Chapter 34 Hunter
THIRTY-FOUR
HUNTER
I paid good fucking money to put a basement in my Florida home. The waterproof walls, the drainage systems and sump pumps were all worth it for this moment as I walk around Connor’s body hanging from the shackles attached to my ceiling. I grin, doing another lap just because I can.
There’s nowhere for him to move. Nowhere for him to go, and it’s nice to see someone who thinks they’re invincible struggle.
“You’re a monster,” he spits out. Blood spills from his mouth and splatters across the floor, and now I’m mad about the extra clean up I’m going to have to do. I fucking hate the smell of bleach. “Fuck you.”
“That’s pretty rich coming from the guy who stalked, drugged, and harassed someone important to me. And we can’t forget about all this shit you’ve done in the past.”
Connor regained consciousness about thirty minutes ago, howling in pain when I cuffed his wrists and ankles. He’s been dangling in the air ever since, and I wonder how I want to torture him first.
A knife to the throat?
Too quick. The pain would be brief, and I told Max I would make him suffer.
Slicing out one of his organs?
His kidney was my first thought. If he wouldn’t go into shock from the pain and being unmedicated, I’d do it, but I want him fully lucid. Aware of every way I’m going to mutilate and maim him, laughing when he begs me for death.
“Those bitches in my past asked for it. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Connor glares at me, and it’s cute he thinks he’s getting out of here alive.
“Tsk, tsk, Connor. We don’t talk about women like that.
” I bring my knife to his stomach, slicing a small sliver of skin where his appendix is.
His flesh hits the plastic tarp covering the ground while his screams echo in the soundproof room around us.
“You’re such a fucking baby. Why don’t you learn to take it like a man.
That’s what you said to those women you hurt, isn’t it? Just take it.”
“That’s not who I am today.” Connor yanks on the chains, wailing when I dig my knife further into his flesh. I’m toying with him now, but it’s so fun to watch him start to cry. “I’m different. I’ve changed.”
“If following Max, shoving her into a dark room and keeping her there for hours is you changed, I don’t want to know how sick and twisted you were before.
” I turn the blade, smirking when the blood trickles out from his stomach.
“Do you think anyone is going to miss you, Con? If there was a funeral, who would come?”
“I only wanted to scare her. To get her to pay attention to me again.”
“Now you have my attention, and that doesn’t bode well for you, my friend.
” I sigh and spin the knife. “I stopped having sympathy for you the second you put your hands on her. No. The second you breathed the same air as her. Like you think you’re worthy.
” I stop in my tracks, an idea coming to me.
“Ah. An eye for an eye. That’s what we’ll do. ”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’ll apologize! I’ll make it up to you.”
“To me? You don’t need to say shit to me. It’s her you need to get on your knees for to beg for mercy, but you’re never going to get that chance.”
“Just put me out of my misery.” Connor hangs his head, and I wonder what he would look like with this knife between his eyes. Maybe I’ll use a hammer instead. “Please.”
“I don’t think so, pal.” I pat his cheek and walk toward the door. “I need to run some tea up to my girl. I’ll be back in a few, then the games will really start.”
Connor tries to say something else but I flick off the light, plunging the room into darkness. I climb the stairs out of the basement two at a time and stretch my arms. I lock the door behind me, finding Leo in the kitchen.
“She wanted tea,” he says, and I smile.
“I was just coming up to make some for her.”
“Here.” He sets down a mug and gestures to it. “I don’t want to overstep.”
“You’re not. My hands are messy. I’d be grateful if you could finish it for me.”
Leo hums and checks the kettle, leaning against the counter. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“That’s her ex. He hurt her.” I turn on the sink and wash the flecks of blood off my hands. “He… lured her to his home. Roofied her. Tied her to the bed and tried to—” Bile creeps up my throat, and I grip the porcelain to steady myself. “Tried to touch her.”
“You’re fucking joking.”
“No.” I blow out a breath and look out the window at the woods behind the house. I’ll bury him out there, in a spot no one will ever find. “He slapped her too.”
“That piece of fucking shit. I’m going to go down there—”
“No. Your heart is too good, Leo. Don’t tarnish it. I’m handling it, okay? Can you just… keep an eye on my girl, will you? I want to be up there with her, but I need—”
“I’ve got it. I promise.” Leo clasps my shoulder. “And with no ulterior motive than caring about her because you care about her.”
“What did I do to deserve a friend like you?” I smile weakly. “Make sure you put in a little bit of milk and a touch of sugar. She likes her tea sweet.”
“You’ll tell me if you need me?”
“Yeah. Thanks. I’ll be up when I can. And I’ll make sure there’s no trace of him when I’m finished. I brought him here, and the last thing I want is for you to get involved in this in case anyone starts asking questions.”
“Like that will happen.” He snorts. “Take your time. I’ll text you if she needs you.”
“Appreciate you.” I jog downstairs and turn on the light, laughing when Connor winces and shuts his eyes. “Nap time is over, mother fucker.”
“Thought you’d be gone longer, but then I remember Max is a quick fuck.”
I know he’s baiting me, and it takes all of my willpower to walk past him and not drill a nail into his skull.
“Funny. With a dick that small, I’m surprised you could fuck at all,” I toss back, and he scowls.
“I’ve had no complaints.”
“You sure? Because she screams my name when I’m with her. I doubt she even whispered yours.” I open my toolbox and weigh a wrench in my hand. “Did someone hit you growing up?”
