James St. John III hung from the ceiling with a rope circling his wrists, his arms twisted behind him at a weird angle while blood dripped from the wound Viv had inflicted to free herself. His expensive shirt had been sweated through hours ago, leaving him in nothing but a white undershirt stained with sweat and blood. Despite his clear disadvantage, he still wore a smug grin that I was eager to wipe away.
“How’s the arm?” Up close I’d seen exactly what Viv had done, she’d cut him right down the center of his forearm, likely causing nerve damage.
His smug grin disappeared quickly. “It’ll heal,” he said with forced confidence.
“Keep tellin’ yourself that.” I turned my back to him because we had a fucking objective here, to get answers first. I couldn’t let him goad me into killing him before we got what weneeded, so I needed to get my shit together. I told myself this was for TJ and Viv. The truth would let them be free and give us a shot at a real life. I looked around the room at my brothers. Diesel leaned against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes narrowed, as still as a statue. Rocky sat in a chair with his leg raised on an overturned crate because the stubborn fucker refused to be anywhere else. Hawk, Gio, and Sniper stood in the shadows watching. Emotional support.
I leaned my head from side to side until my neck cracked, rolling my shoulders as I turned to face St. John.
He wore a smile and that, in turn, made me smile. If he wanted to play it that way, I was happy to inflict as much pain as possible. “This shit is such a fucking cliché, I expected better.” He shook his head, disgust written all over his face.
“Luckily for us, we don’t give a fuck about your expectations. Now Dr. St. John, I have a clichéd question for you. Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
He shrugged. “Surprise me.”
“Happily.” My gaze went to the hammer and then the crowbar on the table before I met his gaze head on. “What happened to Alexei Petrov?”
He barked out a laugh. “Predictable. Boring.”
“Was it really just a routine surgery gone wrong?”
His grin widened. “Vivian is something special, isn’t she?” He shook his head. “Boring in bed but beautiful and brilliant.”
“I think she just needed someone to show her what damn good fucking is like.” His eyes flashed anger just as I knew it would. “Did you kill him?”
“Can we get on with this interrogation. I’m bored.”
I laughed. “You think you’re so much better than everyone else. So special because you’re a fucking doctor,” I began and ran my hand over the worn handle of the hammer. “But every person I’ve had hanging from these ropes starts out arrogant because they think there’s something after this.” I wrapped my hand around the handle and circled him before I stopped in front of the good fucking doctor.
Fear flashed in his eyes, but it was gone just as fast. “Killing me won’t stop the Russians.”
“It doesn’t have to,” I answered with a menacing smile. “Now, what happened to Alexei?”
“Fuck you. She’s mine goddammit and when she gets sick of your biker bullshit, she’ll come back to me.”
“Maybe,” I conceded even though I hated the fucking thought of her leaving me at all. “But I have it on good authority she’d rather live her life on the run than be with you again.”
More anger flashed in his eyes but when I raised the hammer, the fear replaced it instantly.
“You don’t want to answer? Fine.” I pulled the hammer back and brought it down on his right kneecap, the crack echoed in the room.
“Oh fuck!” he screamed. “You fucking psychopath! What the hell is wrong with you?”
I didn’t flinch. “Answers, St. John. I need answers. Now.”
He continued to shout his pain and his displeasure, making a big fucking spectacle while I watched. “You’re justgoing to watch,” he asked my brothers behind me. “What the fuck?”
“Answers,” I said calmly. “The only way out of this is answer my fucking questions. What happened to Alexei?”
He stared at me as if his thoughts alone could cause me harm and I stared back, un-fucking-moved “You’re sick.”
“Maybe. Alexei?” I knew he wouldn’t answer me, not yet. He was the kind of asshole who didn’t learn his lesson until it was too late, so I would have my fun while I got my answers.
“Giving up so easily?” he smirked when Gio cranked the wheel that would lower him to the ground. “You should really work on that.”
I watched that smirk, waited until it twitched with unease when he realized this wasn’t over. “Have a seat, Doc.”
Before he could comply, two of my brothers were there, pushing him onto the chair and strapping him to it. “What the fuck? Is this some kind of torture chamber bullshit?” His eyes widened and real fear was finally settling in.
