile gone.

“I ask you a question and you answer. If I believe the answer is the truth I won’t cut. But if I don’t…” He left the sentence hanging.

I wasn’t stupid, I knew no matter what I said he would find a way to hurt me.

“But first we have to get all this out of the way.”

He flicked the knife at my shirt, lifting it away from my body. He didn’t stop there.

Tears filled my eyes and ran down the sides of my face as he cut my clothes from me. He took it all, except my panties. I shivered in fear and because the room was cold, icy cold.

My stretchmarks were plain to see and seemed to fascinate him as he slowly dragged the tip of the knife up and down them. Every single one of them.

“When my son’s mother was carrying him these marks covered all of her lower body, yours don’t. There seems to be not as many.” He muttered as if to himself.

I didn’t say a word. There was nothing to say. I had stretchmarks on my lower abdomen.

They weren’t long but they were there, there were others on my hips as well.

“What is your name?”

I swallowed before I answered. “Harper Delaney.”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head from side to side.

“Let this be the start of your lesson. You do not lie to me.”

A burning pain shot through my chest as he pressed the knife in and cut into my skin. I wanted to look but there was no way I could look away from him.

“I swear, it’s my name. I had it changed legally.” I gasped, trying not to think about the burning pain radiating from my chest.

He just hummed and tilted his head to look at me.

“Who do you work for?”

An easy one.

“Pixie Maingarde Boudreaux.”

He let that one pass. My eyes followed him as he slowly walked around the table. He stopped and slowly traced a line down from my belly button with the knife. I tried to flinch away from it but there was nowhere to go.

His next question was unexpected.

“Why did you change your name?”

I didn’t hesitate to answer. I owed them nothing.

“I didn’t want the Salvatores to find me.”

He tapped the knife over my belly button and I shuddered.

My captor and torturer smiled as if it pleased him. It didn’t stop him from continuing his questions while his eyes stayed on my abdomen.

“Why not? They are your family, your father and brother. As a daughter you owe them your loyalty.”

I snorted in disgust and rolled my head from side to side.

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