Diablo Chapter 21

Seeing them shackled to the wall with their backs to me made me happy. Over the years, ever since I was a teenager, I'd been schooled and then perfected my skills in breaking men and, if needed, eliminating them. My dad, Fiend, had gained his road name for a reason. His years in the military and what he'd seen overseas in the war had shaped him. He knew how to take a man apart not only physically but mentally. He never wanted those he loved or under his protection to suffer what he'd seen, so he ensured not only his fellow Horsemen were well versed in torture and interrogation techniques but also his only son.

My mom hadn't been thrilled that I was taught those things, but she understood the need and supported him while working to instill humanity in me. She never wanted me to become one of the monsters I hunted. The closest I'd come to becoming one of them was when I found and killed Piranha and his brothers for what they did to Amy. Today just might be on par with that.

In a way, to me, they deserved as bad or more even though Jauhnna was alive. Amy had been hurt, and no doubt suffered, but it was over with rather quickly. Jauhnna had suffered for years. In my mind, it made it close to being as bad. The various techniques taught to me by Fiend and those I learned for myself would be put to good use today.

My brothers were eager to assist in the torture. I promised they could for a while. I'd been approached by Gio and Aryan after bringing the prisoners on the second boat. They asked if they could assist as well. I guess their prior meeting with Jauhnna had her firmly in the category of a friend in their books. I agreed.

There were so many things we had to choose from to inflict pain on them. If I had days, there were ones I would love to use, but I didn't plan to prolong it that long. It wasn't because they didn't deserve it. Rather, I didn't want to drag it out for her. This horrible chapter of her life needed to be closed, and us moving on. I had plans as soon as we got home.

I'd gone over what I wanted to do to them over the days leading up to this. When I went to the table we had set aside with most of our personal toys on it, and I opened my leather case, which contained my knives, those assisting me on this one did the same. Lucky, Punk, and Micro lined up beside me behind the first four. Galway was first in line, with her brother on the opposite end and the guards and enforcers in the middle.

A common pastime we enjoyed was working on our knife work and target practicing with them. Regular knives weren't suited for throwing, although we did that, too. These knives happened to be the right kind.

Our captives were twisting their necks, trying to see what we were doing. As one, we moved closer and began the first opening move. I had Galway. No one would touch him but me. I sliced a cut from his shoulder diagonally to the opposite hip. It laid his skin open. Blood began to flow. We kept them shallow enough to prevent them from bleeding to death. It was more painful and shocking than anything. My three brothers had copied my move. The four men cried out in pain. We waited before placing the corresponding slash, creating an X on their backs. As they yelled louder, I glanced back to see how Jauhnna was doing. Butcher had her next to him. She was waiting impassively.

As the blood flowed, we walked over to a cast iron container. There was a fire built underneath it in a shallow bowl. Sticking out of the container were several pieces of metal with handles on them. Removing them from it, we revealed the glowing hot branding irons. They were ones I'd requisitioned personally. Gio and the other Patriots had brought them.

Walking back to the first four, we pressed the hot brands into the middle of their slashes. They screamed as the flesh was burned. The sickening smell of burned flesh filled the space. The ones not being mutilated were crying out and begging us not to do it to them. When we were done, we handed off the brands to other brothers so we could move on to the other four. Visible on the first four's backs were the word rapist over and over. I heard Jauhnna inhale deeply. Checking, I saw she was holding up fine. Once we were through marking all eight of them, we let them stand there and anticipate what was next. This was part of the psychological torment.

Next, we used them as target practice for those same knives. We drew a bullseye on each ass cheek of their underwear. Standing back, we threw three knives each. These went much deeper but weren't at risk of piercing anything vital. When we removed them, we made sure to wiggle them back and forth. Their cries were loud. This time, when we went to get the brands, Jauhnna moved up to me.

"Do you want to leave?" I asked.

"No, I don't. I'd like to close up a few holes if you're alright with that."

Gauging her mood, I saw she was steady. I took the brand Scorpion handed me. I gave it to her. "Who do you want to cauterize?"

"I want to do one of each of them. They all enjoyed raping me, and I have no doubt Janus has done it to someone." A satisfied murmur came from my guys and the Patriots.

I waved toward the prisoners. "Go for it. Guys, let her get her turn first."

Micro, Lucky, and Punk stood back. She went to Galway first.

"Don't you dare," he shouted.

