Page 83 of Mile High Baby

I shook my head, trying to stop myself from going into a downward spiral of self-pity. If this really was it, I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, not like a pathetic, whiney bitch.

Pitney entered the room, and all semblance of a successful businessman was gone. I understood what Tommy and Aimee meant when they said he looked possessed sometimes. Pitney looked like the devil himself. Yup, this was it for me. Being resigned to death brought me a strange sense of calm. I wouldn't fight for my life, and that gave me a lot of freedom to speak my mind.

I grinned up at him, even though the split lip I had hurt like a motherfucker. “I'm really glad that my last memories in life are going to be knowing that I helped put an end to you."

Guenther's arm drew back.

"Not now, Guenther. There'll be time for that later."

Pitney grabbed another chair from the corner of the room and set it in front of me. He sat down, smoothing out his tie like he was dignified. "That's only true if I am caught, and I don't plan to be. But whether I am or am not, I get to spend the rest of my days thinking about how I made you scream. How I made you beg for your life. And then how I ended it. In all the world, I'll be the only one who knows where your remains are."

It was going to be difficult for him to leave the country, although I imagine he'd already had a plan for it. He probably had money stashed in countries around the world that didn't have an extradition treaty with the United States. So, it was possible that he could get away and live out his days, but it wouldn't be as the big businessman he was now. Whatever money he had stashed away would have to last him a lifetime because even as we spoke, all his legitimate accounts were likely closed unless the DA was still being a pussy.

"But before I kill you, I will kill your friend and then have my way with his daughter before I kill her too."

Rage erupted through me. My restraints bit into my wrists as my reflex worked to punch Pitney in the throat and end him here and now. "You will be dead before you get close to them."

He laughed. "So, you do care about people. We had a wager on whether you were totally heartless or not. Looks like I owe Guenther some money." He studied me for a moment. "Maybe you won't live long enough after all. I'll bide my time. Eventually, they will think they're safe. They'll decide they don't need so much security. And when that happens, I'll be there."

"You're all talk, Pitney. We both know that if you're not going to prison you’re leaving the country. You're not an idiot. You won't come back."

His eyes flashed with lethal anger. "Rest assured, Sterling, that they are going to die before their time, and I am going to let them know that it was at my direction. You get to go to your death knowing that."

I knew the Saint Security team was the best in the world, and they would do what they could to keep Henry and Victoria safe. But Henry and Victoria could be reckless, which meant it was quite possible that Pitney would be able to follow through on this threat. He might be in jail or out of the country, but one of his goons could carry it out.

Pitney turned away from me and toward a man I didn't recognize standing at the door. "Could you bring me my tools?"

Another blast of fear shut down my spine. How odd that I was now in the situation that I'd put Tommy in, although I’d been bluffing? I knew Pitney wasn’t. There was no information for me to divulge that would allow me to avoid his wrath. No. His plan was to torture me until I died.

I'd been through torture before, and I wasn't too thrilled about this being the way my life would come to an end. I’d have much rather died of exposure in the Himalayas, or maybe been eaten by a shark in Hawaii. At least then I'd have been doing something I loved.

The man returned with a box that he set on the floor next to Pitney. Pitney pulled out a variety of items one at a time, examining them, clearly wanting me to examine them too. Knives. Mallets. A picana, a wand that delivers an electric shock. A large plastic bag. I couldn't be sure if that was to put my body parts in or maybe he was going to wrap it around my head and suffocate me. Mentally, I sucked in a breath and let it out, resolved that things were about to get real.

A table was brought in and placed in front of me. My hands were freed as two men held me down and set my right hand on the table.

Then Pitney picked up a hammer. "How about we start with this little piggy?"

Even I knew piggies were toes, but this time I opted not to point that out. I don’t know why? My hand was just as important, if not more so than my toes. Luckily for me, I was left handed, so he wasn’t totally incapacitating me by fucking up my right hand. I didn’t have much time to consider it when the hammer came down on the tip of my pinky finger.

At the first blow, time ceased to exist. I drew inward, gathering strength to endure. As he continued, I felt outside of myself and was proud of the way that with each strike of pain, I let out a slew of expletives on Pitney. My favorite was “motherfucker, cock sucking ass wipe.”

I couldn't say how long it went on. He moved from the hammer to the picana, zapping me with the high voltage but low current rod. Then he gave Guenther a turn. He much preferred to use his own hands.

The pain continued, but it was almost as if my body couldn't respond to it. By the time the darkness came, it was a relief. I welcomed it, wrapped it around me until I was gone.

28

Victoria

Iknew my father would be upset, or at least weirded out by the knowledge I'd slept with Alex, but he was downright crazed. I truly believed that if Alex were here, my father would carry through on his threats and kill him. Or he’d try. Based on what I heard today, my guess was that Alex would be able to thwart the attempt.

I had more to tell him, obviously, because of the baby, but I decided now wasn't the time. Based on his reaction, maybe there would never be time. I knew that was unrealistic. I couldn't hide a pregnancy forever. Now that I’d told him about me and Alex, it seemed unlikely that I could attribute the baby to somebody else. My father’s head was going to explode when he learned I was pregnant.

I still couldn't believe what I heard Alex say to Mr. Pitney. Was there some sort of explanation that would make sense of it? The two men were talking alone, so there was no reason for them not to be honest with each other. Clearly, they knew each other as it sounded as if Alex worked for him before. “Dealt” with someone before. All points appointed to Alex not being the man we thought he was.

As my father ranted and raged, I tried to work through Alex’s involvement. The only thing that made sense was that my father had called him and asked for help with Pitney, then Alex contacted Pitney. That had to be how we ended up next to each other on the plane. Was having sex part of the plan or just a nice side benefit for him?

Even as I thought these thoughts, something inside me told me it couldn't be true. But what other explanation could there be?