Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lucian

He was a pathetic looking man. Even more pathetic than I’d imagined. His pitiful face was shallow and vile. His eyes were beady and his lips were pursed. Hardly a welcoming reverend by anyone’s standards. I’m sure my eyes were as evil as they’d ever been as I closed the distance between us.

“Lucian Morelli?” he asked, and his voice was weakly curious. “I wasn’t expecting you. Do you wish to be a member of the fellowship?”

I stepped up to one of the pictures on his wall. It was a garish piece of crap showing a benevolent Lord Jesus reaching down toward the children at his feet. “Tell me about this fellowship,” I said, feigning interest. “I heard you used to offer Elaine Constantine as a benefit of membership.”

His smile made me rage like a beast inside. “Ah yes, Elaine,” he said, and his expression was one of relief. “Unfortunately, Elaine is now grown up. She was a delightful creature, but she outgrew us as they all do. We have other girls who are very similar though.”

I didn’t speak to him, just stared until he continued talking. “I really didn’t believe the Morellis wanted to be a part of this fellowship. I didn’t believe you crossed over with the Constantines. Lionel was adamant that you didn’t.” He paused. “May I ask who introduced you to our order?”

“One of the Constantines,” I told him, and he let out a laugh.

“That’s quite a surprise. I really didn’t expect there to be any communication between you and the Constantines. I guess our world is changing. We can thank the Lord for his blessing in friendship.”

“We can certainly thank the Lord for my presence here,” I said.

“Take a seat,” he offered and gestured to the chair opposite him. “We can discuss the options. Joining the order is expensive, but most certainly worth the investment. Our handshake goes a very long way in this world.”

I took the seat, leaning back and crossing my legs at the knee like a truly relaxed potential member. My gloved hands flexed, fingers stretching.

“Who else does this handshake belong to? I want to know exactly who I’m signing up with.”

He paused. “I’m not permitted to disclose the full details of the order until after initiation into our group. I can assure you that our members are very established fellows who would be extremely pleased to have a man of your stature among them. I must say I’m pleasantly surprised by your interest.”

I didn’t speak, just sat there. I had two options available to me. I either tortured him until he gave me the member list slowly, or I got the piece of shit to spill all before I knifed him. Or both. I opted for both.

“I want the membership list, or I’m out of here. I’m not joining with nobodies or pussies.”

The standoff lasted seconds, not minutes.

His shrug was as pathetic as he was. “If it was one of the Constantines that told you about us, I’m certain you’re outside of the usual precautions. We have no nobodies or pussies in our order, I can assure you. We are limited in our numbers. Quite exclusive,” he simpered.

“I know of Rawlings, Eddington, and Hardwick,” I told him. “I’ve heard they are particularly brutal beasts with the girls.”

He smirked at me. “Oh yes. They are brutal with the girls. They very much enjoyed Elaine, you know.” His eyes fogged over with memory. “She took her punishment like a good girl.”

I could have ripped his balls off and rammed them down his throat there and then. “Who else enjoys playtime?” I asked him. “Tell me.”

The Reverend betrayed his members so casually. “Lionel. Anthony Ellison. Carlos Madeira. Cederic Bartonshire,” he informed me. “A lot of our members are from across the Atlantic, of course. Their aristocratic scene over there is very…seeking. As I said though, it’s quite exclusive. That’s the full list.”

I could imagine it. Already my mind was running away, picturing routes overseas and just what the fuck I was going to do with them.

“Do enlighten me,” Lynch said. “Who told you about us? Surely it was Lionel, yes?”

That’s when I picked my moment. “It was Elaine.”

“Elaine Constantine?” he asked, and his shock was delicious.

“Yes,” I told him. “It was Elaine.”

He realized I wasn’t the potential member I’d presented myself as.

He moved as quickly as I did, but I was faster than that incompetent piece of shit. He darted for his exit, but I darted for him, tumbling him back onto his seat before he was even out of it. He crashed onto his back, staring up at me with panicked piggy eyes.

My foot was on his chest in an instant, pressing hard. He didn’t even try to push me off.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked me. “For her? For that little girl who lied as well as she took cock? She’s nothing!”

“She’s everything, but most importantly—” I leaned over and spat in his face. “She’s mine.”

“But she’s a-a Constantine.” His confusion was obvious. Mine would have been obvious to match his just a few days ago.

Voicing it aloud was a whole other league to me. It was a combination of disgusting and fantastic as I spoke the words. “I’m in love with Elaine Constantine.”

His jaw dropped open, and his eyes were huge white plates as I pulled out the blade from my inside pocket. “This is some ploy to get close to the Constantines, isn’t it? Let me up from here and I will tell you all you need to know about them. I’ll tell you all about Elaine. We didn’t mean to hurt her. She enjoyed it. She enjoyed being a fellowship girl.”

He was hoping for a miracle.

“I know everything I need to know about her Constantine background,” I told him. “I know everything I need to know about you.”

I pressed my foot to his throat. His hands gripped my ankle as he squirmed, but I wouldn’t budge, just kept my weight at a beautiful enough pressure to make him choke and turn red. Wriggling piece of shit.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” I said, and lowered the blade.

I stripped that man with my knife before I hurt him. I kicked him in the face as he tried to scream, busting his jaw so bad he was a mess, and then I took it slowly. Each slice of my blade was a thrill to me, only this time it wasn’t about my addiction to inflicting pain. This time it was all about the woman I was avenging.

It was about her beautiful eyes and how they must have cried when this man touched her. It was about him punishing her over so much time that she believed she deserved it.

It was about the way he’d touched her, the way he’d whispered filth into her ear when she was too broken to understand what he was doing to her.

It was about the way he’d been in this place, letting other men in for their sick thrills at her expense—my beautiful girl with a heart of gold.

I did things to the sick fuck that made even my stomach turn. He was a gurgling wreck as I finally took the ultimate payback.

I leaned in close, whispering right into his wheezing face.

“This is for Elaine,” I said. “Say hello to the Lord and Savior when you get there. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you, you disgusting piece of shit.” I pushed the blade straight through his windpipe and twisted it.

I had a smile on my face as he gurgled his final breath. I was covered in blood as I left his body on the floor and smoothed my bloodstained jacket down over my chest.