Chapter 26

With Mitchell subdued, Rayth moves forward and helps Damon to lift him. They carry him between them out of the carpeted bedroom and I mentally wish it was summer or warmer weather so that their muscles weren’t completely covered in dark clothes.

When we reach the main living area, Killian already has a chair set up and is waiting with cable ties. After Rayth and Damon set Mitchell in the chair, Killian gets to work securing his arms and legs. I take a moment to appreciate the view from the large glass walls of the house, pulling the hoodie off now that we no longer need to blend into the shadows. The heating in the house is on high even with the cool weather starting to retreat. The living area looks out to the trees and a garden with fairy lights strewn through the plants, giving it a magical aura.

”What a beautiful view,” I murmur, sighing in contentment as I take it all in.

Suddenly, I feel a body press up behind me, and I lean into Rayth”s warmth as he wraps his arms around me. His face brushes against mine, and I can”t help but smile at his closeness.

”Is this the sort of view you want in a home, little dove?” Rayth asks softly.

”Yes, I would love it,” I respond, relishing in the moment.

”I know of a place with this exact view that”s about to hit the market,” Damon chimes in as he steps up beside us, and I laugh softly. ”And that master bedroom was big enough to put whatever size bed we want in it.”

I choke on my laughter, not realizing they were actually serious. ”Um, won”t this place be massively expensive? I don”t exactly have any money,” I say sadly, frowning.

”The price will plummet with the violent and bloody death of the previous owner, and you don”t need money, we have plenty,” Killian interjects from behind us, his tone matter-of-fact.

We turn to see that Killian has secured Mitchell firmly to the chair, his expression impassive as he waits for us to finish our conversation.

“Ready, angel?” he asks.

I grin at Killian”s question and nod eagerly, more than ready for what is to come. We all move back toward where Mitchell is secured to the chair, Damon and Rayth moving behind him, anticipation humming in the air like electricity.

Damon shows me another needle, “Adrenaline,” he tells me before pushing it into Mitchell. The effect is almost instant as Mitchell jerks awake, gasping and wide-eyed as consciousness floods back into him.

His eyes dart around wildly, taking in his surroundings with growing panic. I watch him closely, feeling a surge of satisfaction at seeing him disoriented and vulnerable.

”What the fuck is going on?” he stammers, his voice tinged with fear.

I step forward with a smile, unable to resist the opportunity to unsettle him further. ”Hi, Mitchell,” I say cheerfully.

He looks at me, confusion clouding his features. ”Who the fuck are you?” he demands, his voice shaky with fear.

Before I can respond, Killian steps forward with a menacing glare. Without a word, he delivers a backhanded strike across Mitchell”s face, the sound echoing in the room.

”Don”t ever fucking talk to her like that,” Killian growls, his voice low and dangerous.

Mitchell recoils from the blow, his cheek blooming red as he stares at Killian with wide eyes.

I smile affectionately at Killian. ”Thank you,” I murmur softly, my heart swelling with warmth for him.

Mitchell stutters, desperation evident in his voice as he struggles against the bindings. ”Please, I won”t tell anyone you were here if you leave me alone. You”ve got the wrong person,” he insists, his voice trembling.

But before we can respond, Damon and Rayth both move to stand beside me. ”Hello, Mitchell,” Rayth says, his tone deceptively calm.

Mitchell”s eyes widen in recognition and disbelief. ”But you are both dead,” he stammers, his voice trembling with fear. ”They said you died.”

Damon looks at me with a smirk, his eyes twinkling with mischief. ”Do I look okay for a dead man?” he quips.

I can”t help but play along. ”You look very handsome for a dead man,” I respond with a playful grin.

Rayth leans toward Mitchell, his voice low and menacing. ”Guess what? Our girl was studying to be a doctor, too. We thought it would be a great time for her to have an anatomy lesson, and you are the perfect asshole to give it,” he says, his words dripping with malice.

As Rayth speaks, Killian extracts a large knife from the black bags and hands it to me. Mitchell sobs at the sight of it, his fear palpable. ”Please don”t hurt me, why me?” he pleads, his voice desperate.

I hum thoughtfully and step closer to Mitchell, my expression hardening. ”I”m sure all the women you abused would have said those exact same words if they had been able to. But you made sure they couldn”t,” I say, my voice cold with anger.

Rayth and Damon move to stand on either side of Mitchell, their presence heightening his sense of dread. When I take a step forward, Mitchell turns into a blubbering, begging mess, realizing there”s no way out of this.

He truly believed he would keep getting away with what he was doing.

Before I start, I pause and glance around. ”Shouldn’t we have a plastic sheet down or something?” I ask, concerned about the mess we”re about to make.

Rayth and Killian exchange a look before Rayth responds. ”Nah, it will never be big enough to contain all the blood spray, plus it ruins the aesthetics. Red blood on these white marble tiles is going to look epic. But we should probably cover the couch; blood is a bitch to get out of fabric,” he says matter-of-factly.

