Merc threw back his head and roared his fury. “More, bastard. Give me more.”
Salaam snapped, yelling, and ran toward him. A second later, Merc used the chains holding his hands above his head to jump. His strength left him at the last second and he only got high enough to wrap his legs around Salaam’s waist. He gave a violent twist and threw Salaam to the ground. Merc got in a hard kick to Salaam’s ribs and savored the satisfying crack when they broke.
Salaam rolled away, gasping and holding his side just out of Merc’s reach. “Is that all you can take?” Merc jeered, thenspat out a mouth full of blood as a hard cough wracked him.
Salaam rose from the ground, clutching his side, his golden skin unusually pale. “Let’s see whatyoucan take. I will personally bring your woman here and take her body before you. Let you watch as she screams beneath me.”
“That’s all you can do, torture helpless women? Why? You scared of me? I’m tied to the fucking ceiling.” Merc taunted him, realizing Salaam was on the edge and might be crazed enough to carry out his threat.
Salaam hesitated at the tent flap. “I’m afraid of no man.”
Merc kept going, desperate to do anything to keep him away from Caroline. “Then bring it. Get your little knife back and let’s play a game of who bleeds out first. Or are you too scared?”
“I’ll kill you.” Salaam limped over to his knife and Merc breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“You’d have to be a real man to do that.”
Salaam picked up the knife, looked at Merc, then tossed it to the side. “I’ll show you a real man.” Holding his ribs, he went for the flogger. “When I’m through with you, you will call me master. And then, when you finally beg me for your life, I’ll show your woman a real man. You can die together.”
“Bring it.” Just stay in the fucking tent. He needed to remain conscious long enough to wear Salaam down and buy them more time.
Salaam, clutching his side, lifted the flogger overhead. “I hope you live long enough to hear her screams.”
Merc braced himself, ready to take Salaam’s full brunt of anger if it meant saving Caroline. The flogger came down, the force of the blow bending Merc backward in an even more painful wave of agony.
He blacked out for a second.No. Stay here. Stay focused.You have to keep Salaam in this tent.
Merc heard a gurgling sound and managed to lift his head. Salaam clutched at his skinny neck, his own razor-tipped whip had somehow wrapped around Salaam’s neck. Dark spurts of blood bubbled and spilled through his fingers as Salaam frantically tried to loosen the noose. There was a sharp whip and a crack and Salaam was free to fall to his knees, holding his throat with a shaky hand.
“So you’re the mighty torturer Amir told me all about. He said you would break my man there. That you’ve never failed.” Merc watched as the robed figure’s hood fell away. “Looks like tonight’s a first for everyone.”
Caroline spun, as if holding center ring in the circus, her beautiful blonde hair too clean and too perfect to be touched by this filth. “Caroline –" A hard cough wracked him, stealing his ability to speak.
“Oh, don’t you worry honey, I’ve got this shithead covered.”
Salaam made to move from his tethered spot on the floor. Caroline yanked on the razor rigged collar. Salaam roared and fell to the ground, digging his fingers beneath the coil around his neck for air.
“Salaam, my big tough Salaam, did you really think you would win against him?” Caroline pointed at Merc. “This guy almost snapped your neck a minute ago with his legs. On top of that, you’ve had him tied up and beaten for days and yet he still kicked your ass.” Caroline tsked and continued her slow circle around the room, and when her whip pulled tense she yanked, causing another groan from her captor. “Now, let me see, I believe you were saying something about raping me and killing me in front of Merc. I don’t think you’ll be able to do that laying on the ground like that. I mean I’m a weak female and all, but you gotta at least try.” Caroline lifted and then yanked down on the whip, flipping Salaam onto his bony back.
She straddled him, absorbing the pure power and satisfaction. Nightshade cocked her head to the side, and gave Salaam her deadliest smile. “I think that when I’m through with you, you’ll be a little too light in the load to rape anyone.”
She pulled out the long golden dagger from her robes, the same one she’d sliced Amir with, and gently traced an x down Salaam’s torso trailing into the waistband of his draw string pants. “What do you think, Merc? Should I just give him a little nip or full on lop it off?”
“You crazy woman! Get off me!” Salaam bucked and tried to kick her in the head, but she held him down by his leash just like she would a bad dog.
“You’re wasting time. Just go for the jugular.” Merc gritted out.
“But I’ve already done that to Amir.” She pretended to pout, holding the bloody dagger over Salaams rapidly widening eyes. “That seems so cliché.”
“You killed my master? You filthy whore! I will kill you!”
“I don’t like being called names, Salaam.” She said quietly.
“Fucking slut! Die! You will die!”
Nightshade stood and pretended to study her prey. He kept jerking up and she’d planted her foot on the whip, so that each movement he sliced himself. It was pitiful really, like putting down a wounded bird, or in Salaam’s case, a buzzard.
She squatted then and took his chin in a firm grip. “I had thought to end your life quickly, but after what you’ve done to my friend, I’ve decided you need a much slower and much more painful death.”
