TORTURE ME_ The Bandits MC(106)

“What do you mean?” he asked.



“I mean he knew you were going to do it, so he staged the ride to draw you out and set you up.”



“There’s no way he can be that smart,” Dimitri argued.



“Seems to me you two underestimate each other a lot. If he was able to find out that you were planning on taking him down, don’t you think he’s capable of finding out where Ivan is without you?” I asked him.



“I’d like to see that,” he replied with a laugh.



“He’s got people on it right now,” I lied. “And if they find him without your help, you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting out of here alive. They won’t even beat you. He told me they’ll just come down here and shoot you. Then, they’ll remove your body, and who knows what will happen to you then?”



“Bullshit. How do you know?” He was growing agitated, pulling on his straps and wiggling in the chair trying to work himself loose.



“He told me, just a little while ago, when he told me why you were here,” I told him, keeping my tone even, trying to sound like it didn’t matter to me one way or the other what happened to him.



“You’ve got to help me get out of here,” Dimitri said anew, no longer worn out and tired, like he’d seemed when I came in at first. Now he seemed wide awake, full of energy. He seemed alive again. It was pretty amazing how that worked, I thought.



“I’ve already told you,” I reiterated, “I’ll help you when you help me.”



He sighed and stopped fighting. “I’m not telling you shit,” he barked. “Now, either help me or fuck off so I can figure out how I’m going to do this.”



“You know, it’s probably not wise to tell me you’re planning on escaping,” I suggested to him.



He froze and leveled his eyes on me.



“That’s right. I’m sort of in with the guy who’s holding you down here. If you tell me you’re trying to escape, I’m somewhat obligated to let him know.”



“Come on,” he pleaded. “You can’t possibly have any issue with me. You don’t even know me.”



“I know that my loyalty has been bought,” I told him. “I don’t care who or what you are, but I’ve been paid to report back to Gage anything that you tell me. And he’ll know that you’re trying to figure out an escape in here, and that you’re making a pretty convincing show of it.”



“What would it take to get you not to rat me out?” he asked.



“Dimitri,” I said. “You already know what I need. I need you to tell me what your boss is planning next. I need to know where he’s going to be, when he’s going to be there, and who’s going to be there with him.”



“You expect me to just hand him over like that?”



“I do,” I admitted. “Because I already know what’s going to happen to you if you don’t. Now, if you do hand him over, you’ll be fine.”



He laughed. “You’re just the translator. You’re not in a position to make promises like that. I hope you understand.”



“Are you sure that’s all I am?” I cocked an eyebrow, and he sat back, silent and still, finally. “Now, are you going to listen to me?”



He nodded. I had no idea what was going through his mind at that moment, but I knew I very well could have just screwed myself by making my role in all of this sound bigger and more important that it was.



“You give me the information I need, and I’ll make sure you walk out of here with me,” I lied to him. Deep down, I knew he was right. I knew that once we got the information we needed out of him, Gage’s desire to exact revenge would take over, and there wouldn’t be anything that anyone else would be able to do to stop him.



“You don’t have that kind of power here,” he argued. “I’m not going to talk to you unless you agree to help me get out of here yourself.”



I knew damn well what would happen if I did that. I shook my head. “I can’t do that. Only one person can let you go.”



He nodded. “I know. And he’s not going to, no matter what I say or don’t say. In fact, the longer I keep quiet, the more time I buy. I think I’ve mentioned this before. The sooner I talk, the sooner he’s done with me. Once he’s finished with me, he’ll have one of the guys come down and kill me.”



He was so convinced that I began to wonder, myself, if he was right. He had certainly known Gage longer than I had. Was it possible that even though they were rivals, he really did know the man better than I did?