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Shushing me softly, he kissed my forehead. "It's okay little tigress, it's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for, so don't apologize."
"I'm fucking pathetic, weak and pathetic." Why couldn't I do it? Beating him up and killing him would be no different than killing the men on my raids, so why couldn't I bring myself to act on the thought?
Comfortingly, Stepan cups my face and brings my attention to him. "You are not, my tigress, you are anything but. This is a lot, he's not some simple man to you, he's a root of your suffering in your childhood. So, don't apologize or think otherwise of yourself. Why don't I send you home with Lev and Benjamin so I can take care of the trash? Does that sound fine to you, malenkaya?"
"You'll do that? You'll take care of my problem?" I shouldn't be pawning off my dirty work to him, but I didn't want to let the man go unscathed either just because I chickened out.
"Hanna, you are mine to protect and care for, so of course I will take care of all your problems. I meant what I said, I will take care of you malenkaya, forever and always."
Chapter 38
Stepan
"I thought you were a reasonable man!" Mr. Hwei spat as he struggled against his bindings.
"I am a very reasonable man, to the fair people. Scum and criminals don't get such treatment from me, especially vermin like you. Now, I was going to play the long game with you, use you to expand our list of targets, but that was all before your connection with Hanna came up. I can't let the man who assaulted and raped my woman to live a second longer than he should." My brothers and I already had plans to end his miserable life after using him. His name had been on the roster of members who partook in Lady Qing's black market auction.
Bratva or not, we had our line in the sand: drugs, murder, sex, all fair game to an extent. My brothers and I drew the line at anything involving innocents, children, women, and the elderly. Lady Qing didn't have the same idea because she took part in everything deplorable under the sun as long as it meant padding her pockets well.
Mr. Hwei here was a happy family man with a successful financial institution under his thumb—and a serial child molester. We planned on robbing him dry before turning him into the hands of the law, and if that failed, then we would be the law. The plan went out the window the moment Hanna revealed to me who Mr. Hwei was to her, along with the fact that he brought a child—his current victim—into my establishment.
His days were numbered right here, right now. He won't survive me tonight, and I'm sure he knew that with how he eyed the flipping bullet in my hands—the one with his name freshly carved into it.
"How many?" I dawdled, keeping my form relaxed in my seat across from him.
After sending Hanna away from the office with Benjamin and Lev, I rounded up some men to deal with Mr. Hwei's guards before dragging him to The Catacombs, a newly acquired holding area out in the desert, courtesy of Nikolai's wife after taking down her stepmother.
Currently, Mr. Hwei was bound to a chair with me opposite in a chair, leg crossed with an ankle on one knee, and the rest of my body was lazily leaned back with a bullet twirling in my fingers. After I tied him down in the chair, I made quick work crafting a bullet in front of him, making it a point for him to see me carve his name into the jacket of it.
"Huh? How many what?" Mr. Hwei asked for clarification in a perplexed voice.
"How many times did you visit Hanna? How many times did you touch her?" I wanted to aim my gun at him and pull the trigger already, but not this time. I wanted to toy with him, draw this out to see him squirm. I needed to torture him and make him suffer for Hanna.
"I don't know, a lot, I didn't keep track, and why does it matter if I tell you if you're just going to kill me?" He had a good point; if I were in his position, then I would keep my mouth shut or lie.
"Your answer will determine your death. It can be quick and painless, though not my preferred choice, or very drawn out and painful." Drawing out a sigh, I smirked darkly at Mr. Hwei with my next words. "Now, the last isn't my forte, but I've got a lovely sister-in-law and my twin brothers who love the game of torture and are far more patient than me." I wasn't one to get my hands dirty much, hence why I preferred to stay and shoot from afar. As much as I hated sniping because of my introduction and training, I found a love for it after the fact.
"I don't know, maybe thirty times?" His face twisted with worry and concern, and his chair clattered more against the ground from his bouncing knee.
Remaining silent, all I do is flash him a flat smile before getting up to prepare my rifle in a drawn-out manner. "Do you know about anyone else who came and saw Hanna? Other patrons who had their eyes on her or her little friend? Also, what can you tell me about Hanna's friend?" I paid him no attention as I carefully inspected my weapon.
"I can give you a list of who I know and those who came with me, but I know nothing about this friend of hers. Hanna was alone there, always, she had no one." One silent, deadly glare made him flinch, but he didn't attempt to correct his words as he remained firm.
"The other girl, I won't repeat myself." I pressed, further narrowing my eyes harshly at him.
Mr. Hwei remained unwavering in his answer. "There was no other girl. I won't lie, I touched Hanna and many others in my life, but I swear on everything I have and own and everything on my horrible life, there was never another girl with Hanna."
SLAM!
"Liar! Nana was always there with me whenever you 'visited' me! You touched both of us, made me watch whenever you touched her!" Hanna's sudden appearance and outburst took me aback because she was supposed to be safe at home.
Mr. Hwei kept his stern eyes on me as he shook his head and denied what Hanna said. "I know she is yours and you want to believe her, but you have to believe me because I was the one who dealt the bad hand to her. There was no other girl. Nana, the girl she is referring to, that was our nickname for her." He kept his voice low to where Hanna wouldn't have been able to hear from the distance she was at.
Going over to Hanna, I gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead before sending her away with Lev and Benjamin again. "Let me take care of this for you, I'll see you at home." I whispered into her ear before I let her go completely.
Once Hanna was gone, I returned to Mr. Hwei and freed a single hand of his before tossing a pad of paper and pen into his lap. "Names, start writing. Anyone and everyone who you know or think came into contact with Hanna at the brothel." I demanded, leaning against a nearby table with my arms crossed.
Minutes later, he had nearly a full sheet filled out with names—too many names. After tucking the paper away safely into my pockets, I cut his ropes with a knife and nodded towards the exit. "You have thirty minutes to get away." The way his face brightened up before he scrambled away was almost laughable.
