Chapter 39 Jo #2
You know, I really had pegged him for being the type to hold on to his indignation till the end. To fight me every step of the way. Instead, he sees that he’s outmatched and has seemingly decided to play it smart.
Can’t say I’m not disappointed since I wanted an excuse to cut him up a bit more, but this will be faster for getting information. I can always have my fun with him after I get what I want.
I mean, the guy literally tried to turn me into a sex slave.
“First question,” I purr, stepping toward him. “How long have you worked here?”
He looks confused, but answers honestly. “Eight years.” I know he’s being truthful because I asked West before he woke up.
“Good job,” I praise, fluttering my lashes, and the asshole actually looks relieved. “Next question. How many women have you taken advantage of and abused the last eight years? And I’m not just talkin’ about patients. Think—Nurse Helaena.”
In that beautiful moment, whatever color was left in his face drains out. “What?” Taintsworth swallows roughly, looking panicked. “What do you mean?”
“Do you expect me to believe that I’m the first woman you’ve tried to bark into submission?” I ask, putting a hand on my hip. “So tell me…how many?”
“They…” he sputters, his body rebelling against his restraints as the panic starts to set in. “They wanted it! You were the only one I had to get creative with!”
“ERRRGH.” I make a buzzer sound. “Wrong answer. Let’s see…what’s the first word we should put on him?”
“Wait!” he cries, but I turn to my guys.
“Any suggestions?”
“Bastard?” Sam suggests dryly.
“Fuckface?” Hayden grins.
“Why don’t you start with your name, Lisichka?” Kole answers. “Start small, work up to it.”
“Now, that is a lovely idea,” I point my blade at him. “We can do both letters since he couldn’t even make it one question without lyin’. Be a doll and make sure he doesn’t wiggle too much? It needs to be legible.”
“I’ll do it.” West surprises me when he speaks. His expression is hard, nothing but burning hatred directed at the alpha we have tied up.
“Why, thank you, Doctor.”
With that, I straddle Taintsworth’s lap again, while West comes around and restrains his thrashing head. “No, please! Wait!”
I start humming to myself as I make the first downstroke of the “J” on his collarbone, letting his cries of pain go to the back of my mind. Whatever he’s experiencing now is only a fraction of what he deserves after what he’s done.
My only regret is that his victims won’t ever know the retribution he’s facing.
Blood drips from the wound, making it hard to see what I’m doing, but then a wadded up wifebeater gets held in front of my face, and I take it without looking, using the material to wipe the blood as I go.
An artist needs to concentrate, after all.
“There.” I grin at the jagged lines of my name on his chest, “Jo”.
He sobs in relief when the cutting stops, and I take his face in my hands again. “Let’s try this again. How. Many. Women?”
“I don’t know,” he cries, snot dripping from his nose. Disgusting. The man has obviously never been trained in withstanding torture. Pathetic. “I…I didn’t count.”
“More than…two a year?” I ask, my voice deceptively calm. Still blubbering, he nods. “Three a year?” He nods. “What does that mean?” I bark, my facade cracking. “Three a year? Or more?”
“Four!” He sobs, his chest heaving as blood from my name drips down his skin. “Maybe four a year, I don’t know!”
Thirty-two.
Thirty-two different women who were taken advantage of by one of the men who was supposed to keep them safe.
“But nobody named Mabel!” he shouts, like that might save him from his punishment.
The relief I feel at that is fleeting, because even though it wasn’t my sister, it was still someone.
He panics as I lift the blade to his skin again. “I didn’t lie!”
“Oh, these ones aren’t for lying, you sniveling piece of shit,” I say, poisoned honey coating my voice.
“One slash for every single woman who had their safety and autonomy violated because of you. Be grateful I need you alive to answer some more questions, because one slash is nothin’ compared to the pain you’ve caused them. ”
“We can always move to his back if you need more room to carve, Fireball,” Hayden supplies, and his words provide a blanket of warmth.
I glance back at him, ignoring Taintsworth’s sounds of protest and hoping he can see how much his support means to me.
I’ve done this part on my own for so long, it’s nice to have backup, even if it’s just encouraging words.
My Fire Demon gives me a nod, as if telling me to go on, and when I look over at Sam and Kole, they do the same. There’s something about Sam that tells me he’s seen shit like this before, but I’m almost afraid to look up at West, who is still holding Taintsworth’s head still.
There’s rage in his eyes as he looks down at the alpha in his hands, but something else too...
“You should slash me as well after this, Siren,” he says, feeling my eyes on him. “Thirty-two women…who knows how many of them were under my care and I didn’t see it. I knew this place was fucked up…” He shakes his head like he’s disgusted with himself, and we can’t have that.
Sighing, I get off the dickhead’s lap and shove what I can of Kole’s wifebeater in his mouth, then walk around his bound body. His screams are muffled now, and I’ll be able to focus on my beta.
“West.” My voice is gentle, but he won’t look at me.
Tentatively, I take his face in my hands and turn it towards me.
I’m pleasantly surprised when he leans into the contact.
His brows are furrowed, and devastation swims in his warm brown eyes.
“You are in no way to blame for any of this. Even if you had seen it, what would Brooks have done? Nothin’. ”
“Then I could have quit,” he mutters. “Or brought Sam in sooner.”
“Coulda’, woulda’, shoulda’, Doctor.” I run a thumb over his cheek.
“If you quit, then this place would have lost one of the only doctors that actually care. You’re doin’ what you can now.
If you’re with me, West, that means we can’t dwell on our past mistakes and beat ourselves up over it.
There’s only goin’ forward and makin’ sure that these fuckers get what’s comin’ to them. ”
In the blink of an eye, his expression turns to one of hardened resolve, and then he’s leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.
I never took West for one that would initiate our first kiss right next to the guy I’m torturing, but I’m not complaining.
West’s kiss is slow and reverent. Like he’s treasuring every moment our lips touch. I almost forget where we are as he dips his tongue into my mouth. His chamomile and mint taste grounds me, and I melt into him, my chest brushing against his as my hands fall to his shoulders.
“Okay,” he gasps, blinking rapidly as he pulls back. “Give that fucker what he deserves.”
With my heart now pounding faster than a jackrabbit, I nod, and go back to my victim. He has this far-off look in his eyes, like he’s trying to separate himself from the pain.
I knock him upside the head. “Nope, no disassociation for you, you human cum-stain.”
His head lurches forward with the impact, and he says something that’s muffled by the wife beater in his mouth. I feel the eyes of my guys on the back of my head and turn to face them. “Any comments before I continue? Or can we discuss pack dynamics after I’m done with him?”
I can’t help but grin when I hear an incredulous muffle of “Pack dynamics?!” from Taintsworth.
“I thought you didn’t trust us yet?” Sam asks with a raised brow, and I shrug.
“You’ve implicated yourselves enough just by bein’ here. Besides, I was just mad before. You redeemed yourself when you warned me about Brooks and helped cover for me after the fight.”
My Sammy-boy chuckles and shakes his head. “You really are trouble.”
I grin, then turn back towards Taintsworth, brandishing my scalpel. “Oh, Sammy-boy, you have no idea.”