I’ve been sitting at the opposite end of the room, watching the man currently strapped down to an operating table. He’s squirming, doing his best to get free. It’s pointless. Even if he did manage to loosen his bindings, he’d find himself back on that table before he could take threesteps.
Paz and Alejandro are here with me. Each just as eager to get the show started. There’s a reason Alejandro is my top enforcer. He’s a goddamn psychopath. He lives for this torturing shit. Me? I do it out of necessity. Usually.
Right now, excitement fills me at the thought of causing this fucker pain.
I stand and slowly make my way over to the table. A bright surgical light shines right above his face. I made sure it was flickering just to fuck with him. He’s been here for five hours now, not knowing why or what was going to happen to him. It’s time he learns.
“Hello, Dr. Venn. I’ve been waiting to meet you.” I lean over the table. I want to see his eyes. I want the fear, the moment he realizes he fucked up.
“Who are you? Untie me!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” I shake my head. “I don’t know why you think you’re in a position to be making demands right now,” I tell him. “From where I’m standing, you’re in no position to be telling anyone what to do.”
“What do you want?” he asks, his body going limp. Has he given up already? I hate when they have no fight in them.
“You did something to someone I happen to care about. A girl, a few years ago, right here in Vegas.You performed a procedure on her without her consent or knowledge,” I explain.
The asshole shakes his head again. “No. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Let me refresh your memory.” I pull out my phone and show him a picture of Evie. It’s one I found online from her pageant years. Evie has a face no one is forgetting. The woman is fucking beautiful.
The doctor’s eyes go wide in recognition. “Her mother told me she wanted the procedure,” he says.
“But she didn’t,” I hum. “You helped the people who abused this girl. You took something from her she will never get back. Now, I’m going to take from you.”
“I didn’t know!”
I wave a hand in the air, indicating for Alejandro to bring in our surprise guest. “The way I see this, you took a child from her, so it’s only fair for me to take one from you.”
Alejandro drags in a punk-ass college student who just happens to be the good doctor’s twenty-year-old son. He’s screaming but stops when he sees his father.
“What the fuck?” the kid yells, trying to pull away from Alejandro, who delivers a swift kick behind the knees, forcing the fucker to the ground.
“No! He had nothing to do with this. Take it outon me! Leave him out of this,” the old man pleads, his eyes tearing up as he stares at his son.
“I would, but I want you to feel every single bit of pain she felt when she woke up and discovered her baby had been killed by you,” I tell him. “The difference is… you’ll be able to see your child killed. You will know it’s happening. She didn’t.”
“She was sixteen. A child would have ruined her life,” Dr. Venn insists. “I was helping her!”
“You helped the people who abused her. You did not help her,” I correct him.
Walking over to the table that hosts several surgical knives, I grab one. These little blades are sharp. I step behind the son, grab the back of his skull, and dig the blade into the side of his throat.
“You feel that? The fear? The loss? Now imagine you’re a sixteen-year-old girl.” I look the doctor directly in the eye as I make a clean slice right across his son’s throat. “That…” I sweep out a bloody hand, aiming the tip of the knife in the doctor’s direction as he screams out in agony. “That is a fraction of what she felt. Of what she feels every single fucking day,” I hiss. “Do me a favor. Don’t go anywhere.”
I turn around, letting the kid’s body drop to the concrete floor, and walk out of the basement. I want to leave the old fuck in that room for a few hours. I want him to stare at his dead son before I end him. Idon’t want his suffering to be over just yet. Evie has had to suffer for years. A few hours are nothing in comparison.
I head into the bathroom, wash my hands, and glare at myself in the mirror. I’ve never shied away from the monster glaring back at me. I’ve embraced it. This was my father’s doing. He created this man. And for the first time in my life, I’m thankful to him for it. Because beinghimmeans I can do what I have to do to get vengeance for Evie.
A few minutes later, I’m heading down to my office, Maria following close behind me. “I have lunch,” she says, placing a tray of food on my desk. “You need to eat. You’re looking skinny.”
“Thanks?” I ask with a raised brow.
“When is Miss Evie coming back?” Maria nods. “I like you better when she’s here.”
“As soon as I can convince her she wants to come back.” I shrug.
“Well, don’t make me wait too long,” Maria says before walking out again.