She jabbed the brand onto one of his punctures. He screamed and swore at her. She went down the line doing the same to the others. My guys were on hand to give her a fresh brand when the one she held grew too cool. When she was done, she moved back to allow us to finish off. By then, the smell was almost unbearable, but luckily for us, the boat had good ventilation. A central fan system kicked on, and the odor began to dissipate.

The three knife wielders moved back to be replaced by Cowboy, Turbo, and Crash for the next treat. This one was an oldie and might not seem to most to be bad, but it hurt like a bitch. I was handed a pair of pliers. Together, we started on the opposite end of the line. Nails were yanked out of their fingers one at a time. They were sobbing by the time we were done. Blood dripped from their fingertips, but it wasn't enough to worry about. Besides the cauterizing we were doing, their blood was clotting faster than usual due to the additive Wolverine put in the shot that knocked them out.

After that, we decided to change it up. All of us, including the four Patriots, slipped on brass knuckles. I laughed when Butcher withdrew a pair of pink ones from his cut and handed them to Jauhnna.

"Just in case you feel like pounding some. If not, no problem. You can keep those. You might need them one day to get through his hard head," he told her as he grinned and pointed at me.

"What a buddy, fucker," I muttered, but I was grinning. The smile those knuckles and his words put on her face was great. She slipped them on her right hand. That's when I saw spelled across the brass knuckles the word Queen . The rest of us had two pairs since we were used to punching with both fists.

It was satisfying to pound on their flesh. I kept her with me. She surprised me with how hard she was hitting. When she hauled off and kicked Galway, I knew she had more than a passing familiarity with fighting.

As we rested, I had to ask. "Baby, where did you learn to throw punches and kicks that way?"

She was breathing hard, but she answered me. "After I got away, I knew I never wanted to be at the mercy of someone again. I took whatever self-defense classes I could find. I might not be able to fight a bunch at once, but one-on-one, I felt I had a chance."

I gave her a squeeze and then a kiss. The guys were all cheering for her. When we stopped kissing, one of the men, the one who had mouthed off to her earlier, Alfie, spoke again. I knew all their names. I'd memorized them along with their faces when Micro got the information on them after she confessed what they did to her.

"You stupid bitch, you could've had it all. He was gonna keep you even if you couldn't give him an heir. You would've still lived in the lap of luxury. And we would've had you all to ourselves. Do you honestly think these bikers are keeping you? They'll sell you as soon as they're sick of you, and you'll be the plaything of countless men," he sneered.

I charged up behind him, grabbed the back of his head, and pounded his face repeatedly into the metal haul until my shirt was tugged on. I looked around to find it was her.

"Diablo, don't. He wants you to kill him. He's a pussy. He's not to die yet. I want him and Galway to be last. They were the ones to hurt me the worst."

This was news to me. She hadn't told me one was worse than the other when it came to the six men. Her confession had more than me growling low. Fury was climbing. I wanted them to hurt more.

"Then they'll be last, my love."

Glancing back at my men, I gave the next order. "Bring out the nines."

Delighted smiles spread over their faces as they did as I asked. From a bag, several cat ‘o nine tail whips were removed. Before handing one to me, bottles were removed next. The contents were poured over the leather tails.

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

"Lemon juice. It'll help them remember the lashes," Butcher told her.

Her eyebrows raised. This time, I went first, landing the first lashes on the backs and buttocks of each man. It caused the cauterized wounds to reopen. Then, the juice penetrated not only the lash cuts but the stab and cut wounds. This set them off crying for mercy and pleading for us to just get it over with and kill them.

We took time between the different punishments and interspersed them with more beatings. They vomited vile words when they could. The entire time, I kept a close watch on her for signs that it was becoming too much for her. So far, she was standing strong.

"She's a warrior woman. She can handle it," Beau whispered to me. He and Ben were the other two Patriots there.

"She is. I just don't want her to push herself to prove she is."

"I get it, but she needs this. It's been a few hours. You want to take a break and come back and finish them off?"

I was torn. I decided to leave it up to her. Going over to Jauhnna, I gave her the option. "My Serenity, I need to know what you want. Do we let them wallow in their pain for a while, and we take a break? Or do we continue and get this over with sooner? It's entirely up to you. I could do this for days, but I'm not. We have our life to get back to."

