Page 120 of Deadly Vows

I motion to the man who called us bottom-feeders as I continue. “But only he can answer. So, whether you keep your fingers or not is up to him,” I say, shifting the shears over her pointer finger.

She jerks and pulls at her bonds, but she isn’t strong enough to break free, and I laugh.

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

Her screams grow as she begs, flaring my anger, and I look at her, holding the shears to her throat.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I won’t be able to hear his answers. And if I don’t hear him, I’ll assume he didn’t say anything. And that will be a finger,” I growl out.

She bites her bottom lip, sniffling as she nods.

“Good.” I turn to the man, “What’s your name?”

He looks between me and her, taking much too long to answer the simple question. So, I add pressure to the shears. Her screams turn blood-curdling as the blade punctures the thin layer of skin.

“Daniel! It’s Daniel!” he shouts.

I stop what I’m doing, watching the blood trickle down her finger before waving the shears at him in a scolding fashion.

“You may not want to take so long on such a simple question next time, Daniel. And what’s her name?” I ask.

“Nora!” he responds instantly.

I give him a sarcastic nod.

“I know that everyone in this building was aware of the circumstances involving Arianna Anderson’s death. I also know that you are aware of the circumstances involving Lorenzo Pasquino. I know, because your superior, agent Jeffries left behind a lot of damning information. And I also know this particular division had something to do with the removal of Wyatt Danson from his force,” I say.

“All this to say, I didn’t just stumble upon this shithole. Give me the password, and I will give you quick and painless death. Don’t, and I will draw it out for the next four hours,” I say.

I move next to Nora, placing the shears back, and she sobs, pleading under her breath.

“What’s the password, Daniel?” I ask.

He stares at me with wide eyes, closing his mouth,

Snip.

Nora screams at the top of her lungs as her finger falls to the floor.

“What’s the password, Daniel?” I repeat. Nora is now screaming at the top of her lungs, begging him to tell me. He looks torn, but he doesn’t speak.

Snip.

Nora screams grate at my ears from the sheer volume, as she pulls against the chair violently.

“Password?” I ask. “She only has so many fingers,” I add.

No answer.

Snip.

Nora screeches, and as I move to chop off another finger, does she scream.

“V24-Porter15! We change it every twenty-four hours! We just changed it! Please stop!” she screams.

“Specify, Nora,” I say.

She shakily goes through the password, giving us the proper capitalizations and punctuation.

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