An unearthly scream woke Aiden from his nightmarish sleep, causing his eyes to shoot open as he tried to bolt upright. Searing pain shot through him like a current of electricity and he cried out in anguish.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, my wolf friend. Just in time to join the fun, as always. I'm sure you'll want to watch the entertainment. It's right up your street."
"If you hurt her…"
"What? What are you going to do? Huh? You're so fucked up on that poison you can't even sit straight and you still think you're in a position to threaten me? I'm disappointed in you, Aiden. You were the best that I had at my disposal. Hell, you were the best there ever was and you fucked all that up for what? Some ass?"
"I'm warning you, Hernandez."
Aiden bit down in his teeth, hard, as Rafael put the heel of his shoe on Aiden's leg. "Come on then, wolfie. Let's see where these balls of yours are."
He wanted to cry out as the nausea welled to his throat but he wouldn't give Rafael that satisfaction. Instead, he closed his eyes and called to his wolf.
"Leave him alone!" Charlie screamed.
"Oh, bless your young heart, princess. I'm kind of sad I missed out on having your boyfriends beaten to a pulp but better late than never, eh?"
Aiden watched helplessly as Rafael walked to Charlie, grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back. Pulling a knife from his jacket pocket, he flicked it open and gently stroked Charlie's cheek with the blade point.
"Are you ready to name him yet? Think carefully before you answer because if you answer wrong, this will hurt more than you can possibly imagine."
"Don't do this, Raf. She ain't lying. I guarantee it."
"Aiden, for as much as I admired you once, your guarantee means shit to me. If you told me America was surrounded by water, I would have to go and check it for myself. Now, I would appreciate it if you kept yourself quiet while I work."
Aiden lowered his head but kept eye contact with Charlie. Rafael smirked and mumbled something about pathetic hitmen not being worth his time.
Charlie shook her head and mouthed "Don't" just as he turned to face her again.
"Maria, who was it who convinced you to go against your Papa?"
"I'm guessing parrots are your favourite animal. You seem to repeat yourself like one."
Rafael leaped forward to Charlie, blocking Aiden's view of her. He didn't need to see her to know what happened. The guttural scream that threatened to burst his eardrums, told him what Rafael had done. Aiden himself had been the cause of many of those screams. Most victims had talked once the knife blade was forced through the hand and into the wooden arm of the chair, but some had needed a second as extra persuasion.
"Charlie, please. Tell him. He will do it again to your other hand. Then it will be your fingers being taken off, then your teeth being ripped out."
"I'd listen to him. He used to do this for a living, you know? Ready? Who was it?"
Charlie stared at the blade in her hand in horror, as tears streamed down her face.
"No? You got my family steel, that's for sure," Rafael said, yanking the knife from her hand.
Fury fueled Aiden to sit and shuffle his weight and legs as the colour drained from her face. Her scream sent chills through his body as blood began to ooze from the wound and her fingers straightened with shock.
"I swear I will tear you apart, you bastard!" Aiden shouted as Rafael slammed the blade into her other hand.
"All she has to do is talk. Then it's all over with. You know that, Aiden."
"I don't know who it was!" Charlie screamed. "It was just a call. I swear."
"Name?"
"Tell him, for God sake, tell him," Aiden shouted. He felt useless and was filled with regret for all the pain he had caused his victims. Where the fuck are you? She needs you! I swear I'll never hurt another soul without reason, he promised himself as he pleaded with his wolf.
Charlie's head hung low as she cried. Every twitch of her fingers made him want to run to her. Every heave of her shoulders made him want to snap each bone in Rafael's body.
"Just think of Aiden, sitting there watching you go through this and not lifting a finger to help. You thought he would protect you from me? You thought Diosa would protect you from me? I knew all along who called you, Maria."
"If you knew, why do this?"
Aiden's heart shattered at the weakness in her voice. I will kill you for breaking her. I promise you that.
"Because I can and enjoy it. Why else?"
Tired…
Aiden felt a pang of hope at the sound of his wolf's voice. Wake the fuck up, he demanded, he's going to kill her!
Aiden felt a low distant rumble somewhere deep inside him as his wolf started to stir. He could feel how weak it was but he needed it to wake completely, even if it was only for a little while. It would be enough. It had to be enough.
"I'm sorry, Aiden. I'm sorry for what I said. You're not a monster. You never were," Charlie sobbed.
"Shush. None of that matters. Just stay with me for a little while, okay? Stay with me, baby. Help is coming."
"There's no point trying to smooth things over now. No help.is coming. No sudden wailing of sirens or flashing lights as the British police come charging in like knights in shining armour."
"How did you know it was Diosa?" Charlie asked.
"Not that it matters but I found a mole in my workforce. You did better than he did, by the way. He talked instantly. Diosa gave me the information about your new name and where you were, after I'd sent Aiden and they both gave their heart and soul to the sharks for their trouble. How do you feel about feeding some rabid wolves?"