Torture room

ELIOT

Vicente 'puto' Vergara will die, slowly and painfully, from the antics he just pulled. His family has always been a thorn in my side. But openly trying to snatch Revean from me in public was a big mistake. Andrew will capture him tomorrow, and regardless of the war he'll start, we'll tear him apart, pound of flesh to pound.

"Tell me everything." Revean's insistence floods my burning anger. "Is it true that you deal in women for sex?"

"Shall I get the car?" asks Andrew .

I shake my head. "No, open my rooms upstairs."

"Eliot." Revean is not happy to be ignored.

I put my finger to her lips to silence her.

"Wait." I turn my attention back to Andrew . "We'll be up in a minute. I'm going to take Revean to the basement first."

Andrew nods and walks away from us with Mery at his side.

"What's in the basement?" asks Revean .

"The place where you'll get to know who I really am." I gesture for Revean to follow me to the elevator. I key in the special code and we descend silently to the basement. The elevator stops, but we don't get out.

"Did my father deal in women?". asks Revean amidst the silence.

I shake my head, "No, and neither did I. It's part of the family business, though. I take care of the casino and security. My father runs the other aspects of the business, and yes, some of my money comes from those activities. Your father was into drugs."

"Is that how my mother got hooked on them?".

The elevator doors open.

"I can't answer that. I was too young to know if he took them or not, but I suspect he did, given the world they lived in and his current addiction."

"Another flaw of my father's." Revean lowers her head.

I take her by the hand and lead her out of the elevator and down the dark hallway beneath the vibrant hotel. I open the basement door and let Revean enter first. Her eyes are instantly drawn to the glass cases on the wall that hold my collection of swords and knives. The torture weapons I use to send messages to those who try to rob or threaten the casino.

"Please tell me they're just for decoration." Revean looks at me. His eyes are wide.

I shake my head. "I may not be involved in some of the darker aspects of the business, but that doesn't mean I'm a saint. I like things my way. I'm a mob boss, Revean . I attended the best boarding schools, not only to get a good education, but to train in fighting and in the use of torture skills."

"Torture." Revean approaches the lockers, carefully dodging the chained chair in the middle of the room. "Just like the old days. We learned about Henry VIII of England in school. He loved to torture people. He would tie them to a rack and stretch them until he pulled their arms and legs out of their sockets."

"I don't have a rack, but some of my methods are old-fashioned. I've pulled fingernails off fingers. Cut limbs off. That sort of thing." Revean puts his hand to his stomach. "Does that gross you out?"

"I don't think it would be normal if it didn't. You're the man who calls me his, and I'm learning that you like to cut off people's fingers."

"Fingers, ears, toes, tongues." I walk over to Revean and point to a greatsword I bought at auction in London. It was used at the Battle of Bosworth, during the Wars of the Roses. Several years before Henry VIII was born. "Arms, legs... Heads when necessary."

Shelby turns quickly to look at me. "You've killed people."

"Yes."

He rubs his stomach again. "I think maybe I should have gone with Vicente."

"He's more modern when it comes to choosing instruments. He likes to shoot limbs. Here in Las Vegas, there are many people unable to walk properly because of his torture methods."

"What about the police, don't they stop you?"

I shrug. "They belong to us. Vegas is safer with us in charge. Here the tourists don't have a clue."

"Until they try to rob you and you cut their heads off."

I gesture with my finger. "No, tourists are treated a little differently. We can't go around killing them, but they still get punished for their crimes and never come back to Vegas."

Revean moves from the closet to the chair. "This is where they sit when you torture them."

"Where we teach them a lesson for their crimes, Revean." I sit in the chair and put my hand on one of the arms. "You want to teach me?"

She shakes her head quickly to say no, and I'm slightly relieved, though I would have let her. Not take a finger or anything, but give her a cut or two.

"Andrew and Mery do this too?" asks Revean , standing in front of me.

She looks out of place in this room, with her designer dress, heels and diamond choker. Only the blood red of the dress would be something seen here.

