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I pulled another knife from my collection, twisting it in my hand. I watched the metal glisten in the light. At that moment, my emotions turned off.
“Alright, fine.” I smirked. “Hold this one for me, will you?” I stabbed the second knife into his other thigh. He buckled forward, his wrists pulling against the ropes.
This man was a bad man,I reasoned with myself. At the end of the day, I didn’t think it mattered. We took these bounties to keep paying Samuel…we had to pay him or suffer the consequences. It was athemormesituation. And I would pick me and my family.
I tugged his head up by his hair, enjoying the power coursing through my veins. “Should I let my man in there know he can go ahead and finish your sweet Cindie off? I know he is just itching to…imagine it, Charlie, a gun pointed at her head. Her tears streaming down her face as she imagines the worst…all because of you. Because of your lies.”
Charlie’s eyes glazed from the pain. He was going to be easier to break than I thought.
“Imagine what is going through her head right now. You can’t save her…she knows it now. And she knows right before he puts a bullet between her eyes that it’s your fault.” I leaned closer to him. The smell of alcohol and tobacco wafted between us through his ragged breaths. “She will die knowing you chose money over her.” I yanked the knife in his left leg out.
He shouted in pain, making the chair bounce. Blood pooled against his gray sweatpants, and the scent of iron filled the air. “It’s in the safe!” he shouted. “The safe behind the photo!”
“Was that so hard?” I asked, making my way over to where he pointed. The safe was old-fashioned and easily picked. But I was falling into my cravings tonight. “What’s the combination, Charlie?” I said.
“52-48-10.”
“Good man.” I smirked. The safe popped open, surprisingly. Inside was a firearm and a large sum of money. “Is it all here?” I asked.
“Y–yes…" he stuttered, struggling against the bondage.
“Are you sure?” I stalked closer to him. “On Cindie’s life?”
He stared at me for a palpable second before shaking his head. “It’s about two hundred short.”
“Tsk, tsk, Charlie.” I glanced down at his hand. “You know what I’m going to have to do, then.” I pointed to his finger with the point of my knife.
“No, no, no…" He shook his head.
“It is a thief’s punishment. That money isn’t yours,” I reasoned. How many people wanted to take my fingers from me? Probably more than I could count.
“Please, no!”
“It’s yours or Cindie’s,” I offered.
He paused, actually entertaining the idea of me cutting off her finger. This guy was an asshole, and she needed to find better. “Please,” he said again.
“Choose!” I shouted, kicking his chair back.
He clattered to the ground, his head whipping back.
“Take hers, take hers!” he said. “Just take all of her. I’m sure she can make up the two hundred.”
My stomach churned at his lack of loyalty. Disgusting pig.
“Bring her out here!” I shouted to Liam, careful not to say his name. He emerged with Cindie, her hands tied in front of her. “Cindie…you need to find a better man.”
She glanced at me, keeping one eye on Charlie.
“I don’t—” she muttered, cutting herself off.
“He has a debt that he is about two hundred short on.” I motioned to the open safe, and her eyes grew wide at the money. “Instead of me taking a single finger, he offered you. For whatever we wanted.”
Her bambi eyes went wide. “Are you fucking kidding me, Charlie?” she yelled, struggling against Liam’s tight hold.
“Don’t worry, love. We don’t operate that way,” Liam said.
Charlie perked up, confusion on his face.
