Page 109 of Blood and Thorns

“If you want to be alone, I’ll leave,” I said, fighting myown selfish need to use her to calm those voices that called for me to react. To kill.

She swallowed, still facing forward. “Stay,” she whispered, the word barely audible as she finally relaxed against me.

Her answer eased some of the weight on my chest, allowing me to breathe a little easier. I’d never found anything that would relieve this energy, and the thought that she’d been hurt…

Arabella turned, those eyes blinking up at me. “Promise me you won’t kill him.”

I knew she wasn’t talking about the man who had tried to rape her, because nothing would stop me from taking his last breath. Her dad deserved the same fate. “Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because if you do, I’ll never forgive you.”

“You think I care?”

Her eyes searched mine. “Please, I’ll do anything. Double the debt.”

I gently cupped her jaw, keeping her in place so I could press my lips to hers.“Belle, la paix que je trouve en ta présence vaut la peine d'être le méchant de ton histoire.”

Beautiful, the peace I find in your presence is worth being the villain of your story.

“Sebastian…” She was frustrated at the lack of translation, but she was too exhausted to fight me, her adrenaline waning. So I simply pulled her tighter against my chest, letting the crackling of the flames lull her to sleep. Only when I was confident she wouldn’t wake did I finally place her in my bed. Where I planned to keep her forever.

Each step towards the dungeon sent a bolt of lightning through my muscles, my knuckles aching from how hard they were tensed.

Regarde de l'autre côté, bébé!

Look the other way, baby!

I couldn’t have looked away if I’d wanted, my head forced up so I had to watch the numerous men assault my mother violently. It was part of the torture, that we all had to witness each family member be hurt, one after another. My mother was first, then my brothers, then me, and then finally my father.

But while my mother was killed quickly, Margot had wanted my brothers and I alive just a little bit longer. All so we could witness my father sob, begging as we lay there broken.

The twins stood in their positions by the door, their expressions identically sober when they nodded in my direction. “Boss, they’re waiting for you.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage festering in my soul. “Nobody comes inside until I’m done.”

It was Micah who answered. “Understood.”

Stepping inside the concrete room, I glanced at Caden, who was leaning casually against the wall with a cigarette hanging out his mouth.

“His name’s Anton Hill,”he said in French, his own anger palpable as he straightened to his full height.“Where’s Lang?”

“Watching over Arabella,”I replied in the samelanguage, noting how Anton and Morris’s eyes widened at my presence. I’d made sure I presented myself in what they’d expect, including my mask. My suit was fresh, and the rings I’d chosen the heaviest I own. Specifically designed to leave a print when I likely lost my temper and resorted to fists.

Caden had tied Anton naked to a chair, the thick rope grazing the cunt’s bare skin. His cock could barely be seen between his slightly spread legs, shrivelled up and hiding in the purposely kept cold room.

Morris was beside him, his left eye already swelling shut and his shoulders hunched forward. He was clothed, but that would change depending on his explanation.

“How is she?”Caden asked, taking a drag from his cigarette before flicking it towards Anton. Anton screeched into the rag between his lips, the tip burning his side before falling to the floor.

“She’s strong.”I cracked my neck, the two men flinching at the sound. Crossing the room, I knelt in front of Anton, purposely ignoring Morris for the moment. “Do you know who I am?” I asked in English, Anton’s eyes widening before he gave me a jerky nod.

Good.

“You’re going to die here today,” I said calmly, enjoying the panic rising at my words. “How quickly will be up to you.”

“Interesting torture technique,”Caden commented, returning to French.“You’re supposed to lull them into a false sense of security so they answer your questions, and then you kill them.”

“I want him to be terrified the entire time, until all he can feel is his heart beating as violently as I’m sure Arabella’s was,”I replied, yanking out the cloth from Anton’s mouth.