One of the guys hands him a whip, and I take a deep breath right before the leather lands across my upper thighs, missing my dick by about an inch. Fucking hell. Let it begin. I swallow the pain and hold my breath, while I prepare my mind for more torture.
“I'm not going to ask you again after this. You’ll get one question a day. You’ll eventually talk, or you’ll hang here, withering away until you die.”
“Where did you fucking take him?” I prepare myself for the next blow, but fail. My eyes slam closed as the pain rushes through my body and the feeling of my skin ripping open pierces through me. This time, he didn't miss. The tip of the whip cracked right across the head of my dick.
I've drawn my legs up with the natural instinct to protect myself, causing my arms to pull tight with the weight of my body. My skin begins to stretch, and pain spreads over me entirely. I eventually lower my legs again to stop the stretching, but the urge to vomit still fills me.
“The strong brother. Looks like a fucking * to me.” He cracks the whip again, fucking hitting me in the same spot, and I can't stop from bending into the fetal position again. Drawing my legs up as I try to comprehend the insanity going through my mind opens me up to even more torture. My eyes pinch tight, and I’m barely breathing through this nightmare.
I hear another crack in the air behind me and feel the bottoms of my feet burn from the contact. Again. And again. And again.
They continue until I finally straighten my legs below me.
I’m burning. My skin wants to crawl away from the abuse, but I’m stuck here. Hold your shit together, Fire.
“Are we going to do this all fucking day? Because I have to tell you…. I'm enjoying this shit.” Bile rises to my throat when I speak, and I crave the kill of him like I've never craved anything before. I want him dead. He's not worth the air he breathes, yet my life is in his hands right now.
“You know, it's been ten years. Ten fucking years since you turned your back on me. I should thank you.” His obscene laughter fills my ears as I wait for him to continue.
“It was because of you that I found my home here. Who knew Mexico would welcome a piece of trash like me? Who knew I'd get to work with the world's finest? And who fucking knew… I’d have the opportunity to revisit my old demons here today?”
I can feel blood seeping from my feet as I slowly adjust my legs until I feel the dirt below me. He says all I have to do is give up Al-Quaren’s location, but I know that's signing my death papers. I can't do that. For one thing, the team won't take him to the same location. It's something I'd do too if I were in their situation, change the plan. Ty needs this man for something. I'm just not sure what.
“Why do you fucking care where he is?” I speak through the dryness in my mouth and watch the anger rise in him even more.
“Because there's a fucking price tag on my goddamn head for letting him get captured under my watch.” Ah, I get it now. He fucked up and now he's scrambling. In some fucked-up way, this brings joy to me even in my current state.
“Do you remember burning me?” Ty steps right up to my face. Damn. He’s quick to change the subject.
“Nope,” I say.
“Of course, you don't. I'm going to have fun reminding you of all the bullshit you did to me growing up.” I watch a man come from the house with a large pot of something steaming. I know shit is about to get really bad, and all I can think about is him getting just a little fucking closer.
He nods as the man gets near me, and in the next second, my skin erupts as hot water burns nearly every inch of the front half of my body. Oh my god. The fucking pain.
Ty steps right up to my face, clicking his tongue as he takes a stroll down memory lane. I remember burning him, alright. The two of us tried to make mom some coffee. I accidently spilled the entire pot down his front. He squealed in pain and I cried. God, we were so young, and I felt terrible for it. But this, the pain he is inflicting on me now, makes that small pot of coffee nonexistent. Our mother took care of him. He was rushed to the hospital, and his burns were cared for immediately. He came out unscathed.
His laughter erupts, and I listen to gunfire going off before the sounds of them walking away calm my mind in the slightest way. I’m left hanging from this half dead tree with my scorched body becoming hotter by the second. I work hard to keep my mind focused on my blond-haired woman. Jade.
CHAPTER FOUR
KALEB