Page 26 of Destruction

“Just think of it as music. It’s quite relaxing.”

I shrug a shoulder as I side-eye him. Drawing a deep breath, I follow his directions, chanting in my head that I can do this. He stops me occasionally when I go too deep, and I lose myself to his tutoring. I almost miss the cop’s babbling until Tennant grips my shoulder tightly.Fuck, that’s going to hurt.His lips twitch as I switch my attention over to him.

“Yes?” I ask as the sounds of the room finally penetrate my bubble of violence.

“While torture is fun, you do need to pay attention. After all, we’re trying to find out answers, not just carve a man up.”

Sighing, I stand and roll my shoulders, trying to release the tension from being slumped over, since I had concentrated on his arms first.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people?” the man whimpers. I huff at his pitiful response, and gesture for him to get the fuck on with talking, otherwise I want to go back to training. “I know it’s open season on both of your organizations. It doesn’t matter what you bribe us with, or what you threaten us with, we will take you down. You’ve already lost your Kings. We’ll dismantle the rest of your organizations piece by piece. And I can’t fucking wait. We’ll finally be getting rid of the crime on the streets.”

I startle at Jude’s laughter, and glance back. So far, he’s been a silent observer, likely having been through these beginner lessons already. “You think you’ll get rid of the crime on the streets by doing away with us? Who do you think keeps the gangs, cartels, and other organizations out of here?”

“You are correct, Agnellino,” Tennant purrs as he gestures for his lover to come closer. Jude stands up and walks forward. With silent instructions, I hand Jude the knife I had been using and step back. “It’s your turn to see what you can get out of this coward.”

I stand back to watch Jude. Admittedly, his technique is far superior to mine. I wonder if he’s done this before. It doesn’t take long before the cop hisses, his entire body shaking.

“Fuck! There’s nothing more I can tell you! We were told that it’s time to take both organizations out, that we’re protected now. Several of us received a letter, and the person knew we were being fucked over, had threats made against us, or were forced to take bribes.”

“And do you have a copy of these letters?” Tennant asks in a flat voice.

“Are you fucking crazy? No. We all got rid of them and decided to attack—legally.”

Snorting, I shake my head. “You didn’t do shit legally. Go ahead and have your last thought of self-righteous bullshit, but you took money without a care. We didn’t threaten you into doing it. And now you’re likely bribing others to put a target on our back. But, guess what? It won’t work. You’re done here.”

Tennant hands me a different knife and nods towards the cop. I didn’t ask his name, and I don’t fucking care. With a quick slash to his throat, the problem is gone.

My hands shake, and I almost drop the knife. Thankfully, Tennant is there to take it. He pushes me back until I stumble into a seat, adrenaline coursing through me. It may have been the right move, but killing still doesn’t come easy to me. It’s only the second time I’ve done it.

“You’ll get used to it, Topolino—or die.” Tennant doesn’t sound particularly bothered by this, and I swallow hard at the reminder that he really wouldn’t care if I died. I wish I couldsay it terrified me, and it does in some ways, but it’s more captivating than anything.

“Are we finished?” I croak out, ready to take a shower, if nothing else.

“No, I think we have time for one more lesson. Go ahead and sit back down, Jude. You saw me put the cop in the chair, but I don’t think you saw the knots I used. Let me grab some rope. I want you to get a feel for it. You need to be able to replicate it.”

My heart thumps with worry. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but there’s something about the way Tennant smiles that sets me on edge. He disappears for a short while, before coming back with several lengths of rope. He goes to Jude first, explaining the knot as he does. He steps back and nods before turning toward me.

“Umm. Shouldn’t you untie Jude first?” I ask nervously, but Tennant doesn’t say a word. Instead, he kneels in front of me, taking the same time to explain a slightly different knot to me. I’d be fascinated if I wasn’t so worried.

When he stands, he smiles at the two of us and heads out, turning the lights off and plunging us into darkness. Fuck. Okay, well…he can’t leave us for long, right?

“Uh, Jude? He wouldn’t really leave us, would he?”

“You have a lot to learn about Tennant,” Jude responds grimly. “He really does want to break us. Tying us up is a lesson, which means we’ll be here for however long he deems necessary—and that could be a while.”

“Aren’t you lovers, though? He’d at least want to take mercy on you, yes?” I can’t see Jude in the dark, but I orientate my head in his direction as best as possible.

“How often did Il Padrone take mercy on Lio?” Jude drawls, and I wince, because yeah, my friend went through some fucking shit there.

“Great. Well, I guess we’ll just hang out. You, me, and a dead body.” For some reason, Jude finds that funny. Personally? I’d rather think of ways I can make Tennant pay. I don’t give a shit that he’s supposed to be the best. Everyone loses at some point…

“What are you doing here?” I ask Roman, shutting the door to the security room firmly behind me.

“I’m here to watch the show, obviously.” He gestures to the monitors showing Jude and Benjamin’s current predicament. The high-tech cameras that Hollis installed are easily able to show a clear image, even in the dark.

Jude explains to Benjamin that they’ll be there as long as I deem necessary—or for as long as it takes for them to work their way out of the rope. My Little Lamb doesn’t tell Benjamin the last part, of course. If Benjamin’s not smart enough to work it out on his own, or to figure out that while I’ve tied them up efficiently, but not as much as I could have, to prevent them from escaping, then it’s not my problem.

I’m here to teach them, not to hold their hand through every little thing. My new toy will learn quickly, or this will be verypainful for him. The fact that no blood was spilled today—his, at least—was mainly pure luck, not because he impressed me.

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