“No!” he shouts. “Just kill me.”
I roll my eyes. “Did I beg you for death? Did I ask you for any fucking mercy? Fucking pathetic.”
Even though I was in a world of pain the entire time I was his captive, I pride myself on not showing them how close I came to giving up. I haven’t even been in front of him for five minutes and he’s already asking for a quick death?
Not on my fucking watch.
If I’m honest, though, I don’t have it in me to cause them pain right now. My own screams of suffering still thunder in my ears. I don’t think I’ll have the energy to do them in how they should be.
Well, maybe I can do one thing.
“You have a sharp knife?” I ask Carter.
He grins. “Of course, little brother. Kai let me borrow his set.”
“Your husband and his fucking blades,” I mutter, and Carter laughs as he walks over to the corner where the assortment is place. He comes back with a serrated blade that reflects in the low lights.
Looking up at Hugo, I say, “I kinda wanted that ear.”
His face turns chalk white, and he kicks at me, but since his feet are tied, he does nothing more than flail around in his bindings.
Nico grabs his legs to keep him steady, and I grip Hugo’s ear and pull. It tears, the sound setting my teeth on edge, but I ignore it as I bring the knife down and saw the rest off.
He screams and screams, the sound bouncing off the walls.
When the ear is removed from his skull, I hold it up so they can both see. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”
Austin turns to the side and vomits, and I think Hugo passes out.
I toss the piece of flesh to the ground and give the blade back to my brother. I look at him and his face softens. Even if we haven’t been on the same page for most of our lives, he knows me like I know him. “You done?”
“Yeah. I don’t wanna…” I drag my shaky fingers through my hair. “I’m done.”
“Mind if I take a turn?” Nico asks, glaring at both of the men.
I smile and pull him into a hug, kissing him on the cheek. “I was hoping you would.”
He growls and kisses me deeply, until Carter makes a gagging sound. Nico shoots him a dry look, then frames my face. “Gavin once said you were a magician when it came to torture. Mind teaching me a thing or two?”
God, I love this man. I want Austin and Hugo to feelevery ounce of what they did to me, but I’m not in the headspace to do it. Nico sees that and will do what I can’t. What would I do without him?
“No problem,” I say and incline my head to Kai’s workstation. “Grab the smallest knife over there and we can get started.”
Nico gives me a quick kiss, then does what I say. I look at Austin and see fear dancing in his eyes. He should have known that if I ever got free, this would be a possibility. Serves him right to be on the other end of this.
I tell Manuel to cut Hugo down and he falls like a sack of potatoes, bonking his head on the concrete hard enough to bring him to consciousness. He’s still pretty out of it when Manuel ties him to a chair, much how I was. Nerves dance across my body at remembering what is was like to be their prisoner, but I push that shit away. There’s work that needs doing.
“Now,” I say as I walk around Hugo, grabbing his head and pressing into where I cut him. He screams, but I don’t let up, “I like to peel off fingernails, but not by force. I like when they come off as one large nail. So take that knife and slide it under the nail bed, wiggle it down and pop! The nail comes off.”
“Fuck you!” Hugo screams. “Fuck you all!”
“Okay, but I’m still gonna cut your nail off,” Nico says with an eye roll. “I’m trying to learn here. Chill out.”
I grin as Nico steps around me and grasps Hugo’s hand. Like I said, he shifts the small blade under the nail bed and wiggles it down. Hugo screams and screams, choking from the force of it. I just smile and watch Nico work.
“Dammit,” Nico grumbles. “Only got a piece of it.”
“Well, try on another. You have nine more to practice on.”
