Page 87 of Always A Villain

I lean in closer. “He lied. Just like you are now. I caught him with a kid, no older than ten, in Bogotá. It was a fucking mess, and I had to clean it up.”

Her face twists, and she turns away.

“I made sure his death was painful. Took him two days to die. He begged for a bullet to the head. I gave it to him—eventually.” I pause, a dark smile tugging at my mouth. “There’s a special place in hell for people who hurt little kids.”

Her face crumbles as more tears spill over. “I didn’t know—” she stammers.

“Yeah, you did,” I cut her off. “You just didn’t give a fuck. Too busy spending his money.” I lean in, my eyes locking onto hers. “You’ve got ten seconds to tell me where Conrad is.”

“I DON’T KNOW! He’s your Commander! Why don’t you ask him yourself, you psycho?!”

Wrong answer.

My gaze flicks to the workbench. The pliers sit there,waiting. I pick them up, weighing the metal in my palm.

“I was hoping you’d make this easy, Alicia,” I murmur. “But it looks like we’ll be doing things the hard way—myfavoriteway.”

“Please—No!” she thrashes, but I’m already prying her hand open, clamping the pliers around her nail.

“Ten seconds.” My grip tightens.

Her scream tears through the room.

“I don’t know where he is, I swear! He left for a meeting with the Dolore and never came back!”

Wrong answer, again.

I twist.

“No—Stop!” She trembles, head shaking rapidly.

“Nine.”

“FUCK! Okay, okay, please!” Her defiance shatters as another sob breaks free.

“Eight.”

She chokes on a frantic plea. “Conrad struck a deal with the Dolore—a trade, an arrangement! That’s all I know! Please, believe me!”

“Seven.”

Tears pour down her face. “They met at the old Sovereign storage warehouse! Outside the city! I swear, I swear that’s all I know!”

“Why did they take Rory?” My voice slices through her sobs.

Violent tremors wrack her body.

“Because…she was always meant to go to the Dolore.”

The world stills.

My pulse goes lethal.

“What the fuck does that mean?” My fingers dig into her jaw, forcing her to look at me.

She stares, her lips quivering.

“She was never supposed to be with you, Axel.” The words come out ragged, breathless. “Conrad…he planned to hand her over to Antonio after you killed Marco.”