Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

LUCILLE

I’ve never wanted to fuck Theron more than I do in this moment. He’s got blood on his hands again and has never looked sexier. I want to climb him and throw him down on this floor as I ride him in front of every person in this room, dead or alive.

Vaughn moves away from me toward Theron. He reaches out to grasp his bicep before he shakes him gently. Theron turns his head, his eyes finding Vaughn’s. I watch as they exchange words, then Theron releases Callen’s throat even though it looks like it goes against every grain in his body to do that.

I want to run up to them. I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to be in the middle of this. My tongue slips out, and I run it along my bottom lip as I try to hold back. Callen knows things, but he’s not telling them, and I find it frustrating.

Theron spins on his heels, then closes the distance between us. Forgetting all about Callen as he approaches, I lift my hand and press my palm against the center of his chest. Tipping my head back slightly, I look up into his eyes.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He shakes his head once, then dips his chin slightly before he touches his mouth to mine. Wrapping my arms around him, I keep him close to me. I don’t want him to go anywhere, not ever again. I wish he could stay right here until the day I die.

“I’m fine,” he murmurs.

He’s not.

The rage that fills me at those two words— I’m fine —is more than I can contain, but before I say a single word, his mouth slams against mine in a hard kiss. I grip the strands of hair at the back of his head and hold him against me.

I don’t want to let him go, not now and not ever again.

He releases me, takes a step backward, and forces my hands to let go of his hair, even though that is the absolute last thing I want to do. I watch as he takes another step backward, then I hear a grunt and both of us shift our attention toward that grunt.

That’s when I see Grayson slam his fist into Callen’s stomach. Once, twice, three times. My lips tighten as I take in the scene. Callen isn’t talking. He’s completely silent.

He’s protecting someone.

But that person is likely an even bigger piece of shit than he is, so without hesitation and without thinking, I rush toward him. Callen’s eyes widen as he watches me lunge at his body.

When I hit him full force with my weight, the chair flies backward and both of us tumble to the ground. I know that it hurts him a hell of a lot more than it hurts me when he lands because his head bounces off the concrete a few times.

I laugh at the sound of his skull likely cracking against the cement floor, but I don’t stop there. I can’t just give him everything he deserves. I reach down to his face.

Pressing my thumbs against his eyes, I close my own and push down. The feel of his soft, warm eyeballs against my thumbs as I bury them in his face should creep me out, but it doesn’t.

Callen screams somewhere in the distance, but I don’t stop, not until my body is being lifted from the floor. I'm placed on my feet and spun around. Only then do I open my eyes. I’m met with five men who are staring at me in what I can only describe as shock.

“He wasn’t going to talk, but he might now,” I state, shrugging a shoulder.

Callen whimpers in the background somewhere, but I can only smile as my gaze flicks over to Theron’s. He not only holds my attention, but he traps it.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” he murmurs.

My lips twitch into a smirk. I’m sure he is, without a doubt, shocked as hell, but there is a lot he doesn’t know about me. What I just did is only the tip of the iceberg.

“It was hot,” he grunts, leaning down slightly as he brushes his lips across my own.

If he thought that was hot, things are going to ignite when he discovers the whole-ass truth. I am ready for it. Once this is all done, no more secrets. I am ready to start my life with him. Ready to move forward, ready for anything and everything beautiful in our world.

Because we deserve it all.

Every single ounce.

THERON

Jesus fucking Christ .

Watching Lucille attack and gouge out Callen’s eyes should not turn me on, but it sure as fuck does. Then, in the same thought, I wonder who the fuck she is. Because I’ve never seen a woman do something like that before.

It’s sexy as fuck but also kind of terrifying.

Lifting my head from hers, I look into her eyes, searching them, and I decide that I need to ask her some more questions. Obviously, I have not been watching her as closely as I thought I did.

As much as I want to start asking those questions right this minute, I decide against it. First, we deal with this shit. Then I’ll find out how in the absolute fuck this woman did what she just did and not even blink. Not a wince, a blink, nothing.

Callen is still moaning when Vaughn picks his chair up off the floor and sets him straight again. There is blood seeping down his cheeks from his damaged eyeballs, and I glance over to Lucille and watch her for a moment to gauge her reaction to the sight of her destruction.

Her head tilts to the side, and her lips twitch into a small smile at the sight of him. Fuck me, but she’s ruthless and definitely hiding something. I can’t concentrate for another fucking second about this, so I take my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Merrick.

I know he’s dealing with his new wife and father-in-law, but I want to know what the fuck is going on. And right now, he’s the only one of us who isn’t here and possibly has the ability to find out.

CAN YOU LOOK UP LUCILLE? SHE JUST GOUGED OUT CALLEN’S EYES.

