Chapter 21
I was exhausted, and it was more than physical. The mental exhaustion was worse. Mayhem and I had been working on Baker for a few hours. Most of it I did, with assistance from my man when I ran out of energy or wanted more power behind what we did.
Beating was one thing Mayhem assisted with.
Baker’s face was so swollen, covered in cuts and bruises, that he was unrecognizable.
The rest of his body hadn’t escaped the beatings.
His clothing had been stripped from him, except for his underwear.
I wanted him to feel exposed and vulnerable, like I had.
His body showed the mistreatment. Along with extensive bruising, resulting in broken ribs, bruised kidneys, and liver, there were lacerations, too.
We hadn’t only used our fists to hit him.
I was impressed and slightly disturbed at the selection of items the club had in those lockers.
It made me see Mayhem and his brothers in a different light.
However, it didn’t change my feelings for him or them.
I loved Mayhem and liked his club. I knew they only used them and resorted to beatings and torture when it was warranted.
Baker had kidnapped me, admitting that he intended to torture and rape me before killing my ass.
Yep, he deserved this in my book and the Punishers’.
Our captive was no longer in his chair. A while ago, we secured him in a set of manacles on the track running down the middle of the large area.
This change allowed us to hit him anywhere we wanted.
It came in handy when Mayhem wrapped his huge hands around Baker’s throat and choked him.
I’d confessed that I’d been choked out more than once by my captors.
The look on Mayhem’s face grew scarier with each detail he discovered.
I thought about keeping the rest to myself, but in a way, telling him this, even with witnesses, was easier for me.
His brothers cheered us on, offering suggestions and, whenever they felt like it, would hug me and tell me how badass I was and that I was perfect for Mayhem.
It lifted my spirits so much to have them do and say it.
I’d wondered as they heard more details of what was done to me, if it would change how they treated me.
The same for Mayhem. It had, but only made them more affectionate and caring. I teared up more than once.
Now, it was time to bring out one of my greatest fears and painful moments.
I selected a whip from the locker. There was more than one to choose from.
I picked the same kind that was used on me.
Before my capture, I had no idea the different types of whips or their names.
Afterward, I’d done research. I learned that the one used on me was referred to as a stockwhip.
It was initially used to herd cattle while riding a horse.
It had a long handle between a foot and a half and two feet long.
It was light, and where the thong connected to the handle was a knot, called a keeper.
As I removed it, Mayhem warned me, “Babe, you might want me to do this. A whip takes practice to use without hurting yourself.”
I replied by giving it a flick, making it snap, then swung it, making patterns in the air. When it never once touched me, I smiled at him.
“Thank you, honey, but I’ve got this. See, after my ordeal, I educated myself on what was used on me. This whip is the same kind that made those scars on me. It’s a stockwhip. I bought one and practiced with it. As crazy as it sounds, it helped me process and deal with what was done to me.”
Mayhem stepped back and grinned. “Then he’s all yours until you get tired, then I want a turn.”
“You got it,” I said, blowing him a kiss.
Approaching Baker, I saw his eyes were glued to the whip. Terror was in his gaze. “No, no, don’t do it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did and for what my brother did. I should’ve never come after you.” His words were garbled, probably due to the jaw injury he had.
“It’s too late for sorry. Way too late. Nothing you can do or say will change the fact that you’ll feel the pain of this whip repeatedly as it slices through your skin and muscle. It feels as if you’re on fire. Nor can you talk me out of you eventually going to hell. Let’s get this started.”
I discovered something as I whipped him and listened to his screams and pleas.
This day and what happened in this bunker showed me I was sadistic in certain instances.
Retribution might not be right in most people’s eyes, but let them experience what I and many others did and see if they still agree.
After laying a pattern across his hips and buttocks like mine, Mayhem took over and added them to his back and the back of his legs.
Baker was a bloody mess when we were through.
Taking a break, we conferred on what to do to him next.
The way Baker appeared, he didn’t have a whole lot longer left in him.
Mayhem took me aside. “Astrid, baby, I want you to go outside for a while. I promise I’ll bring you back in before we end him.”
“Why?”
