Page 178 of Unexpected Heroine

As he scans the array of metal tools, he swallows, gulping so loudly it echoes around the barn. “Wh-what are you going to d-d-do to me?” His eyes bounce between the toys and my face.

Tools. Toys. Same thing.

In lieu of answering him, I glance casually between my partners, rolling the tip of my tongue behind my lips. “How far away did you say the closest neighbors are?”

Jonesy scratches his jaw. “Oh, let’s see. The closest farmhouse is a little more than two miles to the east.” He shifts his body, pointing toward the other side of the barn. “To the south, it’s a good five or six miles before any signs of life.”

Nodding animatedly, I grin like this is fantastic news. “Excellent. No matter what I do, no one will hear him scream. That’s terrific.”

My face goes slack as I stare into the soulless eyes of one of the men responsible for so much of Lettie’s suffering. “You asked what I was going to do to you, right?”

He nods and does another of those loud gulps. Almost brings a tear of joy to my eye to see him so close to pissing himself.

Perhaps I do need therapy. Sue might have been on to something.

“I considered hitting you with everything you did to my sweet Violet and all the other girls. You know?” I lean forward and grin, tapping his shoe with the back of my hand. “Chaining you to the wall. Kicking you in the ribs a half dozen times. Starving you. Withholding water and sleep. Beating you. Making you suck dick for permission to use the bathroom. Raping you repeatedly. Scratching you. Cutting you. Choking you. Whipping you. Humiliating you. Making you long for a death that will never come.” I pause, pursing my lips. “Wait. I forgot where I was going with this.”

Aaron laughs, the sound deep and twisted.

If fucking around with assholes like this one is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

“Anyhow, we kicked it around and ultimately decided on another approach. Lucky for you—or not—we don’t have that kind of time. Plus, none of us want our dicks anywhere near you. So we’re doing it the old-fashioned way.” Dropping my gaze, I wiggle my fingertips over the various dental and mortician’s instruments laid out between us. “Let’s begin.” I select two starting tools and inch close to him.

“Hey now. Hold on. Come on,” Kadin pleads. “Tell me what you’re looking for. Maybe I can help you. Let’s talk.”

With a pair of needle nose pliers in one hand and pointy-tipped forceps in the other, I halt my approach. “Huh. You’re right. Silly me.” I shake my head, then pin him with a dead-eye glare. “Where’s Yevdokim Ivanovich?”

“I have no fucking idea,” he spits, not even a hitch in his chest.

It’s almost believable.

I’ll try a different question. “What helpful information can you give me about Viktor Lenkov?”

“What do you mean?”

I release a breath that’s part groan and part sigh, then rattle off a list of questions in my signature monotone voice. “Is he the only one in charge of the trafficking ring, or is his father? Does he have a partner? Who does he report to? Who reports to him other than you? Who does he trust? Who’s his right-hand man? Who hates him? What’s his daily routine? Where is he vulnerable? Who does he love? Who loves him? Where does he go on Friday fucking nights? Who sucks his dick? How do you get a hold of him when you need him? When are you supposed to see him next?” My glare intensifies. “Do you know anything of value? Why should I keep you alive?”

He bumbles and sputters through a series of inarticulate noises, none of them helpful. We’ve only just begun, and my patience is already spent.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” Aaron taunts, ruffling Kadin’s greasy hair.

“This is too much for our friend. He had a bump on his head earlier. Let’s cut him some slack. One question at a time.” Jonesy plays good cop for a beat. Kneeling, he gingerly pats down the wild strands of Skidmark’s hair that Aaron just mussed up. “Where’s Yev hiding?”

“I swear to you guys. No one has seen Yev in days. Everyone’s looking for him, though. He’s in deep shit with the boss.”

“Which boss?” I ask.

Skidmark tries playing dumb. “What do you mean?”

“Well, now you’re pissing me off, Kadin. Dammit. I thought we were gonna have a discussion. You’re wasting our time.” I glance up at the guys standing on either side of the creep. “Tilt his head back and open his mouth. He doesn’t need all those teeth where he’s going.”

I go to work, removing one tooth, then another. Before I remove number three, he finally has a helpful memory to share. Through tears and snotty sobs, he chokes out that Viktor alone oversees the trafficking group, as Lettie surmised. It’s the first big project his father has given him.

No real surprises there.

Now to test him a bit to see if he’s being honest.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Who were you with tonight in the bar?”

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