Well, holy shit.
“So…you knew what you were lookin’ at when I had all these screens up. You know I could kill you, right?”
Dan stood and pocketed his hands. “You could. I’ll put up my best fight, but I’d rather be of some use. Either way, it’s not like you’re taking much. Nobody’s gonna miss me, dude. I haven’t been worth anything to anybody in a really long time.”
The sound of gravel and Malek’s engine rolled through the unit and Dan shot his attention towards the door.
“At ease, soldier. Only unfriendly if you’re the piece of shit that’s on the floor. But he’s gonna be a little less predictable than me.”
Malek banged twice on the door and Dan let him in. To say he looked more than confused was an understatement, but Mal didn’t linger on my new friend. His eyes were rife with psycho as he cut them towards me.
“String him up.Now.”
“What’d you tell Seven?” I asked, helping Dan drag the guy towards the corner. Malek pulled a roll of heavy plastic from a shelf on the side wall.
“The truth. I just left out a few details. She won’t know anything that the news don’t cover. Who’s your friend?”
Dan went back to being mute while we rearranged the rope to hangShooter McGavinby his arms from a hook in the wall. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this here. Many a man has lost his body parts before his life in this little hellhole. “This is Dan. He’s keepin’ the cot warm for me. I didn’t bring enough shit to tie his feet to the hooks, Malek.”
“That’s fine,” Malek smirked, flipping the lid open to my toolbox. “This’ll work.” The stranger’s head hung over his chest. I must’ve hit him harder than I thought. He’s having a lot of trouble staying awake. Dan stepped aside while Malek broughta couple of nails and a rusty hammer, and I spread mystery man’s feet apart. There was no warning. The itch he talked about must’ve been ridiculous. One minute Malek was holding a nail above the guy’s foot, and the next…screaming ensued. “Oh, good. You’re awake. Hold still, cherub.” He nailed his other foot to the floor, and I felt spiritually fed from the wailing.
“Maidin mhaith,lucky ducky. I’m thinkin’ ya got more than you bargained for. Sometimes bein’ an overachiever isn’t worth it.” His breath sawed through his chest, blowing rogue strands of his hair in and out of his face. He used one of those breaths to spit in mine.
Wrong move. Malek burst out laughing while my jaw set and I ground my teeth hard enough to crack a molar. “Shut it, prince.”
“Bad move, mate. Declan here only likes being spat on if it’s on his monstrous prick. You tryin’ to tell us somethin’? Wouldn’t be the first time we diced up one with opposite sexual preferences.”
I’m really glad I wasn’t there for that. The way Bridget described how Kendall O’Dell met his maker actually made my cock hurt. I wiped my face on my sleeve while our prisoner bared his teeth like a hound.
“We’ll make this easy for you. We already know whoever hired you, didn’t do it because you’re a good shot. Tell me who it is and what you were lookin’ for. This won’t end well for you either way, but I’ll be nicer than Malek. He likes takin’ off certain appendages.” Malek’s grin curled his mouth while he stared him down and something in me started to feed from it. I’m feeling less like myself and more like the guy Callum wanted us to be.
He said something in a language I don’t know, and I turned towards Dan who stood stoically against the other wall. “Russian. For sure.”
“Any idea what he said?” I asked.
“He insulted you. And not in a particularly clever way.”
“He understandsus, though. I’ve played with toys like these before.” Malek dug a hook blade from his pocket and flicked it open, keeping his creepy smile. “Haven’t had a play date in a while. Up for a little game?”
I rubbed my hands together and adjusted my glasses. “Iam.”
Malek spread his fingers and held his hands in front of himself, holding his knife against his palm with a thumb. “Put a finger down if you pish standing up…” We both put down a finger and looked at Dan, who smirked and raised his hands to join us. He lowered one of his fingers. Malek turned back to our guest, smiling. “Who do you work for, fucker?”
Not a word. Just frantic breathing.
“I think he stands,” I shrugged.
“Me too.” Malek went for the guy’s bound hands and wrestled his left middle finger up while our captive struggled and growled. Didn’t save the finger, though. He screamed through his clenched teeth while Mal sawed it off…slowly. It landed on the floor with a shallow slap. “Nine more chances to start talkin’…and then we move onto other parts. Who do you work for?”
More pained inaudible rubbish. We both looked over our shoulders at Dan.
“He either said‘I also stand when I shit…’or,‘I’m not telling you shit.’Hard to say.”
I’m liking Dan more and more by the minute. He knows how to play.
My turn. I cocked my head back and forth, popping my neck, and smirked. “Put a finger down if you’ve ever broken a bone.” We all put one down and I eyed our unfortunate companion.
“I’m not entirely convinced Viper didn’t break me nose last year. You’re lucky you didn’t go for that one. She’s a bit more impulsive than I am. She would have shoved your own bollocks down your throat.” Blood ran in rivulets down our friend’s left arm as we looked him over and he sneered at us. “Ever broken a bone, mate?” He said nothing.
