Chapter 29

Phoenix

Iturn and look at the two men while the alcohol warms my veins slightly. The amount of respect I had for Dr. Chamberland completely vanished. All the times I admitted to him how worried I was about McKenzie and the whole time he knew where she was.

"Phoenix, I'm sorry," he whispers. Tears and snot dripping down his face.

I lean over him again. "I don't want to hear it, doc. You knew. You fucking knew I was going out of my mind and you lied to my face." The blood in my veins begins to bubble from rage. I want to skin him and make him feel every bit of pain I felt for those months she was missing.

"I know," he croaks. "I know I deserve what you're going to do to me. But I loved her. I would have done anything for her."

I stand to my full height. "My mother?" I shake my head and Bill snorts. "It looks like she's deceived all of us. She used you."

The truth shines in his eyes. "I know," he murmurs again. "That's why I finally told you where she was. I couldn't do it anymore. I knew she was using me. I knew she didn't love me. So, I finally told you where she was." He sucks in a shaky breath.

I look at McKenzie. She has her hands covering her mouth as she listens to him. "Don't feel sorry for him, love. He had a choice. I understand being crazy in love. Trust me. But not to the point that you're hurting someone else."

She looks at me. "I'd never ask you to do that."

"Exactly."

Understanding dawns in her eyes. She knows I wouldn't do it if she asked, but she would never put me in that position to begin with. Dr. Chamberland should have known my mother didn't love him. The more I learn about my mother, the more I loathe her.

The woman I've had up on a pedestal my entire life wasn't just pushed off, she"s been incinerated.

I turn my attention back to Dr. Chamberland. "What about Anna? If you felt so bad, why didn't you do something about her?"

Dr. Chamberland takes in a shaky breath. "I left her container door open on purpose, so someone who was working the dock would look in it to inspect it and find her." He squeezes his eyes shut. "I hate myself for everything I did. I realized it too late."

"Yes, you did." I check in with Kenz one more time to make sure she's okay. She nods slightly, letting me know she's fine.

I walk to the silver tray and grab my gun. I back up and stare at Dr. Chamberland. Bill begins to buck against his chains, the drug having lost its effect on him already. I nod at Rex to take care of it and focus on Dr. Chamberland again.

Within a few moments, Bill's bucks lessen. I don't know if Rex gave him the entire syringe or not. Right now I don't care. I want Bill to suffer for what he did to McKenzie. I have a little more sympathy for Dr. Chamberland. He was deceived by mother just like I was.

I don't have enough sympathy for him to let him live, though. The moment I found out what my mother did and had time to process it, I chose McKenzie. I'll always choose McKenzie. "Close your eyes, love, if you don't want to watch." I glance at McKenzie over my shoulder, but she doesn't close her eyes.

She stares at Dr. Chamberland, who gives her a sad smile. "I'm so sorry, McKenzie. I wish I could change it."

"Why did you give me drugs to make me lose my memory?" she asks.

"I was trying to spare you. I didn't want you to remember everything that was done to you. I…" He swallows. "I don't know what all was done to you. I refused to watch, but I was trying to help, so you didn't have to live with it for the rest of your life."

McKenzie steps forward, with tears streaming down her face. "That's a bunch of shit and you know it. You were saving yourself, so you wouldn't get caught. All you did to me was give me these gaps in my life I can't remember. And even the memories that have come back, I don't trust them. Not completely. It still feels like something's missing." She shakes her head and wipes her hand across her face.

She motions to me to finish it. Dr. Chamberland looks at me with understanding in his eyes. I raise my gun and shoot him between his eyes. McKenzie flinches at the gunshot and Bill's eyes widen slightly. I turn and grasp McKenzie's shoulders lightly.

"Are you okay?"

Tears are still streaming down her face and she sniffs. "Yes. Why do I feel sorry for him?"

I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. "Because you're good." She wraps her arms around my neck and holds me tight. I lift her slightly. "You're better than me; the best person I've ever known."

She kisses my neck, my cheek, my ear. "You're good. You're so good," she whispers in my ear. I'm not, but I'll let her believe it. When she loosens her grip, I set her down and kiss the top of her head. Turning my attention back to Bill, his eyes are looking toward Dr. Chamberland. He's unable to move.

Without giving him time to process what I'm going to do, I grab the switchblade in my pocket, flip it open, and plunge it into his thigh. He groans and his eyes widen to the size of saucers. McKenzie squeaks in surprise. I look at her and she's staring at the knife sticking out of his thigh.

"Is there anything you want to do to him?" I ask her.

Bill looks from me to her. I'm sure when he got here tonight, he didn't think it would be his last night alive. He probably thought that he'd get to party upstairs, then go home and fuck Shay who he has chained to his bed. And next weekend he'd get to come back for the next fight, all the while keeping me in the dark. Why he thought he'd be able to get away with this forever is beyond me. He's obviously been hit too many times. But now he's going to meet the man people are afraid of. The man people won't cross because they know what I'll do to them. McKenzie grabs the drink that Rex brought her and gulps it down.

"No," she finally answers. "I just want to kill him."

I glance at Rex and Jason. I don't think Bill ever touched Anna, but you never know. "What about you Rex?"

He shakes his head. "I'm saving my revenge for Dick." Jason smirks, and I nod in approval. He hasn't been to an auction since I bought McKenzie. He probably knows better. I made sure he got fired from Brighton. Photographs of him buying those girls were mailed to each board member with a threat that if something wasn't done swiftly, they would all be fired as well.

