“I-I h-have no i-idea,” he says, but that’s not fucking good enough.
“Okay.” I shrug and bring the hammer down on his kneecap once more. The sound of the bone shattering is followed by his screaming.
“STOP! STOP! I don’t f-fucking k-know the next d-date! The dumb bitch behind me knows more than I-I do! She’s been working with Peter for years now!” he shouts as tears stream down his face.
I step around him and lock eyes with Susie. She sits with her back against the wall, arms dangling from above her.
“Years, huh?” I ask the guy, and he nods.
“Don’t worry, Susie. I won’t kill you because that’s our golden rule, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to get the information I need,” I tell her. Before I look away, she manages to spit toward my feet, and I laugh.
“God, this is fun.” I shake my head before stepping back to the man. “Anything else you can tell me?” I avert my gaze to his, and he shakes his head. “No.”
“Then there’s no use for you anymore.” I bring the hammer up and hit him on his temple. Blood runs down his face before he goes limp in the chair. A few more hits before his whole body follows suit.
One down, one to go.
“Sorry about the mess, Susie. I’ll be seeing you soon.” She doesn’t say anything as I whistle and walk up the stairs, feeling a tad better than when I came down here, knowing one piece of shit can no longer hurt women and children.
36
BRIELLE
There’san unhealthy amount of worst-case scenarios running in circles at full speed through my mind right now.
The image of Emris covered in blood, and the look of pure anger on his face as he tortured that man flashes through my mind as I sit here and wait.
The pain in Emris’s eyes was evident, but only I could point it out. To anyone else, he looked like the devil he swears he is. There was no trace of the man I’ve somehow grown to love while he was down in that basement. Nothing but a shell of the man I’ve grown to understand.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been locked up, but I don’t have to wait long when the sound of the door opening hits my ears. I don’t look. I keep my eyes out the window, not knowing what to do or how to act around him right now. There’s an empty pit in my stomach the closer he gets.
Emris lightly touches my shoulder, and I pull away.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Brielle, please.” I can hear the desperation in his voice, and that alone makes me want to turn and face him, but I don’t.
“Don’t—” I begin, but he stops me by turning me in his arms, not giving me the chance to stop him this time.
“I need you to listen to what I’m going to tell you, Brielle. Let me just get this all out,” he says, taking a deep breath before walking us over to the bed.
His hands grab mine, and his blue eyes boring into me, fear filling them. And I want nothing more than to get rid of it.
“There’s so much you don’t know. So much I don’twantyou to know, but I need you safe, and I’m not sure if knowing is going to help protect you or make you more of a target. I’m only going to tell you what you need to know. I refuse to tell you anything that could put you in harm’s way. Do you understand that?” he asks, his eyes moving frantically between mine.
I nod, and he continues.
“Susie isn’t who you think she is. She owes some bad men a lot of money, which is where this next part is important.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “After she realized she wasn’t going to be able to pay back the money she owes, she started dipping her toes into bad shit to earn more money. The women that work at the bar? She’s been selling them to that man named Peter,” he pauses, letting me process what he said.
Kristie.
The man at the hotel. That was Peter.
Bile rises up my throat, and I have to fight it down as I bring my hand up to cover my mouth. Is that what happened to Kristie?
Susie sold her. Susie fucking sold her.
That has to be why she didn’t want me snooping around and trying to get a hold of her.
