Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dean Anderson
M y vision wavers as the jackass keeps talking. Next to me, Grigori and Sergei hold their ground, ready to pounce if things go sideways. Unfortunately, we never talked about what would happen if or when we found them.
I can only hope and assume they’ll allow me my revenge. The need to make him pay for every small agony he’s put my girl through beats in my brain, threatening to make me unhinged again. But I can’t take him to task until I fully understand exactly what he’s talking about.
“Enlighten me. You say you want The Society. That’s all well and good, but how do you propose you get it?”
The look he gives me would be comical if things weren’t so dire. “You give it to me. It’s all rather simple. You want your whore back in one piece, then you give me power over the whole of The Society. I want it all. The information, the blackmail. Whatever you have on these people. I want it. You’ve been losing your touch for a bit. It’s time for someone else to be in charge.”
Sergei steps forward and cocks his head to the side. “And who say we listen to dumb fuck like you?”
For a moment, I worry Thatcher’s brain will short circuit as he stares at the brute. Did the man not think this through? No doubt all these years managing yes men made him susceptible to thinking everyone would just bow before him. Not this lot.
The only reason they answer to me is out of gratitude. I offer them a service. I give them the freedom to explore their baser desires. In return, I collect intel to make sure they stay loyal. But I’ve never threatened them. Not explicitly.
Unfortunately, it seems as if Thatcher is under the misapprehension that might always makes right. Cracking my knuckles, I tilt my head from side to side to release the pressure in my neck.
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from calling my girl a whore. Your issue is with me now. Not her. Let her go and we can talk about this.”
He brings the knife back up to her neck and holds it there. Every few moments, he tilts it in until a drop of crimson slides down the dirty column of her throat. To her credit, my girl remains calm. The only sign she feels anything is the way her throat bobs as he continues to dig in.
“That’s my strong girl,” I murmur, catching Ashleigh’s gaze. “Breathe for me, love. Just like we’ve done when we played. That’s all this is. One big scene. Now close your eyes and let yourself drift. I got you, baby.”
Thatcher growls out a breath through his nostrils as he yanks her closer to him. Her tiny yelp slams into my brain and threatens to make me lose all reason. But I can’t. Not yet. Not until she’s safe.
“Talk to me Thatcher. Walk me through your plan. I’m sure it’s some great big idea. Lay it out for me. Man to man.”
He pauses as he stares at me, his eyes widening as he starts to become unhinged. “I fucking told you, John. The Society. It’s now mine. Secede or I’ll kill her.”
“That’s it?” I chuckle as I dare to take a step forward. “Just give it to you? Do you not understand that The Society is an idea? It’s a construct. It exists because, deep down, we all have a certain level of respect for the process and for the members. I may own secrets. I may own blackmail, but I don’t own one person there.”
“No!” he shrieks, his voice ratcheting up a notch. “No, that’s not how this works. I find what makes people tick. I apply the pressure. I get what I want. This whore is yours. Is she not? I’ll kill her. Don’t think I won’t. Give me what I’m fucking asking for.”
He’s unhinged. It’s clear in the erratic way he’s speaking and acting. Off to the side, Grigori takes a step, causing Thatcher to slide out and swing the knife at him. The instant he’s far enough away from Ashleigh, Sergei drops down and levels a bullet to just below Thatcher’s knee.
In a split second, his body contorts. The hit knee swivels out, bringing him down to the ground. Agony screams out from his lungs, and for a moment, a small part of my blackened heart is satisfied. But only a very small part.
As if they are one unit working together, Grigori kicks the knife away from Thatcher’s body and drags him away from Ashleigh to drop him over at my feet. He scrambles up, his eyes wild as he searches for some weapon he can use against me.
“It’s pathetic, really,” I murmur as I drag him up by the collar of his shirt. You thought to take me on alone, using a girl to get your way. Where are your friends? Those loyal to you?" I glance over at Grigori and Sergei as they fuss over Ashleigh, doing their best to help take her down without causing extra pain. “Loyalty. It’s something you can’t buy. You can only earn it. The Society isn’t a commodity you can trade like the Stock Market. You’ll never understand that, and I almost pity you.”
As they lower her arms, allowing blood to come back to her fingers, she cries out, the pain evident in every tightening of her features. “But we’re not done here. Not by a long shot. Sergei. If you please, bring Ashleigh over to that chair over there. It looks to be the most comfortable.”
Once she’s where I want her, I drag Thatcher over, ignoring the burn in my shoulders as I heft his bulk. With his bum knee and lack of cooperation, it’s a bit of a struggle to get him over to her feet. He squirms about, shrieking and screaming nonsensical words.
Irritation floods my body as I finally drop him to the ground. “Sergei, if you please. The other leg. I’m tired of fighting with him.”
“Pleasure is mine.”
The shot rings out just moments before another wheezed howl of terror and pain. I don’t give a fuck. Nothing he says or does will entice me to show him any amount of mercy. As he lies there on the ground, a whimpering mess, I lift him up so he’s at knee height to Ashleigh.
“You’ve treated my submissive very ill. You will apologize to her. Now.”
“Go to hell,” he spits out.
“Wrong answer.”
I grab the hand that went down her pants and hold it up for Ashleigh to see. “How many fingers did he rape you with?”
“Rape,” he wheezes, trying to pull his hand from my iron gasp. “You can’t rape a whore.”
My beautiful submissive smiles at me, her lips curling into a wicked grin. It’s as if she can read my mind. “All of them.”
“Very well.”
