18
Nerves of steel
I looked directly at the Asian woman, and she returned my gaze in the same manner. She was soaked. Romeo told me they had tried to coerce a confession with jets of water, without considering that the woman looked as if she had been trained by one of the world”s most ruthless mafias.
”Hello, Little Mermaid,” I murmured, taking her chin in my hand. ”My husband tells me your boss is screwing us over, and I”m a woman who likes to do the screwing, not get screwed. Do you understand me?”
”I haven”t stolen anything.”
”I believe you. Chin Lu, you don”t look like a usurper.”
”My name isn”t Chin Lu.”
”Let”s doubt that, since you”re not showing much intelligence by refusing to tell us the truth, so I”ll call you Chin Lu until you decide to talk.” Miss Wang made a face of disgust. ”R says you”re the brains behind Cheng, that your boss doesn”t make a move without it going through your privileged mind. I have to say, I like smart women, and I know you”re one because, even though we haven”t met, I”ve heard wonders about you.” She continued to look at me expressionlessly.
I wasn”t lying. I knew the damage Cheng and his henchmen were doing to us. I intended to take care of it, but the problems with Mentium didn”t leave me much room to maneuver, and I was one of those women who set her list of priorities. The Chinese were in third place.
I walked around Miss Wang with disgust. The atmosphere was most unpleasant and hostile. I didn”t like to stain my boots” soles with shit. Although I understood why Romeo kept that place like that.
My husband and Aleksa, who were waiting outside, could hear me but not see me, a condition I imposed considering the size of the place and the unbreathable atmosphere.
I changed into black overalls, leather gloves, and high boots. I didn”t like getting blood on me, and I had a feeling that Wang wasn”t going to make things easy for me.
”I have a lunch meeting with my boss; if I don”t show up, he”ll pull the thread and find you. He”s not going to like that you kidnapped me last night.”
”Of course, he won”t like it. What man likes to be left hanging and having to eat alone at a restaurant? And even less so if he”s the one who pays you at the end of the month.” I clicked my tongue and shook my head, placing my hands over hers that clung to the chair”s armrests. ”If you don”t want to be late, I suggest you start telling us where the coke is.”
”I don”t know.” I blew directly into her eyes to make them shut.
”That”s not a good answer. Nor was it a good idea to try and screw over my new family. Nobody steals from a Koroleva,” I lowered my voice without breaking eye contact, ”nor a Capulet. You would do well to remember that now our families are in this together, so our power is much greater.” She pursed her thin lips. I looked at my wristwatch and then at her. ”Your boss doesn”t want to eat alone, and I”m in a bit of a hurry, so... either you give me something that can allow me to untie you and let you go, or I”m not going to waste time. I told my husband that between women we understand each other better, it”s a matter of sisterhood.”
”I have nothing to say,” she muttered, falling silent.
”Too bad, Chin Lu. I really had my hopes up for you. Maybe you need a little incentive to change your mind.”
”I don”t sell out,” she replied quickly.
”Look, we agree there. Don”t worry, I wasn”t thinking of offering you money. I have other much more effective methods and I”m convinced I can make you change your mind. I”m very good at negotiating.”
I went to my bag and placed it on a somewhat decrepit high table. The wood was rotten and riddled with woodworm.
I opened the zipper and pulled out a leather case that housed some of my best tools.
I could smell Wang”s nerves mixed with the stench of the surroundings. I took out some long needles, thicker than those used in traditional Chinese medicine, ready for piercing.
I positioned one against the bulb hanging from the ceiling, so our guest could see it well, and ran it over my tongue like a fakir. The clatter of the woman”s teeth made me smile. Looking at her right hand and without wasting time, I drove it in viciously.
The scream she emitted delighted my eardrums.
”Does it hurt?” I had just pierced the ulnar nerve, which runs from the elbow to the hand. ”I”m glad,” I whispered sweetly.
Nerves are the ”telephone connection” of the body. They transmit messages between the brain, the receiver, and the rest. I wanted my message to be loud and clear. Either Chin Lu cooperated, or I was going to become her worst nightmare.
The Chinese believe that energy flows through the meridian points of the body. One fucking imbalance, and diseases come knocking. The disease afflicting the Chinese woman had a name and surname. Nikita Koroleva could be a lethal disease.
I repeated the operation with the left hand while the right one still hadn”t recovered. My hand didn”t tremble; if there was one thing I hated, it was not being taken seriously and having my time wasted.
