He was taking back what was rightfully his now though.
“Mine,” he stated, jabbing the tip of the scalpel into the center of the bloody chest laid out before him. “A fact you should have uncovered before we got to this point.”
To be fair, there was no way for the man—the now very deceased man—to have known. There was no lingering paper trail left to uncover, not even a faded photograph or a list of names on some ancient computer.
All of that had been razed to the ground years ago. Long before Pavel had stepped foot on Vitality soil.
“What’s wrong?” he cooed. “Cat got your tongue?” With a mocking gasp, he pretended to recall where the digit was and pulled it out of the front pocket of the lab coat he was dressed in. Holding the severed tongue up, he waved it about and then snorted. “Oh, that’s right. I have it.”
He had all ten of the man’s fingers as well.
Along with one of his ears.
And his balls.
Pavel glared over at the offending organs, which he’d tossed to the side as soon as he’d separated them from the man’s body.
Samuel had sworn up and down that he’d never coveted Master Solace. That he’d never touched him.
But he’d hesitated when asked if he’d ever been allowed to watch whilesomeone elsehad done those things.
That hesitation had cost him.
If he listened very closely, Pavel could almost still hear the echo of his screams captured in the thick canopy above. It was too bad the sound was faint and fading fast. He’d hoped to use it to lure his quarry to him, but alas.
He’d gotten…a bit carried away.
For an important member of the Imperial Heir’s personal staff, Samuel had been far too easy to lure into a trap. Pavel had him unconscious and in the back of his car before the older man had even known there was a threat. He’d tied the man to the thick tree trunk he was still resting against and gotten to work almost immediately after Samuel had groggily woken.
That had been…Pavel glanced up at where he’d positioned his multi-slate. Twenty minutes ago. Oh. Maybe he hadn’t rushed through things too much after all. There were only another ten to go before—
The sound of approaching footsteps had him stilling, tipping his head to the side to listen more closely. The noise was unmistakable and easy to place.
His quarry had arrived early.
Perhaps sending the message from Samuel’s device hadn’t been smart. He’d thought maybe Zane would be late in a rebellious attempt to keep him waiting but on the contrary.
With a chuckle, he got to his feet and eased away from the body. He should have known. Zane was always surprising him. Once he was carefully tucked away and out of sight, he went still, even his breathing slowing down to the point he only had to inhale every other minute.
Not that it took Zane very long to reach him. Or, Samuel, as it were.
Vitals typically had semi-decent night vision, but Zane wasn’t from Vitality and couldn’t see much better than the average species in the dark. Proof of that was the flashlight mode activated on his multi-slate. He’d unstrapped it from his wrist and was holding it up to trail the light in front of him.
Just like Pavel had hoped he would.
Good boy. He couldn’t wait until he could purr the praise against the curve of Zane’s ear.
Preferably as he fucked his ass loose and sloppy.
Unaware he was being watched, Zane made his way through the brush, light swinging. The second it landed on Samuel’s feet, he paused and then lifted it until it illuminated the man’s entire body where he was propped against the tree, still tied with blood-stained ropes.
Even though he wasn’t a Vital either, Pavel could see impeccably in the dark, so it was impossible to miss the way Zane’s plush mouth curved upward at the corners momentarily.
He’d smartly wiped the look away a second later, but it was too late to conceal his pleasure from Pavel. He was pleased Samuel was dead.
But would he verbally deny it?
Zane took a closer step toward the body and then crouched, reaching out to brush the torn dress shirt to the side to expose the art Pavel had so lovingly carved across the man’s chest.
