Foreword:
This story is a bit of an experiment with writing a 'bad guy' as opposed to my typical protagonists. Just a heads up.
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Well, here we are again. Tied to yet another chair. Ropes this time, not handcuffs. How quaint. A bit itchy. Nylon would have been nicer.
Light stung my eyes as the sack over my head was pulled off. I winced at the glaring lamps pointing right at me. Why make it so dramatic all the time?
"You've led us on a merry little chase, Hector. Or is it Frank now?"
I gave my best disarming smile at the harsh tone, even though I could barely make him out.
"Rheese is fine."
Another voice chimed in from somewhere behind me. She didn't sound much friendlier.
"Well, Rheese, why don't you tell us about the bodies?"
"Oh, I'd love to. Remind me, which ones are you talking about?"
My eyes hadn't even adjusted before my head snapped back from the punch. Right to the rough stuff. Not even any foreplay.
"Don't give me that lip," the man growled. He grabbed my hair. "Where is Jacob?"
I could only laugh at the display. It was cute, really.
"You think this is funny?" he growled.
It seemed more rhetorical as he didn't let me answer. Another punch to the face. I heard something crack. Probably my nose.
"Start talking! Where is he? What did you do to him?"
I let him get his frustrations out on me. It was really the least I could do. Hunters were a tight knit group. They took it personally when one of their own disappeared. And they'd already lost three coming after me.
"Greg, he can't talk if you keep punching him like that."
The blows stopped. Blood dripped down my face. Was I missing a tooth?
The big guy backed off, wiping his fist on a rag.
The woman replaced him. She wasn't bad looking, maybe a bit older for my tastes, but still decent. Tight jeans, showing off a bit of an ass, tight shirt stretched over palm-sized tits, brown hair in a ponytail. Sharp eyes. Yeah. That would do.
She apparently didn't appreciate my gaze, because a line of fire burned in my thigh where she stuck the knife.
"Start talking, Rheese. I'm not as nice as Greg is."
She could glare, I'd give her that. Those hard eyes had seen some shit. Lips curled back to show off her teeth. Like a growling puppy. I liked her.
"Sure, sure." I spat out the blood filling my mouth. That was definitely a tooth that went flying there. "Never told me his name. Skinny guy? Southern accent and a Mets cap? Missing part of his pinky?"
"Yeah, that's him. Where is he?"
I chuckled again, giving way to a groan as she twisted the knife. Feisty.
"Who knows? Guy seemed to be living it up at the strip club last I saw him."
I stamped my other foot on the ground in pain as she twisted the blade deeper into my thigh. I grunted as she hit bone.
"Bullshit. He followed you. And then he was gone."
"Maybe he found true love and ran off with a pretty little thing? They had some lookers there. Did you check with the tiny blonde with the big tits?"
She pulled the blade out and stabbed it into my knee, right between the kneecap and bones. I howled. More for her sake than my own. It wasn't my first time.
"I will take you apart, piece by piece, until you tell me where he is."
I panted and grit my teeth.
"Okay, okay. Jesus. Careful with the bits."
She leaned forward.
"Where isโ"
My forehead smashed into her nose, sending her reeling back. I didn't bother trying to escape. There wasn't a need to anymore.
Greg was on me again, smashing my face back and forth. It was hard to laugh, but I gave it my best.
After what seemed an eternity, my head stopped being snapped to and fro. It was hard to judge distance now as I was pretty sure one eye was busted.
"I'm fine, Greg. Back off, we still need him."
I grinned at her as she wiped the blood from her nose. I didn't break it. Didn't want to mar that pretty face of hers.
"Funny guy. I can work with that." She pulled a hooked blade from her back. Jagged teeth lined it. Didn't look too friendly.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. You've been a good sport about all this."
She stopped, her blade inches from my good eye.
"Can I make a request though? Just one. Then I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"What is it?" she asked.
I glanced over at the big guy. "Kill him for me."
Boy, the lady could move. The guy's eyes shot open as that hooked blade tore out his throat. He gurgled something, clutching at his wound. He staggered back, a look of shock in his eyes. He slumped against the wall. Blood poured from between his fingers. It soaked his white shirt, dying it a dark red.
She screamed. The knife clattered to the ground. She rushed to him. Her hands shook as she tried to stop the blood flow. Her hands replaced his as they fell limply to the ground, his eyes still fixed on hers as their light snuffed out.
I wondered idly what they were to one another. Lovers? Relatives? Maybe just colleagues. It didn't really matter, but I always liked to hear the details. I should have asked.
My jaw popped while watching the drama unfold. My vision cleared. I was finally able to judge distance again as my other eye reformed. I ran my tongue along my teeth. There we go, all better.
"Would you mind untying me?" I asked. "Not that I'm necessarily against it, but you used the cheap stuff."
There was a lot of rage in those eyes. They locked onto me. She snatched the blade from the floor, blood dripping freely from her hands.
"I'll kill you!"
I loved these moments. The moments where they thought they could still win. Watching confusion spread in their eyes as their bodies no longer listened. Watching the despair grow as they did what I said.
Her hands shook as she sawed through the rope with her knife. It was slow going, but her quiet whimpers and pleading to herself to stop were so delicious.
"No, no, what is this? Stop, what is happening?"
"Good girl. Next time, get something nicer. This was a bit rough."
I stretched when the ropes fell away, working blood back into my arms. When I twisted toward her, she lashed out again with the knife, only to stop just before cutting into my neck.
"Now, now. None of that. There are so many better uses of our time."
"What the hell did you do to me?" Her arm shook with effort, her brain screaming to kill me, but her body resisting just as hard. "What are you?"
I ignored her angry grunts and yells as I looked around. Arcane symbols glowed on the floor where they'd etched them into the stone floor. A devil trap encircled the chair I'd been tied to. I clicked my tongue. Didn't anyone do their homework anymore?
I kept scanning, but there was nothing else of interest. Just some basement somewhere. Knowing these people, it was likely some cabin in the woods. Probably not too far from where they'd run me off the road.
"Come along, let's find somewhere more comfortable to talk. You also need to wash up. You're a bloody mess."
I stepped out of the trap sigil and headed for the stairs. She gasped and struggled as her arms fell to her sides and followed obediently after me.
Up the stairs we went into a lit kitchen. It wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, at least this place had power. The rumble of a generator came from outside the window.
Some bottles of water and snacks were on the counter. I grabbed one and drank it down. I must have been out a while because I was parched.
I wandered into a bedroom and was relatively underwhelmed. One large bed with some bags on it. Impressions were still in the pillows, and the sheets were messy and undone. At least that answered one question. Lovers.
"Go wash up and put on something nice."
"Fuck you!"
I chuckled as she walked into the adjoining bathroom and began to tug at her shirt.
"That's the plan, yes."
I grabbed a folded shirt from one of the bags. Far too big for me, but it was clean. I dumped some water on it and washed my face off. Must have bled more than I thought. It was completely red by the time I was done. I tossed it aside and stripped down. I hummed to myself as I discarded the clothes in a pile.
I turned around at the light footsteps. I whistled. She looked even better than I had imagined. Fit and firm, with just a bit of sag. Brown nipples topping small areolas and a little landing strip. She was flushed, though I imaged more from anger than embarrassment.
"Didn't pack anything sexy for Greg?"