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“Pre-Hell,” Rami replies, leaning into the intercom. Polsner turns his eyes toward the glass wall, his gaze shifting around, not focusing on any of us.
“Who’s there?” His voice is hoarse, and he’s pulling against the tight restraints on his wrists and ankles.
“My family likes to watch when I work.” Polsner looks baffled by Raph’s reply. My boyfriend is studying him like a predator would its prey.
“Don’t like when it's you tied up?” Raph smirks. “And before you try anything, the rope and the chair are made of stainless steel, and bolted to the floor.”
“Why am I naked?” His face is turning red from anger, or maybe embarrassment.
“So that I can clearly see the damage I’ll cause you,” Raph deadpans, pointing the drill toward him.
“You’re insane.”
“You are the one killing innocent people because they help you relive the ecstasy you felt when you killed your sick bother. I, on the other hand, provide a cleaning service to society.” Raph’s controlled demeanor is turning me on. Never thought I’d feel this exhilarated watching him threaten a killer with a yellow drill.
“Service? You just enjoy the violence!” Polsner retorts angrily.
“It’s not the violence that turns me on. It’s the blood.” Raph clears that up.
Fuck that’s hot. I’m a bit scared by my thoughts right now, but I don’t care. And that feels good as well. To embrace this part of me.
“And the subsequent kill,” Gabe adds, for only us to hear.
“So, go on. Let’s end this,” Polsner cockily says. But I can see the slight shake of his hands.
“End? You think I’ll just sink this drill into your heart?” Raph growls, bending down to the detective’s eye level. “You tried to hurt Michael. Wanted to take him away from me. And no one,no onetouches him.” His thunderous, possessive tone makes me shiver. I feel an urge to submit to him. “I’ll carve your heart out and squeeze it between my fingers while I watch the life slowly fade from your eyes.”
“You’re all talk an no acti… Ahhhh!” Polsner’s scream booms through the intercom.
I keep watching with a mix of fascination and shock. Raph’s drill twists inside Polsner’s knee. Thick red blood gushes out of the wound, making my inner monster sing in delight. It calls to me, but I never craved the rush that came with killing another human being. In this case though, I am on Raph’s side. If I knew there was someone out there who wanted to hurt a person I loved, I’d want to see them suffer too.
“That’s what we do,” Gabe tells me. I stare at him for a few seconds, not realizing I’m not uttering any of the thoughts bouncing around in my head. He continues, “We help eradicate evil. And that temporarily satisfies the urge.” Urge, darkness, inner monster, need… So many words to describe the same thing.
“It’s a win-win,” Rami adds.
“Can you handle it?” Gabe asks me, using his monotone voice.
What was the lesser evil? Allowing a bad person to keep hurting innocents while waiting for the police to gather enough proof, or becoming judge and jury by eliminating that bad person to protect them? The answer seems pretty clear at the moment. Perhaps because of the fucking day and night I’m still having. Or maybe it’s the sight of blood dripping on the green plastic covering that fogs my judgment. Or the fact that in this case a member of the police is the bad person.
“I-I can,” I say, feeling a little flustered under Gabe’s intent gaze. It’s like he’s trying to see behind my eyes, into the chaotic thoughts whirling inside my head.
But after a short moment, he seems satisfied by my reply. He turns back to the show.
The detective whimpers. His head falls forward, I can almost hear the cracking sound of his teeth grinding against the pain. Raph leaves the metal bit inside the knee and turns toward the table again to grab a new one. When he lifts his eyes, they are not cold, as I expect. They’re filled with blazing fury. Raph grabs a bigger bit, pushing it inside the drill. He turns toward Polsner again.
“This is a revenge kill, why is Raph alone in there?,” Linda asks.
My heart starts beating faster. The code. What was it about revenge kills? Never alone. So why is he? I don’t want him to be. Ever again. Not even…in this case.
“This kill is too rough. It lacks finesse,” Sari says.
“Raph is usually glacial, completely dispassionate with his donors. He’s an artist. He likes to vary his methods,” Gabe confirms.
An artist at killing people?Bad people, I remind myself.
“I’m going in with him.” Rami’s voice makes me frown even more.
“He needs his anchor,” Meg whispers. I’m already stopping Rami and entering the room before she finishes speaking.