She took her time thinking before giving me an answer. As she contemplated it, she studied them. They were worse for wear and sagging in their shackles. After five solid minutes of silence, she answered.

"I think we should take a break. They're not going anywhere. When you're ready, we'll come back to finish this. I'm anxious to get home. We have to plan our trip to Dublin Falls and to Savannah to get my things."

"We do, and there are a few other things we need to do."

"Oh, really. Do tell."

"Nope. They're surprises," I teased her.

Leaving them to hang there, we exited with my brothers and friends. We went to another area of the boat, which the O'Sheerans' men had told us was at our disposal when we came onboard. None of us had been there yet. I was pleased to find there were sandwiches and snacks awaiting us. Washing our hands, we sat down to eat. Most people would think this was awful, but we knew to eat when we could. Jauhnna sat with me, but she barely picked at her food.

"Darlin', are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm just a tad queasy. And before you ask if it's due to what we're doing to them, the answer is no. I've been feeling this way since we got on the boat. I think it might be mild seasickness. I'll be fine. Eat."

I took her at her word. It didn't take us long to devour the food. We sat around talking for a while afterward. It was a good hour and a half before we decided to go back and see how they were doing. Reentering the hold, I saw they looked even worse than when we left. Groans of misery filled the space.

This last bit of torture was the part I worried the most about. I'd informed my guys ahead of time what I planned and that I was the one to do it on each one of them. They hadn't argued. They knew it would do them no good. The reason I was worried was because Jauhnna would get to see what a sick bastard I was.

"Jauhnna, I want you to stay back. This is about to get messy, and I don't want any of their blood to get on you. I love you."

"I love you too," she said before giving me a kiss. I poured all the love I had for her into it and prayed she'd still want me after this was over.

Turning to look at the pieces of meat on the wall, I gave my last order to my guys. "Turn them around and remove their underwear."

This got reactions out of the fuckers. They whimpered, and I heard some of them praying. As my brothers and the others wrestled them loose, turned them, and then shackled them again, they made weak attempts to fight. When they were secured, my guys backed off and gathered in a semicircle to watch the show.

I went to my pack and removed my sheathed knife. It wasn't a small throwing one like before. It was longer and had a serrated edge on one side of the blade. It was razor sharp. I took it out of the sheath. Walking over to them, I started with Janus. I sliced off both his nipples before he could blink. He screamed as the blood poured out of him. I made sure before moving to the next guy to brand his wounds closed. As I worked on them, more than one had pissed himself or passed out. When the latter happened, water was thrown on them to wake them up. As I went down the line, treating the others to the same treatment, a couple had to be woken back up. I left Alfie and Galway for last. I took my time slicing theirs off. When I was done, I dumped their severed nipples in a pile in front of them. All of them were staring in horror with dazed expressions.

I laid my bloody knife on the table to be cleaned afterward and grabbed the final tool I needed, which was in the same container over the flames as the brands had been. I placed a fireproof glove on my hand before removing it. It was an odd-looking pair of shears. I'd discovered them years ago in an antique store. When I asked the owner what they were for, he'd avidly told me they were called crocodile shears and they were from medieval times. I could see where they got the name.

The blades were shaped to resemble a crocodile with sharp teeth. The man had detailed what they were used for. The devil in me loved his story, so I bought them. I hadn't used them since the night I killed those responsible for murdering Amy. I'd kept them in perfect working order, though, just in case I ever felt the need to use them again.

I marched up and down the line, holding them up. Their eyes widened, and utter fear was evident. Only Butcher knew what these were. I hadn't told anyone else about this part or shown them. He'd seen me use them the first time.

"These are called crocodile shears. They were what some of our ancestors in medieval times were fond of. Can any of you guess what they're for?"

"Please, dear God, don't," Mickie cried out. He was shaking.

"God can't hear you, but the devil can, and I don't give a damn what you want. I want you to suffer like Jauhnna and all those other people you've hurt and sold have. You motherfuckers think it's alright to rape. Well, how does this feel?"

I rushed up to Mickie and placed the shears around his flaccid cock. I closed the blades, but not all the way. I didn't want to cut it off. Instead, I used them to help me tear his cock from his body. His screams were unworldly. Blood flew and poured. Knowing he wouldn't last long with those arteries I'd severed pumping blood everywhere, I added the final insult. I grabbed his lower jaw and forced it open. When it was open, I shoved his severed cock inside and to the back of his throat. He tried to breathe, but it was no use. He thrashed and made muffled screaming sounds as he bled out and choked to death on his own cock.

