This was just the beginning for my little princess. There was a whole world for her to discover, and I’d be by her side for every moment of it.
After tonight, she’d be bound to Valemont Violence, to us — to me. Forever.
As the dirtbag squirmed at the center of the room, I reached down and picked him up. I tossed him down into the cheap chair, letting the metal legs clatter against the worn concrete floors.
Kiera jumped at the sound.
And another pang of jealousy went through me. Those early days… man, the fear and the anxiety of not knowing what was next. The excitement.
My service had given me a look, a look at that violence. But it wasn’t full of thrills. No, more terror, horror, disgust for what we were being asked to do.
This, this was real Justice.
And Kiera was going to get her first taste of it. True, violent, Justice
My mind came back to the mission at hand, our scumbag squirming at the center of the room. With each desperate thrash, the chair slammed into the concrete floors. The chain that tied it to the metal pillar behind it clanked against the steel — echoing off of the stone warehouse walls.
My chest heaved as I moved behind the guy, grabbing his arms and cutting the first zip tie. I lived for the moment of relief in their eyes, the way they thought I might just let them get away. They had yet to learn what the Violence were about, how we punished men like him.
It wasn’t until I gripped his wrists, twisting his arms behind his back and re-tying them to the metal chair that his eyes saw some clarity.
“Ow!” He yelped as he thrashed.
The plastic of the zip tie was digging into the skin of his wrists, the flesh already raw and red under the tight grip of restraints. And his attempts at escape weren’t helping.
Looking over my shoulder as I secured the fucker’s ankles, I checked in on my girl. Her eyes were still wide, like she’d not blinked since she woke up that morning.
Next to her, Spencer squeezed Kiera’s shoulder. It was the most reassurance we could offer. After all, this wasn’t going to be pretty and there was no point lying to her. I’d lied about far too much in my life to do that to her.
Couldn’t bring myself to.
The clatter of our medical tray drew Kiera and the bastard’s attention. It was Dom’s towering figure that made the man look up into the bright light over his head.
“No. No…” He shook his head, realizing what was about to happen to him.
But Kiera, innocent Kiera, simply scrunched her forehead.
Unlike the tools in my kit at the shop, these were rusted, dirty, and coated in a deep brown.
There was no point cleaning them, considering the state of the people we brought here.
Dom stepped into the light, letting her face illuminate. From the center of the circle of light, Kiera and Spencer’s faces were just obscured enough that if this motherfucker got away, he couldn’t ID them.
With a snarl, Dom crossed her arms. “We just have a few questions for you. And then we’ll have you on your merry way.”
She sauntered closer to him, reaching into his pockets as he wiggled, trying to use his hands to push her away. But instead, Dom slipped her hand into the pocket of his cheap trousers, grabbing his phone. “Name.”
“Grant.” I could tell from the look on his face that he hoped the name would humanize him, that it would be harder for us to go through with this if we knew he was a real person.
But unfortunately for him, we could tell just how human he was. All of the soft bits exposed and vulnerable.
“Passcode. Now.” Dom growled.
In another attempt at good will, Grant mumbled out his code. “3271.”
With a nod, Dom signalled to us that she was in.
Let the fun commence.
