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Kane and Hades shared a look and burst out laughing again.
“Oh, I will enjoy this,” Tesiera drawled as she stepped forward, a deadly glint in her eyes. She felt the rush of adrenaline fill her system, and she smirked. “I hope you two are still laughing by the time we’re done. It’ll be disappointing otherwise.”
Bose, Clinton, and Max sat on wooden chairs set out in one corner, folding their arms as they watched intently.
Thirty minutes later, Henry and Kane, now in agony, were barely recognizable.
Blood oozed from where the skin had been carefully peeled off, and fingers and toes lay scattered on the ground. They each had one eye plucked out, and their legs hung limply, broken and mangled. Some of their teeth were missing, leaving random gaps in their smiles. Not that they were likely to smile again. Their screams cut through the air like a knife, reverberating through the basement and sending shivers down the spines of the witnesses.
The three men watched the gruesome scene in disbelief, their mouths agape and their eyes wide with horror. Clinton’s voice broke the silence, filled with awe as he spoke in a hushed tone. “They’re still alive because she wants them to be. She knows exactly how to keep them alive. How to inflict pain but not to kill. How to cut and slice with precision.”
Bose gave a grim nod, his eyes fixed on the gruesome spectacle before them. “No wonder she is infamous. She is a living, breathing executioner,” he muttered.
Clinton winced as Tesiera chopped off another one of Henry’s toes. “Look at her face,” he whispered. “She doesn’t feel an ounce of remorse for them. Even I feel pity for them.”
“I don’t. I enjoy their screams,” Bose said with glee, his face lit up like a child at Christmas.
Clinton shook his head, appalled. “You’re cut from the same monstrous cloth as she is.”
Max, kept his eyes fixed on the scene before them.
“You know, I don’t mind an attack from people like you. I don’t mind monsters who injure and kill others as a profession—I’m a monster myself,” Tesiera lectured, her attention on her captives. “However, I draw the line at any sort of attack involving or in front of children. You scarred Hazel for life.” She finished that last line by chopping off yet another toe.
“Please, stop!! I’m sorry!!” Henry screamed in agony.
Max tilted his head to the side in thought. Three weeks ago, when she had attacked him on his boat, she had revealed that her father had been killed in front of her when she was a child. Was that why she drew the line at attacks in front of children? Because it had scarred her for life?
Tesiera, continued her merciless assault on the captives. “Smile for me, love. You promised me you would,” she taunted them with a cynical smile on her face. “Smile for Barbie.”
“Cruel. She is so cruel,” Clinton whispered, horrified. “That woman is a maniac. I would never want to be on her bad side.” To Bose, he added, “You see the fire you have been playing with? I would never wish that woman on you, buddy.”
Bose, still captivated by the scene, shot back at Clinton, “Fuck off, Clinton. I can handle her.”
Clinton patted him on the back, a sympathetic expression on his face. “I suggest you make peace with her, bro. She’s not above tearing a man’s body apart.”
Ten excruciating minutes later, Tesiera finally stepped back and calmly asked who had sent them to kill Maximilian Kingston.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Boogeyman? People still go by that ridiculous name?” Clinton scoffed as they ascended the basement stairs half an hour later. “Typical.”
“So, we know that it wasn’t Carter Walker who sent them to kill the boss, but they don’t know the identity of who this Boogeyman is,” Bose said. “Fucking awesome.”
“At least they gave us everything about the contractor that handed them the job. We can run checks on this Boogeyman and track him down,” Max stated.
“Yes, boss. I’ll brief Harvey on the situation so he can get our investigators on the case as soon as possible,” Bose replied as they took the stairs.
Max nodded, his attention divided. Tesiera wasn’t with them. After she had finished with the captives, she had left before immediately, saying she needed to clean up. They had stayed behind while the security team cleaned up the mess.
He had finally witnessed the infamous Torturer. He had seen what she was capable of, and he was conflicted.
The part of him that was a doctor, who saved people’s lives, was horrified, appalled, and disgusted. She had tortured those men as if it meant nothing, showing a disturbing lack of empathy. The doctor in him despised The Torturer and all she represented.
Yet, the other part of him, the man in him, couldn’t help but admire her. The methodical way she had made them spill their guts was mesmerizing. He hated to admit it to himself, but the man in him had been captivated by her professionalism.
As they reached the living room, Max was lost in his thoughts. He noticed Tesiera waiting for them in the hallway, her expression unreadable.
She had changed into a fresh outfit, her red hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, he saw a glimmer of vulnerability before it disappeared behind her steely façade.
“Boss.” She nodded at Max, acknowledging his presence. He nodded back, his conflicting emotions swirling inside him. He couldn’t deny the undeniable attraction he felt towards her, despite everything.