“Fuck you, bitch. When I get out of these ties, I’m going to beat you black and blue. You think you’ve had it bad before? I’ll break every bone in your body and then fuck you to death.”
“Ryan, when I’m done with this, you won’t be able to fuck anything.” I smile before grabbing the lemon zester.
A woman who’s had enough and has nothing left to lose is a dangerous creature. Empowerment zips through me, and I feel alive for the first time in so long.
As I drag the sharp metal edge over his shaft, small cuts appear and blood beads. His face drips sweat as pained screams fill my ears.
“What’s wrong, baby? Does it hurt? Just close your eyes. You’re going to love what I have for you.” My voice doesn’t sound like mine anymore. In place of the meek woman I once was, a dark, malevolent being stands leaning over his shoulder.
Lukewarm wetness distracts me momentarily. Did he fucking piss himself?
“All you ever do is create messes for me to clean up,” I hiss. Remembering the many nights he forced me against the mattress and took whatever he wanted against my cries, I continue to shred his cock, this time with more enthusiasm.
Once his junk is a mangled mess, I toss the zester to join its bloody friends.
Ryan is covered in red, and part of me is surprised. My heart thought he would bleed black because of how he treated me for so long. He’s only been a monster that takes and smothers my light for too many fucking years.
Yanking the kabob stick from his pecker, I jam it into his ear. “Can you hear me now? The word isno. It’s a full-ass fucking sentence.”
Ryan’s eyes roll back in his head, and his mutilated body shakes in front of me, but I know he’s not dead yet. His darkened soul will cling to this life with its talons.
“How many nights did I beg, Ry? Hundreds? Thousands? You’d laugh and make me bleed, but now, baby, it’s your turn, isn’t it?” A maniacal sound escapes my throat, and laughter bubbles in my stomach.
The kabob skewer clatters to the floor, and as his cries lower into whimpers and shallow breaths, I know my time is running out.
I swirl around and check out the blades in the block that Burke brought. Choosing a utility and a chef’s knife, I walk over to Ryan. Two more things to do to him burn in my belly.
“Remember how much you yelled at me? The ribs you broke ‘cause I wasn’t smiling enough? Recall the work party we went to where my appearance disappointed you? When we got home, you hit me ‘til I couldn’t breathe, ’til I couldn’t stand up, and you fucked me ‘til I bled? Remember that night, Ryan?”
The memories run through my mind like a bad movie I can’t turn off, and bile rises in my throat as tears form behind my eyes.Gripping the smaller of the two, I hold the back of his head with my other hand and carve a smile into his cheeks.
“Joker style, baby. You’llalwaysbe able to smile now. Even in death, you’ll look so pretty for the king of hell.”
Crimson pours from his face, and as his chest falters I drop the knife and slide the other into his neck. The floor is no longer scuffed grey marble; instead, a brown and red mix in a swirl of bad memories, pouring out of the monster that kept me under his thumb for too long.
Once the silence envelops me, I’m shaking. Glancing down, I’m covered in blood and the sour stench of fear. I’m no better than the fucker in front of me. I never thought I would feel this emotion.
The anger melts and the sinister thoughts tuck back inside my mind. I back away from him, trembling, staring at what I’ve done. My lips curve into a small smile before I let the emotion fully take over.
When the first sob escapes me, there’s nothing I can do to hold them back. Freedom was supposed to taste sweet, not like a heavier burden to carry. I slip in the blood and slide down the wall until the ground catches me.
Glancing over at Ryan through my clouded vision of tears, the present slams into me like a freight train, and I wonder what happens next.
I don’t have money or an exit plan. I’ve lost all my family and friends, and while he wasn’t any good for me, Ryan was the only person in my life.
The beauty of revenge slips away, and the glaring reality surrounds me under the harsh kitchen lights.
I’m going to rot in prison because the cops wouldn’t take me seriously, because the Prince Charming I chose was a sadistic fucker who thought he owned me. I let the emotions swallow me and succumb to the sobs that won’t stop.
Five
Burke
After cleaning up my bloody face, I put a bandage on to cover a gash on my forehead and pace the wooden floor.
Agitation runs through me. With my head throbbing, I take some painkillers and sit at the table.
When I saw the damage Ryan had done to her face, I wanted to kill the little prick. I don’t care that he’s family.
