“Vhat? Vhy?”
“Because now we won’t stop until you tell us where she is.” I grab the crowbar, yanking it out of his leg. He lets out a wail as I twist it as I go for added pain. His leg bleeds all over the fucking place, and I begin to worry I’ve nicked an artery, and if that’s the case, I won’t have much time.
We need to speed this along.
I bring the crowbar up, slamming it into his shoulder. The crunch resonates through the concrete chamber, and his entire body slumps to the side. “Fuuuck,” he screams out.
I lean down right into his face. “Where. Is. She?”
The asshole glances down to his leg with an exhale. “You don’t have much time, I’m bleeding out. I’m dead either way. So, I have no reason to tell you.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “I’ll give you a fucking reason. I bet you have a family… someone you care about. Be it a sibling, a lover, a fucking grandmammy. I don’t fucking know yet, but I swear to you, if you die without telling us where Prinie is and what they’re gonna do to her, then I’m gonna hunt that person down, rip out their eyeballs and hang them on my mantle. Then, when they’re locked down here, I’m gonna let them hear every day what we do to your dead body, because Rekcuf, we will fuck you up if you don’t cooperate, then make those you love watch... or listen as it were.”
His eye twitches, his face turns pale, probably from the copious amounts of blood pooling on the floor. “Vhat if I don’t have anyone?”
“You do. That little eye twitch gave it away. And I’m a man of my promises.”
“I don’t believe you. How vill you find my family. You don’t even know my name.”
“Because we have a tech guru who can find anything out about anyone, and when you’re dead, we’ll scan your fingerprints.”
He hesitates. “Promise me they von’t be harmed.”
I dip my chin. “Yes, I swear.”
He closes his eyes like he’s having trouble concentrating. “They’ve taken her to an old Serbian Church off Lycaster Street.”
Elation flows through me.
Fuck, I hope he’s right and not stringing us along.
“And why do they want her?”
“They’re going to kill her in front of you when you arrive.”
Anger swarms through me, the devil inside me can’t be tamed anymore—my addiction swings into full force. I race forward, my hands sliding around his neck. The feeling like a fucking heavenly orchestra is harmonizing a chorus in my ear. My fingers grip onto his slimy skin, gripping as tight as I fucking can. His eyes bulge out of his head as he gasps, panting for air, his body writhing on the chair with the pain I’m searing through him.
It only pumps my blood harder.
Down here, in the Chamber, all bets are off.
My addiction can come out in full glorious force, and right now as I squeeze harder—his throat turning a bright shade of red—energy surges through me like nothing before. I am the king of this domain, and this fucker is nothing but a peasant beneath me.
Sweat topples down my brow, my eyes focus on him, my fingers tingling with the brute force I’m applying on Rekcuf’s neck. Snot bubbles out of his nose while the adrenaline surges through me so intensely it feels like my body is buzzing, like every hair is vibrating, swaying to and fro with the electricity coursing through my veins.
The blood vessels in his eyes burst, the whites of his eyes turning blood red, which causes the corner of my lips to turn upward.
The sounds of his gasping breaths begin to fade as his writhing body weakens. He stops fighting me, my high depleting with his last gasp. I shake his neck for good measure as his eyes roll into the back of his head.
This was over too fast.
I know I shouldn’t have caved.
I gave into my addiction, but this is why I am the master of the Chamber. This is why I come down here, so I can let my addiction run wild. Let my hands do the talking.
Rekcuf’s body sags, the life completely drained from him, blood seeping from the corner of his eyes as I find the willpower to let go of his neck. In the meantime, the blood pissing out of his thigh I notice has gotten all over me as I stand back panting, trying to catch my own breath.
I need to rein myself in.
Find my calm.
Look at the picture on the wall—deep ocean blue—which was placed there by Zero.
A few deep breaths, and peace finds me once more.
My bare chest and jeans are covered in blood as I try to compose myself. Kevlar steps over, gently placing a hand on my bicep. I flinch but turn to see his concerned eyes on me. “You want us to clean up in here while you get the boys ready to ride?”
“Yeah,” I pant still out of breath. It’s astounding how much energy you use when you strangle someone to death.
I turn, walking over to the offset bathroom. I strip off, chucking my bloodstained clothes in the can for Kevlar to collect to throw in the pit when I’m done. As quickly as I can, I scrub the blood off my skin, then grab the spare set of clothes I leave down here for moments just like this.
Walking back out into the Chamber, the scraping of the metal chair being tipped back sends a shudder through me. Peering over my shoulder, Rekcuf’s being shoved into the oil pit, and Ax closes the lid but opens the venting system.
