Kelly gasps and looks away from the wound that’s revealed, a mass of bone and muscle exposed where a leg used to be.
“He needs an ambulance,” she whispers.
“What Mr. Demetrio needs is to tell me exactly where my brother has taken Sonya.”
With another gesture from me, Evgeny hauls the kid up and into a nearby chair, ignoring his screeches of pain.
“He needs an ambulance, Matvei. Do you want him to bleed out before he can tell us anything?”
“Oh, he’s going to tell us what we need to know long before he bleeds out. Believe me.”
I see Kelly swallow before she opens her mouth to argue again. I cut her off, turning sharply to her.
“How badly do you want to find your sister? Because there’s a ninety percent chance this guy knows where she is. And this is the fastest way to do this. Do you really want to waste time taking him in, questioning him, and doing all the paperwork that willhinderyou in finding Sonya? You wanted to come with us knowing who and what we are. I am doing what I need to. You can leave and pretend you never saw any of this.”
“Listen to her, man. I need an ambulance. I don’t feel so good,” Tony whines.
“Choose now, Kelly. I’m not going to wait any longer. We’re wasting time.”
Kelly looks to Evgeny, who is stone-faced. She takes a step back, her face constricted with her conflicting emotions. I turn my attention to Tony.
“I want to know what Samson is doing with my woman. I want to know where he took her, and I want to know why.”
“I don’t know anything, man.” Sweat is breaking out on his face from the pain and the shock. “I stole that car you see over there, and I’ve been working on it all night. I have someone coming tomorrow morning for the parts.”
“I told you, I want to know right now where Samson took my woman.”
Tony tries to glare at me, but I can see the fear behind it. “And I told you, I don’t know.”
“You’re not going to talk your way out of this one,Tony. I’ll do what I have to in order to get the information I need. Do you really want me to go after your family? What about your Aunt Rosemary—how long do you think she’ll last?”
The pulse point on Tony’s neck jumps and he glares at me, genuinely this time. “Fuck you, Matvei. You can’t prove anything, and I’m not telling you shit.”
“Very brave for someone who understands that I don’t need evidence, probable cause, or a warrant. Do you think I spoke with a judge before I came here? In this world, I am judge, jury, and executioner. And you will tell me what I want to know.”
As though he can read my mind, Evgeny drags Tony’s chair closer to the air compressor he was using when I found him. I hear Kelly gasp behind me but ignore it.She chose her path.
Tony’s screams compete with the whine of the drill and thehissof the air compressor as I work on him, one hole at a time. I stop just before he passes out. He’s panting and shivering, his face pale and sweaty.
I step behind him and bend down. He flinches and whimpers when I place my hands on his shoulders. “I’m surprised, Anthony,” I say in my most congenially dangerous tone. “I didn’t give you enough credit. I didn’t think you would last this long.”
“Fuck you, Volkov.” Tony can barely get the words out.
I dig my fingers into a wound, hot, red, sticky blood oozing over my skin, and Tony screams. “Tell me what I want to know.”
I can tell when Tony gives up because his entire body slumps.
Wiping my hand off on one oftheoil cloths, I move around to face him, crouching down to his eye level. Sweat pours down hisface, and his skin is white with blood loss and pain. “This is your one chance to do something with your miserable life. You’ve followed my brother around like his little monkey your whole life, his little dog just waiting for praise and a bone he’s never given you. Make your life matter, Tony. Make this one choice by yourself and make this last act count.”
“Why would I fucking tell you anything when you’re just going to kill me anyway, you crazy son of a bitch?”
I place my hand on his injured leg. It’s a light touch, but Tony flinches, immediately getting my message. “Everyone always said you would die young, and that Samson would get you there, Tony. Even your mother knows it. You’re an idiot with a reckless side, my brother’sminion. You’re going to die here tonight, regardless of whether you tell me or not. But whether you die slowly or quickly is up to you.”
I tighten my hold on his crushed leg just a bit, but it’s enough. Tony howls, and a tear tracks down his cheek with the sweat. From the corner of my eye, I see Kelly turn her face into Evgeny. He pulls her closer, shielding her.
“Which one, Tony? Choose now.” I tighten my hand, and among the screams comes what I came here to find out.
“They’re in Lake Geneva!”
