Page 59 of His Hell Girl (Morally Ambiguous Duet #2)

SISI

" A nd how would you know if I died?" I tilt my head to the side, studying her reactions.

"You…" she stammers, and her hands reach out for me once more, probably trying to apply some more of the punishments she'd inflicted on me when I was younger.

There's just one problem.

I'm not a child anymore.

I catch her hands midair, twisting her until my arms around her neck, restricting her airflow.

"I think we have some unresolved issues, Mother Superior," I whisper into her ear. "And I'd like you to cooperate," I continue, grabbing the rosary from the floor and wrapping it around her throat, the beads digging into her flesh.

One glance back, and I motion Vlad to come forward.

He casually saunters up to the altar, immediately immobilizing Mother Superior's limbs to the table.

"And that demon." She spits the word out when she gets a clear view of Vlad.

"Of course! I could expect nothing else of you, slumming it with the devil.

I told you, didn't I?" She gives a maniacal laugh.

"That you'd end up steeped in sin." She sneers at me and before I can help myself, my fist flies down and into her face, knocking her to the side.

Her eyes wide, she looks at me as if she can't believe I just dared to do that.

"Ah, but I'd choose my loyal devil over your facetious God any time of the day," I lean forward.

"You who condemn sins, but privately bathes in them.

You," my nostrils flare as my anger mounts, "have the audacity to tell me I'm steeped in sin?

As if every inch of your monstrous flesh," I grab her jaw in my hands, tightly holding her so that she cannot avert her eyes, "isn't rotting away as we speak. "

"Why are you here, Assisi?" she asks, her gaze definitely meeting mine, "Still having hang-ups about being abandoned?" She laughs, thinking her words will hurt me.

Ah, but she'll have a different revelation tonight.

Stepping away from her, I simply unfasten my habit, letting it fall to the ground to reveal the artillery underneath.

I'm wearing a black latex suit, completely molded to the body to allow for freedom of movement. On every usable inch, there is a knife or gun strapped to my body.

Mother Superior's eyes widen in horror as she takes in my appearance, while Vlad simply whistles in admiration.

"Go get it, hell girl." He winks at me, and I can't help the blush that creeps up my cheeks.

I'd already had a hard time fending off his advances when we'd been getting ready, but now I'm getting positively warmer under his keen gaze, the thought of revenge and sex—in that order—making my breath pick up in excitement.

"We know about the trafficking ring," I start, taking a seat in front of her and unsheathing one blade. "Now, what I don't understand is why you'd involve yourself in this."

She huffs out a breath, turning her head so she's not looking at me. Maneuvering the blade in my hand, I bring it closer to her cheek, letting the tip slowly mold to her flesh, but still not digging in.

"What do you say, will you answer, or will I cut?"

She whips her gaze around at me and I see a hint of fear in her eyes, even as she pretends to be defiant.

"So be it." I shrug, letting the blade slide down until it reaches the collar of her habit.

The knife is so sharp it doesn't take much pressure for it to cut into the material, and I follow a straight line until the entire bodice is wide open.

She's wearing a shift underneath, so I cut through that too, baring her naked flesh.

Her entire skin is covered in goosebumps from the cold, and a smile plays at my lips as I continue to trail the blade over the surface, misleading her about the time I'll actually cut into her.

"Hmm, what about Miles? How do you know him?" I ask another question, and a slight tremor in her upper lip alerts me that I might have hit a sensitive spot.

Vlad is watching me like a hawk, his gaze intent on everything I'm doing, but he doesn't interfere. If anything, every time I look his way he gives me a nod of approval that spurs me further.

And so when I see the corner of his mouth curl up, I know he's noted her reaction too.

"That demon over there," I motion toward Vlad, "taught me quite a few things," I say just as I push the blade into the upper part of her breast, "all of which include some degree of pain."

She starts moaning low in her throat, the pain getting to her as I use the tip of the blade to dig a tiny hole right over the swell of her left breast.

The moans turn to screams as I proceed to remove a sizable chunk of flesh, a hollow remaining in her breast. There's minimal bleeding, the cut sharp and efficient.

"Mhm, hell girl, now those surgical skills." He brings his fingers to his lips in a kissing sound, approving of my method.

