he had said. Olive had been stupid enough to actually think Lor could help, but in reality she had come with him on her own, without a fight, and now she was about to pay the price.
“You can’t leave this room until I let you.” He stood beside a small panel that she hadn’t seen when first entering. Lor walked toward the exam table and stared down at it. The single light hanging directly above it made the whole room have an almost ominous quality. “You know what they use this room for?” He looked over at her, and his expression told her he hadn’t asked because he obviously thought she was blind to what happened in this room of death. “Trent takes the men he wants to torture information out of down here.” He ran a big, scarred hand across the smooth surface. “This room, along with the hallway leading to it, and also Trent’s office, are the only places on the estate that don’t have cameras in them, for obvious reasons.” He turned around and faced her once more and took a step forward, folding his big arms across his chest.
“I don’t understand what any of this is about.” Her voice was stronger than she thought possible given the fact she was scared out of her mind. Lor answered her unspoken question.
“I don’t torture people, and I don’t kill people. My only duty is to watch you and take you to see your brother when I’m told to do so.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, still not understanding why she was here, and why Lor seemed to want to help her at all. But he didn’t make her wait long before he started talking again.
“Do you know how I got this scar?” He ran his finger along the side of his face, right over his missing eye. She slowly shook her head. Honestly she didn’t want to know, but she knew he’d tell her anyway. “One of Trent’s men did this, right before I gutted him like a fucking pig.” The room was freezing already, but once he said those words it felt like it dropped about ten more degrees. This was certainly not the conversation she thought they’d be having. But if she was being honest she didn’t know what conversation they would have had. “Two years ago I watched three men kill someone in the back alley in downtown Cleveland. I tried to help, because I couldn’t have just stood there and watched them do that to another human. I can handle my own, but not when I am ambushed by three men with guns and knives, and sick desires to watch people bleed.” He looked down at the ground. “They found out my name, where I lived, and instead of killing me, they took something from me that meant more than my very life.” When he looked up at her again she sensed his bone-deep pain. “They took my wife from me, raped and killed her for the sole purpose of making me suffer.” His pain turned to rage, but just as quickly as it had surfaced, it was gone. “I waited, plotted out my revenge for the last two years. Through different outlets and channels I realized the men that had killed my wife worked for Trent, and had done so on his orders. They also maimed my face. It became like a reminder for me of what I lost every time I looked in the mirror. But I didn’t need to look at my reflection to know that I didn’t have a life anymore. I had never seen the leopard before, and he had never seen me, and so after years of perfecting my way to get to him, I finally found it.” He took another step closer. “I had to do a lot of illegal things to get where I am right now, but if it means finally exacting vengeance for what he did to the love of my life…” He exhaled loudly. Even though he might be here to seek revenge for what was done to his wife, Lor was still a dangerous man, even if he was only human. “It took a lot to get where I’m at right now, to be this close to Trent, and nothing is going to stop me from taking his life. But I can’t have you here, can’t sit back and bide my time while he has nasty, vile plans for you.” The silence
“You can’t leave this room until I let you.” He stood beside a small panel that she hadn’t seen when first entering. Lor walked toward the exam table and stared down at it. The single light hanging directly above it made the whole room have an almost ominous quality. “You know what they use this room for?” He looked over at her, and his expression told her he hadn’t asked because he obviously thought she was blind to what happened in this room of death. “Trent takes the men he wants to torture information out of down here.” He ran a big, scarred hand across the smooth surface. “This room, along with the hallway leading to it, and also Trent’s office, are the only places on the estate that don’t have cameras in them, for obvious reasons.” He turned around and faced her once more and took a step forward, folding his big arms across his chest.
“I don’t understand what any of this is about.” Her voice was stronger than she thought possible given the fact she was scared out of her mind. Lor answered her unspoken question.
“I don’t torture people, and I don’t kill people. My only duty is to watch you and take you to see your brother when I’m told to do so.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, still not understanding why she was here, and why Lor seemed to want to help her at all. But he didn’t make her wait long before he started talking again.
“Do you know how I got this scar?” He ran his finger along the side of his face, right over his missing eye. She slowly shook her head. Honestly she didn’t want to know, but she knew he’d tell her anyway. “One of Trent’s men did this, right before I gutted him like a fucking pig.” The room was freezing already, but once he said those words it felt like it dropped about ten more degrees. This was certainly not the conversation she thought they’d be having. But if she was being honest she didn’t know what conversation they would have had. “Two years ago I watched three men kill someone in the back alley in downtown Cleveland. I tried to help, because I couldn’t have just stood there and watched them do that to another human. I can handle my own, but not when I am ambushed by three men with guns and knives, and sick desires to watch people bleed.” He looked down at the ground. “They found out my name, where I lived, and instead of killing me, they took something from me that meant more than my very life.” When he looked up at her again she sensed his bone-deep pain. “They took my wife from me, raped and killed her for the sole purpose of making me suffer.” His pain turned to rage, but just as quickly as it had surfaced, it was gone. “I waited, plotted out my revenge for the last two years. Through different outlets and channels I realized the men that had killed my wife worked for Trent, and had done so on his orders. They also maimed my face. It became like a reminder for me of what I lost every time I looked in the mirror. But I didn’t need to look at my reflection to know that I didn’t have a life anymore. I had never seen the leopard before, and he had never seen me, and so after years of perfecting my way to get to him, I finally found it.” He took another step closer. “I had to do a lot of illegal things to get where I am right now, but if it means finally exacting vengeance for what he did to the love of my life…” He exhaled loudly. Even though he might be here to seek revenge for what was done to his wife, Lor was still a dangerous man, even if he was only human. “It took a lot to get where I’m at right now, to be this close to Trent, and nothing is going to stop me from taking his life. But I can’t have you here, can’t sit back and bide my time while he has nasty, vile plans for you.” The silence
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