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him.
    Ethan hated sitting in the car for hours doing nothing. At least she let him drive. He’d have blown his brains out if he had to sit in the passenger seat for fifteen hours.
    He’d almost killed himself many times. Karin had stopped him. He hated her for it. Loved her for it. It depended on what memory came back and where it hurt.
    “You’re brooding,” she said.
    “It wasn’t the same this time.”
    “Price was a worthless bum.”
    “I’m sorry I got carried away. I just wanted to try something different.”
    “It worked beautifully,” she cooed.
    “But he died. It didn’t even take that long. I don’t understand how it happened.” And that’s what bothered Ethan most of all. He’d studied and practiced and perfected his discipline. Price shouldn’t have had a heart attack. It took the fun out of making him pay for the months of pain Ethan had endured.
    She put her hand between his legs—close, but not quite touching him where he wanted.
    “You didn’t make a mistake. You tried something new and he had a heart attack. Maybe he had a weak heart, maybe he was a drug addict, we don’t know. But think of what you discovered! When we’re done with everyone on the list, we should explore the possibilities of serious damage.”
    “Nothing’s permanent.” Except memories.
    “You don’t know that. Look at what happened to Price.”
    “Like you said, he could have been a druggie or had high blood pressure or something.”
    Ethan had been a guinea pig. Punctured and pained to perfect the techniques of his captors. He would be better than them. They hadn’t killed him—maybe they couldn’t with the tools they’d chosen—but they had made him want to die. Wouldn’t it be something if Ethan could slide in a couple of well-placed needles and cause a heart to stop? Had he done that with Price? Had he come up with something new? Better?
    “I need to practice,” he said.
    “You’ll have time. But first, we finish with the plan.”
    She touched him there now; he was hard. “Just a couple hours and we can take care of this.”
    He squirmed. He wanted her to suck him so hard it hurt. But he would wait.
    They drove mostly in silence, though she was tormenting him with touches and kisses and whispers that kept him in a constant state of agitation. They arrived in Flagstaff as the sun disappeared. Here they would change cars again, rest, and tomorrow night take out another of the men who had destroyed Ethan: Frank Cardenas.
    He shivered with anticipation. She thought it was about sex. Sure, sex had something to do with it. But more, he wanted to please her. To show her what he’d learned. He knew she enjoyed watching him poke the restrained men. He always asked if she wanted him to continue, and she always said yes. Keep it going as long as possible, until they pushed their victim to the breaking point.
    The cabin they’d shared for the last six months was in the mountains above Flagstaff. He parked and got out, stretched, feeling free. The cabin was a large, spacious three-room A-frame with a loft. While he didn’t like being confined, it was okay as long as he could see out the windows.
    Ethan turned to her, putting their bags inside the cabin. “Do you want—” he began, but her face had changed somehow . . .
    “What?” he asked her.
    “I’m excited about tomorrow.” She took his hands and put them on her breasts.
    “You like watching me work.” It pleased him. He didn’t smile much, but now his lips turned up with a rare grin.
    She nodded and licked her lips. He cleared his throat and squeezed her breasts again, rubbing her nipples hard with his thumbs. Karin was pretty, older than him, but that was okay. She dyed her hair so often he didn’t remember her natural color—maybe blond—but he liked it now, a reddish brown, long, making her look younger and sweet.
    “It was fun, wasn’t it?”
    She nodded again as he pushed her against the wall.
    “I’m glad I figured out how to