Page 110 of Capturing Sin

He pounded his fist into my stomach, and I wheezed, curling forwards as far as the bonds would allow. My lungs refused to inflate for a second and I struggled not to flop and gasp in panic.

“What were you planning with the demons?” he asked, false calm settling over him like a wet blanket. “What have you told them about our organisation?”

I wheezed out a grating laugh. “You think I’m working with demons like a mole? To what…? Take down your chapter? It’s already gone, old man.”

Now I wish I had been. I should have been working with demons and educating the hunters. We still needed fighters willing to protect innocents. They just had to learn that some of those innocents had horns too.

“You know this is about to get a lot worse for you, Liliana. I’m giving you the courtesy of starting gentle because of your service history. Mark my words, you will tell me what I want to know.”

My service history? Like I was an elevator?

I fought not to cackle at my own dumb thoughts. Clearly, he’d knocked a few brain cells loose.

I nodded, despite the pain in my skull.

He was right, and he didn’t even need to beat it out of me.

“I’m not working with the demons, but I discovered a very important fact we’ve all been overlooking. Demons are just people. They’re not mindless, evil beasts. They’re good and bad, like us.”

He rolled his colourless eyes, a long-suffering sigh filling the space between us. “Nice try, Liliana. Even you’re not that stupid.”

Why was everyone obsessed with my perceived intelligence? It was exhausting.

I arched a brow, but I’d already known I was fighting a losing battle, repeating the same thing over and over to different hunters. “It’s stupid to think other sentient beings might have more than one personality? One singular goal or focus? Not all dogs are feral and yet some of the most docile pets still bite.”

He rolled his eyes. “We already lost the damn hell-mutts.”

I narrowed mine right back. “I wasn’t talking about those poor creatures.”

“Stop wasting time.” His features hardened. “Tell me what you’ve done.”

I notched my chin, waiting for the next blow to fall. “I told you the truth. It’s not my fault you refuse to hear it.”

“What about the truth of your corruption, hmm?” he asked, a deadly stillness overcoming his grizzled features as he tried a new angle.

My heart raced.

“Your fiancé—who is still stitching himself up after you stabbed him—told me all about your indiscretions with one of those beasts,” he spat.

My own ferocity rose to meet his. “Ex-fiancé,” I hissed. “And so what? Sin treats me better than any human.”

Memories slammed through my thoughts until the ache in my heart rivalled the one in my head.

His panic when I’d collapsed in front of him. His rage when I’d turned up bruised from my uncle’s fists. Feeding me after I’d been starved. Protecting me from his own kind. Drugging kisses. Intoxicating pleasure. Whispered words.

I should have told him the truth when I had the chance, and trusted what I’d felt growing between us. Even after I’d betrayed him, he still hadn’t hurt me.

He’d set me free.

My uncle’s expression clouded, thunder rolling in. “So it’s true? You’re the devil’s whore.”

A distinct scrape sounded as he unsheathed a knife from the small of his back.

My uncle had always enjoyed getting up close and personal with his kills. Guns made the experience too removed. A “necessary evil,” he’d concede in most circumstances.

But not executing a prisoner.

The reaper lurked in his flinty eyes. “No blood of mine will disgrace our family like this.”

---