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“We are all happy you made it out alive.”

“Thank you, Marian. It was just a weird scent. I couldn’t quite make out what it was. Again, it was so weird and disgusting.” The grip on the gun is tightening as I make a face like I’m flinching because of the memory.

“How are florals weird?”

There. It. Fucking. Is.

“I didn’t tell anyone about the floral scent.” My words land heavily, and an eerie silence fills the room. It’s so quiet that a small intake of breath would break the glass windows. Marian realizes that his slip-up has put all of us on high alert.

“I-I-I–” he is stammering while extending his arms and waving them in front of him. “Florals are pretty common and…and…“

I smirk at him and stand up from my seat, walking towards him. Another guard goes to stand behind him while the other members of my team have their guns drawn out and pointed at him.

“In 53 BCE, Roman General Crassus wanted to invade the Parthian Empire to prove that he was a military genius like Caesar. His strategy was a big failure, so he fell.”

Every small sound becomes magnified, like the heavy ticking of a clock or the hum of fluorescent lights. The room feels instantly colder, but so does his skin as I grip the nape of his neck. Then I feel something wet beneath my fingertips; cold sweat.

He is afraid.

Good.

I push the tip of my gun against his stomach, and I can see that his hands are shaking like crazy.

“Crassus was stupid, but even he was not as stupid as you. Who. Sent. You?” I grit my teeth. Marian’s breathing is in short bursts, but he finally talks.

“A couple weeks ago, while I was out and about, one of Dario’s men approached me. He told me that they would kill my wife and kids if I didn’t help them out. I told Dario that Noa was delivering Emin and where you were with Hana.” His words are the final nail in his coffin. I don’t see the reactions of my team members, but I can feel their anxiety. Their heartbeats are loud, guns are being lowered, and the shuffling of feet is the only noise in this room.

“Please don’t kill me. My wife and kids need me! I only did it to save them!”

“Is she a good mom?” While I ask this question, I release my hand from the nape of his neck and make a motion to another guard to get me a cleaver. The weapon is in my hands, and I place it against his throat. It’s exposed, and with my gun pressed against his stomach, he can’t take a full breath.

“She is an exceptional mom.”

“Good. Your kids will be in great hands then.” I don’t break up my sentence, and the coldness is steady across all syllables.

Marian knows what’s coming. A violent, rhythmic shuddering ripples upward from his knees through his torso. Because I’m holding him, I feel the frequency of his heartbeat vibrating straight through his spine.

I bring my lips to his ear, and I lick the underside of it. Then I whisper. “I need you frightened.” I straighten my spine and draw a little bit of blood from his neck.

"Wait, please, wait! I…I didn't have a choice. They have my family! Lana, I swear to God they forced me! Dario told me that a woman could never find out! I’ll tell you everything, every single name, don't pull that trigger. Please." Delicious pleas that are ignored. His desperation is arousing, and I revel in it.

“Your mistake was that you thought a woman couldn’t find out what you did.”

Click. Click. Click.

I take a sharp breath and deliver my next line with a smile. “The Devil you are going to meet in the afterlife is nothing compared to me.”

“No! Please-“

Enough of this.

I shoot him in the stomach, and he cries out in pain and throws his head back. His neck pushes against my knife, and I remove it. His head falls back, and his screams are like music to my ears. I grab him by his hair and slam his face against the table—feeling the crack of his teeth and nose.

I toss the gun away and grab the cleaver with both of my hands. I start by pushing it deep at the base of his spine and in one shift, I slice his spine.

From. Beginning. To. End.

Blood splashes everywhere, and it lands on my face. The sound of blood splattering on the floor is the cherry on top.