Chapter 37 Roll Over
Roll Over
PREACHER
Ihaven’t set foot in this place since I was a boy.
When folks started leaving Babylon in droves, daddy’s church was the last thing to shut down, the stained glass windows now faded and dull from decades of neglect.
“You’re going to tie me to that?”
Ripley gestures at the altar as we approach, making a big show of it.
“Well, we gotta make it look real, and if they’ve heard any stories about me I may as well play the part. He’s gonna want proof of life, after all.”
My bag sits near the altar, carefully tucked behind it and just out of view, filled with all the things we might need to take McKinney down, along with a brand new set of particularly hefty nails.
Tonight, this asshole’s going to star in his very own horror movie.
I glance up at the giant wooden cross on the wall.
My daddy carved himself from a piece of a tree that was struck by lightning, right outside this church.
He said it was God’s wrath, and he wanted to build something that would remind the congregation of what can happen to sinners and heathens at just a moment's notice.
Ripley climbs up on the altar, draping herself across it. Her dark hair pours down the back like a waterfall, the dim light making her look almost like the statue of a goddess, illuminated in silver with just a splash of color from the ancient stained glass.
My North Star.
I grab the rope and begin slowly coiling it around her, making sure it’s snug enough against her body to fool our special guest. Everything is hanging on us tonight; so long as Adonis knows where she is, she’s not safe.
We’re not safe.
But I’ll be damned if I’m packing up the ranch and running. It’s my home, and I’ll do everything in my power to protect the small semblance of peace I’ve made there.
I tie the first thick knot before pressing a kiss to Ripley’s lips.
“When I get on the phone with that pig, I’m gonna need you to scream for me.”
“Ooh, kinky,” She grins. “So long as you do something for me in return.”
First, I made her an animal, and then I got to watch her evolve into her true form. That’s a gift that not many people get throughout the course of their lives, and for me it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
“Anything,” I rasp. “I’d do anything for you.”
It’s humid, and the sweat clinging to her skin gives her an ethereal glow as I glide my hands up her bare calves.
Her nipples pebble beneath her short red dress, and I can tell by the involuntary arch of her back that she’s already desperate for me to touch her, to tug and twist as she sits there, tied in place, getting wetter and wetter.
“Tell me what you’re going to do to him.”
I pace around the altar, watching her neck strain as she tries to track me.
“I make the call, and you scream like you’ve never screamed before; we make sure he thinks he’s guaranteed to get what he wants, and then he comes to us.
We give him a moment to think he’s won, and when he lets his guard down, I’ll take him out, ropes, drugs or otherwise.
Then all we have to do is make him tell us everything we want to know. ”
“And then?”
“And then we offer up divine retribution, to anyone and everyone that has it coming.”
My eyes flick over to the cross as Ripley giggles.
“Divine retribution,” she murmurs. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah?” I glide my finger along her soaked pussy lips. “It makes you wet, doesn’t it?”
“Mmhmm.” She moans. “I want to be the one to kill Adonis.”
I slide a finger inside of her, groaning at the way she clenches around it.
“You will. I promise. We’ll use his skull as a centerpiece at our dinner table.”
I add another finger, playing with her slowly as I watch her eyes roll back. The sound of the rope straining against the table almost makes me chuckle. I already know how badly she wants me to throw caution to the wind and fuck her right here and now, but I’m having too much fun tormenting her.
Instead, I just curl my fingers, stroking her G-spot until she starts to shake on top of the altar.
“I want to bash that fucking cop’s head in.” Her moans float through the room like a spectre. “I want to see his brains splattered on the fucking wall. I want to beat him so badly he spits his teeth out onto the floor.”
She cries out in frustration, not fully able to give in to her body’s deepest desires, but I keep thrusting, stroking, and teasing her pussy until my fingers are soaked.
“I think we should give Adonis a little show once this is all over and done with.” I work her clit with my thumb, grinning as my name comes out in a strangled keen. “Dangle what he can never have right in front of him.”
I pull my fingers out of her, sucking them clean before I snatch up my knife and push the handle all the way inside of her.
Ripley’s scream tears through the otherwise silent church as I fuck her:
Hard and deep.
In and out.
