Chapter 15 #4
Panic overwhelms me as I attempt to gather my breath, as well as my thoughts. The last thing I remember is Jack Bloom over me, a menacing grin robbing me of air.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe.”
His voice is like hearing an angel sing.
“You’re at my house. I knocked Jack out before he could do anything to you,” Kit explains in a rushed breath.
He senses my nerves and wants to reassure me.
It takes me a moment to realize I’m in Kit’s bed. And in his arms.
I’m safe.
“He drugged me,” I say, my voice hoarse. “I’m guessing the bartender slipped it into my drink.”
“I know,” Kit replies, jaw clenched. “I followed you to his house. He was so fucking preoccupied with his disgusting plan that he didn’t even realize I was right behind you.”
“Thank you,” I say, resting my head against his chest. “Where is he?”
Kit tenses. “It took all my willpower not to kill that motherfucker. He’s in the garage,” he reveals, hugging me tighter.
“This needs to be done now.” I gently untangle myself from his arms and take my time to find my footing.
Once the room stops spinning, I stand.
Slipping off my dress, I put on shorts and a tank, then tie my hair into a high ponytail. I put on sneakers and wipe off my makeup. This is who I really am.
Kit and I walk in silence toward the garage.
I wonder where Dandy is.
I focus on the now, however, and when we walk out the back door toward the garage, the now is all that matters. Jack Bloom is tied to a chair, gagged. When he sees me, his eyes narrow, and his features are distorted by utter hatred.
He screams around the bandanna in his mouth, frantically moving from side to side. But Kit has tied him tight.
“Shh, shh,” I hush him, placing my finger to my lips.
He doesn’t appreciate being belittled, and spittle runs down his chin as he screams incoherently.
The sight warms the cockles of my heart.
“Now, I’m going to remove the bandanna, so please don’t embarrass yourself by screaming for help.”
Jack’s face is contorted in hatred, but eventually, he nods.
I step closer, and the reality of what he was going to do to me hits hard, so I slap his cheek, angered.
His head snaps to the left with the force. When he meets my eyes, he makes clear he intends to make me pay dearly for what I’ve done.
I remove the bandanna, leaving it hanging around his neck. Jack wets his lips and takes two deep breaths.
“It’s not nice not being able to breathe, is it?” I ask, folding my arms as I stand rooted in front of him.
He spits at my feet in response.
Kit storms forward, but I grab his arm, stopping him.
He won’t take this away from me.
Kit respects my wishes, but it’s apparent by the tensing of his arm that it’s taking all his willpower to remain calm.
“You chose the wrong woman to drug, Jack Bloom.”
Jack’s struggles soon cease. He realizes he’s been played. “Who the fuck are you? And what do you want?”
“I want so many things,” I confess, hand over heart. “Like hearing you scream when being gang-raped in the woods by three disgusting, vile men.”
Jack’s breaths are measured as he listens to what I share.
“You don’t remember, and that’s because you never saw my face. I was merely a plaything for you and your friends.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy fucking bitch!”
I cluck my tongue, tsking him. “Let me remind you then.”
I move closer, crouching down until we’re at the same level, face-to-face. “First time fingering a pussy? Stick your cock in. It feels even better. Trust me. Especially a tight virgin pussy.” I recite the words that have haunted me for years.
Jack remains impassive, which infuriates me. How dare he have the luxury of forgetting?
“Still nothing?” I mock, and when he shakes his head, eyes narrowed, I punch him in the nose.
Instantly, it begins to bleed.
And only now do I begin to feel somewhat better.
“Freddy and Arthur, those were the men you were with the night you chased me into the woods and raped me. The person who ordered you to do that was Legs, your sister, Rebecca Bloom.”
And there it is…recognition.
Jack spits out a mouthful of blood. “What do you want?”
“I want you to admit what you did.”
Jack takes a deep, steadying breath. “I don’t remember.”
I tongue my cheek and lift my eyes to the heavens, praying for strength. “Well, you’re going to remember because if you don’t, I will expose you for the rapist asshole that you are.”
“And what evidence do you have? It’s your word against mine. And no one is going to believe a crazy bitch like you. I am Jack fucking Bloom! My family owns this town!”
I let out a laugh, though there’s nothing gentle in it. “Oh, you foolish little lamb. Did you really think I would come here without backup?”
