Read Online The Ambitious Orphan by Amelia Price - Free Book Online

back.
    “I can't stay but
you're safe now. If you're worried about anything, contact
him.”
    She nodded,
knowing she'd already planned to message Myron. Given the last few
minutes of her life, she knew there was no way she felt safe in her
home anymore. Even if she could sleep, she would need new
furniture, and as she took in more of the damage she noticed
several stray bullets were embedded in the walls. It would take
weeks to make everything look normal again. No part of her doubted
that she'd return to London the following day.
     

Chapter 7
    Sipping a cup of
tea, Mycroft studied Nesterov. The Russian was sprawled out on the
concrete floor, exhausted and grimacing in pain.
    His agents had
brought the man to a small military outpost just outside London not
long after they'd captured him, and Mycroft had been there since
the early hours of the morning. Now he was taking his time, letting
Nesterov know exactly what he thought of the treatment they'd given
Amelia.
    In the few hours
since Mycroft had entered the small room Nesterov was being held
in, the Russian had gained a split lip, an assortment of fractured
and broken bones and several other lacerations on the arms and
legs. In addition, he'd lost three teeth and a couple of finger
nails.
    Now that he felt
calmer and had allowed his temper to be expressed in a satisfying
way, Mycroft was planning to get down to the actual interrogation.
It would take some time to break a man like Nesterov, and even if
he did talk under duress, it was unlikely to be the truth for
several days.
    Normally, this
sort of thing made Mycroft feel a little uncomfortable, but every
time he looked at the Russian all he could think of was the many
hours he sat and listened while Amelia was waterboarded and beaten.
It left little room for compassion.
    “We both know how
this works so I won't waste breath. I understand that you have been
taking orders for your recent actions. I want to know who gave
them.”
    “I assume we both
know I won't give you that information willingly,” Nesterov
replied, spitting out bloody saliva when he was done.
    “And we both know
you will eventually. You can only last so long before you'll do
anything to end the pain. Everyone breaks.”
    Nesterov didn't
answer this statement. There was no point lying about it. Every
person who had ever practised torturing another for any length of
time knew they wouldn't hold up under the entire set of torture
methods known to man. If nothing else, man was an expert at
inflicting pain upon others.
    Mycroft picked up
a small knife and a thick flannel-like cloth and sat down on a
stool, near enough to Nesterov that he could take one of his hands
and pin it in place on a small wooden block.
    Ignoring the cries
and grunts of pain, Mycroft peeled back the skin on his smallest
finger, working slowly but expertly to remove just the right amount
at a time. This wasn't a method of torture he'd used before, but he
knew it needed to be effective, and he could think of little more
direct.
    By the time an
hour had passed Nesterov was no longer conscious and one set of his
fingers was almost entirely devoid of skin.
    “Get him awake
again,” Mycroft said as one of the agents who'd brought Nesterov in
came into the room.
    “Yes, sir. There's
a car for you, sir. From management.”
    Mycroft blinked
his shock and recovered before the agent could even notice anything
out of the ordinary.
    “Good. I was
thinking of taking a break. Make sure he doesn't get any sleep
while I'm gone. No food, and only the necessary water.”
    “Yes, sir. I'll
see to it personally.”
    Mycroft didn't
look back but put the knife and cloth somewhere they'd be cleaned
while he was gone and left the room. Outside was a small sink, and
he took his time washing his hands, getting every last little fleck
of blood off before he left the building.
    A familiar car sat
alongside his usual one, the driver talking to Daniels. When his
own chauffeur glanced his way the man turned