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Prologue
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the woman bound to the chair before me, except for her flame red hair. I studied her with detached interest as she blinked and shook her head in an attempt to come back to full consciousness. I’d sent my men to pick her up. They’d drugged her and brought her here, to me.
Me. Not my sadistic brother. But I’d made the mistake of informing Cristian that the young woman had been caught spying on our people, and he had insisted on being the one to interrogate her.
I swallowed hard and tore my eyes away from the gleam of the wicked hunting knife he held at his side. I knew what it felt like to be carved up, tortured. The scars on my chest and face wouldn’t allow me to forget it.
Sweat beaded on the back of my neck, but I kept my expression carefully blank. I couldn’t show any sign of weakness around my brother.
The woman’s eyes finally focused on Cristian and the knife he held. I caught a flash of lovely sky blue as her pale lashes fluttered and then flew wide on a gasp. She twisted against the ropes that bound her arms behind the metal chair. I couldn’t help but note how her struggles made her small breasts strain against her blouse. Her little fearful whimper made something dark stir inside my chest.
I took a breath and pushed down my more perverted instincts. This woman wasn’t mine to train. She was facing a horrific death at the hands of my brother. One that I would have to watch and pretend it didn’t bother me to see her ruby blood splatter all over the concrete basement floor.
“You don’t want to do this,” she choked out, her voice high and thin. “Let me go.”
An interesting response. She was certainly fearful, but her first instinct wasn’t to beg for her life. She was warning Cristian not to hurt her. Despite her situation, the woman—Samantha—was brave.
My stomach churned. I was going to have to watch my brother break her of that bravery before he finally killed her.
“No, Samantha,” he said, his tone chillingly calm. “You’re never leaving this place. Not alive, at least. If you answer my questions, I might be inclined to mercy. Otherwise…”
He let the unspoken threat hang in the air. My brother knew just how to extract the most toxic fear from his victims.
We have to do this, I reasoned. She’s nothing to me. Nothing but a threat that needs to be dealt with.
I’d killed plenty of men—more than I could remember. But I hated watching Cristian tear people apart, especially women. I might have my own sadistic streak when it came to women, but I never truly harmed them.
That made me less of a monster, didn’t it?
Samantha gasped in several deep breaths, visibly mastering her fear. “My friends will find me,” she flung out, defiant.
“If they do, they won’t find more than what’s left of your body.”
I remained silent, allowing Cristian to terrorize her while I recorded the horrific events on my smart phone. I wanted no part of this, and although watching her death would make me sick, it was almost a relief that I didn’t have to question her like this myself. I could let my brother get his hands dirty.
Samantha redoubled her efforts to twist out of the ropes that bound her. “You can’t hurt me,” she said desperately. “If you kill me, my friends will hunt you down.”
Cristian grinned, baring his perfect white teeth. “I want them to know what I’ve done. Your death will be a warning. We’re going to send a little message to your friends.”
He gestured toward me, and Samantha looked directly at me. First, her eyes caught on the phone that was recording her torture. Then her gaze lifted slightly, finding my face. Her eyes met mine for a split second before she saw the scar that twisted my face. She shuddered and tore her gaze away.
Something ugly stirred in my gut. Cristian laughed, delighted at her reaction. “What, you don’t like my little brother?” he taunted. “Maybe I’ll give you to him to play with, after I’m finished with you. He has…very unique tastes.”
I bit back the demand that he give her to me now. If he wanted me to get answers out of her, I could do that without mutilating her.
But I didn’t make demands of my brother. I’d learned that lesson a long time ago.
He touched her freckled cheek, and she cringed away. “I think Andrés will like you. Such pale skin. It will mark up nicely.”
I hated that his words rang true. I’d so much rather see the marks of my whip leaving their angry red brand on her skin than see him cutting into her flesh.
Cristian shook his head slightly, still smiling. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. He can have you when I’m done. I’m going to extract my answers first.”
