I circle Ryder.
When I step behind him, he goes as still as a statue. I yank him back by his hair and press the knife to his throat. “I was hoping we could come to an agreement, but if you’re not going to play, this whole thing is useless.”
Ryder winces as I dig the knife deeper, and a thin red line of blood forms. “I can pull the plug on the piece, and eventually the chatter will die down. You’ll be old news in no time.”
I dig the knife deeper. “That’s not good enough.”
A tremor moves through Ryder as he tries to hold still.
I look over at Oliver, who stands near Katia, white as a sheet. I struggle with the image of Oliver in the chair, subjected to the same pain and torture. As if sensing my train of thought, my brother lifts his gaze, and our eyes meet from across the room. He doesn’t look away, and I wonder if he can read any of it on my face.
If our father finds out you tried to have me killed, there won’t be a damn thing I can do to stop him. If anything, the fact that you carry the same name will only make the punishment worse.
Jack Payne is many things, but patient isn’t one of them, and if he gets a whiff of Oliver’s involvement in the attack on my life, my brother’s days are numbered. I’m still grieving his betrayal, but I can’t let him fall into my father’s hands.
Carlisle has done what he can to destroy the evidence that points to my brother, but I have no idea if it’s enough, and the longer I go without giving my father someone else to focus on, the more danger Oliver is in.
Oliver wouldn’t survive your father’s wrath, and you know it. You need to give him a name, and fast, otherwise it’ll only be a matter of time before his involvement is brought to the light.
I’m not going to be of any use to anyone if Jack goes after me, too.
Katia steps out from the shadows, and I release Ryder’s head. I circle back to the front, lean over him, and wait for Noah’s brother to look at me. The fear and hatred in his eyes are clear when I draw my arm back and punch him in the face.
Ryder hisses and doubles over.
I run the knife over his jeans and pause at his ankles. Then I dig the blade into the soft flesh there. Blood pools and drips onto the floor beneath him. Slowly, I lift the blade up to his arm and cut through the flesh there, earning another hiss and a growl of pain. Ryder is panting when I put the knife away and select a pair of pliers.
Katia rips off Ryder’s shoes, and I look at his toes. “I think you need a little more persuading. What do you think, Noah?”
“Leave him out of this,” Noah replies. “I’ve already told you what you need to know. He hasnothingto do with this.”
“Wrong.” I clamp on one of the toenails and pull hard enough to make Ryder scream in pain. “You made sure he was complicit when you told him. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
Ryder shrieks again when I pull out the toenail, and blood comes rushing out.
I look up to find Oliver turned away, his eyes pinched at the edges. I stare at him for another moment and will my brother to look at me. When he doesn’t, I swing my gaze back to Ryder and turn to the other foot, my eyebrows drawing together when I pull out another toenail.
Ryder’s hair is plastered to his face, and there’s a sallow tint to his skin.
Still, he won’t break, and I’m almost impressed by his resilience.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to work this hard.
An hour passes, and even though Ryder is trembling and his body is covered in sweat, he still won’t give me what I want.
With a sigh, I rise to my feet and glance at Katia. “I have other things to attend to. See to it that our guest gets plenty of attention.”
Katia peels off her leather jacket and smiles. “With pleasure.”
“We can’t give you what you want,” Noah calls out to my retreating back. “How will London feel about all this?”
I ignore him and hurry up the stairs, pausing at the top to look over at Oliver.
After we leave the basement, Oliver hangs his head over the nearest plant and retches. He uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, and his face is devoid of color. “Does it have to be quite so painful?”
I shrug. “Not if they cooperate. I’m not unreasonable. I’ve given them many chances.”
Oliver clears his throat. “Maybe they had a good reason to do what they did.”