As soon as I heard the second exclamation, I smiled. One of those humorless smiles, more of a warning, which is what that first prick had been.
I went back to the bag to pull out two much thicker needles. Almost could be said to be a pair of thin nails for which I would need a hammer.
I had never seen Asian eyes open so wide.
”No, no, no, no,” she pleaded.
”No?” she moved her head from side to side. ”That word is a bit dubious. Remember, I”m not looking for a negative response, but for information. Anything to say that might be useful to me?”
She swallowed hard as she saw the first aimed at the median nerve.
”If I talk, I”m dead.”
”And if you don”t, you are too.” I brought the sharp steel tip close and pressed. ”Nothing to add?” I lifted the hammer and let it fall on the head.
It pierced skin, flesh, and nerve until it drilled into the wood.
Her scream was much sharper than the previous ones. Some liquid moistened the skin of my shoe, not blood, but a terrified sphincter.
”I hate it when they pee on my feet,” I spat. I showed her the second sharp object to make clear my next move.
”I”ll talk! I”ll talk! But I want to negotiate with you.” I lowered my hand.
”That sounds much better, Miss Wang. Let”s negotiate.”
When I stepped out of the cell, Romeo looked at me differently, his eyes bright and a question at the back of his pupils that I couldn”t quite figure out.
”What?” I asked, shedding the clothes I had used.
We were in an industrial warehouse owned by the Capulets. The cell was underground, located behind a camouflaged trap door.
Aleksa stayed with Wang, giving Romeo and me time for him to make a call and for me to change into attire much more suitable for going sailing.
”You”ve left me speechless, that”s all.”
”Because you didn”t think I was capable of torturing her?”
”Because you did it with overwhelming precision!”
”Is that a compliment?” My husband was leaning against a cement pillar. With his feet crossed and hands in his pockets, he struck a carefree pose that added to his allure.
I stayed in my yellow curtain bikini and watched him survey every inch of my skin with satisfaction. I liked to be liked, there was no denying it. Whether it was Romeo or anyone else.
I slowly slipped on a long, lightweight dress printed with a leopard pattern to match my wedge sandals. Romeo let out a sigh before answering my question.
”It is.” Deep down, I was glad he recognized it.
”What have your men said about the information?” My husband frowned.
”They were right there, so it wasn”t hard for them to come by. Wang was right. I still can”t believe they stored the merchandise in one of our warehouses instead of taking it away quickly.”
I put the clothes I took off into the bag and walked over to him.
”To me, it seems like a brilliant plan. The best hiding places are right under your nose. How were you supposed to think that the drugs were still in your possession? That woman is brilliant, though she doesn”t have much resistance to pain.”
”Is that why you offered her protection and a position in your organization?”
”Dear, you have to recognize talent, especially if it belongs to the enemy.”
”She might betray you,” he asserted, watching me approach him. He didn”t move a muscle as I dropped the bag at his feet, drew close to his body, and grabbed him by the nape.
”Anyone might want to, but that”s different from being able to, or from me wanting them to.” I ran my fingers through his short hair. ”I take very good care of what”s mine, so that no one ever wants to leave once they”re by my side.” R remained still, letting himself be caressed like a feline confronted by a female who matched his measure.
”I also take care of what”s mine.” His pupils dilated as he eyed my mouth.
”One would hardly know it...” I provoked him. ”How is Irene? Did you visit her this morning before you wished me good morning?”
I found myself quickly in the place he had been occupying, with his body pressing against mine and his eyes ruthlessly ravaging me. Mmm, a punishing lay. My mouth watered.
His beard brushed against the skin of my neck as he leaned close to my ear. ”She is also mine and she is fine,” he growled roughly.
His response irked me, not because I loved Romeo—I was attracted to his physique, but it was quite another thing to actually care for him. It offended me that he valued me in the same way he did his mistress, perhaps even less. Nor did I relish being considered his property, as his ”she is also mine” seemed to imply.
”Darling, I am not yours. I”m only married to you.”
”It”s the same thing.”
”No, it”s not. You”re mistaken. I will never belong to anyone but myself.”
I slipped under his arm, and heard him mutter, ”I wouldn”t be so sure if I were you. You”re going to wish with all your soul to be mine, even if you resist.”
His challenge elicited a smile from me that he didn”t see.
”Walk, Romeo, let”s not keep the family waiting.”