MERRICK: WHAT THE FUCK?

HE’S CURRENTLY WHIMPERING WITH BLOOD POURING DOWN HIS FACE.

MERRICK: FUCK. I’M ON IT.

Shoving my phone in my pocket, I focus my attention back to the group. Vaughn is leaning down, speaking to Callen in hushed yet serious tones. Lucille is watching, her attention completely focused on what’s happening in front of her, or maybe she’s just taking an interest in her handiwork.

Callen jerks his chin, obviously not liking what Vaughn has to say. “Kill him,” I say.

That’s when Callen’s bottom lip quivers. He’s about to break. He is shaking so hard the chair is shifting beneath his body. I wonder offhandedly if he could break it with his violent whimpers and trembles. What a fucking pussy.

“You’re already dead,” I call out as I close the distance between us.

His head turns slightly, facing in my direction. I smirk down at him. He can’t see me, which is probably a good thing because I’m about to laugh in his pussy-assed face. Sinking my teeth into the corner of my bottom lip, I clear my throat as I move closer to him, then crouch down.

“Are you going to tell us anything?”

He presses his lips together. Obviously, he’s past the pain part of the injury, and he’s likely numb and will go into shock soon. Whatever he’s going to tell us, I hope it’s soon.

“No,” Callen says. “What I did, I do not regret.”

“You don’t regret selling boys into sexual abuse and slavery to the highest bidder?” I demand.

Boden growls behind me, obviously not happy with Callen’s answer, but I have to admit that I’m not either. I wish I could gouge his eyes out all over again. Lucille really did beautiful work here.

“They have a place to live and food.”

His words. They are my undoing. I start to charge him, but I’m too late because Grayson beats me to it. One, two, three shots and Callen slumps over. Whipping my head around, I look over at him and blink.

He shakes his head once. “He was one of them. He saw nothing wrong in what he did, and there was no use. He would have protected them with his dying breath.”

“And he did,” Lucille announces.

The five of us exchange a look and then begin to clean up the place. Lucille helps by going through their pockets and wallets. She finds nothing, but I didn’t expect her to. We need to head to the gallery.

“Bodies?” Boden asks.

I can tell he’s ready to get this shit done. I don’t blame him. I want to get to that gallery as soon as humanly fucking possible. Ridding this world of these horrible fucking humans is one step closer to finding peace on earth, or at least peace within Securus.

“We’ll burn them,” I say.

“Where can you burn them so they won’t smell?” Lucille asks, acting as if she’s done this before. I arch a brow at her as I take her in for a moment. She is fucking gorgeous and determined as shit.

“You got any suggestions?” I ask her.

She gives me a grin. “I thought you’d never ask.” She pauses and then says through that grin, “There’s an animal hospital about five miles away. They have incinerators there. Nobody would ever know, and they don’t have any cameras.”

I can’t believe Lucille has just suggested that. Sweet Lucille, or maybe after tonight, not-so-sweet Lucille. I’m not sure how or when she became this woman, but as much as I think it’s hot, it’s equally terrifying.

“I like that idea, and maybe we can do that in the future. Tonight, we’ll just take their bodies to the woods on my property and burn them there. I don’t have any close neighbors.”

That works for me.

Since the guys cleaned up my mess with Emmie and Charlie, I help them do this one. Even though all I want to do is search that fucking gallery. I look at Boden. He is rocking from foot to foot, ready to get the hell out of here.

“Why don’t you go and see what you can find at the gallery,” I suggest, jerking my chin toward him.

He jerks his chin and walks away. Grayson, Vaughn, Hale, and I finish cleaning up and loading bodies into the SUV, making sure to line it with plastic. When we’re finished, I hose all the concrete down with bleach and water. Lucille climbs into the back seat of the SUV, seemingly unbothered by the bodies that lie just a few feet away. I seriously need Merrick to get back to me as soon as humanly possible about her.

“What about their families?” I ask.

It’s Hale’s turn to speak. He hasn’t said much tonight, but it’s clear there’s something on his mind. He takes a step toward me, jerking his chin toward the SUV before he speaks. “You got your thumb on that one?” he asks.

“I fucking thought I did,” I reply. “I’m not so sure now.”

Hale chuckles and shakes his head once. “Yeah, that shit I did not expect.”

Him and me both.

We join Lucille along with the dead bodies in the SUV. The drive doesn’t take long, just about twenty minutes, but it feels like the longest fucking drive on earth with the silence.

Lucille reaches for me, slipping her fingers through mine and lacing them together. Her thumb slides across mine. Turning my head, I look down at her, arching a brow. When she smiles up at me, I can’t help but wonder if I just replaced one problem with another.