Page 133 of Corrupted Seduction
I looked at the gift-wrapped man. He was glaring at me, but the gag in his mouth kept him from hurtling the insults I could see written plain as day across his face.
I yanked out the gag and ignored him while I looked down at his hands. He’d touched Heidi with them, used them to hurt her. I don’t think I’d ever forget what it felt like to watch the asshole drag that knife down her flesh. It was worse than any agony I’d ever felt, like the man had been cutting me, not her, and not just my flesh but straight into my goddamned soul.
“You made a very big mistake tonight,” I said to both of them, my voice cold, devoid of emotion. “If you’d come after me, perhaps I would have granted you a quick death.” I shook my head, letting them know the end for them would not be swift.
Aurelio had laid out a dozen tools on his table.
I picked up the sharpest knife, one that didn’t look so different from the knife Jasper had used on Heidi.
With that horrid image fresh in my mind, I sliced. One finger after another; they all needed to go.
Jasper screamed as his blood sprayed, warm and slick against my skin, but he’d only made it through the third finger when his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
No worries. I finished the job and cauterized each stump to keep the man from bleeding out. The room filled with the scent of charred skin and burnt flesh.
While I waited for Jasper to regain consciousness, I pulled the gag from Dorian Sinclair’s mouth.
“You thought if you killed Heidi’s father—your brother—you’d be next in line to inherit the Sinclair fortune, didn’t you?” I asked him. “You’d be number one,si?”
When Cielo had come to me with information he thought I needed to see, it was little more than the Sinclair’s family tree, but it had spoken volumes.
“You care about the girl, don’t you?” Dorian asked, ignoring my question. “Without me, you never would have known her, you know? And she wouldn’t have known about the blood that courses through her veins. Sinclair blood.”
I scoffed. “You think she cares about your family’s money?”
He laughed. “Sinclair blood isn’t just rich, it’s powerful. It’s been powerful since good ol’ Queen Vic. Blood that is more powerful than yours will ever be. And blood that our enemies will be after now that the secret’s out. You won’t be able to protect her, mate. At least I would have made it quick.”
“If you’re trying to goad me into killing you quickly, don’t bother,” I said at the same time Jasper started to moan and come around.
As soon as his eyes were open, I leaned in, knife still in hand. The guy was wearing a Henley; there were no buttons to slice through. So, I dug the knife into the neckline of the shirt, right at the same spot he’d dug his knife into Heidi.
I dragged the knife down, cutting through layers of flesh until I reached his navel and his flesh gaped open.
His whole body convulsed as he begged and screamed.
If he was hoping to find mercy here, there was none.
I closed my eyes, and though the screams echoing off the walls were giving me a headache, I drank them in, trying to assuage the feeling inside that had started the moment I’d woken up and seen Heidi cuffed to that fucking post.
But no matter how loud or how long I made them scream, the feeling never left.
It stayed with me through every slice and stab. No matter what I cut or severed, it refused to leave. Even when Jasper was long dead, and Dorian Sinclair’s screams had turned to lifeless whimpers, it stayed with me.
I dropped the hammer I’d used to break Sinclair’s jaw and stepped back. I was covered in so much blood, it dripped from my clothes and I could feel it becoming tacky as it started to dry in my hair.
The feeling remained as I unlocked the door and left the room. Adrenaline still surged through my veins as I climbed the stairs.
“Holy shit,” Greta gasped when she saw me as I reached the top. It took a lot to startle Greta Agossi. I imagined I looked like something straight out of a horror movie at the moment—not that I gave a damn.
She was standing in the front parlor. Brute was still there next to her. Cielo and Aurelio had joined them.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Brute joked, but he was nodding. I think it was in approval.
“Dr. Dawson is still upstairs,Signor,” Aurelio informed me. “She and Raven finished with Vito, and last I saw, she went to check on her young patient.”
“Grazie,Aurelio,” I said, though I stayed put, making no move to go seek her out.
Greta sighed and took a step toward me. “Look, I get it, Deo. Feeling helpless fucking sucks, and when it’s the person you love that you can’t help, that sucks a thousand times more. But you got her out of there with no lasting damage done. We’ve both seen the kind of damage men like those assholes can do. You got her out of there, Deo. Take the goddamned win, shower that shit off,” she said, waving her hand up and down me, “Then kiss and make up with that woman, or I’m going to go kiss and make up for you.”