“Yes.” Alexei closes the laptop. “I’ll drive.”
I walk out of his mansion, my mind still reeling from what I just saw.
Flashes of Hana fill my mind.
Her smiling at me.
I climb into the passenger seat of Alexei’s armored SUV.
Her palm against my jaw.
I press a fist to my mouth.
Her lips parting.
My knee begins to jump with rage.
The red marks on her skin.
“I need a gun,” I growl.
“Taken care of,” Alexei answers as if we’re talking about the goddamn weather.
Her crying in the shower.
“And acid.”
Alexei dials a number and orders something in Russian, then he mutters, “Taken care of.”
The moment the jeep stops inside the warehouse, I’m out. I nod at Demitri, Alexei’s right-hand man, where he’s leaning against a black SUV, and say, “Thank you.” He did all the dirty work getting Ballmer here for me.
Demitri lifts his chin.
Knowing no one will hear Ballmer’s screams, I stalk to where he’s slumped on a chair. I throw everything into the punch, and it sends his obese ass sprawling over the floor.
“Brother… tsk,” Alexei shakes his head at me. “Now we have to wait for him to wake up. Come here.”
My fists open and close, hungering for more as I stalk to a table. Alexei gestures a hand over the array of knives, pliers, hammers, and anything else that can be used to torture.
I begin to reach for a sledgehammer, but again Alexei shakes his head. “Keep that for the finale. Pain before death.”
I nod. “You’re right.” My eyes lock on Alexei’s dark ones. “Show me what to do.”
His lips instantly curve as he picks up two small knives.
“Paring knives?” I ask.
“Yes,” Alexei gives me an evil grin. “Perfect for the knees.”
He hands them to me, and we walk to where his men have pulled Ballmer back onto the chair.
Alexei slaps Ballmer’s cheeks a couple of times. “Mr. Ballmer, wake up.” He keeps tapping the red cheek. “Come on. Open your eyes.” Alexei looks at one of the men. “Water.”
They throw a bucket of water over Ballmer, and it makes the old man rumble something incomprehensible.
I watch as he comes to, and then he squints at me.
“Mr. Ballmer,” Alexei leans down to catch his eyes, “do you remember me?”
Mr. Ballmer nods.
“Good,” Alexei purrs. He holds two fingers up. “How many fingers do you see?”
“Two,” Mr. Ballmer answers, sounding a little more lucid.
“We’re making progress.” Alexei turns to me. “Only the knees… for now.”
Without hesitation, I bury the first knife in Ballmer’s left knee.
When I hear the holler of pain, the demon in me drinks it in like the finest wine.
I stab the other knife into his right knee, and it earns me the beautiful sound of agony.
“Ahh… a symphony of torture,” Alexei hisses, delight darkening his eyes. “Very good,” he praises me.
Our eyes lock, and I see my reflection in Alexei.
My mentor.
My brother.
Alexei takes a deep breath as if he’s savoring Ballmer's howls and wails of pain. His accent is thick as he murmurs, “Perfect. Now we drink.”
I do a double-take. “Drink?”
As I follow Alexei to his SUV, he explains, “There’s a fine art to torture. If you get it all over within minutes, the mind races to protect itself. If you prolong it, torturing in stages, that’s when you break the mind. You tire him out. Slice by slice. Let the pain sink deep. Let it breed fear. Fear is what you want.”
Alexei takes a sip of vodka from a flask then hands it to me. “Also, it’s more fun.”
I let out a dark chuckle before I take a sip. Turning around, I watch as Ballmer sobs.
“Please.”
“I’ll do anything.”
“What do you want?”
“Name it, and it’s yours.”
Ignoring his pleas, I glance at Alexei. “I better let Hana know I won’t be back today.”
“I’ll watch over our friend,” Alexei grins.
I walk out of the warehouse and a good distance away. Stopping, I listen and not hearing anything, I pull my phone out and call Hana’s number.
“Hi,” she answers almost immediately, which tells me she hasn’t taken a nap.
“Hi, my angel. How do you feel?” I ask, my tone sweeter than the blood spilled in the warehouse.
“Better.”
“I won’t be back today. Something came up,” I inform her.
“Oh… okay. I’ll take a cab back to Trinity.”
I shake my head. “No. I’ll arrange a ride for you. Demitri will be there in thirty minutes to escort you back to the dorm.”
“Demitri?” Hana asks.
“A friend. I trust him. You’ll be safe.”
“Okay.”
Knowing she needs to hear the words, I say, “I love you, Hana. More than you’ll ever know. You’re my greatest treasure.”
I hear her breath hitch, and it makes my eyes drift closed and my body shudder with rage.
I’ll kill him for you.
“I love you,” she whispers.
HANA
I haven’t heard from Tristan since yesterday, and I feel like crap after I lost it earlier in the restaurant with my friends. I took out my own pain on Hunter when I heard he forced a kiss on Jade, and now they’re all worried.
Sitting in my room, I stare at the floor with my arms wrapped around my waist. The shame lies thick in my stomach. I feel dishonored.
If Tristan finds out… I don’t know what he’ll do.
There’s a knock on my door, and before I can answer, Fallon comes in. She shuts it then comes to sit next to me.
“What happened?” she asks.
Fallon’s closer than a best friend, but I can’t bring myself to talk about the incident. It’s as if it will become real then.
Right now, it’s just a nightmare.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I overreacted.”
Fallon leans forward to catch my eyes. “I know something happened, Hana.”
“Can we leave it?” I plead.
“Will you talk to me when you’re ready?”
I nod quickly. “Promise.”
She wraps her arms around me and whispers, “Love you.”
I hug her back, drawing comfort from her. “Love you, too.”
“Want to watch a movie?” Fallon asks as she pulls back.
I shake my head. “I have an assignment to do.”
“Okay.” Her gaze searches mine, and it makes me smile as happily as I can. It convinces her enough to leave.
Not wanting to fall behind with my school work, I spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening getting the assignment done.
It’s past nine when my phone vibrates.
T: I’m in the parking area.
H: Five minutes.
I’ve learned to wait until ten before I change into my sweatpants and t-shirt, just in case Tristan comes to get me.
Slipping on my shoes, I walk out of my room. The suite is quiet as I leave it, and I quickly take the elevator down.