Taking a steadying breath, I step forward, avoiding Caleb in his struggle, and push up on my toes until Saint leans down and brushes his lips gently across mine. “To my parents. My real home is with you.”
“Good,” he grunts and watches me leave.
“You’re moving out, aren’t you?” Dad asks as we approach his car.
“Would you be mad?” I stare up at the man who has loved me and is the reason I know I can have a life with Saint, noticing tears in his eyes.
“Baby girl, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad, but I’m so fucking happy to see you gaining your life back. And Saint is the only man I’d ever allow that to happen with.”
Pulling me in for a hug, he drops a kiss on my head before opening my door for me and driving back home, where Mom helps me begin packing the things I want to take with me.
CHAPTER 17
Saint
“What were you going to do to her?” My hot breath whispers across Caleb’s flesh as he continues to struggle in my hold. “Because I think I’ll do the same to you.”
Reaching for the knife that Lake abandoned before leaving with Luther, I trace it along his cheek. A red line marks his flesh, but I don’t want him bleeding just yet. He needs to feel and understand Lake’s fears over the years.
“Nothing,” he croaks out the pathetic lie.
“What do you want to do here, Saint?” Bishop asks from behind me, where he holds onto Craig, so the little fucking worm doesn’t run.
“Rip their fucking heads off. Crush their skulls between the palms of my hands. I want to bury them in a shallow grave, so the swamp creatures tear them apart.” I also want to tear their limbs from their bodies after cutting out their tongues and crushing their larynxes.
“Sounds like a good time,” Bishop chuckles as the two men tremble in fear—only an ounce of what Lake felt that night and each one after.
Inhaling deeply in Caleb’s ear, a chuckle escapes when he whimpers. He finally begins to understand the trouble he’s in.
“It will be,” I taunt with a menacing growl while sliding my free hand down the front of Caleb’s body until reaching the buckle of his belt, nestled in the loops of his cheap black dress pants. “For me.” Caleb’s resistance amplifies while Craig pisses his pants, realizing the trouble they’re both in. “We’ll have some fun here before dropping them in the dungeon and heading out to locate Jeremy and Holt. It’s not fair that they miss out on all the fun we’re going to have.”
“Please don’t do this,” Craig pleads, not bothering to fight Bishop’s hold the same way Caleb is with me.
“I bet Lake said that to you once.” His face blanches. “I bet she said it more than once. Begged for you to stop and leave her alone. Cried for her daddy, for me, for anyone to help her.”
I jerk Caleb back and forth roughly, his head flopping all around, and his arm whacks the counter hard enough to elicit a cry. “Yes,” he sobs, “she did.”
“And what did you do?” The fucker’s head drops to his chest. “Laughed! You fucking laughed at her pain.” Shaking my head and breathing deeply, any restraint snaps when he begins crying and mumbling a prayer. I lean into his ear, my voice remaining gentle despite the fury pulsing through my veins, and whisper, “I bet she prayed too.” With a grip on his chin and the back of his head, I twist until I hear that satisfying snap, and his face turns towards his back.
“Oh God!” Craig hurls all over the floor before passing out. Bishop lets him crash to the ground, cracking his head off a stool before landing in a heap next to his foot. Blood from the wound begins streaming freely.
“Well, alrighty then. Didn’t have it in you to wait, huh?” Bishop smirks as I drop Caleb’s body. “I’ll give Nolan and the twins a call. Isn’t your sister landing in a few hours?”
Glancing at the stove clock, I see there’s still enough time to discard these bodies before getting cleaned up and leaving for my parents’ place.
Staring down at the dead man at my feet and the unconscious one a few feet away, I feel nothing for either man. No…that’s not true. I regret not taking more time with Caleb. Torturing him would have been better, but I’ve still got three others to have some fun with.
The darkness within is nothing new for me. It shouldn’t be for anyone who knows me. But with Lake counting on me now, I can’t get lost in the abyss the way I would have a year ago. For her, I need to maintain my sanity.
“Hey,” Bishop says, and I raise my head to him. His brows are furrowed, and he keenly watches me. “I got this covered. I’ll get this shit to the dungeon, then we’ll split up to grab the others before they figure out they’re in trouble.”
“Call Castle from Deviant Sinners, see if they’ll snag Jeremy in Montgomery.” We’ve been working well together for a couple of years now. I have no doubt he’ll do me this solid.
“On it, I’ll get the twins to head down to Destin. Lord knows Scotty has been dying to meet Aria’s little man.”
The women in our family have always been inseparable, so he’s probably right.
With one last look at Lake’s attackers, I go catch a quick shower. I’m sure Mom has convinced Dad to pick everyone up from the airport just so she can get her hands on the kids before anyone else does.