I hiss as the blade cuts into one of the rough callouses on my palm, a deep stinging sensation rippling up my forearm as it sinks into my flesh.
But I don’t stop, I welcome the pain instead, gripping the blade even harder.
I want to take her to heaven just to pull her back down to hell, and I don’t give a shit if I cut straight through bone to do it.
Her forehead is coated in an almost opalescent sheen of sweat, and her mouth is curling into a smile as she bucks her hips; her lips part, and her head tips back as she chants affirmations over and over again.
I keep going, waiting until she begins to shake, before cruelly removing the source of her pleasure.
Her howl of frustration fills the room and she thrashes against her restraints, her eyes a forest fire that burns right through me.
“I’m gonna kill you,” she spits.
That’s good. She can channel that. So long as she doesn’t take a knife to my throat, we’re fine.
“If you kill me, who would you have to play these little games with? Ain’t no one who can drag you outta that shell like I can.”
She’s breathing through clenched teeth, and I already know what she’s fantasizing about.
“Don’t worry, little rabbit. You’ll get everything you want and then some.” I kiss her thigh. “But before that, I’ve gotta make a call.”
She glares at me, her lips curling into a snarl as I dial his number, listening to it ring incessantly.
After the 8th ring or so, I start to sweat.
If he doesn’t answer, all these goddamn theatrics were for nothing.
Maybe they saw through us, maybe they’re planning to hit us when we make our way back to the ranch.
More importantly though, what the fuck am I gonna do with a woman tied to a table?
Besides fuck her, that is.
“Come on, you fuckin’ pig,” I grumble.
Finally, just before I’m going to end the call, I hear a click, followed quickly by some heavy panting.
“Who is this?”
I look at Ripley and arch a brow, and before I know it her harrowed and piercing screams are filling the church.
“You came by my property the other night, lookin’ for your sister.”
There’s radio silence for a while on the other end of the line as he tries to get his lies straight.
“Ch— Christine. Yea—”
“Well guess how shocked I was to find out she ain’t your sister, you fuckin’ dipshit.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s been my dessert every night for the past few months. She’s got a sweet, tight little cunt.”
Ripley grins in between shrieks, clearly enjoying the little web we’re weaving.
“And come on, McKinney. You don’t think I know you’re a fuckin’ cop? I know everything about you, including the skeletons in your closet…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice is shaking. “She’s my—”
“Cut the shit, moron, and listen. I’m looking to expand operations. You know, get into sales. You understand what I’m telling you, McKinney?”
The silence on the other end threatens to choke me, but I do my best to let it linger.
“How much?”
“Atta boy, 20 grand and she’s yours.”
I can hear his breathing pick up on the other end of the line. We got him.
“You think I’ve got 20 grand just lying around? I need proof of life.”
“What? Her screamin’ ain’t enough for you? Should I fuck her while you’re on the line and you can listen to all the pretty sounds she makes?”
I end the call and Ripley stifles a giggle, reveling in the act as I open the camera app on my phone, signalling for her to get ready.
She squirms against the ropes, faux-terror on her face as I glide the camera down her body, making sure to get a clear shot of her perky tits, and another all the way down her bloodied thighs.
I cut the video short, and send it to him along with a text.
ME
I was gonna kill her, but I’m assuming she’s someone your boss wants, and you were the good little lapdog who offered to fetch her, isn’t that right?
The response isn’t immediate, but it’s quick. Quick enough that I’m not even sure he watched the whole video.
MCKINNEY
I’m not a fucking lapdog.
ME
Sure you are. You’ll bark for anyone. So why don’t you come over here and roll the fuck over?
For a minute or so there’s nothing, and I catch myself starting to sweat all over again. Maybe I went a bit too far and he’s just gonna ghost. Maybe he caught on that something’s wrong. Was the video not convincing? Or maybe—
MCKINNEY
Where are we meeting? I see her, alive, and then I’ll get you your money.
I sigh, relieved, but also quite pleased with both our performances.
ME
It’s the only church in Babylon. You can’t miss it.
Wren, her men, and my brother are already in position, waiting in the rectory right next to the church. If he brings backup, they’ll be the first ones to see it.
ME:
Make sure to come alone, or she dies, and you don’t get to be employee of the month.