Page 34 of Brutal Captivity

I don’t move at first.

De Luca stares at me. His expression is bored, as if he’s watching paint dry.

I cross the room to my bag, laying haphazardly on the rumbled bed. I reach into my bag and slowly remove one object after another. I take my time. Laying each one out on the bed in a straight line.

Once I’m finished, I look around the room, eyes landing on a bottle. I walk over slowly, my steps deliberate. I pick it up, inspecting the label before walking back to De Luca shaking it in my hand.

“Open his mouth,” I instruct.

Fletcher doesn't hesitate. He places his large hand on De Luca’s chin, pushing down. He then clamps his nose shut with his fingers on his other hand. I open the bottle and pour half of the bottle of tiny blue pills into De Luca’s mouth. Fletcher forces his mouth closed while I massage his throat. De Luca involuntarily swallows.

“Are we gonna talk like civil gentlemen, or do we have to make this hurt?”

No answer.

“You were at the docks on the west side the other day.”

De Luca’s eyes narrow and his brows crease for a split second before they raise the tiniest bit. First anger, then surprise which means he knows exactly what day I was referring to. He was surprised that I saw him. Which means, he may not have seen me.

“Yup. I was bird watching.” De Luca smirks.

“Oh… really?” I walk around him, my footsteps quiet on the plush carpet below my feet. “Bet you saw something interesting.” I come to a stop in front of him.

“I might have,” he says, eying me up and down as if he’s trying to decide what I know.

I lean down, looking him in the eyes. “What did you see?” I ask.

“None of your business,” he responds, his eyes hardening as a muscle tightens in his jaw.

I don’t say anything for a full minute. I circle him once. Twice. His eyes don’t follow me. He sits completely still, eyes fixed on the dresser in front of him.

“I asked you a simple question.” My voice is flat.

“Go fuck yourself like I was gonna fuck your sister before you rudely interrupted,” De Luca says.

That does it. Something snaps inside me. I cross over to the bed. I take in each of my weapons laid out like a smorgas-board. I run my finger over each one, selecting my favorite knife. I slowly walk back over to him, picking at my fingernails with the sharp blade. His eyes finally find me, recognition shattering his features the exact second it registers.

I hold the handle tightly as I bring it down, the shiny blade slicing through the air. De Luca screams when it makes contact with his thigh, shattering the bone and tearing the skin and muscle. I’m careful not to hit the femoral artery. I want him to be in pain, not bleed out… yet.

I leave it embedded in his leg, walking away from him and out of his line of sight. I wasn’t going to react. I wasn’t going to escalate this soon. I have to get a grip on my control, or I am going to fuck up this whole mission.

I breathe quietly, in through my nose out through my mouth. I can’t let him know that mentioning my sister affects me. He’ll use it. I say nothing. Make zero sound. The heat kicks on, the gentle whirring filling up the room. I focus on the sound, allowing it to calm my racing mind.

“You were lookin’ for us,” I say finally from behind him. I walk close to him, standing to his side so he has to turn his head to look at me. He does.

“Yeah… but I didn’t even know I found you,” he confirms after a beat. I squint at him attempting to determine if he’s lying. In the harsh soft light of the room, he looks much older than he had when we first walked in. As if he’s aged two decades in half an hour.

“So, Altieri is trying to find our operation.” It’s not a question. It’s a statement, and my mind races with the information.

“What is Altieri planning once he found us?” I ask.

“If you’re so smart, then you should know,” De Luca responds. I don’t. That’s the problem. But I have a hunch it has something to do with Giuseppe Santos.

“Look… I know you think you're big shit, but you aren’t.” My voice stays level, but it takes everything in me to keep it there. “Once Altieri finds out that we were able to get to you, he’s gonna kill you.”

“He won’t,” he says, but hesitance flickers across his face.

“Yeah, he will. You know it,” I say, my voice calm and sure.