Blood.
The metallic scent was heavy and festering, probably stuck in my nostrils forever, even though I assumed I'd be used to it by now.
It still made me sick sometimes... it smelled like rusty iron and the air just became so fucking thick and hard to breathe. And if I tried to breathe through my mouth, I could swear I could taste it, which was worse.
The mess was always hard to clean as well, and maybe I shouldn't have picked my favorite boots or a white shirt tonight, but I wasn't planning on being here... well, life was a little box of surprises and what was supposed to be a peaceful night of sleep, ended up with me in this small room.
I was very familiar with this part of the establishment though, I was the one who spent the most time here. Mostly because I was always picked to handle the torturing.
The annoyance I was feeling tonight was unusual, but I blame this disgusting excuse of a man sitting on the metal chair right in front of me. His wrists and ankles were chained and he couldn't move at all, despite his useless attempts.
The rattle of the chains was echoing around us, these four concrete walls weren't too high and the room wasn't spacious. It also didn't have any windows, that's probably why the smell was always sickening.
This was indeed a torture room, I doubted it got cleaned properly because I was sure it was hard to scrub off the blood from the porous concrete floor. What used to be dark grey was now a deep maroon color, and the bright white lighting made it easier for me to see the stains from previous occasions I was in this very room.
"You know, this was supposed to be entertaining." I took a deep breath, wondering if my mother would be too upset if I simply slit his throat and claimed that he refused to talk.
She'd know I was lying, I was too good at this and I didn't give up quickly. I needed information... a name or a phone number, and then I could kill him.
"You crazy bitch!" The crybaby shouted, trying to get free again, but his brain was probably as small as his dick because he still hadn't realized he wasn't going anywhere.
I was called last minute by my mom so I could talk to Aaron over here, because apparently, he knew the name of the person who decided to fuck us over and kill one of the girls who worked at the strip club my mother owned. We were actually in the club right this moment, however, this was a special room only VIP people like me could get into.
But don't even ask me about it, I knew shit about business or how my mother and my brother kept this rolling, I was a more hands-on kind of girl... they needed my services and they called me, I didn't ask any questions and I simply did my job. It'd been like that for six years now.
Torture wasn't often on the list though, this was why I was supposed to be excited for tonight. I usually got a name and an address, and I killed who I was assigned to so I could get the money after, it was quick and I didn't care about any other details.
But I wasn't in the mood tonight and my week had been a shit show.
"My sweet Aaron... we've been here for an hour and I could be taking a bath or a nap, but I'm spending time with you." I crouched down right in front of him, keeping my gaze locked with his as I saw the fear in his brown eyes. "You're actually lasting longer than the men I fuck, and this isn't even pleasant. So tell me the name of your little friend who decided that killing one of our girls was a good idea, you fucking asshole."
I stood up again, taking a step closer to him and not caring anymore as I stepped over the recent pool of blood on the floor. The heels of my boots felt sticky now and I crossed my arms over my chest... and the dickhead actually lowered his eyes to my cleavage.
Aaron was in a terrible position to act like this, I still had seven of his fingers to cut off. And now I was going to add his dick to the list.
Blood was dripping from his wounded hand and also from the deep cut on his cheek, the white shirt he was wearing was now stained with deep red, just like my shirt.
This was going to be a bitch to wash later, I was so stupid sometimes.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I have never been to this cheap-ass club before!" He cried out, struggling with the chains again. "Who is going to miss another whore anyway? Are you one of them? Is that why you're so fucking obsessed with this?"
Oh, he was cute... he didn't know me. Maybe he didn't know my face, this often happened to the older men in this business, assuming everyone else had to be their age. But I was careful and not everyone knew what I looked like.
"It's degrading that you think like that. Also, they aren't prostitutes, they are strippers. There's a difference." I rolled my eyes at him. "But it wouldn't be a problem if they were, sex work is just like any other job. That's why you're annoying me, Aaron... you're close-minded. You're gonna make me cut this short."
I clicked my tongue, walking closer to the small metal table just a few steps away from where he was sitting, and I glanced sideways at him with a smile as allowed my hands to hover over the many options I had to pick from to hurt him some more.
"No, no! I told you I don't even know you!" He was screaming again, trying to force his way out as if he had the strength.
"I know they kidnapped you and covered your head on your way here, but the fact you knew what this was about gave it away." I raised one eyebrow, deciding to pick from one of my personal collection of daggers. "And me... I'm Cleo. I bet you don't even need a last name, do you?"
I brushed my fingers on the handle of the dagger as I walked closer to him, tracing the shape of the snake carved on the black metal.
And the way he widened his eyes as soon as he heard my name was proof that he was indeed full of shit.
I stopped when I was right in front of him now, reaching out the blade to softly slide it down his arm.
Goosebumps spread all over my body with excitement, like it always would. The tingling I'd get underneath my skin was addictive and sometimes I thought I enjoyed this more than I should, but I was tired of trying to feel bad.