He hesitated before answering me. “Because I want to do something dark and ugly to him, and I don’t want you to see it or relive it.”
“Jamie, what is it?”
“Please, don’t ask,” he pleaded.
“Jamie, I’m your old lady, your biker wife. I’m the wife of an enforcer. I can handle whoever you become or whatever you do in situations like this. I’ll ask again, what are you going to do to him?”
Staring at each other, he grimaced as he confessed.
“Those pilots, his brother, allowed you to suffer for them. They watched you be raped repeatedly, by more than one man. This guy planned to do the same thing to you. I can’t let that go.
We’ve been reenacting the things done to you.
That one should be too, in my opinion. However, you don’t need to see or relive that fucking shit.
I don’t want to trigger you. Nor for you to see your man in that way. ”
I won’t lie, his explanation shocked me to a degree.
But as I thought it over, I saw his point.
The rapes for me had been the worst and what still haunted me the most. I’d gone through a lot of counseling, but it still lived within my head and always would.
I found the beating and whipping part, along with the nail removal, had lightened the heaviness I carried in my chest since that fateful day. I wanted to lighten it more.
Mayhem brought me against him. “Fury, you have to be sure you can handle this. If there’s even a smidge of doubt, leave. Or if you think that by me doing this, you’ll feel differently about me, then please tell me, and I’ll reconsider. I can’t lose you. I’d die if I did.”
“Jamie, I will never leave you. You know the two deal breakers for this life we have. I need to lighten the weight I carry around. It has already lightened, but I want more. Do whatever you feel you must. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” I vowed.
We stood there, not speaking, just holding each other for a few minutes before he broke the silence.
“Remove his underwear. And secure his ankles with this,” Mayhem called out to his brothers.
What he tossed Hail was something used typically in sexual play.
It was a spreader bar. It was a stick with cuffs on each end.
It did what its name suggested. It spread the legs open.
Baker weakly tried to kick as Ratchet and Hail approached him.
It took no time to remove his underwear and apply the bar.
I wasn’t checking him out for a sexual reason, but I admit, I was curious.
I always thought his brother was such a dick because he lacked size in his cock.
Seeing the size of his older brother’s, I thought I’d been right.
Yes, men weren’t all that impressive when soft.
Some were growers and others were not. Mayhem was impressive, whether he was hard or not, in my book, and he grew nicely.
I smirked when I heard the razzing the Punishers were giving Baker about how tiny his cock was, and told him he couldn’t satisfy a woman with that.
They bet he used his thumb since it was bigger.
He grew furious. I laughed despite myself.
My laugh drew Baker’s wrath down on me. “Go ahead, you fucking bitch. Laugh it up. You’ll get yours one day.”
“I already did, stupid. I’d worry about myself if I were you. What’s coming is gonna change your short-ass life,” I told him.
While we’d been working him over, Mayhem had a whispered conversation with Diesel. Afterward, Diesel had left for a bit, then came back with a bag. I asked what he had, but Mayhem shook his head and said to forget it.
When Mayhem came away from the table where he was fiddling with something as I studied Baker, I found out what the bag contained.
It was a monster dildo. You know the kind that are for the shock factor of the websites, and you look at it and swear no one could handle that.
If they did, they’d be ripped to pieces.
It was shiny, as if lubricant had been applied to it.
Mayhem held it up. Baker’s body jerked, and horror filled his mangled face.
“You said you planned to fuck my old lady to death. And your brother did nothing to stop her from being raped. Since he was a traitor and spilled everything he knew, he could have done that to save her. He didn’t.
My woman needs catharsis. I’m giving it to her while working out my rage,” Mayhem snarled.
“No, no, you can’t do this! It’s disgusting. Evil. How could you do this to another man? If you do this to me, she’ll never see you the same.” Baker shouted these words and more. Mayhem wasn’t deterred.
“I need him held steady,” Mayhem instructed. Crusher was the one to step up and grab Baker’s hips to stop his twisting.
I stayed in front of him. I had no desire to watch the gruesome details.
Mayhem was prepped with his hands covered in latex gloves.
I knew the moment he inserted the dildo.
