Page 77 of After the Chase

"Good."

Chase leans against me, and I wrap my arm around him. We sit in silence, watching the sun rise through the hospital windows.

Things will start to straighten out now that we know the details and punishment has been partially served. The Serpents agreed that we could deal with Ollie and Vincent as a peace offering to avoid any further conflict, considering it was their traitors who tried to start a war.

"I love you," Chase whispers.

“I’ve got you, baby,” is all I say as he drifts off in my arms.

Two Days Later - Blackrose Saints Clubhouse

The clubhouse basement smells like concrete and old blood.

Vincent Calabrese is already here when I arrive, tied to a chair in the center of the room, his face swollen from whatever Ivan did to him during transport. The overhead light casts harsh shadows across his features, making him look like something already dead.

Soon, he will be.

Ivan stands near the wall, his posture is rigid with barely contained rage. I've never seen him like this, where the playful Ivan is completely stripped away, replaced by a demon on a revenge spree. His hands repeatedly clench into fists, his jaw grinds so hard it looks painful, and his eyes are fixed on Vincent with an intensity that borders on madness.

All because this is more personal for him, as Tyler is his. And Vincent hurt what belongs to him, ordered it to happen, even stalked Tyler so they knew when to strike. It’s the only thing I understand about Ivan, the devotion he has to Tyler.

Lev leans against the far wall, his phone in hand, already recording. Dima wants proof that the message has been sent to anyone who thinks they can target the Kozlov family or their associates. I also am certain he will show it to Aaron, who has a kink for this kind of thing. I’m surprised he isn’t here.

Marcus stands near the door with Ethan beside him, he was insistent on being here to show allegiance with the Kozlovs. Ethan has no involvement in the club, so I’m unsure why he has attended, but as I watch him I notice his expression is carefully neutral, and I can see the hunger beneath it, themalicious interest about what's going to happen here. I’m sure after our conversation, the desire to explore that side of himself has unleashed a little more. Maybe I gave him the confidence to explore. He looks over at me and his eyes meet mine, before a smirk crosses his mouth. It’s so strange seeing another me in the open, especially considering he is not hiding it here.

"Vincent Calabrese," Lev says, his voice perfectly calm as he approaches the chair with his usual arrogant swagger. "You arranged for that fucker Ollie to drive a stolen vehicle into one of our men and you left him for dead. You hurt a member of the Kozlov family and you will pay the price,” Lev says, standing in front of the scared piece of shit. I look over at Ethan who is transfixed on Vincent, then I look over at Ivan, who pushes off the wall.

"You hurt my Tyler," Ivan says, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. He walks over to Vincent, pulling something from his jacket pocket, a device I don't immediately recognize. Metal and leather, with small spikes protruding from the interior. "You chose to do it tomyman."

Vincent's breathing accelerates, his eyes flicking from whatever is in Ivan’s hand to Ivan’s face, panic emanating off his body. "I did what I had to do, you would have done the same."

"So you understand I can’t let you get away with it." Ivan's voice is perfectly steady, but there's a level of crazy you can detect from the depth of his tone. "You hurt him, and now he's fighting for his life."

He slides the device over his hand and I can finally see it's a modified glove, thick leather with the spikes positioned on the palm to cause maximum damage with minimal effort. Like most items I have seen Ivan invent, it’s creative and deeply barbaric.

"I invented this," Ivan says conversationally, flexing his fingers. "I call it the Shredder. It's designed to cause extensivetissue damage without killing immediately. The pain will be…extraordinary."

Vincent starts to hyperventilate and I glance at Ethan. He's watching Ivan with intense fixation, as his body leans in further towards the action like he needs to see more.

"Ethan," I say quietly and he looks at me.

"You should participate."

His eyes widen slightly. "What?"

"Feed your beast." I hold his gaze. "Stop pretending you don't want to, that’s why you’re here. Let go, then I can send the video to Chase for more inspiration.” For a long moment, he doesn't move, but then his shoulders relax in acceptance.

“Can you two stop having these weird conversations please? It freaks me the fuck out,” Marcus mumbles, while shaking his head.

“He can have his turn, but I go first,” Ivan snarls as he drives his modified glove into Vincent's shoulder, the spikes tearing through fabric and flesh with a wet, ripping sound. Vincent screams and it makes my ears ring at the high and broken sound.

"That's for putting Tyler in the ICU," Ivan says, his voice like gravel with rage. He strikes again, this time across Vincent's chest, resulting in more screaming. More blood. "That's for making me watch him lie unconscious."

Ethan moves forward slowly, picking up a knife from the table near the wall. His hands are steady, and his expression focused. When he makes his first cut, which is a long, deliberate slice across Vincent's forearm, I watch as his breathing changes. Deepening but relaxed. He's enjoying this. After he pulls the knife away, he runs his index finger into the wound, spreading the blood over Vincent’s skin, watching it like it’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. I smile internally as I know he won’t be able to hold back any longer, now he has the taste. Too bad for Sarah, as I’m sure she will be the first to feelthe experimental side of Ethan’s new found love of blood and torture.

“Ethan, is that necessary? So gross, man,” Marcus complains and Ethan turns his head to smile at him.

“What? You don’t want to join in?” Ethan asks him and Marcus turns his nose up.