"Why did your friend kill one of the girls? Was he trying to learn info on us and she didn't cooperate? Was it the drugs?" I whispered, lowering the dagger to his hand and I stopped it right next to the finger I'd recently cut off.
He was sweating and shaking, by the looks of it he was probably going to pass out soon and I'd have to finish this in the morning. Well, at least I'd have time to wash my hair before going to bed, so maybe we should wrap this up.
"I don't know. And I'm not afraid of you and your family... you'll pay for this." He actually chuckled under his breath, licking his trembling lower lip. "Styles is going to hear about this. I bet you didn't know I have his protection, right? Now that I know who you really are... he'll be happy to know what you're doing."
Fuck me.
Only listening to that last name was enough to trigger that restless anger inside me, and before I could stop myself I lowered the blade very quickly to cut off his index finger this time.
His scream was way too loud as it echoed around us and the blood actually splashed on my face, I knew I was standing too close but it just gushed out.
I stepped away to wipe the back of my hand on my face and I took a deep breath to control myself.
Did my mother know Styles was involved in this? Why would he protect this piece of shit? Was he the one behind all this as a new way to get to me and my family?
It wouldn't be the first time he attempted something like this, but I thought he wasn't fucking stupid.
He was a man, I shouldn't expect much.
But with his name being mentioned... I wondered if the mess was bigger than we knew. After all, I had no idea where my mother had kidnapped Aaron from or what she knew about him.
I was thinking too much and he probably did this on purpose... trying to get inside my head and pretend he wasn't afraid.
"Don't try me," I said through gritted teeth, pointing the dagger at him. "You're here for a reason. If you don't play your part, there's no point in having you here."
He was probably bluffing about Styles... even if he wasn't, I doubted he'd ever know I was the one who killed him-
The door suddenly opened and I quickly turned around, pretending that didn't just scare the shit out of me, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.
"Niall." I grimaced as soon as I saw who it was.
I should've known, he always fucking interrupted me.
"Hey, sis." He smiled, his blue eyes focused on Aaron and then he looked at his bleeding hand with a disgusted expression on his face. "We're on the fingers now? Is he taking too long to talk?"
"Why are you here?" I took a deep breath, placing the dagger on the table again before wiping my hands on my black leather pants. "I'm busy."
"I know you're busy, but we have important things to discuss." Niall tucked his hands into the pockets of the black blazer he was wearing.
I knew we looked very similar, especially our blue eyes, but his dark hair was completely different from my blonde one. And the most differences you could find was our attitudes and way of thinking, but he was younger and I knew men were slower to develop their brains.
Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother and I would die for him... but most of the time, I was the one nearly killing him.
"You called me so I could handle this and now something else came up? Make up your mind, for fuck's sake." I rolled my eyes. "Did mom ask you to come? I've only been here for an hour."
"It's not about him, it's about something else." Niall smiled, looking down at my stained shirt and scrunching up his nose. "Knives are so much messier, Cleo."
"You know I don't like guns." I snapped, completely out of patience now that he touched this subject. "Fuck this, if she wants to talk then let's go talk. It's not like I was making progress anyway."
"You're in a bad mood, I thought torturing him would cheer you up." Niall furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at Aaron. "He's still got plenty of fingers for you to carry on later or tomorrow, we must go now."
"You're not leaving me here! I'm gonna bleed to death and you will pay! You fucking whore, you're gonna kill me! You're all insane, I have nothing to do with-"
I interrupted him with a punch on his face, feeling the bones on his cheekbones cracking under my knuckles before grabbing the dagger from the table again, and I moved the fastest I could. I grasped his jaw and forced him to open his mouth, and since he was completely caught off guard it was easier for me to grab his tongue so I could pull it out and cut it off with a swift movement of the sharp blade.
I heard Niall making gagging noises behind me as I kept a strong hold on Aaron's jaw, forcing his head to tilt back as he choked on his own blood. The tongue always bled too much, I knew he could drown if I held him like this but if not, he would heal and never speak again, nothing deadly about that.
I tossed the tongue and the dagger on the floor, finally letting go of his face after a few seconds and backing away when he started to cough uncontrollably, spitting blood everywhere and grunting very loudly because of the pain.
"How the fuck is he supposed to be helpful now, Cleo? Was that really necessary?" Niall groaned, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.
I knew he hated to watch these things, it was probably why he always picked a gun if he had to use one. But unlike me, my brother had never killed anyone.
Funny though, because I'd lost count of how many lives I'd taken.
"It's just his tongue, it'll stop bleeding eventually and I'll call someone to check on him while we're gone, he won't die." I sighed, twirling my long hair up in a bun and realizing a few strands were soaked with blood. "And his dominant hand is functional, I'm sure he'll write just what we need when I get back. Won't you, Aaron?"
He cried like a baby and made very loud noises as blood kept coming out of his mouth, and it'd been a while since I made such a big mess in here. The smell was making my stomach churn and my mood only got worse, maybe it was a good thing that I was interrupted.
"You need help." Niall shook his head, walking towards the door and opening it, looking at me over his shoulder right when he was walking out. "Coming?"