"Let's try again," I say, giving her a small respite from the pain, since I do have some grand plans for her. All of which will include some of the things I'd suffered through over the years. "Tell me about Miles," I repeat.

She directs her malicious gaze toward me, and for a moment I doubt she'll cooperate. But as her body starts slowly shaking—from fear or pain—I know I have her.

"He coordinates the transplants," she mumbles, almost choking on her words. "He provides the facilities and the medical personnel," she continues and I look up to meet Vlad's gaze.

The words are unspoken. It's exactly as we'd theorized.

"And who is in charge of the financial side?" I ask, noting Vlad's small nod of approval at my question.

"I don't know…" She shakes her head. "I swear. I've only been dealing with a few people who are his intermediaries. They are the ones who oversee the logistics, while Miles deals with the actual transplants."

"Who are the intermediaries, then?"

Her eyes skitter around the room before she utters two names.

"Guerra and Lastra," she whispers, and my own eyes widen.

I quickly look up to see Vlad sport the same expression of disbelief, especially after Marcello had assured us that Guerra's financials were in order.

"Maybe Benedicto isn't as transparent as he wants to appear," Vlad comments from the corner.

"Benedicto?" Mother Superior frowns, "No, no. Not Benedicto. Franco Guerra and Nicolo Lastra. Those were the ones who coordinated everything that happened here," she says.

"Now, that," Vlad comes around me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "I believe. But both are dead now, so who are you in contact with?" He raises an eyebrow.

Mother Superior blinks rapidly, surprised she'd been caught in that one loophole.

Her entire body becomes rigid, her lips pursed as she refuses to keep talking.

"Interesting," Vlad notes, silently urging me to continue.

Standing up, I move around the altar, noting the various items placed on the table. A devious smile appears on my face as I have the exact method to make her talk.

Taking an old oil lamp from the table, I disassemble it, seeing there is some oil left inside. Then, picking up a lit candle, I once again plop myself in front of Mother Superior.

The hole in her chest is angry looking, but it's not deep enough to reach the bone.

That will be solved soon.

"Fuck, hell girl, you sure know how to give me a hard-on," he groans from the side, eyeing the items in my hands and anticipating what I have in mind.

Mother Superior just stares at me in horror as she's trying to understand, but only when I start pouring the oil in the wound does she realize what I have planned for her.

"No," she says, her voice barely above a whisper, "I'll tell you," she continues, thrashing against her bonds.

It's a little too late as the moment the oil fills the hole in her chest to the brim, I bring the flame of the candle over it, watching the entire thing ignite.

Screams of pain inundate the church as the fire eats at her flesh. I don't even want to imagine the agony she must be going through as heat spreads through her body, the flame burning through her pain receptors and making her break into a sweat, her breath coming out in short spurts.

"Michele," she heaves, "Michele Guerra," she finally says, and I blow into the fire, putting it out momentarily.

She slumps down, her breathing erratic as she's trying to control herself. Her entire body is convulsing, entirely covered in sweat, her eyes almost rolling to the back of her head.

"Michele is my contact," she breathes out.

"Really," I drawl, not entirely surprised that someone as slimy as Michele would be involved in this.

"Good. See, we can talk civilly." I give her a smile. "And now for the winning question. Where is the transplant center?"

She tries to back further into the table even though her bonds don't allow her much movement. She shakes her head as she looks between Vlad and I, almost pondering if more pain is worth keeping the secret.

"Ellis Island," she eventually replies, her voice barely above a whisper.

I turn to Vlad to see the wheels turn in his head.

"There's an abandoned hospital there, but it's federal ground." He frowns, closing his eyes and exhaling. "This is so much bigger than we realized, hell girl."

"We'll tackle it. One person at a time. At least now we know about Michele too," I add with a sneer.

I'd met the man only once, but it had been enough to firmly put him on my shit list. He's a bigoted cretin who seemed to enjoy making those weaker than him suffer.

"No, you can't…" Mother Superior starts moving, wincing in pain as the rope cuts into her wrists. "You can't harm him," she continues and I frown.

"Why is that?" Vlad stoops low in front of her, snapping his fingers at her when she blanks out.

"He's your brother." She raises her gaze at me, and for the first time I see pure fear there. "You can't kill your own brother," she continues, her voice broken.

"What? That's impossible." I turn to Vlad and he has the same expression of disbelief.