Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Grab him and watch out for weapons!” Lamorgese barked at the other men. I curled my fingers around another shard, thankful again for the plate Amelia had used to bring down my food.
Eduardo stumbled back until he hit the bars, then he sank down, gasping like a fish and trying to form words.
I didn’t feel an ounce of pity or regret. The three other men stormed the cell at once and ambushed me. I shoved to my feet when they were close enough and managed to slam the second shard into the shoulder of one of them before a fist collided with my face, knocking me back. More hits followed until I was disoriented, and blood filled my mouth. Brutal hands ripped my arms behind my back and tied them together, then two of them dragged me out of the cell past a furious Lamorgese.
“Go to our doctor and take him with you,” Lamorgese muttered, nodding toward Eduardo, who didn’t look like a doctor would be of much use anymore. The amount of blood that soaked his shirt and pants likely made up half of his body’s supply.
I was carried out of the cellblock into a room that my father had used for questioning in the past. The two assholes strapped me to a metal chair bolted to the concrete floor and checked that I was secure before Lamorgese appeared before me with a self-indulgent sneer.
“I’m wondering where you got the shards from? They remind me of the plates I get my food served on…” He narrowed his eyes. “Curious thing.”
“Maybe the last prisoner forgot them in my cell,” I said with a smirk.
His fist smashed into my nose, followed by a sickening crunch of bone breaking. I let out a muffled groan as pain spread in my face. Blood filled my nose and trickled down my throat, forcing me to swallow. Breathing became difficult, so I sucked in air through my open mouth.
“Who gave you that plate?”
“I got the delicious rotten sandwiches decorated with feces on that fancy plate.” I had flushed it down the toilet. Thanks to Amelia’s provisions, I hadn’t been tempted by hunger. Though more than two days would have to pass without eating for me to touch shit-covered food.
Lamorgese backhanded me even harder, whipping my head to the side. My neck ached from the sudden motion, and my head rang with the beginning of a headache. It was still nothing I hadn’t experienced before.
He walked over to a small table with utensils and picked up a pair of rusty pliers. “I’ll ask again nicely. Who gave you the plate?”
“You’ll torture me whether I tell you or not. Let’s have some fun first,” I muttered, even as my stomach coiled with terror at what might come next. Pliers had multiple uses during torture, and I would be submitted to at least one of them very soon.
I tried to focus on something else, an image inside me to keep me anchored, and as usual, a scene between my mother and me on my bed, reading a book before bedtime, came to mind.
When Lamorgese’s soldier gripped my hand, a memory of my mother’s soft voice played in my head, but the fantasy faltered as excruciating pain erupted in my finger. It didn’t stop. More pain followed. I wasn’t sure for how long. It felt like an eternity. When Lamorgese finally let up, my throat ached from screaming. I hadn’t been able to stay silent. Through blurry eyes, I risked a look at my hands. They were covered in blood. All five of my fingers were missing a nail.
My stomach roiled with a wave of nausea that I had trouble containing.
“Look at me,” Lamorgese barked.
I raised my head, swallowing hard. He still held the bloody pliers in his hand. The sight sent a new wave of fear through me. I focused on the spittle clinging to one end of his ugly mustache.
“If you tell me who gave you the plate, I won’t pull out your other nails, Nestore. Be wise.” He sounded almost fatherly. I knew better than to trust that voice, though I simply wanted the pain to stop.
“It was Eduardo. He’s known me all my life. He felt guilty.”
Lamorgese’s smile hardened. He smoothed his mustache. “Did he? Is that why you stabbed him? Is that how you repay someone who helps you?”
“He betrayed my family, and it’s how I treat traitors.”
“Problem is, I can’t question him anymore, can I?”
I didn’t say anything. My eyes were locked on the pliers Lamorgese slowly raised before me. I began to tremble.
“You said you wouldn’t go on if I told you, and I did.”
“Maybe you did, or maybe you lied. It’s for me to find out. But you’re right. I’m a man of my honor.” He handed the pliers to the other man. “I won’t keep going, but he will.”