by Vi Carter
Her heartbeat flickers in her neck but she’s holding her body calmly.
“Did you kill my wife?” Finn starts, his voice holds his pain as he steps towards her. His question is silly and pointless but I let him proceed as I get my tools.
“What’s her name?” Margret asks.
“Siobhan.”
“Can’t say I remember her.” She is playing with him.
“It was her wedding day, and you animals gunned her down.” Darragh’s voice is rough and angry.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please. I just want to put my wife to rest. Just tell me why?”
“Finn I know you’re distressed. But if you want to be here, this is done my way,” I tell him as I roll out my black tool bag so it’s open on the wooden slab allowing me to see all its content. I remove a long silver knife, one polished and that allows me to see my reflection in it. A moment’s hesitation passes me as I think of Svetlana, but this girl isn’t innocent. She had taken part in trying to kill my brother and now she was on our property after setting off a bomb. I turn to her and its Finn’s eyes that widen the most.
“I can be very creative but I’m sure you are very well versed in all torture methods.”
Her hands are relaxed but she can’t hide the fear in her eyes.
I kneel down before her and allow her to see the knife. “Have you heard of the expression ‘death by a thousand cuts?”
She doesn’t answer.
“It’s known as ‘slow slicing’ or ‘Ling chi’. It was used as a form of execution in China.” I press the cold knife to her hand and she holds still.
“What were you doing on our property?”
She doesn’t answer. I don’t expect her to.
“In China the condemned was tied to a post and bits of skin and limbs were gradually removed. Shall I start?”
No response.
I glance at Darragh and Finn now letting them know they can leave but both of them hold firm. I’m not sure how long Finn is going to last. He doesn’t look well at all. I nod before pushing up the sleeve of her top. The first slice has her hissing. I don’t press too deep, just enough to break the skin and allow the red liquid to flow.
“What were you doing on our property?”
I don’t wait for a response but cut her again. Finn folds his arms and shuffles. After six slices her arm is coated in blood.
“What were you doing on our property?”
She looks at me now, the first sign that she might be bending.
“Fuck you.” Warm liquid splashes across my face. Taking out a napkin I wipe her spit away.
As I stand I put away my napkin, and she’s bracing herself for my temper. But I keep it in check. Pushing up her other sleeve I make two deep cuts and she howls in pain.
“Jesus Liam.” I don’t look at Finn as I speak to him.
“You can leave.”
He doesn’t.
“What were you doing on our property?”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly as I clean the knife on the piece of cloth that I picked up off the slab where my other tools sit.
“It was only a warning.” Blood drips from the chair and onto the floor, sweat gleams on her face as she tries to keep her panic at bay.
I return with my clean knife and pull up her trousers legs.
“A warning about what?”
She’s shaking her head, her eyes shooting around the room. “I didn’t kill his wife.” Her shouts tell me we are breaking down barriers.
“I never said you did.” I slice quickly across her leg and her screams fill the room again.
“Please. Please tell him to stop. He’s killing me.” She’s screaming at Finn and he steps forward his face pale.
“Stop! This isn’t right.”
I clean my knife again. “Was it right that they killed your wife on her wedding day?”
“She didn’t. You heard her, now let her go.”
“She paid the guards to turn a blind eye while five gunmen entered your wedding and killed your wife and tried to kill your brother.”
Finn looks at her now.
She’s shaking her head. “I didn’t. I swear.”
“Finn.” Darragh steps up to him. “Go upstairs.”
“Are you telling me you think this is okay?” Finn faces off with Darragh and I can see the spark of hope in the girl’s eyes but when her eyes settle on me it disappears quickly.
“Are you going to tell me what the warning was for or am I going to have to get started.” I leave her to ponder on that and get out my nine inch nail. She squirms back in the chair.
“Oh no.” It’s Finn protesting again.
“Take him upstairs,” I tell Darragh.
“This is one of my favorites,” I say as I retrieve a hammer. “What was the warning for?” I ask again as Darragh pushes Finn from the room. The girl strains to see them leave.
“Now it’s just me and you.”
“I didn’t kill that girl.”
“Wrong answer.” I hold the nail over her hand and she starts screaming.
“I want to speak to Connor.”
To continue Liam and Sveltlana’s journey pick up Heartless #5 in the Wild Irish Series.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084D6FZBZ/
CLAIMING AMBER
Emmett Harrington is a far cry from a knight in shining armor. He’s more like the prince of the criminal underworld. His armor a 9mm pistol.
On the day I get arrested, I ring my best friend to bail me out. Instead, she sends her brother, Emmett Harrington. A guy I had never met before.
So a few things about me. I like to party. Nothing wrong with that. I have no filter. That can get me into trouble at times, but I prefer honesty any day. I think that’s what Emmett likes about me, why he won’t let me go. Before I realize it, I‘m kept hostage at one of his mansions, and I have been locked up in one of his hotels.
Turns out, he‘s pissed off a lot of people. He’s cold and unsociable, but underneath the glinting, dangerous surface, there’s something I’m drawn to. I‘m intrigued.
Intrigued enough to throw caution to the wind and follow him down a very dangerous path. One I hope I come back from.
If you like Mafia Style Romances, then Claiming Amber will feed your addiction for a romance with lots of drama.
Do you want to read more about Emmett & Amber?
Claiming Amber (A Broken Heart Series Part Two)
https://www.amazon.com/Claiming-Amber-Broken-Heart-Book-ebook/dp/B07H4HGYNB
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
SVETLANA
CHAPTER TWO
LIAM
CHAPTER THREE
SVETLANA
CHAPTER FOUR
LIAM
CHAPTER FIVE
SVETLANA
CHAPTER SIX
LIAM
CHAPTER SEVEN
SVETLANA
CHAPTER EIGHT
LIAM
CHAPTER NINE
SVETLANA
CHAPTER TEN
LIAM
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LIAM
CHAPTER TWELVE
SVETLANA
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LIAM
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SVETLANA
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LIAM
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SVETLANA
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LIAM
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SVETLANA
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LIAM
CHAPTER TWENTY
SVETLANA
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LIAM
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SVETLANA
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LIAM
About The Author
Enjoy this book? You can make a big difference
Reviews are the most powerful tools in my arsenal when it comes to getting attention for my books
. Much as I’d like to, I don’t have the financial muscle of a New York publisher.
(Not yet, anyway.)
But I do have something much more powerful and effective than that, and it’s something that those publishers would kill to get their hands on.
A committed and loyal bunch of readers.
Honest reviews of my book help bring them to the attention of other readers.
So if you’ve enjoyed this book I would be very grateful if you could spend just five minutes leaving a review.
Thank you very much!
Merciless Copyright © 2020 by VI CARTER.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First Edition: February 2020
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’m very lucky to have such amazing readers and Beta Readers. I want to thank the following Beta Readers who worked with me on this book.
Beta Readers
Sandra Curtin
Emmaline Pearce
Jill Pearce
Amanda Sheridan
Sherry Dale Fram
Dani Winland
Michele Rolfe
Julie Collins
About The Author
When Vi Carter isn't writing contemporary romance books, you can find her reading her favorite authors, baking, taking photos, or watching Netflix.
Married with two childeren, Vi divides her time between motherhood and all the other hats she wears as an Author.
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