Chapter 82
EIGHTY-TWO
AMETHYST
As Xero leaves to investigate, I take a moment to steady my breath, my gaze locking onto Barrett and Seth. The fear in their eyes is satisfying, but it isn’t enough. They need to suffer—to feel the pain they inflicted upon me a thousandfold.
I approach the table of instruments, my fingers brushing over the cold metal of surgical equipment and knives. I pick up a scalpel, feeling its weight, imagining the way it will slice through flesh.
I turn to Barrett first, since his whimpers grate on my nerves. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“What... what do you want?” he croaks, his voice thick with pain.
“You remember me, don’t you?”
He nods, his eyes streaming with fat tears. “Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t?—”
I silence him with a slap, the sound of skin hitting skin echoing in the hollow space. “Sorry doesn’t erase what you did.”
He flinches, his cheek reddening as his eyes widen with shock. His breath comes in ragged gasps, and he stammers, “I-I didn’t mean?—”
“Why did you do it? Why did you hurt me and the others?”
He whimpers.
I run the scalpel across his ribs, making him flinch. When he squeezes his eyes shut, I slice a line up his chest and over to the pulse thrumming in his throat. He shudders, his breath coming in shallow pants. He knows what’s coming.
“Tell me, Barrett,” I say, circling his hanging carcass. “How does it feel to be helpless?”
He sobs, his body shaking. “Please... I can tell you something important,” he says, his voice hoarse with desperation. “Just... just don’t kill me.”
“Speak,” I snap.
“I didn’t want to do any of this, you know.” He gulps. “I joined thinking it was just acting. When I got there and the girl died, it was too late. I became an accessory to murder.”
Seth snorts.
I tighten my lips, already sick of the bullshit. These second-rate predators only ever show regret when they’ve fallen out of favor with Delta. “Funny how you didn’t seem reluctant when you were joining in on all the fun at the asylum.”
“Dolly, I didn’t?—”
I cut him off with a slash to the face. “Don’t call me by that name!”
He chokes another sob.
Fury flares across my chest. I return to the table, snap on a pair of disposable gloves, and grab a serrated knife.
His eyes widen. “Wait. What are you?—-”
My fingers close in around his flaccid penis. Jerking hard, I saw it with my serrated knife. The screams ringing through my ears soothe my inner predator. Warm blood oozes over my fingers, washing away a fraction of my trauma. Its metallic tang overwhelms my senses, leaving me light-headed. I slow my movements, making sure every cut is agonizing and precise.
Barrett jerks and spasms and twists toward Seth, trying to squirm away. This only makes me grip harder and stab the tip of my blade into his balls.
“Shut the fuck up. You deserve worse than this,” I hiss.
When I’ve liberated his genitals, Barrett’s body goes limp. I hold up the severed penis and turn to Seth, who watches through bulging eyes. All the color has leached from his sallow features, leaving his jaw hanging.
“Remember the hatch?” I ask, my lip curling.
He swallows hard, trying to maintain some semblance of control. “Can’t you take a joke?”
“Well, how do you like this prank?” I hold the severed penis in his face. “Put it in your mouth.”
He swings backward, all signs of bravado faltering. “No.”
I rush to the table, set the balls to one side, grab a taser and test its trigger. The room fills with an electrical crackle. When I turn back to Seth, he stiffens. Sweat breaks out across his skin, and his chest rises and falls with rapid breaths. Even a former assassin can’t be stoic in the face of losing their genitals.
“Did Lizzie feel like this when you electrocuted her?” I ask, pressing the taser’s electrodes to his side.
I press the trigger again, releasing screams that stoke my thirst for revenge. Smoke rises from his skin, filling the air with the acrid scent of burning flesh.
“Stop,” he rasps.
“Then eat it,” I say through clenched teeth.
He shakes his head again and wheezes, “I can’t...”
I press the taser back into his burnt side, setting off a surge of electric shocks that make him convulse. “Do it!”
“I... I can tell you something Barret doesn’t know,” he says, his voice straining with desperation. “Just... just stop.”
Silence stretches for several heartbeats, broken by the rasp of his breath. Xero hovers farther away in the background, deep in conversation. I turn my attention back to Seth, wondering if this is a bluff.
“Speak.” I punctuate the word with another blast of the taser.
“It’s about D-Dolly,” he stammers. “Everything we did... it was for her revenge. She came to Parisii Drive to capture you. She’ll probably trade you for Camila.”