Jack’s arrogance is soon crushed as Kit shows Jack his phone and plays the video recordings of each woman confessing what Jack did to them. Each account is played in full, detailing Jack’s cruelty.
Their stories are similar.
And each woman explains why they never came forward. It’s the same reason Jack used himself—he’s fucking royalty in this town.
Once the final recording is played, the defeat in Jack is apparent. He knows he’s fucked.
“Tell me how much.”
Kit was right. The Blooms get what they want by using their wealth.
“I want twenty thousand. A month,” I add. Jack grits his teeth, but eventually nods.
I’ve decided to split the money between the women, since it’s only fair, and I don’t want any.
I want revenge, which, to me, is the greatest payment of all.
“Fine. Now untie me.”
I look at Kit, who is nothing but a pillar of unwavering strength. I don’t think I could have done this without him.
“We’re not done,” I state, pulling up a chair in front of Jack.
“Don’t play me for a fool. I know how you people work. You leave here and get someone to take care of your dirty work. There is, however, something that will ensure my silence. If you don’t do this, then it will ruin you, your family name, and your career. Let’s not mention your trust fund.
“Someone needs to pay for what was done to me. And the other two men, well, you know what happened to Freddy. And as for Arthur, let’s just say he got what he deserved.”
Jack pales, reading between the lines. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying.”
I chuckle, eyeing him fiercely. “Want to find out?”
Jack turns a lovely shade of white.
“I won’t go public, and you won’t end up like your rapist friends if you reveal what a true monster Rebecca really is.
You’re to inform the police that on the night of the incident, she orchestrated it.
You overheard her instructing her friends to carry out the attack and rape, all because she believed I was nothing but white trash. ”
“You’re fucking crazy!” Jack cries, shaking his head.
“I think we’ve already established that,” I reply, bored. “I have nothing left to lose. But you, your entire life is about to be destroyed if you don’t do what I say. Someone must pay, so you choose. Will that be you? Or Rebecca?”
“You want me to pay you for your silence and rat on my sister?” he asks, in case he missed the memo.
I calmly nod. “Yes, a pretty fair deal if you ask me.”
“Fair? You’re asking me to destroy my sister! My family name!”
“At least you are given an option! But where was my choice? What about the choices of the other women? You took that away from us! So don’t talk to me about fair, you pathetic son of a bitch!”
Anger blinds me as I lunge for a wrench off Kit’s workbench and crack it over Jack’s knee. Jack’s howl of pain only feeds my need to destroy him in every way I can. I punch him in the face, the nose once again, my fists coming away bloody.
The harder I hit him, the more pain I want to inflict.
I grab a stray screwdriver from the toolbox on the floor and stab it into Jack’s left pec. By this stage, his screams and pathetic little mewls for help have quieted. Bloody spittle drips from his mouth, his chin downturned.
He’s defeated.
But it’s not enough.
I take a box cutter from the workbench and place it against Jack’s throat. “Do we have a deal?”
I’m breathless, and my heart beats uncontrollably. The atmosphere is charged, and Jack knows I’m not playing.
Eventually, his head bobbles in a nod.
I grip his hair and yank his head back, razor pressed into his jugular. “Say it.”
“We have a deal,” Jack slurs, barely clutching onto consciousness.
Even though I’ve “won,” it doesn’t feel like it. The only winning will be spilling his blood. I press the blade in deeper, nicking his skin. I stare at the trickle of blood, mesmerized.
My hands are shaking, and my adrenaline is animated. I could end this here, now.
God, I want to.
But in the end, I don’t want to be like Jack Bloom. I made a promise to the women, and killing him robs them of their retribution.
I scream, overwhelmed by this sharp sense of guilt. I wish it would go away.
I don’t want to do what is right.
Kit gently places his hand over mine. “Don’t let him win again.”
“I know! I just—” I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. “I— It’s not fair.”
“It’s not. Life rarely is. But it’s time to make things right.”
Looking into Kit’s eyes, I wrestle with my morals and finally succumb.
I loosen my grip on the box cutter, which Kit removes from my shaky hands.
I’m nearly hyperventilating.
“Go inside. I’ll take care of the rest.”
The fight inside me has died, and I nod.
I take one last look at Jack, bloody and beaten, and although content, I know that sooner or later, I’ll want more.
But for now, it’ll do.