Ashleigh cranes her neck, watching in rapt attention as I ease Thatcher forward and wrench his arm back. The shoulder dislocates with a sickening pop, and for a moment, no other sounds fill the space except for the ambient noise.
As if the shock finally wears off, Thatcher cries out to the heavens. The soul-clenching sound makes my skin crawl, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
When Ashleigh looks away, I let her. No sense in giving her any more trauma than necessary. “You don’t have to look, sweet girl. Just know his suffering is in your name.”
I toss him down onto the ground and watch him writhe like the worm he is. Next to me, Sergei and Grigori watch on, ready to help if needed. Their gazes hold what looks to be a newfound respect for me. Granted, I wasn’t planning on getting my hands dirty like this. Not until I saw him touching her.
With a quick jab of my heel, I stomp on the newly dislocated shoulder, sending another bout of pain through his body. While he’s distracted, I slam my heel against his wrist, effectively breaking the small bones and rendering his hand useless. One by one, I grind my foot on top of his fingers, crushing each of them until his hand is a pulverized bloody mess.
Ashleigh’s face is pale, but she watches me commit this violence for her. She sees the passion in my face as I mutilate the man who dared touch her. Tears prick her eyes, but there’s no hint of regret in her gaze. Blinking at me, she nods, satisfied with his punishment.
Hauling him up by his collar, I grab his hair and wrench his head by. “Apology. Now.”
His lips move for a bit, as if he’s trying to make a sound. Instead of saying anything, however, he spits at her. It shimmers on her knee like the trail of a slug. Just as disgusting as he is.
“That whore gets no apologies from me,” he wheezes. “I’ll kill you. Asshole. I’ll kill her first and make you watch.”
I lift up my hand to Sergei as I shake my head. “His knife, please.” With a heavy sigh, I wrench his head back again. “You’re allowed to be a dumb fuck, but I wouldn’t be so loud about it if I were you.” As my words leave my lips, I run the blade over his throat, bathing Ashleigh in his blood.
To her credit, she barely flinches. Then again, I’m sure she’s already in so much shock that her brain can’t really take much else. I drop the body to the ground and scoop her up into my arms, taking care to keep my touch gentle. “Talk to me, sweet girl. How are you doing?”
“Tired,” she whimpers as she snuggles against me. “I’m so tired.”
Grigori circles around me and lifts Ashleigh’s hair. His soft touch makes her jump in my arms and cling even tighter. “Shhh, sweetie. It’s just Grigori. You’re safe now. Nothing will happen to you.”
“There’s blood back here,” he murmurs. “Ashleigh, can you tell me what happened to your head?”
“I- I don’t know. Something hit me.”
“Did you pass out?”
“I think so. Everything went black for a bit. But I don’t know how long.”
“You there,” he calls out to Caldwell. “Did you see how long she was out for?”
When he doesn’t answer, we all walk over to him and shake the cage. The poor boy lies in the corner with his arms around his head, just rocking back and forth.
“You there,” Sergei grinds out. “Piss boy. Boss ask question. Answer now.”
“I- I’m not piss boy,” he cries out. His voice trembles with a false bravado, earning a chuckle from the three of us.
“You smell like piss. You look like piss. You fail to protect lady like little boy. You’re piss boy. Stay to the side there, piss boy.”
He pulls out his gun and shoots the lock, allowing the cage to open back up. Once Caldwell crawls out, he looks over at Ashleigh, his eyes wide with concern.
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Answer the question,” Grigori snarls. “How long was she out for?”
“I didn’t have my phone. I don’t know. It was a while. The sun went from the top of that ride to that one over there.”
Grigori and Sergei follow his motion. “About three to four hours,” he murmurs. “That’s a long time. I’d be worried about a concussion. You need to keep her awake, John.”
“I know that,” I snap, jostling my precious girl in my arms. “Sorry. That wasn’t fair to you. I’ll need one of you to drive her car home. I’m not letting her leave my side. Not anytime soon.”
“ Da ,” Sergei nods. “I drive car. Make like that one time in Grand Prix.” When we all glare at him, he shrugs and smiles. “I make good joke. Not my fault you have no humor.”
Caldwell gives a nervous laugh as he rubs his hand up and down his arm, bringing my attention back to him.
“You listen to me, Caldwell, and you listen to me well. Ashleigh is mine. She will never be yours. If I so much as catch you sniffing around her again, you will not be leaving the same. I have friends in very high, very powerful places. I can pin all of this on you with no hope of a defense. I know it was your text that brought her out here. It won’t look good for you at all.”
His face pales as he steps back. “You have to understand I didn’t plan this.”
“Convince me. Why text her?”
“I- it was Thatcher. He said he ran into Ashleigh. He said... Well, he made it sound like I should try one more time.” He shoves his hand down into his pants pocket and pulls out a ring.
“Oh god,” Ashleigh groans, burying her head in my shoulder. “I knew you were going to propose.”
“And you came out here anyway?” I growl.
“You said to deal with him, or you would. I was just following orders, Sir.”
Grigori and Sergei chuckle, earning a glare from me. “Be that as it may, we have a lot of talking to do. But not until I get you checked out. This is my last time seeing you, isn’t it, Caldwell?”
“Y- yes sir. I wasn’t here. I don’t know anything. I didn’t see anything.”
“Good man. Contact me when you apply next semester. You keep silent about this whole thing, and I’ll make sure you get where you want to go in life.”
Without waiting for an answer, I take my precious cargo from this horrible place. Even though she’s safely in my arms, I won’t be able to rest. Not until I know she’s truly okay.