Page 82 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
“Were they supposed to hurt Ivy?” I ask Tolyan. The woman said she didn’t want to hurt people, but the gagged bastard is another matter.
“No. Just steal her purse. The boy here was pissed she only had fifty bucks in cash. He told me, colorfully so.” Tolyan smiles. “I showed him exactly how I felt about his language.”
The Russian’s smile gives me the creeps. It’s the kind of expression a serial killer might wear before cutting into his victims. “What are you going to do with them?” I ask.
“This isn’t about me.” He shrugs. “What do you want to do to him? Surely you have some plans for him after what he did to Ivy.”
I did. All of them involved the son of a bitch bleeding. But seeing him in such a pathetic state deflates all my vengeful anger. Besides, he isn’t the real bad guy. Just a low-level contractor.
“There’s nothing left for me to hurt,” I say finally, irritated.
“You could always castrate him,” Tolyan says conversationally. “I’m sure your man can hold him down.”
TJ shudders next to me.
The Russian continues, “Or if that’s too much, just cut off a few fingers and toes. On the other hand, he made Ivy fall, so maybe you should shatter a knee. He has a spare, after all. And I have a hammer in my car.”
Although he’s trying to hide it, a smidgeon of smug satisfaction in his demeanor betrays his enjoyment.
“Why did you do this?” I ask. “Ivy’s not your concern.”
“What happened to her upset Lizochka. It became my concern.”
The matter-of-fact tone gives me pause. Elizabeth was upset with Sam too, and Tolyan saw that with his own eyes.
“Did you take care of Sam as well?” I ask, needing to confirm in case I’m wrong about who’s behind it. I saw the Russian after the paramedics took Jill away, but that doesn’t mean he was at the party the entire time. He could’ve left, taken care of Sam, then returned.
“I’m not an amateur,” he says, obviously insulted. “If I had, there wouldn’t have been a body to bury.”
I’m not a stranger to violence, but Tolyan’s something else. Goosebumps rise with each word. “What are you going to do with him?” I jerk my chin at the mugger.
“Haven’t decided. Maybe I’ll leave him like this. Let him detox.”
“What about the girl?” I say. I’m feeling a bit sorry for her, since she was hungry and used. “Are you going to let her go?”
“She’s seen our faces,” Tolyan says.
I tense. Is this some kind of test? “You’re the one who kidnapped her, not me. And I don’t want her harmed.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt even a strand of her hair. She’s wanted—alive—by the Syndicate.”
The Syndicate?
“The Mafia,” TJ says flatly.
“There’s a huge bounty on her,” Tolyan says.
“You’re going to hand her over to the mob?” I ask, outraged.
“She must be delivered unharmed and very much alive. I’m sure they aren’t going through the trouble just to kill her.”
Of course not. They want to do the honor of hurting her. “I’ll pay the bounty.”
Tolyan smiles. “No, you can’t.”
The asshole is enjoying jerking me around, but I can’t be sure he won’t hand her over to the Syndicate. “You fucking psycho. Does Elizabeth know what you’re doing?” It’s impossible she would know. She’s too nice, too ethical.
“Lizochka appreciates my connections and reach. Tell her if you like. But what evidence do you have? The girl is going to be long gone. The Syndicate is going to owe me one.”