His words hit me like a sledgehammer, even though I shouldn’t be shocked. “What do you mean?”
Seth nods. “She’ll release Camila if you go to her.”
My breath catches. “How do I arrange a swap?”
“She added you as a friend on her social media. Just send her a message.”
“That’s it?”
He nods.
“Thank you.” I bring the severed penis to his mouth. “Now, eat. Unless you want me to fry your brain.”
Eyes burning with betrayal, he gags and chokes on the cock meat, letting blood and bits of flesh dribble down his lips.
I scrape the debris from his chin and bring it back to his mouth. “Spit it out and I’ll slit your throat.”
Tears roll down his cheeks as he eats.
“Good boy,” I say. “You’re taking Barret’s cock extremely well.”
He squeezes his eyes shut and whimpers.
Satisfied, I step back and wait for him to swallow. As his throat bobs, I return to the torture table to set down the taser, place a scalpel between my teeth, and pick up a tourniquet. Barrett will probably die of blood loss, but I need Seth alive a little longer.
I return to wrap a tight band around the base of his penis, making him twist around. “Stay still,” I mutter around the metallic hilt. “Don’t ruin your dessert.”
“Wait!” he cries out. “I have information on Delta!”
I take the scalpel from between my teeth and press its blade into the pulse point beneath his jaw. “What is it?”
“Release me and I’ll take you. I can even help you get back that girl.”
I glance over my shoulder to see if Xero overheard. He’s busy on the other side of the church with his phone, unaware of the exchange. I return to Seth and press my blade beneath his chin.
“How do I know this isn’t bullshit?”
Seth shivers, his breath coming in ragged pants. “It wasn’t Delta who left us for dead. It was that two-faced bitch, Dolly. Help me take her down and I’ll?—”
“What the fuck is this?” Xero’s bellow echoes across the church.
My heart skips several beats. I whirl around, my eyes widening.
Xero’s eyes lock onto mine, his fury palpable even from across the room. He strides down the aisle, the intensity in his gaze making my pulse race.
I step back and bump into the table of instruments, the cold metal pressing into my skin. Unpleasant shivers race down my spine. He’s about to ruin my plan.
“What are you telling her?” Xero snarls, his voice menacing and low.
Seth trembles, his face pale. “I was just... I was just trying to stay alive.”
Xero’s expression hardens. “You think you can negotiate your way out of dying?” He turns to fix me with a glower. “What did he tell you?”
“He has information on Dolly and Delta,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
Xero’s eyes narrow. “You trust him?”
“No, but it’s worth hearing him out,” I reply, my grip tightening on the scalpel. The metal hilt bites into my palm. It’s the only thing keeping me grounded in the face of his anger.
Xero steps closer to Seth, standing so close their faces are inches apart. “Start talking. Fast.”
Seth swallows hard. “I can broker a swap. Amy in exchange for the other girl.”
“Out of the question,” he snaps.
Frustration roils through my insides, building in intensity until it bursts out in a scream. I whirl on Xero, wondering how one man can be so stubborn. “How else are we going to save Camila?”
His jaw tightens, his eyes darkening like thunderclouds before a storm. “I nearly lost you once. Losing you again isn’t an option. I would die before handing you over to those monsters.”
Guilt crushes my chest, making me choke back a sob. How many times has he put himself on the line for me? “You can’t keep coddling me or making such huge sacrifices. I’ve already cost you so much.”
“You’re wrong,” he snarls.
“If that’s true, then when will you confront me for nearly setting you on fire?”
Xero’s features harden. His eyes bore into mine, filled with a pain I rarely see. He slams his fist into Seth’s gut wound, earning himself a pained groan. “You think I haven’t wanted to scream at you for jumping to conclusions?”
His words cut deep, flaring up my guilt. I always knew the resentment would eventually surface. My throat tightens, and I gulp. “Then let me fix this. Let me go there. You can even provide back up.”
Xero grabs my throat, making me gasp. His skin is hot, the pulse in his fingers beating wildly against my skin. “I was disappointed. After everything we went through together, you didn’t trust me.”
My eyes widen, and I use his confession as ammunition. “Then let me fix this. Use me as bait to save Camila. Let me show you just how much I trust you. See that as my way of making things right.”
His eyes flash with anger, his features tightening with hurt. “You want to apologize for leaving me in a fire to die? Then you can stay here while I burn down this fucking church.”