Page 5 of The Truth Between

I smirked and took a small step back from him so I could get a better look at the man who wanted to fuck with us.

“Please don’t kill me,” he said again.

I ignored his desperate pleas and kneeled down beside him, my eyes boring into his as I began my interrogation.

“Who are you working for?” I asked, my voice cold and unforgiving.

Derrick hesitated for a moment before finally answering, “I can’t tell you that.”

I moved my hand toward my coat, pulling out a knife. Derrick’s eyes widened with fear as he stared at the blade.

“Are you sure?” I asked him, pressing the sharp edge of the knife against his cheek. “I think you can easily answer my very simple question.”

Derrick winced as the point of the knife dug into his skin, drawing a small bead of blood. He shook his head frantically, trying to buy himself some time. “Okay, okay, I’ll talk. Just don’t hurt me anymore or hurt my wife.”

I pulled the knife away but didn’t confirm or deny that I wouldn’t hurt him again. I watched as the blood dripped from his body. I had no intention of harming his family. It was him that I had the issue with. I stood over him, staring down at the damage I’d done with a small smirk playing on my lips.

“Who are you working for?” I repeated, this time with more emphasis.

“I don’t know,” he repeated, his voice shaking. “I swear I don’t know.”

“How the hell don’t you know who you’re working for?”

Derrick hesitated before answering, his eyes darting around nervously. “I was just given instructions to gather information on the Chevaliers. They never gave me a name or anything; they just told me what to do.”

I raised an eyebrow, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. “And you just went along with it?”

“The money was too great not to.”

I cursed under my breath before returning my stare to him. “Not all money is good money. Was your next target Iris Bennington? Were you supposed to be digging up information on her?”

His eyes widened enough that I knew I’d been right. Iris was next on his list, and even though I wasn’t going to kill him because of her after the orders I’d received, a small part of me was going to be happy to not have him lurking in the background when it came to her.

“Did you really think that whoever hired you would be able to protect you from us? Do you think he or she gives two shits about you, and that’s why you took the job?”

Derrick didn’t respond, but the look of panic on his face spoke volumes.

I rolled my eyes at his naivety. “Now, here’s the thing,” I continued, my voice low and ominous. “I can’t have anyone else trying to harm the Chevaliers. It’s my duty to protect my organization.”

Derrick nodded quickly, his eyes wide with terror.

“So, any last words?” I said, my hand reaching for the knife once more.

Derrick’s eyes widened even further, and he began to beg for his life, but in reality, all he was doing was pissing me off further.

I let out a sigh and shook my head, disappointed by the display in front of me. “You’re pathetic,” I said before plunging the knife into his chest, his desperate cries for mercy coming to a stop. I stared as he lay there motionless, taking his last breath. Watching as the life left his eyes caused a sense of satisfaction to wash over me.

There it was, finally. The thrill of taking another life.

I stood up, pulling a handkerchief from my coat and wiping the blood from the knife on it before putting it away. Without a second glance back at the man bleeding out, I walked back to my car and closed the door behind me. I watched as the sun began to rise, on the brink of showing signs of life, just as I was about to drive back to my sanctuary.

Then again, was it much of a sanctuary anymore? The woman in my basement caused more turmoil than anything. Because of her, I needed to hire my staff back to meet her needs. Things were anything but peaceful at the moment.

As I pulled away from the curb, I couldn’t help but think that, although I didn’t get all the answers I wanted, this was still a job well done.

4

IRIS

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