Page 107 of Tristano

Anger burns in my gut. How fucking dare this sick bastard.

I spot a half-drunk soda bottle next to an ashtray.

I look over at Lorenzo and point. “May I?”

He smirks. “What’s mine is yours right now.”

“Thank you.”

With shaking hands, I open the bottle. I pick the cigarette butts out of the tray and set them to the side. Very carefully, I pour the ashes into the drink. After placing the lid back on the bottle, I turn back around.

“Are you thirsty?” I ask the guy hanging from a chain.

“Fuck you,” he hisses.

Lorenzo steps forward and places a chair off to the side next to the guy. Taking his hand, I stand on the chair and drop the cap.

“Ready?” Lorenzo asks.

I nod and watch as he forces the man’s mouth open. I pour as much of the ash-ridden drink into his mouth as possible. As soon as I’m done, Lorenzo grabs his mouth, making him unable to spit it out. Reaching forward, I massage the sick bastard’s throat, making him swallow.

“Good boy,” I coo as I step back.

As soon as I’m out of harm’s way, Lorenzo steps back. We all watch as the man coughs, spitting what he can onto the floor.

“Maybe you’ll learn to watch what comes out of your mouth. No woman, no matter how she dresses or what she chooses to do for a profession, should be subjected to being abducted and sold for a man’s whims. Children should not have to fear going outside because some degenerates feel the need to take what isn’t theirs. If it were up to me, you would spend your life behind bars rotting in your own filth, but that’s not the world we live in anymore. Instead, you’ll have a very, and I do mean extremely, painful last hours of your life before you are eventually murdered then disappear as if you never existed. Is this what you signed up for?”

The man wavers a little at that. I don’t know if it’s my anger or the truth in my words, but he shakes his head slowly.

“Good, so then tell me where you were taking these women?”

I cross my arms over my chest.

He attempts to clear his throat before speaking in a raspy tone, “I’m not the mastermind you think I am. I had one job. Collect women when I receive the location and transport them to the secondary location. I only do it for extra cash.”

My eyes haze over a little at that. He transports women against their will for cash.

“Are they already drugged when you get them, or do you drug them?” Killian asks, stepping closer to me.

“Already knocked out. It’s always the same guy I meet though. I could tell you what he looks like.”

Tris moves to my side, his hand lying on my back as he holds up his phone for the man to see.

“Is this him?”

“Yes. That’s him. He’s the only one I’ve met, but he’s not the one that hired me.”

“Who hired you?” Tris asks.

He swallows hard. “I don’t know who he is. He came in while I was in lockup a while back. Said he could get me out if I did a job for him. He was a little taller than me with dark hair, but it was graying a little bit. He was a bit pudgy. I don’t know how else to describe him.”

“Where’s your phone now?” Tristano asks.

“I’ve got it,” Conor speaks up.

Tris kisses my head before going to grab it from Conor.

“I have one last question for you,” I start. “Were you the one who transported me a couple months ago?”

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