Page 99 of Beauty and the Assassin
The other is occupied by the monster I never wanted to come face to face with again.
“Hey there, sis.” Roy smiles like he does every time he sees me. It’s friendly, almost brotherly on the surface. But underneath it’s devoid of sincerity or any sort of genuinely friendly emotion.
And it’s always made my skin crawl.
He’s a tanned six foot one, with hair that’s impeccably, stylishly cut. His V-neck shirt and slacks are casual but look expensive. He wears black Air Jordans, all cool and comfy. Everything he puts on enhances his even features. He’d be handsome if it weren’t for the mean gleam in his eyes. No matter what he does, he can’t hide that from the world.
The men haul me over to the chair, handcuff my hands to it and then stand to the side, like an audience before a play. Roy’s grin widens. A cat thrilled to see a mouse trapped.
“I’m not your sister,” I say, unable to stop myself from showing how much disgust he inspires in me. I want to wipe that smile off his face. “You disgusting piece of trash!”
He jumps to his feet fast enough that his chair tilts back and crashes to the concrete floor. “Me? A piece of trash?” He points his finger in my face. “You shameless bitch! You’ve been acting like a complete filthy slut all your life!”
“I’m a slut when you’re the pervert who always snuck into my room?”
“Because you begged me to!”
What the fuck?
He starts ranting. “Yeah, that’s right. You begged me! I could see it in your eyes! Filthy bitch. I was going to just kill you, but now that isn’t going to be enough. I’m going to kill your boyfriend, too! This is what happens when you’re an ungrateful slut bitch! You didn’t even thank me right for the birthday present!” He reaches into his pants pocket and throws something at my face.
I squeeze my eyes shut and duck, in case it’s something hard or a bag of acid. I wouldn’t put it past him. But it hits my face limply and falls. I look at the pink, rubbery thing in my lap. It’s a life-sized penis replica. It isn’t that big, and it droops badly.
What the—
Then I remember Tolyan telling me he intercepted the package from Roy and took care of it. I shouldn’t laugh, but it bubbles up anyway. I clench my teeth and press my lips together tightly. Tolyan claimed Roy has some kind of sexual dysfunction. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I wonder…
“Are you laughing at me?” Roy demands.
I shake my head. I don’t want him pushed over the limit—and mocking his sexual dysfunction would be going too far. There’s no way he could kill Tolyan if he faced him fair and square. But Roy doesn’t believe in fair.
“You are laughing at me! You cunt!” He walks up rapidly and backhands me.
My head snaps to the side and pain explodes. A coppery tang fills my mouth. I blink a little. My vision clears slowly.
Roy’s breathing hard, his chest heaving. He towers over me, his legs braced apart. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s facing a woman who’s at least fifty pounds lighter than him and tied to a chair, he could pass for a warrior.
“You bitch! I’m gonna make you sorry—”
A loud crash outside cuts him off. He swivels his head.
Please let it be a SWAT team!
“Little fawn!”
Tolyan! I strain for the sound of police or backup, but no. It’s just him. Just one pair of feet running on the concrete outside the door.
No, no! Oh my God! Please, Tolyan! You should’ve brought backup. Are they coming in from the back door or something?
“Is that your boyfriend, Angelika?” Roy sneers. “I heard he’s an old loser. I’m going to make him cry like a baby!”
The trio of thugs looks at him. “Want some help?” one of the men asks.
“Nah. You watch her. I don’t need your help carving up that ol’ bag of shit.”
He swaggers out, pulling out a knife. It looks amazingly sharp, like the ones Tolyan keeps in his home.
I lick my bloodied lips, then wince at the pain. Tolyan has tons of guns and explosives at home, but I don’t know if he carries when he’s at work. I’ve never seen him with a gun in the office, not that he would flash it around. But he keeps a gun in his fridge, so he has to have one in his SUV. Hopefully one with a lot of bullets.