“What?” Connor frowns at the change in question.
“I’m just wondering how you started down this road of abusing women. Were you a violent kid?”
There’s a long pause and I look over my shoulder to make sure he’s still awake.
“My father. He…” Connor shakes his head. “He did fucked up shit to me. It made me think that—” Another pause. “That that was how I was supposed to act too. I’ve tried to break the cycle but I… I can’t. I like it too much.”
I want to feel sympathy for him. I want to share that my dad the same thing, that we’re similar in more ways than he knows, but that’s where our paths no longer overlap.
I did break the cycle. I will never have the urges he does, and I can’t feel an ounce of remorse toward a man who knowingly harms women because he fucking can.
“The first person I killed was my father.” I trade out the wrench for a crowbar and walk toward him.
“He abused my mother. Me too, occasionally, but not as much as her. I bashed his skull in. Staged it to look like a suicide, and no one dug into his death because no one cared about him. I’ve killed eighty-six people since then, but you?
I’m going to enjoy killing you the most.”
“We’ve been here for almost an hour and you haven’t done shit. I’m starting to think you’re all talk.” Connor laughs. “You really just a fucking pretty boy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe we should change that.” I drop the crowbar on the ground and adjust the shackle around his right wrist. I move the chains up his arm and flash my knife. “Want to count to three for me?”
“What are you doing?” His eyes widen with horror when I touch the blade to his skin. “You can’t—I’m not—”
“One.”
“Please. Please. What about my foot? Or my ear?”
“Two.”
“I’ll do anything you want. Anything. Just let me—”
I don’t get to three. I bring the knife up then back down, slicing through his flesh.
His screams fill the room as his severed hand falls on the tarp with a thump.
Blood pours out of him in spurts, and I pick up his discarded limb by the finger, holding it in front of him.
Making a tourniquet is useless; I don’t want to save the fucker.
Letting him see what I’ve taken from him is more fun.
“There are consequences when you touch things that don’t belong to you, Connor. And because not only did you touch Max, but you hit her too, I have to take the other one.”
Connor blinks, his cheeks turning pale. “The other one?”
This time, I don’t count down. I bring the knife to his left wrist, this cut cleaner than the first. Connor’s body tilts forward, his head lolling as the chains tightening with his movement. He gags, projectile vomit spewing halfway across the basement floor, and I sigh.
More fucking clean up.
We’ve reached the point of no return, his shock setting in as his organs start to shut down.
I let go of both limbs and kick them out of the way, proud of myself.
This is the most dismembering I’ve ever done.
The most restraint I’ve ever shown too, because I could’ve ended this in six seconds like I do with most of the people on my hit list.
“How are you doing, Connor?” I ask. I touch the blade to his nose then his cheek, testing his reflexes.
There’s nothing there but clammy skin. Shallow breathing and disorientation.
“Wow. I thought you would’ve held on longer than that.
Guess you can’t take it, huh?” He mumbles something incoherent, a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth.
I move the knife under his neck, lifting his chin.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you. Say that one more time? ”
“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m sorry. If I could take it all back—” he coughs, gasping for air. “She didn’t deserve it.”
“No, she didn’t. But you know what the good news is? She’ll never have to see you ever again. You’ll be burning in hell.”
I stab his stomach, twisting my knife. Hitting his aortic artery is easy after years of practice, and his body goes limp. I wait, watching his chest, and when it rises for the last time with his final breath, I stare up at the ceiling.
Finally.
The knife hits the ground and I almost sprint upstairs.
I stop to wash my hands, scrubbing under my fingernails and up my arms until I feel clean.
When I do, I make my way down the hall, reaching my bedroom.
The second I see Max on my bed, fast asleep with Leo reading a book next to her, I feel like I can breathe for the first time in days.
He locks eyes with me and scoots off the mattress. He collects her mug and moves toward me, knocking my shoulder with his.
“She fell asleep ten minutes ago,” he whispers.
“How is she doing?”
“Better, I think. Still skittish, so I left the light on.”
“Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”
“Anything I can do?”
“Yeah. Don’t go in the basement.” I grin and take off my shoes, heading for the bed. “That’s tomorrow’s project, and I don’t need you and your squeamish stomach making more of a mess.”
“The fucker’s dead?”
“The fucker is dead.”
“Good.” Leo nods and slides out of my room. “You know where I’ll be.”
He closes the door behind him, and I’m careful when I sit on the edge of the mattress. Max jolts awake, her eyes scanning the room before they settle on me.
“Hunter.” She blows out a breath and draws the sheets to her chin. “It’s you.”
“Sorry it took me so long to get here, angel.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great. Did Leo keep you company while I was gone?”
“Yeah. He showed me your senior year photos. Your haircut was terrible.” She smiles. “You know I like him very much, but you’re my favorite.”
“Good news: you’re my favorite too, and I’m not planning to go anywhere anytime soon. Did Skyler ever text you back?” I ask.
“Yeah. She’s going to stop by in the morning, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay.” I’m gentle when I peel back the covers and take my side of the mattress. “Do you want to sleep alone tonight? I can take the spare—”
“No.” Max is quick to wrap her arms around my waist, her cheek resting on my chest. “I need you here. Please.”
“Then this is where I’ll be.” I kiss the top of her head and turn off the light, relaxing when she snuggles into my hold. “I’ve got you, angel.”
Tonight. Tomorrow. For as long as you’ll have me, I think, forcing myself to stay awake all night, just in case she needs me.