Page 290 of Knox Academy Omnibus
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he whines.
I ignore him, and Kalen drops his attention from me and back to our victim for the night. He grins and runs the knife down the side of his face, the rusty blade cutting into his skinand making him scream out in pain. I take out my waterproof portable speaker and connect it to my playlist.
“Do we have to listen to that?” Kalen whines again. Fuck, I forgot how whingey he is. “It’s weird and creepy listening to classical music while trying to kill a man."
“You wanted my help, we do this my way. Besides, we’re nottryingto kill him. Wearekilling him. Just listen, feel the music…it makes the transition with the weapons so much nicer.”
He closes his eyes and waves the knife through the air to the sound of ‘Divenire’ by Ludovico Einaudi.
“You're right. It makes me feel like a nineteenth century villain.”
He turns back to the guy, moving like a fucking weirdo.
“What did Laura want you to do?”
“She just wanted me to watch her. That’s it, I swear!”
Kalen rubs his chin like he’s thinking it over.
“I think he’s lying,” he eventually announces, turning back to face me.No shit, Sherlock.
“I agree. Laura could have had Monty do this under the false guise of concern. Anyone who works for Cuntdelia would be someone smart enough to know not to talk.”
“Fuck you!” he seethes, knowing the jig is up. I know his game. “I won't tell you shit. You're going to kill me either way.”
“True…but how painfully you die is up to you. A bullet to the head is a nice, fast way to go.”
I bend down and grab the blowtorch from my bag. Fire is always a sure way to get people to talk.
“Let me do it!” Kalen crows, way too cheery for killing someone.
I hand over the blowtorch and wonder if it was a smart idea when he almost drops it then spins to say something and the flame gets way too close to my face. I can smell my nose hairsare singed. He’s a fucking liability. Has he been drinking or is he always this…ugh. I don’t even have words for him.
“Whoops!” he snickers before cackling like a madman. I say nothing as he turns back to finish what he started.
I stand back and watch, wondering what the fuck I even did to deserve this kind of torture. Kalen seems to be having fun and the guy passes out after he burns his socks.
Fucking friendship. I never wanted it, but somehow the pint-sized girl with curves in all the right places friend zoned me and here I am...humouring her by bringing one of her fuck boys along with me. I never ask for much, a creature of comfort. I like my own company, hiding in the shadows, and my damn torture chamber, given this one isn’t mine, but same shit. I’ve teamed up with a Knox before, just a less annoying one. Why Kalen? Not even the sweet sound of classical music can ease the tension today.
“Should we play a game while we wait for him to wake up again,” Kalen whines. “This is so boring.”
“No,” I state flatly, pulling out the smelling salts to wake this asshole up so I no longer have to listen to Kalen whine and bitch.
“But…”
I swing to face him. He’s sitting on a stool playing with a pair of pliers, putting his damn fingerprints and DNA over everything. Why his brothers kept him away from all this is painfully obvious, but also stupid. He has no damn clue.
“But nothing, you ran to your girlfriend and complained because you’re always left out, now here I am because she played the damn friendship card. Friends, Kalen…and this is the shit we apparently do. So how about you take those pliers and startcutting off fingers so this moron starts talking.” I pause for a beat and then add for clarity, “His, not yours by the way.”
He grumbles something about not being an idiot, then jumps up from the chair, pliers in hand. Still muttering under his breath, he walks towards the guy strapped to the metal chair, his feet crunching over the plastic sheeting as he goes. I watch with amusement as he grabs the guy’s hand and inspects it.
“What the fuck are you doing? Chop one off!”
“But he’s passed out,” he complains, looking at me like I'm the one who has lost my mind.
“So? He’ll wake up when he loses a finger.”
“Can we turn it into a game?”
