Heath #2
Dallia remained silent for several moments, then said quietly. “A year after we met.”
“Were you involved with him before Dad died?”
Something ugly flashed across Dallia’s face, and then all pretense was gone.
“Yes, I met him when I helped with that one charity event. It was nine months before your dad died. I planned to divorce him, but his heart attack saved me the trouble. However, Huston said it wouldn’t look right if we married immediately, so we waited. He was willing to adopt you and Haris.”
“Why didn’t you have more kids for him, if he wanted some?” I asked.
“He isn’t able to due to an unfortunate accident. Or I would’ve.”
“Babe, is there more you want to know?” I asked Danae.
“One more thing. Did you ever love Dad or us?”
“You’ll learn that love isn’t enough. Money and power far outweigh it.”
I blinked, and in the time it took me to do it, Danae pulled away from me. She rushed toward her mom and, with her entire arm, backhanded her. She repeated it to the opposite cheek. Then, she spat in her face.
“You’re going to suffer, and you deserve all of it and more.”
I drew her back into my arms. As Dallia screamed obscenities, the guard calmly replaced her gag. I kissed my furious woman, then pressed her into Johann’s arms. I removed Huston’s gag next. He was terrified.
“Please, you don’t have to do this. I had no choice.
Bolin said if I didn’t work with him, he’d kill me.
I tried to find a way out, but there was no way.
You can’t fight the Triad. That’s why we took Danae.
If we hadn’t, he would’ve killed us and taken her anyway.
After that failed dinner, I knew we were on borrowed time.
That’s why I paid that street crew to set up the fake detour and construction spot.
Bolin’s man was supposed to make it look like a carjacking and bring her to us.
She got away. We knew the second time there couldn’t be any fuck ups.
He had to clean up the mess before Bolin returned from his business trip. ”
“You’re not being released. It’s a given.
The only thing you might be able to influence is how hard you die.
We can take you apart piece by piece yet keep you alive for days, sometimes weeks.
It’s incredible how much pain the human body can endure before it gives out.
We’re wired to fight death. And with the medical and drug advances we have, it’s even longer,” I informed him, smirking.
“H-how? How can I d-do that?” he asked raggedly.
“By telling us where the pipelines are. Who oversees them, key people’s names, protocols, and every single other thing you know.
And if you believe you can tell lies, and we won’t know it.
Try it. But first, I think we should introduce ourselves.
You know me as Heath. I told you I worked in security.
That’s not exactly true. I do security, but my specialty is something far darker.
All of us in this room have been in the military, or are still in it.
If you ask my Army buddies about me, they’ll call me Wolf.
This one here is a current SEAL. I forgot to ask, Johann. What’s your call sign?”
Johann flexed his impressive muscles as he bared his teeth. “They call me Vulcan. I’m the god of fire. Destruction is my specialty.”
“I bet you are. And these four were all Navy SEALs, otherwise known as Fiend, Midas, Wraith, and Undertaker. Collectively, not including Vulcan, we’re known as the Dark Patriots. We love nothing more than making pieces of shit like you suffer and destroying your fucked-up businesses and worlds.”
A whimper escaped Masters. I kept up the intimidation. Dallia was sobbing into her gag. Her head hung low. It took less time than I thought it would to turn her husband into a blubbering mess. I didn’t even get to do more than punch him a few times, and those were hardly more than love taps.
“Please, enough,” he whined.
“Then start talking,” Johann growled.
Over the next forty-five minutes, Huston Masters sang like a canary, as the saying went.
Thankfully, everything was being recorded, and technicians would be busy digging to verify what information they could immediately.
However, the way he shook and the wildness in his eyes, Huston was too scared of pain to lie.
He knew he was a dead man. I was disappointed.
I wasn’t feeding Wolf’s hunger. But I knew when it came to Zhāng, he’d slake my hunger.
About twenty minutes into her stepdad’s verbal vomiting, a chair was brought over for Danae.
I’d been about to get her one, but again, the silent guard anticipated the need.
I hadn’t seen him here before. This wasn’t the first time we’d used this place.
When Huston could do nothing but cry and repeat that he gave us everything, I took a break.
I wanted to see if Danae needed anything. Or if she wanted to leave.
“Divine One, you need a break? Wanna go out in the central area?”
“I could use a bathroom and some water if that’s not too much to ask. Your daughter is making me have to pee. And I’m good here.”
That was the cue for all of us, but not for the guard, to leave. Before we did, I went up to him. I held out my hand.
“We haven’t met. I’m Heath.”
He shook it as he replied. “It’s good to meet you, sir. I’m Jago Gomez.”
