She’s opened my eyes to what it could be like, and I fucking want it, but I want this world I control too. It’s all I know. I’ve lived and breathed being who I am for so long that it is a part of me, ingrained in me, and I’ve worked damn hard to be where I am today. The top of the chain is dangerous, there’s always someone who wants to kill you, but it’s the best place to be.
I open the door to the basement and lead her down the steps, keeping hold of her hand as we go. When the basement comes into view, I see two of my guys standing guard, their eyes trained on the asshole currently tied up on the floor. There are no chairs here for them to sit on, no sofa, no comforts. It’s just a bare concrete floor that is cold and hard.
I stop at the bottom of the steps and indicate for Kat to stay where she is. She nods her head, her eyes a little wider than normal and she bites her bottom lip.
“Trust me,” I mouth to her and again she nods her head. Good. Step one, trust, it’s imperative. Crucial. Needed.
I move my fingers to my suit jacket and do the top button up. I always wear a suit because it indicates power, and it shows exactly who they’re dealing with––if they didn’t already know.
I walk over to the asshole tied on the floor, my shoes clicking on the concrete and echoing all around the room. When I reach him, I kick him in the back, but the sound of his yelp is muffled by the gag currently in his mouth.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here,” I say tauntingly as I slowly walk around him until I am stood in front and his pitiful eyes look up at me.
“Bet you’re wishing you were anywhere else but here right now, huh?” I say with a smirk on my face. Yeah, I like to play with my kills a little before I get to the deed, so sue me.
I crouch down in front of him, immediately noticing the wet patch on his trousers. “Oh dear. Had an accident, have we?” I nod to the wet patch and the guy looks like he is about to pass out. I can’t be having that, not before I’ve got the information I need.
“Maybe this is a sign that you shouldn’t fuck around with the big boys if you can’t take the heat,” I continue, my voice low, dangerous, deadly. “Now, I’m going to take the gag off of you, and you are going to answer some questions for me,” I say, clearly indicating that he has no choice in the matter. I nod to one of my guys and they come over, bending down and removing the gag from his mouth.
He gasps and starts smacking his lips together. “Better?” I ask, although I really couldn’t give a fuck.
“Water,” he rasps out.
“All in good time.” I pause a beat, ramping up the tension. “Now, we’re going to play a game. I ask you a question, you answer, and then I will allow you one drop of water.”
And I mean, one fucking drop.
I hold my hand out to the side and a bottle is quickly placed in it, along with a pipet. My guys don’t need instructions, they know how I do things here.
“Tell me your name,” I begin.
“Derek,” he says, his voice a whisper.
I raise an eyebrow at him, waiting for the last name too.
“Hutchings. Derek Hutchings.”
“Very good,” I say as I open the bottle and dip the pipet in, drawing some liquid into it before holding it over the guy’s mouth and squeezing out one drop. The drop misses, of course, but I don’t allow him another.
“Who sent you to find my wife?” The venom in my tone increases with this question because he fucking hurt her, and I can’t wait to do the same to him.
“Jessica.”
Another drop of water, once again missing his mouth.
“Why?”
“To make you pay,” he replies. This is easier than I thought it was going to be and thank fuck for that because I can’t stand a snivelling wreck.
“Pay for what?”
“I don’t know,” he says, but I’m not having that.
“You mean to tell me that she sent you to find the most dangerous man’s wife and you have no clue why?” If he really asked no questions, then he’s thicker than he looks.
“Please,” he whines, and I roll my eyes. Begging will get him nowhere with me.
“Pay. For. What?” I bite out, refusing to move on until he’s answered me, or until I’m convinced he really doesn’t know––which obviously I’m not buying right now.
