“And there’snothingelse you can tell me?”
The man hangs his head and cries. He doesn’t look like he’s thinking, more like he’s giving up.
“Sir, please. I’ve been nothing but loyal. If I knew more, I would tell you.”
Nikita takes the man’s jaw and forces his head up. “If this is the best you can do, you’re worthless to me.” Without taking his eyes off James, he holds out his hand to Pretty Eyes, who has wandered to his side. Pretty Eyes bends and pulls a knife from a strap on his ankle. He places it in Nikita’s hand.
The man howls as Nikita digs his fingers into his jaw and forces the man’s mouth open. He struggles to accomplish whatever he’s wanting as the man thrashes his head around. Nikita pushes the knife into the man’s lips and that’s enough for him to stop thrashing for a second, long enough for Nikita to grab the man’s tongue. He pulls it out as far as it will go and saws it off with his knife.
The man’s gurgled scream fills the space, but when Nikita hits him hard in the face, all sound in the room abruptly stops, and it’s eerily quiet.
Nikita turns toward me and wipes the blood off his face with his shoulder. He runs the knife over his blood-splattered shirt and hands it back to Pretty Eyes.
“My apologies, Alexa.” He smiles like he didn’t just cut a man’s tongue off. Blood gushes from James’s mouth, and I’m certain he’s going to die soon with that much blood loss. “I didn’t expect that to take so long. Incompetent fucking fools.”
Nikita takes a step toward me, and I rear back, barely keeping my feet rooted in place.
“What did you come to see me for?” He glances down at my dress that I regret wearing. I usually wear comfortable clothes a size too big for me, but today I wanted to show off my curves, so I picked a flattering yellow dress that hugs my breasts and stops just above my knees. My hope was that he’d be too distracted ogling me like a caveman to see through my lie. What a stupid thing to do.
Nikita’s eyes raise, and he smirks. He glances at Pretty Eyes. “Wait outside.”
Pretty Eyes nods and exits the room, leaving only me and Nikita. I jump at the bang the door makes when it shuts.
“So?” Nikita asks. “What is it you need?”
I don’t answer. I tell my mouth to open, but it’s paralyzed. I can’t remember my own name, let alone the lie I’m supposed to tell.
My eyes shift to James. The blood has slowed to a trickle coming from his mouth. His chest heaves, and I wonder if he’ll live after all.
Nikita looks over his shoulder to follow my gaze, and when he turns back to me, his smirk widens. “I didn’t scare you, did I?” He laughs. “Alexa, that man let a murderer walk right by him and claimed he couldn’t remember what he looked like. Three of our guys are dead, and because of this man,” he waves behind him, “we may never know who killed them or what his motives were.”
Nikita sighs but he doesn’t seem genuine in his disappointment.
“You, my beautiful girl, are lightyears away from the uselessness of that pig. I would never harm you.”
I’m going to go ahead and assume that’s a lie.
I look toward the door as if someone out there can save me. As if Settimo will burst through the door any moment and step between Nikita and me.
“Now.” Nikita’s voice drops an octave, and his smirk falls. “What do you want?” I can hear the impatience in his tone, and it’s enough to cure my paralysis.
“Mr. Gruco was waiting for me when I left the butcher shop yesterday. I thought you might want to know.”
“Mr. Gruco?” Nikita lifts a brow. “What did he want?”
I take too long stringing my words together, and Nikita takes another step toward me and cups my cheek. “Was he there to fuck you, Alexa?”
My cheeks inflame, and Nikita’s jaw tenses.
“He seems to have taken a real interest in you.”
“I know,” I say, trying to inject as much disgust into my voice as possible. “But I don’t believe it has to do with me. He enjoys tormenting Paolo. He’s a sadist.”
“How does he act when he’s with you? Is he charming? Kind?”
I scoff, hoping it doesn’t come out forced or is too much. “No. He’s a pig. He ordered me to do what he wanted and told me to tell my fiancé ‘hello’. Then he left.”
Nikita’s lip curls, and my heart stops. I can’t tell if he’s disgusted with my pathetic attempt at lying or if he’s as repulsed at Settimo as I’m pretending to be.