“I’ve been looking forward to today for quite some time.” His charming smile was like a Venus flytrap, hiding what he really was. “Years, actually.”
“Why are you doing this?” I pleaded. “This is insane.”
“Because I can.” Taggart hauled me away roughly, and when I looked over my shoulder, the woman he’d called Seven was already gone. The dark marble shimmered with reflective pools of blood everywhere I looked, but she’d disappeared into thin air. “Don’t pretend you haven’t had this coming for a long while now.” Taggart added, sliding his arm around my waist.
I struggled to keep up with his long legs as he hauled me through a door, basically dragging me behind him.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” A man bellowed—itwasCarter. He was on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back. “I’m going to take you apart, piece by fucking piece.” Carter raged darkly, violently thrashing against his restraints—his voice didn’t even sound like his at all.Was I hallucinating?There was a circle of bodies all around him. “I’m going to kill you so slowly you’re going to beg for me to end it.”
“Not if you’re dead.” Taggart nodded, and a guard irreverently pressed a gun to Carter’s temple.
“No, please!” I screamed, jerking to a halt as Taggart yanked me back, shoving something hard and unforgiving intomyribs—Carter’s eyes flared and he wentdeathly still.
“Don’t kill him yet,” Taggart droned. “I want to make sure my new wife has incentive to be compliant.”Wife?A hot tear streaked down my face, and I refused to let any others escape.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
I had to be dreaming. Taggart was always in my nightmares, along with my dead mother.Just another dream.
“Let me go, or else!” I screamed, and the room was rippling as I desperately tried to break free from Taggart’s grip, but I couldn’t.
“Or else, huh?” Taggart chuckled, but something flashed in his eyes, because we both knew what I haddone in that car all those years ago. “Naw, I’ve waited long enough. I think I’ll keep you, it’s about damn time anyway.”
“I fucking dare you to try.” I cried. “I will never marry you.”
There were some snickers in the room. “Maybe you bit off more than you could chew. Are you going to let her get away again?” Someone teased. “Maybe we need to get someone else to handle her this time.” Another voice chimed in, and people laughed as Taggart grew more agitated by the second.
I braced as Taggart’s hand lifted?—
“Don’t you lay a fucking finger on her.” Carter growled. “Why don’t you come over here and see what happens when you pick on someone your own size—or can’t you count in inches—I bet you can’t, can you?” Taggart paused as Carter fought the only way he could,verbally.
“What’s the matter? Mommy never teach you math, cause you could only count to one? Can’t solve problems with your skinny little pencil dick?”Carter definitely had Tag’s attention now. “I bet fun-sized isn’t so fun, you single-inch-worm piece of shit.” Carter mused cockily while Tag’s outraged breaths came faster by the second.
“Come over here, you coward—yeah, that’s right, come over here and hitme.I fucking dare you.” Taggart swung, and I screamed as Carter’s head snapped to the side with a sickening crunch, but Carter spat blood on the ground, laughing as he grew more condescending by the second.
“Wow, I’ve had bee stings that stung worse than that. You hit like a wet noodle, but I bet you’re too busy sucking your own little cocktail-weenie to learn how to throw a proper punch, huh? Or can you even find that pathetic little tic-tac? I bet you can’t, can you? Yeah, look at him—you can always tell.” Tag hit himhard, and I stifled a sob, suddenly realizing what Carter was doing—and Carter didn’t look at me once as I silently backed away, tears streaming down my face.
“What’s the matter, you cocksucker, overcompensating for your little cornichon down there?” Carter gave Tag a shit-eatinggrin, and I could hardly see as Tag hit him again and I silently sobbed—heart breaking with every single step I took, wondering why he was sacrificing himself for me if he didn’t even love me anymore.
Tag had Carter by the collar. “We’ll see how fun-sized she thinks I am when I’m halfway down her throat.” Taggart hissed and hit Carteragain and again and again.
Carter’s insults were coming slower by the second as he spat a mouthful of blood and panted, “You sure about that? It seems like you might have a sweet-tooth of your own—did you gobble down your own Rollos, or did you get jipped and the sleeve only came with one nugget to start with?”
Tag roared, and Carter rocked back, only upright because of the men holding him, as he sagged between their grip.
Taggart finally paused, panting to catch his own breath as he turned—looking for me.
I stumbled back, desperately trying to disappear into the shadows, as Carter erupted, blood streaming down his beautiful face while he frantically tried to keep Taggart’s attention. “Come on, you limp-dick, is that all you got?” Carter screamed, knocking a guard off balance as he thrashed. “Hit me, because this is your one goddamn chance, you brainless piece of shit. Get over here and hit me.”
I was stillsofar away from the door, and the room was spinning like crazy as I reached towards a nearby table to steady myself—but my hand plunged through the air as I grabbed atabsolutely nothing at all—I gasped as the ground came rushing towards me.
“You’re gonna be wearing a fucking bib when I’m done with you, you spineless roach.GET BACK HERE!” A pair of shoes appeared by my hands as I tried and failed to push myself up. “DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!”
Taggart yanked me up so hard I could hardly get my feet underneath me. He was practically twitching as he thumped the gun against my temple, over and over again, making my head pound harder than it already was.
I dizzily watched the firearm split into two and mash back together as he waved it around in front of me, lips moving as he violently shook me—behind him a red blur was hurtling towards us. Taggart’s eyes blew wide, and he whirled, lifting the gun, and I all too slowly realized that red blur wasCarter.
The sound was deafening as Tag pulled the trigger, over and over again, emptyingbullet after bulletinto Carter’s blood-soaked chest, until there was only the empty click of the trigger.