The cries of astonishment and horror from the witnesses were loud but nothing compared to the seven remaining men. I refused to look at her. I didn't want to see how she was reacting or looking at me. I'd do it after I was done to see if I'd lost her forever or not.

The prayers, screams, begging, and puking were deafening as I worked my way through them. It took time since I had to reheat the shears. I left Janus, Galway, and Alfie for last. I faced a sobbing Janus. He had his eyes closed.

"Look at me!" I shouted. "Come on, be a man!" He shook his head. Shrugging in disgust, I rendered him a eunuch and then suffocated him. He wasn't the one I wanted to look at me anyway.

I moved to face Alfie. He gave me a pitiful face. "She's not worth this," he blubbered. His earlier bravado was all gone.

"She's worth everything to me," I hissed. I lowered the shears and removed the offensive appendage, then shoved it down his throat. I stood there and watched him choke and bleed until he went limp, and his eyes lost all life.

When I moved to Galway, I was more than ready for this to be over. He was shivering and had vomited down his front and shit himself. I curled my upper lip in disgust. "Any last words?" I asked.

"You're a monster. She'll never stay with you after this."

"I am, and maybe she won't, but she'll be safe and free from you and them."

I took my time not only lowering and applying the shears to his pathetic excuse for a cock, but I slowly wrenched it from his body, making sure to twist and tug without too much force for a long time. Finally, after I removed it, I shoved it down his throat and watched him choke to death. That completed my numb state. I dropped the shears on the floor and hung my head. It was quiet behind me. I didn't want to look, but I knew I had to. I might as well get the pain over with. Taking a deep breath, I turned and looked up.

I rocked back on my heels as I was crashed into by a flying object. My arms automatically wrapped around it, holding her to me. She was sobbing and shaking, but she was placing kisses all over my face and mouth. She was rambling about how much she loved me. I sagged and almost hit the floor in relief.

I don't know how long I simply held her before she led me out of the room. My brothers and the Patriots stood there in utter silence. She was carrying a small bag with her. I had no idea where it came from. I was in a daze. The next thing I knew, I was being stripped of my bloody clothes and then shoved into a hot shower. She removed her now bloody clothes and joined me. She washed me from head to toe twice before cleaning herself. Finally, I began to snap out of it when she began to dry me off. I took the towel away and dried her tenderly.

I stayed quiet until we were both dry. As she handed me a set of clothes and shoes out of the bag and took out a set for herself, I had to say it. "How can you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Stand to be near me or touch me. I mutilated and slaughtered those men. Yes, they were animals, but I'm no better."

"You did do those things and more to them. But there's a reason I don't see you in the same light as I did them. The reason why you're not an unforgivable animal who I can't stand to touch or be near. Are you ready to hear why?"

I nodded.

"It's because you turn into a blood-thirsty avenger in the name of vengeance, but not just any vengeance. Yours is the kind to take out the true monsters in the world who prey on the innocent and those in need of saviors. You don't do it for pleasure, petty revenge, or money. That Diablo, I can stand by every damn day of the week. You're not getting rid of me that easily, Victor. I love you."

I dropped to my knees at her feet, clasped her to me, and sobbed into her belly. She held my head and let me weep like a baby. She held me until I was all cried out, then helped me to my feet.

"Jauhnna, you are one in a billion. I will never forget this. I love you so damn much, baby."

She smiled and then took my arm. "Don't forget you said that when I argue with you or piss you off."

I chuckled. I knew there was nothing she could do to make me ever stop loving her. We left the bathroom to find the others. We were met by Gio, waiting outside the bathroom. "I've been delegated to tell you two to get some rest. We're cleaning up the mess, then we'll be headed back to Florida. There's a room you can relax in. It's the Captain's berthing, but he said to tell you to please use it." He led us down the passageway to another door.

"Thank you, Gio."

"It's my pleasure. Go. Relax."

He smiled as he walked off. Opening the door, I took her inside. It was a nice room. Much nicer than I expected on a boat. I took her straight to the bed. I was exhausted. I knew she had to be too. I curled up on the bed with her. She snuggled into me and sighed. I rubbed my hand up and down her back. In no time, my eyes grew heavy. I drifted off with my Serenity in my arms and my soul filled with light and happiness.