“Stacia, I want you front and center. I want him to see that he failed.” Talon takes my hand and pulls me along, forcing my feet to work. The potent stench of sweat and body odor wafts through the air. I grab the front of my shirt and pull it up over my nose. I can’t help it. It might even smell like death in here.
“Do we have a name?” Talon asks, continuing to take charge of the situation as if he’s done this a million times. And he might have. I should be unnerved, but ultimately, I’m grateful. I don’t think I could do this without him.
“No. This guy is either the dumbest asshole on Earth or he’s a professional. Someone had to pay him a lot of money.” Christos closes rank by my side, his presence comforting, something changing between us. I no longer recoil anytime I’m near him. He’s done so much to earn my trust that I’m open to giving him more.
“All right. That’s fine. We don’t need his fucking name. We just need whoever hired him.” Talon cracks the knuckles on his free hand and rolls his shoulders. “I want you to go in there and hurt him. However, you please, wild child. Women know how to bring a man down best.”
I swallow my nerves and brace myself. I want to be strong in this moment. I want to prove to more than Christos and Talon that I’m capable. I want to prove it to myself. I can be gentle yet ruthless. I can take care of shit just as well as they can. I never want them to think that I need them. They should know that they’re in my life because I want them here.
A low groan echoes through the dimly lit room, and I spot a man zip tied to a metal chair. It reminds me of a couple of movies I’ve seen where the good guys get captured and tortured. But this isn’t the case. We are the good guys. Well, at least to me. Sometimes it’s okay to be an antihero when it’s my fucking life.
I like having men who will destroy the world to save me.
I like being the most important thing regardless of the consequences of everything and anything else.
I take my fingers away from Talon and sashay forward without hesitation. The man in the chair whips his head up and tightens his jaw, the gesture being the only reaction he gives me.
Fisting my hand, I close the space completely and punch him right between the legs, feeling the softness of his junk crush beneath my force. He howls in pain but doesn’t beg for mercy. So I do it again and again, not even bothering to ask him any questions.
“What the fuck!” the man hollers, trying to cross his legs to protect himself.
“You’ve already proven that you’re not going to cooperate, so I’m going to punch your dick until there’s nothing left. I have had a long fucking day, and this is therapeutic.” I slam my hand down again, stopping and just smashing it. Tipping my head up, I meet the guy’s eyes. “How much was my death worth? How much were you fucking paid?”
I don’t think a woman has ever challenged him like this, because he opens and closes his mouth in surprise, like he can’t believe I’m manhandling him.
I grab him by the neck and squeeze. “If you tell me, I’ll just end your life. If you don’t, we’re going to find out how long you can live after I pulverize your dick. We’re going to learn how long it takes to bleed out when I rip off the tip. I’ll use my fingernails.”
“I don’t know yet! I don’t get paid until the job is done. All I have is the down payment. I don’t ask for names for a reason.” The man rocks back-and-forth, trying to move the chair.
I turned to Christos. “Pull it out. I’m not giving him the satisfaction of even a second of gentle touch.”
Christos whistles between his teeth. “Damn, astéri mou. You’re vicious.”
“That’s what happens when someone fucks with my life...or refuses to give me answers. My dad always taught me to do whatever I have to by any means necessary. Even if it means literally destroying this asshole’s balls.” Narrowing my eyes, I stare at the hitman, waiting for him to react.
“And here I thought I was going to have to teach you, wild child.” Talon claps, rubbing his hands together. “Do as she asked, Count. My woman isn’t going for gentle. Pull his limp dick out and hold it while she rips it off.”
“Maybe I’ll skin it first. I’m due for a mani anyway. My manicurist is exceptional at getting things out from under my nails.” I giggle, my voice surely as crazy as I feel in this moment. A part of me disconnects, summoning the deadly entity I was instructed to nurture and grow to protect myself and my family’s business.
The hitman grinds his teeth, bucking against the chair. It wobbles, threatening to tumble backward with the asshole in it. So I shove him. He howls as he falls on his back, crushing his arms. I bite the inside of my lip, stopping myself from reacting. If I react, he might know I’m on the fence about following through. I just want goddamn answers.
Christos wags his eyebrows at me, grabbing at the hitman’s pants. He unbuttons them and tries to remain expressionless as he exposes the man’s cock. I scrunch my face at the sight of the barely inch nubbin peeking through a bush of pubic hair long enough that I can’t even see the man’s scrotum.
Christos eyes me and I stare right back at him, a dozen silent thoughts swirling between us. He cracks first, bursting with loud laughter as we kneel beside this man and stare at the poor excuse for a dick between his legs.
“How do you suggest I hold this for you. I’m going to need some tweezers or something. I’m pretty sure my fingers are thicker than that thing as long,” Christos says, his voice cracking with his laughter.
“Hurry up with your fun, you sexy little psycho.” Talon stands over us, peering down. “We don’t have all day. I’m sure he’s not going to talk either. We need to just move on.”
“Yeah, this is more about revenge for trying to kill me. But I wanted to give him the option. You know I have a kind heart. He can only blame himself for what he’s about to experience. It would be so easy just to give us some answers and let him move on into what I’m sure will be a lot of ass fucking in hell. He’s definitely going to end up as a bottom, considering...that.” I usually don’t make fun of a man’s size, but he seems like he has fragile masculinity. Got to be a tough guy to make up for something.
Christos chuckles and grabs the man’s cock, stretching it out by the head. The man screams, his voice grating on my eardrums. He continues to thrash, trying everything he can to escape us.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I was hoping he’d just talk already. But Talon was right. He’s not going to say anything. And I don’t want to be caught lying.
“Can you shut him up?” I ask, peeking up at Talon. “Give me something he can choke on.”
“Why don’t you just cut it off and shove it in his mouth?” Talon crosses his arms.