I turn my attention back to Bill. "Guess you're all mine." I grab the forceps and click them in front of Bill's face. He sucks in a breath and I think he attempts to shake his head, but nothing happens. I could pull the beer bottle out of his arm. I wonder if he'd bleed out. We don't need that. Not yet.

I grab the hand on his unhurt arm, put the forceps under his thumbnail and yank it off. He moans against the gag in his mouth. I walk behind him and unhook the gag, taking it off him. I'm not sure if he'll be able to scream or not, probably not, but that's why this room is soundproof. No one will be able to hear him.

I remove the rest of his fingernails one by one, talking to him as I do it. "You know, I bought McKenzie at an auction." I look at her to gauge her reaction, but her eyes are stuck on Bill and what I'm doing to him. Bill groans as I yank another finger nail off, tears, sweat, and blood streaming down his face. I reach up and yank the shard of glass out of his cheek.

He screeches slightly, and I hum. Not quite screaming yet. "I made it clear when I had to have sex with her in front of all those people they were to stay behind the boundary I created." I have four more nails to go. "Five men didn't respect that boundary and tried to get closer. Of course, Rex took care of that. Later that night, we came to this very room. I cut their dicks off, stuck it in their mouths, sewed their mouths shut and left to go grab something to eat."

I'm done yanking his fingernails off. I grab my hammer and without any kind of warning, bring it down on his left hand. The bones in his hand shatter instantly. McKenzie turns away at that, so I stop and walk over to her. I don't try to turn her around or get in front of her. I have some blood on me and I don't want to upset her.

"If you need to go to the other room and take a break, you can," I whisper behind her. I wrap my hand around her hair and lift it off her neck. She's flushed and sweaty, but maybe this will help cool her off slightly.

"I'm okay, Nix. The sound was worse than watching it," she whispers.

"Rex can get you some earplugs if you want."

She sucks in a breath and nods slightly. Rex goes over to the wardrobe I have in the corner of the room and opens one of the drawers. He comes back with some earplugs.

"You twist them slightly and put them in the ear canal, then they'll expand," he explains. She opens the packet and does as he instructed and turns back around to face me. I study her, making sure she really is okay.

"I'm okay. This is a lot." She shrugs slightly and I nod.

I won't keep this going much longer. I can tell she's exhausted and ready for it to be over. As much as I'd like to extend his torture for hours, maybe days, I know Kenz won't be able to handle that. And after all the hell she's been through, I'm not going to make her. I kiss Kenz's cheek and turn back to face Bill.

"Anyway, as I was saying." I walk over to the side of his chair and adjust it so he's leaning back like in a recliner. I reach for his jeans that he changed into and unbutton and unzip them. He knows what's coming with the portion of my story I've already told. I yank his pants down along with his underwear. "Tighty whities? Come on man, are you three?"

I put gloves on because I'm not touching his dick. Anger courses through my veins at the thought of it being inside McKenzie. I was supposed to be the only man she ever slept with and this asshole ruined that. I take the sharpest knife I have, grab his dick, and chop it off. He screams this time. Taking advantage of his open mouth, I shove his dick in his mouth. He gurgles around it, his eyes bulging so much he looks like a cartoon character. Rex is at my side, handing me a needle and thread. He holds the top of his head and the bottom of his chin, keeping his mouth closed.

I sew a few stitches, but not like with the other men. Only enough to give McKenzie time to kill him. Stepping back, I stare at him. He's still moaning, blood pouring from his face, his arm, his fingernails, and now his groin. He's a mess, so I bask in it for a moment.

Before I can say anything, my phone rings. Yanking the gloves off that I put on, I grab it and see it's Felix.

"Yeah," I answer.

"I got her boss. She needs a doctor. Do you think Dr. Chamberland is available?"

I glance toward the slumped body of the doctor. "No, he's not. He's no longer on my payroll. Take her to the Medical Center and ask for Dorothy."

"Got it." He hangs up, and I pocket my phone.

"We got Shay. You deserve so much worse than what you're getting, but my wife wants to kill you and I'm going to let her."

I turn to McKenzie. Her breathing has quickened and her eyes are wide. She's not looking directly at Bill. She's looking over his shoulder. I study her concern flitting up my spine.

"Kenz?" I say loudly so she'll hear me. Her attention snaps to me.

She removes one of her earplugs. "I'm ready. I want to do it, then I want to get out of this room."

"Kenz, this is something you'll never be able to take back or undo. If you don't think you'll be able to handle it—"

"Phoenix, I can handle it. I'm sick of men telling me what I can and can not do. I'm sick of being lied to and taken advantage of. I'm sick of it and I want him to pay for what he did to me and Shay and probably other women." She gestures to Bill, but I know I'm included in that sentence. I've lied to her and taken advantage of her feelings for me, but somehow she still loves me. I don't deserve her.

She puts the earplug back in her ear. I hand her my gun and she takes it, weighing it in her hands. "You know how to shoot. I took you to practice quite a bit after the first time you were taken, so instinct should take over even if you can't remember it. Aim between his eyes and shoot."

She nods once and steps forward, standing in front of Bill. Rex has moved behind us and I stand next to McKenzie, letting her feel my support and also letting her know I'm here if she decides she can't follow through with it. She stares at Bill for several seconds. "I hope you rot in hell." Then she lifts the gun, points it between his eyes and shoots twice.