Page 54 of Hexed
I take my time walking back to Sean, and then I look up at Enzo. “The least you can do is make yourself useful. Be a dear and come lock his legs down for me. Cuffs are on the underside of the table.” I run my fingertip along the edge of the blade and glance at Sean. “Cleavers are fun, aren’t they?”
Sean’s eyes flick up to me and widen, but then his attention goes back to Enzo, who’s got a gun pointed at his shins while he secures them to the table.
“Cat got your tongue, honey?” I continue. “Couldn’t get you to shut up to save my life when you thought you were getting laid, and now suddenly you’ve got nothing to say?”
He stays quiet now, not even fighting against his restraints. I walk toward my aquarium, my heels clicking on the slick flooring, and place the cleaver down on a rolling table sitting next to a cabinet. I open the cupboard, skimming my fingers along the glass vials until I find the two I’m looking for.
“Something you should know about me is Ireallydon’t enjoy when people won’t answer my questions.” I move the glass bottles over to the rolling table and then grab disposable latex gloves and two separate syringes before placing them side by side. Spinning around, I smile at my little captive, feeling the burn of Enzo’s stare.
Having him here while I do this is oddly erotic, like he’s witnessing me in a vulnerable state, and it makes the euphoria coating my veins spark like fireworks.
I push the table over until it’s next to Sean’s head and pick up the gloves, slowly pulling them onto my hands with a satisfying pop against my skin when they’re fitted. “I like it even less when people lie.”
“I didn’t lie!” Sean blurts.
“Well, you surely aren’t telling me the truth.” I pick up the glass vial labeledverrucotoxinand flip it upside down until it fills the syringe. “I noticed you watching my pookies in the aquarium over there when you first came in. They’re beautiful, aren’t they? My favorites are the two stonefish right there.” I point to one of my babies that’s lying on the ground. “It’s hard to see them because they’re masters of camouflage. Similar to what you tried and failed to do tonight. You could learn a lot about flying under the radar from them, honestly.”
He grunts.
“This”—I flick the side of the syringe—“is the venom extracted from their dorsal fins. I’m afraid it’s incredibly toxic to humans. Quite painful, actually, the way it works. For example, if I injected you here…”
I press the needle into the hollow point between his fingertips.
He jerks, trying to move away, but since he’s chained by his wrists and ankles, the most he accomplishes is a subtle shift and some nasty scrapes from where the metal digs into his skin.
“It would cause intense pain, spreading all the way up your arm in a matter of minutes. If left alone, your skin would bleed and deteriorate in front of our very eyes. And then, of course, the venom would spread into your lungs, constricting your airways, making you choke on nothing while your nervous system seizes. Beautiful, really. Like art.” I remove the needle from his skin. “But I’m fair, darlin’. So you tell me why you’re here trying to steal from me, and I’ll use the meat cleaver instead, chopping off one of your greedy little hands instead of injecting you with my pookie’s poison. What do you say?” I lean over until his eyes are staring up into mine. “Do we have a deal?”
He doesn’t reply, and that just irritates me. I’m being more than fair here, all things considered.
I sigh. “Is it because I’m a woman?”
“It’s because you’re a cunt,” Sean forces out through gritted teeth.
I roll my eyes at the tired slur, but before I can say anything else, Enzo is there, gripping Sean’s face so tightly, I can see the indentations of his teeth through his cheeks. “How many times do I have to tell you to watch your fucking mouth?”
My stomach flips.
I’ve never had somebody defend me like this before.
The veins on the back of Enzo’s hands run up his sinewy forearms and disappear under the rolled sleeves of his button-down, and I swear to God, I really,reallywant to not be affected, but I’m also not dead, and I can’t help the way heat floods through my body at the sight of him.
“You ever sucked a cock?” Enzo continues. “Say another word about her and I’ll cut off yours and shove it down your throat. Give you some practice. You understand?”
I beam over at him. Nowthat’sinspired.
He looks up at me and winks before releasing Sean’s face.
Sean clearly doesn’t value his life, or maybe he just is severely underestimating who he’s in the room with, because he turns his head andspitson me.
My body physically vibrates from the anger rushing through me, and Enzo backhands him so hard, his jaw cracks as it hits the table.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” Enzo asks, incredulous. “Did you not hear what I just said?”
Sean groans, his cheek still pressed against the metal of the table.
Enzo tenses, and I’m a little nervous hewillshove something down his throat, which would be detrimental because if he’s choking on a dick then he can’t tell us what I want to know. So I rest my hand on Enzo’s forearm, ignoring the way it makes my palm tingle and my heart skip a beat.
“How come you get to have all the fun?” I say.
