Page 1 of The Torturer's Target

PROLOGUE

Tesiera and her father Roman were walking home from an outing at the park on a pleasant Wednesday evening. The weather was delightfully warm, and they reveled in the gentle breeze around them.

“Did you have fun today, sweetie?” Roman asked, happiness coursing through him. She beamed with excitement.

“Yes! Thank you, Daddy,” she beamed. Roman’s heart ached with love at her radiant grin.

Roman lifted his daughter onto his hip, and remembered she wasn’t his little girl anymore. The eight-year-old was becoming quite heavy to carry, and he groaned as he lifted her. She giggled in childlike delight. She still loved it when her father carried her.

“You know, I’d do anything for you, Tesiera. You’re my beautiful, smart, and strong angel,” Roman promised, planting a loving kiss on her forehead and squeezing her in a tight hug.

“Daddy, why don’t we see Uncle Damian anymore?” Tesiera asked, pulling away from the hug and gazing at her father with curiosity.

Roman was taken aback by the unexpected question but didn’t let it show. He hadn’t expected his little girl to notice the strained relationship between him and his brother, but then again, he shouldn’t be surprised. Tesiera was remarkably astute.

“Your Uncle Damian is a busy man, Tesiera. I know he misses you,” Roman fibbed with a forced smile. The truth was his brother wasn’t a good person by any measure. But he wasn’t certain that Damian missed his niece. Roman had been avoiding his brother’s calls and distancing himself from the only family he had left. Roman didn’t want Tesiera to get entangled with Damian, or worse, with the family business. It was why he had walked away years ago.

“You’re lost in thought again.”

Her voice brought him back to the present. “I’m right here, sweetheart,” he assured her, gently placing her back on the ground and holding her soft hand. Together, they continued their walk down the quiet alley leading to their neighborhood. They jumped at the loud crack of gunfire. The sound echoed off the buildings, making it impossible to know from where the shot was fired.

Tesiera burst into tears as Roman instinctively scooped her into his arms, desperate to find shelter to protect him and his daughter from danger. He turned on his heel, nearly ran into a menacing man dressed in black, a ski mask covering everything but his eyes. Roman let out a startled yelp, and a shiver ran down his spine as he noticed the rifle in the man’s grip, just a trigger-pull away from unleashing death.

More footsteps echoed in the alley. Three more men, all clad in the same black attire and ski masks, appeared behind the man, sending Roman’s fear skyrocketing. Their numbers had grown, and the weapons in their hands heightened the threat.

“We don’t have time for this, Jaden; the police are already closing in!” one of the men hissed nervously, glancing over his shoulder.

“Now they know my name, asshole. We must do something about them,” Jaden replied with a smirk, his focus on Roman and his daughter never wavering. “Drop the girl.”

“Please, just let us go. We didn’t see anything. We were just at the park. We were just coming home from the park,” Roman pleaded, repeating himself as he gently placed Tesiera on the ground, pushing her behind him. The frightened little girl trembled in fear, clutching the hem of her father’s shirt tightly.

Roman noticed Jaden’s black outfit was distinctive compared to the others, and he had more sophisticated weaponry. But the man beside him was a slightly smaller figure, resembling a young teen.

“Take them,” Jaden ordered. The armed man in front of them aimed his gun at Roman’s heart.

Roman quickly put his hands up, his body trembling with fear and beads of sweat forming on his brow. “Please. We don’t have any money. Spare us!” Roman clasped his hands and pleaded with the men, revealing a golden locket on his wrist.

Jaden’s eyes gleamed.

“But you have that. Give it to me,” he demanded, pointing at the locket. Roman gasped and quickly pulled his sleeve over it, but it was too late. Jaden had seen it.

“I said give it!” Jaden repeated, his face contorting in anger.

“No!” Roman refused, an act that startled both the men and even Tesiera. What gave him the courage?

Jaden stepped closer, towering over Roman, with the teenager following suit. “You dare defy me?”

Roman couldn’t hold back his tears. “Please, this was my wife’s. It’s all I have left of her. Don’t take it from me. I’m begging you,” he pleaded.

He cherished the locket; the thought of losing it crushed his soul. It was the last memento he had of his wife—a precious keepsake that he gazed at each night, reminiscing about the wonderful moments they had shared.

They couldn’t take that away from him.

“No, Daddy!” Tesiera screamed in terror, tears streaming down her face. “Let them have it.”

Hearing the terror in his daughter’s voice brought Roman back to the present, and to his daughter’s safety. His hands trembled as he pulled up his sleeve and struggled with the clasp.

But Jaden stepped closer and delivered three harsh slaps to Roman’s face.

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