59

Chapter 10
Misha
“Rat torture is not for the faint of heart,” Instructor Volkov says while bringing images up on the screen. “As you can see, rats are placed in a metal bucket, then strapped to the individual. You can use a flame torch to warm the back of the bucket, forcing the rats to gnaw their way through the person.”
“Yum,” Alek mutters. “Just what I needed to see after breakfast.” Instructor Volkov shoots a scowl at Alek before returning to the lesson.
“This is known as one of the worst torture methods. As the rat claws and eats its way through the person’s intestines, the pain is excruciating. The fear of being eaten alive by rats should be enough to get the person talking before you have to resort to this.”
“And if they don’t talk?” I ask.
Instructor Volkov shrugs. “Then they die.”
We watch two other videos of rat torture, both gruesome.
Instructor Volkov’s eyes glance over the seven attendees, then he says, “If you find yourself in the position of captive and the enemy uses this technique on you, you should try to switch off. Always remember, if you talk, you’re dead anyway. As severe as the pain and terror is, everything comes to an end.”
“Loyal until death,” I whisper.
By the similar expressions on everyone’s faces, it’s clear we’re all thinking the same thing. Hopefully, we never have to use this method of torture or be subjected to it.
The screen goes dark then Instructor Volkov gives us all a creepy as fuck grin. “Tomorrow, the fun starts.”
“Fun?” Alek asks.
“You get to torture each other.”
Fuck.
I glance at Alek and Armani, then my eyes flick to the other four attendees.
“The sooner you get used to inflicting pain and ignoring the agonizing screams of your enemy, the better,” Instructor Volkov adds. “You can leave.”
We all get up, then he says, “Oh, I suggest you skip breakfast tomorrow morning.”
Walking out of the room, Alek looks at his hand, grumbling, “I just got a manicure. Whoever tortures me better not decide to pull my nails. The last time that happened, the fuckers took a year to grow back.”
“Initiation,” I chuckle. “I don’t miss it.”
“Me neither,” Armani comments, then he exhales loudly. “If you’re given a choice, what torture method are you willing to be subjected to?”
“None.” Alek lets out a burst of laughter. “I’m kind of attached to all my body parts.”
Just then, Aurora and Abbie come walking down the hallway, heading in our direction. They probably have a lesson to attend.
I’m looking at the torture method I’d like to avoid.
Armani glances at me, asking, “And you?”
Red blemishes on Aurora’s neck catch my eyes and keep them imprisoned.
Jesus. I did that to her.
Intense regret rears up in my chest.
“Misha,” Alek whisper-hisses when we’re in hearing distance of the girls.
My eyes lift to Aurora’s face, but she’s not looking at me. However, she seems pissed off as her eyes flick from Armani to Alek.
Nobody makes an effort to step out of the way, and I’m honestly surprised when Aurora passes by me, suddenly shoving hard at my shoulder with both her hands.
For a moment, I’m caught off guard and bump into Alek before catching my balance.
“Asshole,” she snaps, right before her palm burns across my face, the slap resounding in the air. “That’s for leaving marks on my neck.”
I’m still blinking when she continues to walk down the hallway, her head held high.
Armani lets out an incredulous bark of laughter while Alek watches everything with simmering anger.
Blyadʹ! Just what I fucking need today.
Knowing I can’t let her get away with slapping me in front of my friends, I set after her.
I grab her arm and almost yank her off her feet before I slam her against the wall. My body crowds hers, and her eyes meet mine, rage darkening her green irises.
“Let her go!” Abbie shouts as she comes at me.
Alek and Armani grab hold of Abbie, restraining her, and it leaves me to deal with Aurora, the little deer that’s too brave for her own good.
She lifts her chin, then taunts me, “What are you going to do, Misha?
Choke me again?”
Christ, this woman!
My fist slams so hard into the wall I feel the skin over my knuckles split. With the blow inches from her head, she at least has the commonsense to flinch.
When I lean into her, fear creeps over her face.
My body crowds hers, creating an inferno of heat in me, my cock hardening from having her so close.
When my lips brush against her earlobe, I keep my voice controlled and deadly as I whisper, “Do you want to die, moy malen’kiy olen’?”
Instantly, I regret calling her my little deer. She’s not my anything.
Focusing on the job I have to get done, I bring my busted knuckles to her face and coat her cheek with my blood.
Pulling a little back, I stare at her pale face. “Crimson looks good on you.” Our eyes lock, and seeing she fears me fascinates and upsets me. “Next time, it will be your blood.”
I swipe my thumb through the blood on her cheek, and gripping her chin, I wipe it over her lips. “I can’t wait to taste yours.”
Aurora’s visibly rattled by my words, but still, she shoves me away before wiping the blood off with the back of her hand. “Go to hell, Misha.”