"Andrew is my second in command. He does whatever it takes. Mery has only been in this room once and it was for something very personal to her."

Revean looks at me suspiciously, and then I can see in her expression when the truth falls on her.

"Did she torture her father here?". asks Revean , but she already knows the answer.

"Yes. The abuse he suffered was beyond anything I'm willing to describe to you. I needed to make him suffer and then kill him so I could close the case and move on."

Revean smiles. "I can understand that. I don't blame her." He looks back at the cabinet. "I hope she made it painful and bloody."

"It was interesting. She has a strong stomach."

Revean rubs his hands over his head.

"Do you know how many people you've killed?"

"Less than fifty. My first kill was when I was fifteen. A rite of passage from my father."

"I expected more than that, looking around this room." Revean lets out a wry laugh.

"I've tortured more. I've lost count." I push myself out of the chair and walk over to Revean . "Tell me what you're thinking in there." I tap him on the forehead.

"I don't know if you want to hear my thoughts. You don't seem to like me swearing."

"I think we're past that. Don't swear."

Revean leans closer to me and I wrap my arms around his waist.

"Fuck!!! I was never under the illusion that you were a saint. You showed up unannounced at my trailer and told me it was yours. You have more money and power than I can imagine. You snap your fingers and people come running. It takes someone to have that much control over those around you. I see it in you, and I see something similar in your father. But there's a big difference between the two of you. Your father does it for the power it gives him. You do it to make the world a better place for those around you: me, Andrew , Mery , your casino staff, even Las Vegas. I knew you were no saint from the first moment I met you. I have never had that illusion. But I also always knew you would never hurt me. That's why I agreed to come with you."

Revean leans toward me and kisses me. He instigates it and deepens it, our tongues tangle before parting.

"No secrets anymore?" he asks.

"No, I'm an open book to you now."

"No skeletons in the closet anymore?"

"None that I know of." I turn away from her and move my hands down my body. "What you see is what's there from now on. I'm a bossy, demanding bastard who will expect you to put your foot down, but I will love you always, even though I was raised to hate the flesh you came from. Seeing you in this room makes me realize how innocent you are of your father's actions. This place is where the darkness lurks and this is where it has to stay. We have suffered enough for the mistakes of the past. It is time for us to start looking to the future."

He steps forward and kisses me again. "When I first saw you looking at me in the cafeteria, I felt a connection. I think I knew even then that you would be the one to take care of me." Revean gestures for me to take his hand. "You said you had rooms here? I think I'd like to get out of this creepy torture room."

REVEAN

I don't let go of Eliot's hand as we walk back through the hotel to his rooms. Most people would have run away, knowing the person they're with is a murderer, but as I told Eliot , I've known all along. I just didn't want to admit it.

Having your childhood shattered changes a person. What my father did shaped Eliot and me. His mother's death left him without love or compassion. My mother's addiction shaped me into the person I am. I always thought I was weak and helpless, but I realize it has made me strong and ready for whatever comes.

Andrew is at the door when we arrive at Eliot's private quarters .

"Is everything all right?" he looks at me, instead of addressing Eliot , which is a first and probably the only time he will ever do so.

"It's an interesting collection," I reply as I'm guided into the lobby of the suites. "Fuck, this is huge."

"Revean , language," warns me Eliot , who has reached his limit for the night.

I ignore him and quickly run to the window, from where I can see the entire Las Vegas Strip in front of me.

The French hotel, the Italian hotel and many more. I have to learn all their names. I have to visit them all. This place is like nothing I've ever seen before. I haven't had a chance to experience the sounds and smells yet, but coupled with the colored lights I can see far below me, it must be an assault on all the senses. Heck, I bet the food tastes amazing too.

Andrew chuckles behind me.

"Is there anything else you want me for, Eliot?"

"No, you're dismissed."

"Even with Vicente around?"

"I suspect he's gone home to sulk," Eliot replies .

Looking away from the window, I kick off my high heels and shuffle across the plush carpet toward Eliot and Andrew .