Baker’s scream was bloodcurdling. The way his body jerked, it was apparent my man wasn’t gentle with the insertion. Baker’s body shook repeatedly.
Suddenly, Mayhem called out, “Those sons of a bitches pulled a train on Astrid. This fucker was going to rape her, and if he had friends with him, no doubt he would’ve done the same shit. Anyone want to show him what that’s like?”
I watched in stunned silence as every Punisher went to the table and got a pair of gloves from the box there.
They snapped them on, then lined up to have a turn.
As the guys took a turn, I did something I hadn’t thought I’d do.
I turned away, and when the pitiful cries got to be too much, I walked away.
Eerie silence fell. I was halfway up the stairs when Mayhem ran around the corner.
His eyes were wild. He froze on the bottom step when he saw me.
I noted his hands were bare of gloves, and they were shaking.
“I fucking knew I shouldn’t have done it. Jesus Christ. Shit, I… I’ll get someone to take you back to the clubhouse. Please, don’t leave. Not until we talk,” he said hoarsely.
I walked down the steps between us until I was on the one above him. It put us eye-to-eye. “I don’t want anyone to take me to the clubhouse. And there’s no reason to wait for you there.”
His eyelids slid shut, and he squeezed them tight. His expression reminded me of a person in agony. I noticed his fists were clenched tightly. “I’m sorry. Fuck, I can’t watch you leave. Go before I crack,” he whispered.
I caught his face between my hands, and I gave him a tiny shake.
His eyelids flew open. I scowled at him.
“Stop this, Jamie. I’m not going to the clubhouse because I’m staying here.
Just because I walked off doesn’t mean you’ve lost me.
It was intense, and I needed a breather.
The memories were a bit much. But I don’t regret what you guys did to him.
Finish up, and then I’ll be back for the end. ”
“We’re done with that. Let’s take a break.”
Mayhem still appeared uncertain of my words. I leaned forward, sealing my words with a kiss. His arms crushed me to his chest as he ravaged my mouth, and I returned the favor. It was hot, emotional, and intense, and lasted for several minutes before we were called back to reality.
“If you two are having sex on those stairs, I’m gonna throw water on you. We appreciate your feelings, but let’s finish this before you get naked,” Reaper yelled. My cheeks flushed, then Mayhem and I laughed.
Holding his hand, I let him lead me back to where the guys were. Baker was hanging there as a whimpering, bloody mess. I saw the rivulets of blood that coated most of his body. He was on his last leg.
“Sorry for the delay. I say it’s time to finish this. We have people waiting for us back at the clubhouse and a holiday to celebrate,” I told everyone.
“It’s up to you and Mayhem. We’re ready when you are,” Reaper replied. The others murmured or nodded their agreement.
“Honey, how do you want this to end?” I asked Mayhem. I had no more ideas. I was tired and wanted to go home and curl up in his arms.
“I say we end him the way his brother ended. A straight shot to the heart,” my man answered.
I thought it was poetic justice in a way. I smiled and nodded.
There was no need to hunt for a gun. All the Punishers were armed. Reaching back, Mayhem removed his gun from the small of his back. I wondered how he could stand to carry that way. When I went armed, it was in my purse or appendix carry. I stood beside him as he faced Baker.
“Baker, open your damn eyes,” Mayhem growled.
The man’s eyelids fluttered, then slowly lifted. His gaze was dull. There was barely any life left in them.
“You’ve reached the end of the line. Tell your brother a hearty fuck you when you see him. Where you’re going is hot, so good thing you’re naked already,” my man said.
“F-f-fuck you,” Baker gasped out.
I jumped even though I was prepared for it when the loud shot rang out. A hole bloomed in Baker’s chest. His body jerked with the impact, then his head dropped onto his chest. It was Maniac who checked his carotid.
“He’s dead,” Maniac stated baldly.
“Good. Let’s get this mess cleaned up, and then we can enjoy our weekend. Mayhem, Astrid, you go home and rest. That’s an order. We’ve got this. You both need to decompress,” Reaper ordered.
Neither of us argued. I agreed. We left that bunker, with his brothers busily working, and walked upstairs and out to his motorcycle hand in hand. I needed to touch him to ground myself. I thought he felt the same.