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“Does the name Indianna Evans mean anything to you?” I ask, watching his face for any recognition.

The Count pauses for a moment, tilting his head as he thinks, before shaking it slowly. “No, should it?”

“The girl Gregg was dating all those years ago, the one who saw you that night with the three boys,” Jake explains.

We both see the moment he recalls exactly what we’re talking about, as the colour drains from his face and his eyes take on an almost haunted look. “Gregg told me he took care of her years ago.”

Jake lets out a dark chuckle. “Gregg’s a fucking liar. Indie ran, and she’s been running for all these years. No matter how much he looked, he never found her, and she never forgot about the horrors he put her through, or what she witnessed that night.”

Although it’s clear by his eyes that he’s affected by this information, he shrugs dismissively, keeping his face blank. “What does that have to do with you two arseholes?”

“I’m Jacob Santoro, one of the leaders of Blackthorn, and this is my boyfriend, Miles. We both fell in love with Indie, and she trusted us with her story. For her to stop running, we have to make sure there’s nothing chasing her,” Jake states proudly, and my heart does a little flip to hear him so casually referring to me as his boyfriend.

“Clearly, she means nothing to me. I didn’t even know she was still alive,” The Count retorts.

“But if you knew she was still alive, and could identify you, of course you’d have hunted her,” I add.

The Count lets out a very inelegant snort. “How can she fucking identify me? It’s been years since she last saw me.”

Jake chuckles, his devilish smile widening once more. “The joys of technology. She worked with a sketch artist, and we used technology to age the drawing. When then ran that image alongside any CCTV sightings of Gregg, and it didn’t take us long to find you.”

“All because of Indie,” I add on smugly.

“What does this have to do with anything?” The Count snaps, sounding incredibly annoyed by the whole thing.

“We want you to die knowing that Indie was responsible for your downfall. You will die tonight, all because a young girl had the fucking balls to stand up to someone who terrorised her for years, without even realising it.

“You are the one who created Gregg, and he’s the one who tormented her. He chased her, not only because he wanted her back, but because he knew you needed her contained. He may have gone rogue at some point, but he always answered to you. He’s paid for his crimes, and now it’s your turn,” Jacob tells him, his voice taking on a dangerous edge that heats my blood.

“You’re here to kill me?” The Count sounds almost relieved by this news, and I’m not sure what to think about that. I don’t want him to have an easy death.

“We are, but we might make you suffer a little more first,” I tell him, watching his face for any hint of a reaction.

He looks almost resigned to his fate as he sighs. “Do whatever you wish.”

Jake stands and takes a step towards me, his gaze meeting mine as he frowns. Although he says nothing, what he’s thinking is written all over his face—there’s no pleasure in torturing a man who has already resigned himself to death.

“You want to die?” Jake asks him.

The Count’s eyes narrow at Jake as his lips lift just slightly into the ghost of a smile. “I’ve known I was going to die since the moment I was captured. I held out as long as I could, but there came a point when I knew death would be better than anything they put me through.

“I gave up every last piece of information I had, not because I thought it would save my life, but to earn me a quicker death. When death is all you have to look forward to, speed is all you can hope for.”

I’m not sure if that makes me want to drag it out or kill him quicker, and I can tell it’s something Jacob is struggling with, too. I lean closer to Jake, my lips stopping just beside his ear, so only he can hear me.

“What do you want to do?”

He turns his head so he can whisper his reply into my ear. “He’s ruined the lives of so many children, and Indie. But I think the Doughtys have made him suffer. When I look at his broken body, I’m not sure what else we could do to him.”

“So you want to go for a quick death?”

“That doesn’t feel right either,” Jacob groans, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“I have an idea,” I tell him, before pressing my lips against his cheek. “Do you trust me?”

Jacob nods, keeping his gaze on me as I turn and walk over to the cupboards on the wall behind us. As soon as I find what I’m looking for, I grab the large knife and head back over to The Count.

His gaze flicks to the knife, but there’s no emotion there at all. I’m not even sure he has the energy for it.