The others came over to do the same. We all thanked him for what he was doing and insisted that he call us by our names, not sir. Exiting the room, we took a break.
Twenty minutes later, we returned. The three captives were in the same spots, with no bathroom or water break. We not only peed and got water, but were also given sandwiches. I made sure Danae ate the whole thing. I was starved and scarfed down two.
When we reentered, I spotted Anderson standing there, talking to Jago.
He sent a chin lift in our direction. All of us returned it, while Danae waved.
He winked at her. As I led Danae back to her seat, I saw it now had a cushion.
Damn, Jago was exceeding expectations. I wondered if we could steal him. Anderson joined us moments later.
“I see we’ve been revived. Good. I hear you’re getting good stuff.
A team is at the Masters’ estate going through it with a fine-tooth comb.
They’re collecting computers and laptops and breaking into the safe the couple thought was hidden.
The butler told us where to look. Ready to make the last one crack? He’s not gonna be like the last two.”
“We’re ready. He might take a while, but he’ll break,” Undertaker stated.
“Mind if I stay and watch and keep this beautiful lady company?”
“You can stay, but don’t get any ideas. The last man who wanted to take her from me is tied to that chair,” I said, pointing to Zhāng.
Anderson threw back his head, laughed, then replied, “I heard that loud and clear.”
I grinned, then got back to work. I’d start by asking Zhāng if he would cooperate, though I knew the answer. Then I’d proceed to crank up the pain. He’d eventually give me what we needed. Would it be today or tomorrow? I’d have to see. Jago walked over and undid the gag. I gave him a thumbs-up.
“I’m not telling you shit,” the Dragon Head rasped.
Without a word, I took the little that was left in my water bottle and went to him. He glared at me.
“If you want to drink, do it now or not at all.”
When he kept his mouth closed, I tilted the bottle as if to pour it on the floor.
He made a protesting sound. I inched up a brow.
He reluctantly opened his mouth. I pushed back his head and poured it in.
I wasn’t doing it out of pity. I wanted him to be able to speak.
It was enough to moisten his mouth without killing his thirst.
“Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, you were about to tell us the ins and outs of your business on the other end, as well as anything Masters forgot or doesn’t know.”
That was the beginning of a fruitless half hour of him saying nothing, or spewing threats of what his friends from the other Triad gangs would do.
Done with his nonsense, it was time to commence the torture.
There were columns around the room to secure him to, hooks that hung from the ceiling’s pulley systems, and more.
“I think he should be tied to that column right there. And he won’t need all those clothes. We’ll strip him to his underwear,” I said matter-of-factly.
Johann and Undertaker came forward. They untied Zhāng from the chair while I settled in. For me, that meant I removed everything but my shoes and jeans. I stripped my upper half bare. I hated to ruin my shirt. It was a favorite.
I went over to the cabinets, which held implements to inflict pain that were almost limitless.
I started with the basics. I slid brass knuckles onto both hands.
I was about to work off some of the angst I had inside.
This motherfucker had Danae kidnapped and intended to force her to be with him.
I wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t have sold her after he was bored with her.
Or he might’ve killed her. The thought heated my blood.
Wolf was pulling at his leash, but not too hard, not yet.
As Johann came to stand next to me, I gestured in front of us. “Feel free to join in, if you want.”
His eyes sparkled, and he went straight for more of the knuckle dusters.
He removed his shirt, too. Johann and I got into a rhythm after we started on Zhāng.
We’d ask a question. Zhāng would either refuse to answer or say nasty things back at us.
Then one of us would hit him a few times before asking a question.
I had to give the bastard credit. He was taking the pain, but we hadn’t gotten too out of control yet.
Tiring of the brass knuckles after a while, I whispered a suggestion to Johann. He grinned and nodded. We put the knuckles aside. They’d need to be cleaned. We washed our hands and then told Jago what we wanted. He showed us where everything was and even fetched some for us.
Johann took the bucket of cold water Jago handed him, walked straight up to Zhāng, and poured it over him until he was drenched.
Once that was done, he came back, and we got our identical pieces of equipment.
When we displayed them, I saw the briefest twitch of our captive’s lips.
He knew what was about to happen. The spectators were murmuring in a group.
Anderson was still there, sitting next to my woman.
Dallia and Huston were watching in terror.
They wanted nothing to do with what was happening to their business associate.
“This is your last chance, Bolin. Tell us what we want to know. Spare yourself the agony. You know what these are. Things are only going to get worse from here,” I warned him.
“Yeah, tell us,” Johann repeated.
“Fuck all of you. I won’t tell you anything, no matter what you do to me.” His bravado had the slightest quiver to it. He was getting closer to cracking.