A wicked grin spreads across my face as the words that live as an echo in my mind are now coming to me as inspiration. “Sleep with one eye open.” I close the distance between us with two small steps, placing one hand on the back of his chair. I lean over his body so that we are face-to-face and see his gaze drop to my tits.This fucker.
“Even when your life is on the line, you just can't help yourself, can you?”
I hold the knife to his temple and glide the blade against his delicate flesh–so gentle, yet with just enough pressure to break the layer of skin, allowing droplets of crimson to drip down his cheek. He winces from the sting of the blade and closes his eyes, trying to pull his face away from mine. But I don’t let him. Grabbing his jaw, I turn his face back to my attention, “eyes on me, Jason.”
He refuses to look at me, and that sparks a fire within me that won’t extinguish until he’s felt the pain he has put me through. The pain he’s caused all of us.
“Can you hold his head still for me?” I ask Knox in a sickly sweet voice. It’s like I don’t even recognize myself. He walks behind Jason and clutches his head between both hands, holding him steady. He bucks against his chains, but it’s no use in his weekend state. Knox is much stronger.
I grab hold of his left eyelid and pull the skin tight away from his eyeball. With the sharp blade in my other hand, I slide the knife along his skin, severing his eyelid from his eye. He screams, a hoarse, broken cry that brings me so much joy. I leave himwithout the ability to blink, forcing him to look at me through his red, soaked vision. Shoving the loose piece of flesh into his mouth, I chuckle, and he begins to gag and cough until he manages to spit it out.
“Just fucking kill me!” He shouts.
His eye twitches as the phantom urge to close his eyelid shudders through him. He’s trembling, the way I trembled each time the back of his hand lashed against my face, throwing my body to the ground.
I backhand him across the face, snapping his attention back to mine. Bringing the knife back up to his cheek, he flinches away from the blade. Dragging it slowly down his chest, a spark of adrenaline rushes through me every time he cowers away from my touch.
Trailing it behind him to the center of his back, I stand there for a moment listening to Jason’s whimpers. No matter how long I drag this out. There’s only one thing at this point that will bring me any peace. But I can’t seem to bring myself to do what needs to be done.
A warm, rough hand wraps around my own, his body pressing up against my back. I lean into him, letting his rich scent calm my nerves.
“You don’t have to do anything you aren’t ready for, Sweetness. I just wanted you to take back what’s yours. If you’ve had your fill, I’ll take care of the rest.”
I release the knife into Knox’s grasp as he leans in and pecks me on the cheek. I walk around to Jason’s front and smile at him sweetly. “Goodbye, Jason, see you in hell.”
And with that, Knox glides the blade across his throat, spilling a fountain of his spoiled blood all over the concrete floor. My eyes lock onto Knox’s, and a silent moment of release passes between us.
Jason gurgles and spurts to his untimely death, but I pay him no mind.
“Wash yourself up in the sink, and head to the bar. I’ll deal with this mess and be there shortly.”
I nod and turn on my heel, ready to put the past behind me.
TEN
CANDACE
Seating myself on the barstool,I suck in a deep breath, steadying my trembling hands in my lap. The thought of the worst part of my life finally being over brings me a sort of comfort one can’t possibly know unless they experience it for themselves.
When I came here tonight, I didn’t expect things to go the way that they did. I thought I would march in and confront Jason for lying and then bear the brunt of his rage through threats and intimidation. I’d threaten to leave him, knowing that it wasn’t really an option, and he would continue to control me, breaking me down into a mere shadow of the person I used to be.
Thanks to Knox. That’ll never happen again.
“Candy! That was quite the performance you put on up there. I’m proud of you, girl. You should really think about dancing full-time.” The way Sadie speaks is so animated. She clearly loves the nightlife, and this is where she feels most at home.
Her eyes keep drifting to the stage whenever Destiny struts her way down the mirrored flooring. Stars light up her face as she watches her body move.
“How long have you two known each other?" I nod to Destiny.
Sadie’s gaze flicks to mine, “About a year,” she shrugs, pretending her desire isn’t obvious.
I nod my head with a knowing smirk.
Sadie smiles back, confirming my suspicions, but I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to push her further.
Desperado by Rihanna plays on the speakers, and the energy in the room comes alive. The girls mingle with their customers, flirting, dancing, and making sure everyone is having a great time.
“So,” Sadie grabs my attention. “Will we be seeing more of you around here?”
