“You’re too much temptation for him. He’ll just work to get back under your skin.” Lucian’s eyes hold mine.
“Who says I got him out?” I lift my chin. “I’m not made of glass. I have nightmares to last a lifetime, but I’m still standing.”
“No one’s saying you’re fragile.” Jace steps around Lucian to me. “But this is different. It’s…ugly. Iz, you don’t come out of an interrogation the same.”
There’s something in his eyes. Something broken. And I know, he has been on both sides of the table.
“I don’t want that for you,” He whispers.
I swallow, the words catching in my throat.
Luca takes my hand. “Just watch from here, pretty girl. Trust me, that’ll be enough. If you have something you need to say, Jace will have an earpiece. We can still communicate.”
Noah nods. “I’ll be recording and monitoring the whole time.”
Luca squeezes my hand as I breathe.
“Fine,” I snap. “Make him pay.” I let Jace see the fire in my eyes.
37 BEAST
Jace
The door groans as it opens, the sound slicing clean through the silence. The sound of my boot hitting the floor as I step into the room.
Gideon grins as the door shuts behind me. I don’t say a word.
“There’s a delicate dance when it comes to interrogations,” his voice fills my ears from a memory.“You need to keep the lead, to remain in control. If they manage control, then it won’t go anywhere.”
Each step echoes as I circle him. Every step is measured and methodical. Just like him. He keeps his gaze straight ahead, a small smile on his lips. I’ll let him pretend. Savor these last few minutes of control. My palms itch. Not just from violence. From memory. I can still feel the sting of the cuffs, the copper tang of blood in my mouth, the smell.
I stop beside him. He touched what’s mine. He’s a threat to the woman I love. I want to snap his neck right here, but he has valuable information, so I rein in the beast.
“I should thank you,” I say finally. “For the training. It’s going to make this alot easier.”
The door on the far side of the room opens, and a guild member pushes my cart. All the tools were picked and laid out specifically for him.
I walk over, running my hand over the tools. “You remember how this works.” My voice is calm, almost bored. “I ask the questions, you bleed out the answers.”
“Touching.” Gideon tilts his head. “You always were such a quick study.”
I push the cart closer, out of his reach, but within mine.
“You’ve always had such potential,” he continues, “But potential without discipline is just waste.”
I let my presence coil around him like a noose.
“Is that what you told yourself when you threw me into that cell the first time? When you held my head underwater until I nearly drowned?”
I step into view. “You made me into a weapon. Now, you’re going to see how effective I really am.”
For the first time, he really studies me. I know exactly what he’s seeing. Not the boy he’d shaped, but the man he failed to break.
“You think this makes you strong? This little performance? It’s just posturing. You’re still under my thumb, son. You just don’t know it.” He smiles.
“No.” I let the beast out to play. I can feel the change in my body. The violence it seeks. “This is who you made me into.”
I turn, picking up a curved knife, perfect for separating skin from muscle. He was going to talk. I’d make sure of it. I drag the blade across the back of his hand—a slow promise of what’s to come—he doesn’t flinch.