There’s fire and ice in her voice, and I can’t stop my chest from filling with pride for her. I’m glad she’s not just taking my shit but fighting back. At least the woman has a spine.
She’s going to need it.
Our eyes remain locked for a solid minute before I give Alek and Armani a chin lift to let Abbie go.
With the job done, I turn away from Aurora and head down the hallway. “Fuckers,” I hear Abbie spit.
As soon as we turn the corner and we’re out of hearing distance, Alek chuckles, “Honestly, the whole blood thing looked more like foreplay than a
threat.”
“Fuck off,” I mutter.
“I’m with Alek on this one,” Armani adds his two cents. “I was expecting you to fuck her right against the wall.”
Quickly losing my patience with my friends, I growl, “Khristos, you’re pissing me off.” I glare at both of them. “Stop this shit.”
Armani nods, but Alek lets out a burst of laughter, taunting me, “You’re the one with the hard-on.”
Spinning to my left, I grab hold of Alek’s shirt and shove him back.
He quickly takes a solid stance, and face-to-face, there’s no fear from him. He just stares at me with a daring smile.
“I don’t have a fucking hard-on for D’Angelo. Got it?” “If you say so.”
Letting go of the man who’s like a brother to me, I’m instantly filled with regret for losing my temper with him. He’s always had a daring, playful personality. Most think he’s just another bad boy who doesn’t take anything seriously, but I know better.
Alek will kill and die for those he loves. He’ll do what’s necessary when push comes to shove.
Armani and I will do the same for him and our loved ones, but Alek’s the one who will take it a step further. There’s no wrong or right in his books, and his moral compass is a little fucked, but at the end of the day, he will do what no one else is prepared to do to get the job done.
And it makes me worry about Aurora.
If Alek loses his temper, he might just kill her on St. Monarch’s grounds, and I can’t have that happening.
Pulling him into a hug, I whisper, “I’m okay. Just let things be.” He lets out a dark chuckle. “You’re far from okay, brother.”
Blyadʹ.
Pulling back, I place a hand at the side of his neck and lock eyes with him. “Don’t you fucking dare go after Aurora.”
The corner of his mouth lifts into a sadistic grin. “So the friend is fair game?”
Letting out a sigh, I shake my head.
Armani steps closer, giving Alek a look of warning. “The women will be ignored. I, for one, don’t want to suffer the wrath of Viktor Vetrov and Luca Cotroni. You know women are not fair game in our world.”
Alek shakes his head, and it doesn’t look like he cares much for the rules. “Bullshit. Men, women, children – they’re all fair game. Having a kiska doesn’t set you above anyone else.”
Wrapping an arm around Alek’s shoulders, I steer him in the direction of the dining room. “Come. Food will lessen your thirst for blood.”
“You better wash the blood off your hand if you expect me to eat anything,” Armani mutters.
With a chuckle, I stop at a restroom to rinse my hands off, then we find an open table in the dining room.
While Alek orders half the menu, I glance around, my eyes touching on our enemies and allies sitting down for lunch at their respective tables.
Every now and then, a fight will break out, but no one dares break the only rule at St. Monarch’s – no killing on the premises.
My gaze settles on Marsela Kodra, a sex trafficker. He’s already raped two women and one guy during his stay at St. Monarch’s. It didn’t happen on the grounds, though, but at a nightclub in Geneva. I’ve heard the three people disappeared, and my guess is Kodra’s people have kidnaped them.
Marsela will be a threat to Aurora and Abbie.
It’s not your problem.
I tear my eyes away from the man and pick up the coffee Armani ordered for me.
Just then, Kazuo Jirocho and Takaharu Saturo walk into the dining hall. They’re members of the yakuza, and everyone knows they’re not here for training. It’s all an act because the yakuza do their own training.
Why they’re really here, I don’t know. But I don’t like it, and to make matters worse, they have a new trainee that’s joined this past week, so now we have three of the fuckers roaming the halls of St. Monarch’s.
“You think Instructor Volkov would let us practice torture techniques on those fuckers?” Alek asks, his eyes burning on Kazuo and Takaharu. He’s been thirsting after their blood for the past two years.
I let out a chuckle. “I’m willing to lose a couple of nails to get the opportunity of making them piss themselves.”
Armani glances around the room, then mentions, “It’s a pity St.
Monarch’s is open to any criminal.”
“Yeah,” Alek agrees. “And we can’t kill a single one of the fuckers.”
“Not yet,” I murmur. “Just keep watching them. When the two years are up, it will make our jobs easier when we’re sent after them.”
I have no doubt the time will come, and I’ll take great joy in using everything I’ve been taught to kill the enemy.
Every one of them, except for Aurora. I pray that never happens, and once I leave St. Monarch’s, our paths will never cross again.