Killian nods in agreement and reaches into another bag, pulling out a roll of clear plastic. He gets to work covering the couch while the strong scent of urine fills the air. I glance back at Mitchell and am disgusted to see a puddle starting to spread underneath his chair, and I wrinkle my nose.

”Oh my god, can you not have a little dignity? Maybe we should include a puppy pad in the kit moving forward,” I huff, shaking my head in disgust.

Damon barks out a surprised laugh at me, then wanders off in the direction of what I can see is a small bathroom. He returns with a hand towel, tossing it onto the puddle of urine and using the tip of his shoe to move the towel around until all the mess is mopped up.

Killian steps back up near us, having finished covering both couches with the clear plastic. Damon moves the towel out of the way with a gloved hand, and I glance around at everyone.

”Okay, where were we?” I ask with a smile.

Rayth lifts up my hand with the knife, the blade gleaming ominously in the dim light of the room. ”Remember what we taught you,” he says to me, his voice low and steady. He positions the knife between Mitchell”s arm and chest, ensuring he avoids the protection of the ribs.

”You don”t want to start anywhere that”s protected by the ribs,” Rayth continues, his tone matter-of-fact. ”That will make things end too quickly. If you get his lungs, it will cause hemothorax. Aspiration is rare, but it could happen too.” Slowly, deliberately, he adds pressure to my wrist and pushes the knife in, and Mitchell”s scream pierces the air, echoing off the walls of the room.

I stare at where it”s embedded in Mitchell’s flesh with fascination. There is surprisingly not much blood seeping out from around the blade and I do understand what Rayth was talking about with the positioning. There was nothing vital there.

Mitchell”s screams intensify as the knife is withdrawn, and blood spurts from the wound, staining the floor beneath him. There is something about it all that has my body heating up, I’m not sure if it’s thrusting the knife into his flesh or the blood pumping from his body, or even the screams and sobs echoing around the room.

Rayth continues to guide me for the next few cuts and I follow his instructions, each cut precise and deliberate, inflicting maximum pain upon Mitchell without causing immediate death. And with each one, I can feel myself become more aroused.

Mitchell”s cries grow louder, his body writhing in agony against the restraints that bind him to the chair. Damon huffs out a frustrated breath, grabbing the hand towel soaked in urine and forcefully shoving it into Mitchell”s mouth to stifle his cries. The sight is grotesque, but there”s a grim satisfaction in knowing that Mitchell”s own filth is being used against him.

With each muffled, agonized cry, I push the knife deeper. Mitchell”s body convulses with pain, his eyes wide with terror as he struggles against the restraints, but there”s no escape from the inevitable.

I can feel the intensity of the moment building, the adrenaline coursing through my veins heightening my senses. Mitchell”s screams and sobs fade into the background as I focus solely on the task at hand, the blade of the knife slicing through flesh with a sickening ease.

But then, I feel a body press against my back, startling me. In my surprise, I pull the knife out too quickly, spraying us both with droplets of blood. Before I can react, I realize it”s Rayth, his hands sliding around the front of my body.

”Having fun, little dove?” he whispers to me, his breath hot against the skin of my neck.

”Yessss,” I moan as he presses his hard length against my ass. The sight of me stabbing a man has turned him on as much as it has me, and we are both now ignoring the screaming man in front of me.

”How much fun, precious?” Damon asks with a grin from his place beside the chair. When I look at him, I finally notice that he has been sprayed with some of the blood when I pulled the knife out. The sight of him with blood on him makes my pussy throb and my lips part on a harsh breath.

Rayth pushes his hand into my pants, his fingers finding my wet pussy straight away, and he groans. ”Finish him off, Everly, or I”m going to fuck you with him still alive.”

I almost laugh, but he thrusts his fingers inside me and has me moaning again. I plunge the knife into Mitchell”s chest, but I know that isn”t going to do much. It does stop the screaming after a moment, though, as he starts coughing because of the knife wound in his lung.

Fingers grip and turn my jaw until I’m looking into Killian’s intense eyes. He looks almost feral. ”Up under the jawline or slash his throat, now, Everly,” Killian orders, his voice low and commanding.

The blood spray hits us all this time when I drag the blade across his throat. We are all covered in blood, but it just makes everyone more turned on.

With a growl, Killian tears me out of Rayth”s arms, his kiss hard and biting as he presses himself against the length of me. He pulls at the material of my shirt, tearing it down the center with a roughness that sends shivers down my spine. But he doesn”t stop kissing me, his hands going straight for my bare nipples now that the shirt isn”t in the way. I”ve put some weight back on with weeks of eating full meals, and his hands are about to grip and squeeze my breasts.

I can vaguely hear Damon and Rayth trying to get Killian to ease up on me, but I”m just as caught up in the moment as Killian is. It”s when I go to move my arms to strip off the ripped shirt that I realize I”m still gripping the knife in my hand.

The moment I press it to Killian”s chest, however, everyone freezes.