Chapter Ten
Idris
Nikolic, so that’s why I’m here. He’s right—I killed his whole family. I thought I’d wiped that scum out. They were trading in flesh for far too long when the job landed in my lap. They had taken the wrong girl. A daughter of a rich diplomat. He hired us.
Me specifically.
I thought I killed them all, but I was wrong, and now that mistake is costing me. I won’t make it again. Before I get out of here, I’ll wipe out the last of that disgusting bloodline and then approach Donald about this American who is running this trafficking ring here. He can’t know, can he? A ring right in his city? How could he let that happen?
Is that what Spider meant when he warned me?
Either way, it’s too late now, I’m involved.
“You alive?” the woman asks.
“Yes.” I don’t know why I reply, even as I turn my head and spot her through the small hole. All I can see are pale, blood-streaked arms and long black hair with an eye peeking through.
“So you’re an assassin, huh?” she queries. I roll my eyes and look away, not willing to talk. “That’s cool as shit. I’m guessing you killed his family and now he’s pissed, as in swearing vengeance standing over a grave pissed?”
“Pretty much,” I snap, wanting her to know this conversation is over. I’m not a talker. Why is this bitch not getting the picture?
She goes quiet after that, thank fuck, and I close my eyes and focus on centering myself. On listening, learning, and watching. The few injuries they managed to land don’t even bother me as I hang here. The hours pass slowly, creeping by, but I’m used to being patient, used to waiting and watching for my targets.
I hear the boots heading my way again and keep my eyes closed. They are back for round two it seems. I wonder how they will try to break me this time. Do they not realise I have been tortured, stabbed, shot, and blown up? Fuck, I was in a hole in the ground for days while we waited to attack a warlord’s camp in Cambodia.
Nothing they can do will hurt me.
I hear the door open, followed by the sound of three pairs of feet entering the cell before they stop. I feel their eyes on me, and I slowly open mine.
Standing before me is the one person I got into this mess for, the woman who I thought was gone or dead by now.
Bessie.
And she’s fucking smirking at me. She doesn’t look like my cute next-door neighbour who brought me cookies. She’s in tight leather pants and a see-through crop top, her long hair is curled, her face is caked in makeup, and her red lips are tilted up as she watches me. There is a coldness, a cockiness to her face now, which matches the demeanour of the two men who bracket her.
Two guards.
“Hello, neighbour,” she purrs. I yank on my chain, and she laughs. “Oh no, we wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself just yet.” She winks as she steps closer, running a red-tipped nail down my chest. “I’m betting you have questions.” She peers up at me, blinking through long eyelashes. “Poor little Boogeyman, tricked by little old me.”
I grind my teeth.
It was a trap. She was working for them all along. Why didn’t they make a move sooner? Unless they were waiting, integrating her into my life to ensure I would come after her. I’m betting it annoyed the fuck out of her and them that I didn’t make it easy. She slaps me, but I barely flinch. I’m annoyed at myself for walking into this trap, for not seeing her for what she was. How did I get so sloppy?
Fucking retirement is making me slow, too slow. It’s unacceptable. I will ensure it never happens again.
“Nothing to say? Fuck, you are such an animal. You can barely even speak. Do you know how annoying it was to drag conversations out of you? To flirt with you? You’re one of the most boring jobs I have ever done. The big bad Boogeyman, but you’re not scary.” She leans in. “Not at all. I guess the legends were wrong. You’re nothing but a retired has-been. But don’t worry, I still get to have my fun. My reward, you see, for playing my part so well” —she flutters her lashes at me— “for bringing him what he wanted most… and now you’re ours, Boogeyman.” Her guards laugh, and she smirks as she grabs my chin.
I jerk from her grip. Her touch feels slimy and disgusting, making me tug at my chains as she laughs. “You really are something to look at though, even with all those scars. I bet you would be a good fuck. What do you say? Want some fun before you die?” She leans in and presses her lips to mine, moving them against my immobile mouth as her hand slides down my chest and cups my cock. When I don’t get hard, she becomes annoyed and rips her lips away as I grin at her.
“I would rather have the torture, Bessie,” I snarl.
“Name’s Lola,” she snaps, opening her mouth to spit more venom, but she’s interrupted.
“Bessie?” the woman in the next cell wheezes. “Like the fucking cow?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Bessie-Lola snarls, but it only makes the woman laugh harder. They all look at the hole, not at me. I keep my eyes on them, knowing better, but my lips quirk up at her laughter. She’s right, Bessie the fucking cow.
Bessie-Lola, whatever the fuck she likes to call herself, will die painfully for tricking me.
“Moo, bitch,” the female manages to say through choked laughter, and even I chuckle.
“Get in there and shut her up!” Bessie screams, and her guards rush to do just that, leaving her alone with me. I lower my head, my eyes narrowed as she looks at me. She swallows nervously when she sees her death written in my gaze. Faking confidence, she lifts her chin. She knows better than to be alone in a cell with me, yet she stays, and she knows she will die.
“Don’t worry, we will have our fun. For now, we will leave you to listen to your little friend’s screams.” She steps back, smirking as she reaches the door without taking her eyes off me. I don’t even blink, watching her like the animal she accuses me of being. “It seems everyone you get close to gets hurt, doesn’t it, Boogeyman?”
With that parting shot, she slams the door shut, the lock clicking into place. My anger at her, at myself, at this fucking family that won’t die fills me until I lunge, yanking on my arms again. When I get free, when they make a mistake, when they lower their guard…
They will all die.
Just then, the screams of the woman next door fill the air.