TORTURE ME_ The Bandits MC(104)

“Well, I was going to ask if there was a way I could interrogate Dimitri somewhere besides that little room down there, somewhere a little more conducive to talking. But I guess that’s out of the question,” I said.



“I’m afraid he has to stay down there,” Gage said. “And it’s important that he stays tied up as well. Don’t get any ideas when you go back down there to talk to him again. I don’t want things to get ugly.”



“It’s a bit late for that,” I commented under my breath.



“Yes, it would seem so, wouldn’t it?”



“I mean, you’ve got a guy tied to a metal chair in what is essentially a concrete bunker underneath your motorcycle club’s headquarters. Things are already pretty messy, aren’t they?” I asked him.



“Things are always messy around here, Julia, if that’s your definition of messy,” he countered.



“I guess so. Still, I’d like to think there’s got to be a better way to get information out of Dimitri. He doesn’t seem too interested in talking. Maybe if there was a way I could approach him in a less confrontational manner, you know?” I directed the conversation back to the matter at hand. I couldn’t just solely focus my energy on the fact that I was working for a criminal organization, essentially aiding them in the kidnapping of another criminal.



“It’s really for the best to have him down there,” Gage said flatly. “We can’t really do anything differently with him. I hope you understand after what I’ve told you just now.”



I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back down there to talk to him again after finding out that he’d been sent to kill Gage by the rival boss. “When do you want me to go back down there?” I asked him.



“Whenever you’re ready,” Gage answered. “The sooner you can get some information out of him, the sooner all of this will be over, just like you said.”



I really didn’t feel safe going back down there by myself, so I mustered up the courage to ask him, “Will you go down there with me?”



“Of course I will, Julia,” he said. “I’m not going to go back in the room with you, just because I agree that you’ll probably get more out of him if you’re on your own, but I’ll be down there by the door in case anything goes wrong. While you’re here you’re my responsibility,” he said. “I can’t let anything happen to you.”



I found his sense of responsibility for my well-being odd and almost out of place. He presented this rough, bad boy exterior to the world, but underneath, he seemed to be a rather upstanding gentleman. I was having trouble reconciling the two parts of him I was seeing.



I thanked him for his kindness and told him I was ready to go back downstairs.



As we got up from the table, he put a hand on my shoulder. “Remember when you go down there, I need to know where I can find Ivan and what his next move is. See if you can get a timeline of what he’s up to or what he has planned. Also, see if you can get specific locations as to where he is and where he might be,” he coached me.



“I got it,” I said. “Don’t worry. I think I can remember those questions. Now, let’s go before I lose my nerve.”



“What do you mean?” he asked as we started making our way back to the stairs.



“You’re sticking me in a room alone with the man who just recently tried to kill you,” I reminded him.



“Changes your perception of him a little, doesn’t it?”



“Just a little,” I agreed.



“Don’t worry, Julia.” In a change of tone, Gage had become very concerned about me, repeating that I would be alright and that he would be watching out for me.



Normally, I would have been quick to tell someone that I could take care of myself, but my confidence had been shaken by my conversation with Gage. I welcomed his offer to protect me and watch over me while I talked to the assassin that had been sent to murder him.



Gage kept going back and forth between someone I knew better than to trust and someone I didn’t have a choice but to trust. I looked around the room at all of the other bikers in their vests with their Kings of Hell logos and patches on. I knew that if anything went wrong, and Gage simply said the word, each of those men would be at his side to protect me.



Still, if he was supposed to be the good guy, just how bad was Dimitri supposed to be? I didn’t want to find out, but as I stood in front of the door to the interrogation room again, watching as Gage opened it, I knew I would probably find out sooner rather than later.