Chapter 68
Lark
Standing, I subtly catch Punisher’s attention and cock an eyebrow at him in question. He grins and nods. Last week, I’d secured some items I wanted to use on my stalker should Anthony allow me to take part in their… questioning… and gave them to him.
Stepping up beside me, Punisher leans down and whispers in my ear. I can’t help but smirk when an idea forms. Pulling back, I realize he’s smirking as well. This is going to be good. He gives me a chin lift before walking over toward Odin.
Anthony steps forward, a question in his eyes.
While I know he’s curious about what Punisher told me, but I know that’s not his question.
I nod. I want, no I need, to do this. He dips his chin in understanding, and we follow the others down the hall.
Anthony puts his hand at the small of my back and guides me.
His touch calms my frazzled nerves and I take a steadying breath.
I’ve been down to the cellar and the nearby panic room before, but this is the first time, that I’m aware of anyway, someone’s been down here since I became Anthony’s Old Lady. Devil stops at a heavy-duty metal door and places his hand on the scanner. A moment later, it unlocks and we all file in.
A sense of satisfaction flows through me at seeing Darren strung up by his hands with his toes barely touching the floor.
He’s been stripped down to his boxers and already, multiple bruises litter his torso and arms. There’s even one on his jaw, and I don’t think it was me that gave him that one.
His left eye is slightly swollen, just like how he left mine slightly swollen.
“Looks like someone fell down a few stairs on the way into our lovely accommodations,” I purr and the guys all chuckle darkly. Anthony’s hand shifts from the small of my back to my hip and he gives it a little squeeze.
Darren lifts his head and glares at them. Then his eyes fall to Anthony’s hand on my waist, and he scowls as he strains against his restraints.
“Get your hands off her, you filthy biker! She’s mine,” he cries and I shake my head, sighing heavily.
“For someone who is supposedly very smart, you sure are dense. As I have said before, repeatedly I might add, I will never be with you. I’m Reaper’s Old Lady, and soon, I’ll be his wife,” I say as I look down, admiring his ring on my finger, wiggling them so that the diamonds catch in the light.
My words hit their mark and Darren thrashes harder.
Anthony leans down, kissing the top of my head and squeezing my hip one more time before letting go, silently giving me the okay to proceed.
Ignoring Darren’s hateful words, I walk over to one of the tables and take off my cut and jewelry, not wanting to get any blood or other bodily fluids on them.
I wish I had boots like Levi’s and Sasha’s, but they haven’t arrived yet.
After they showed me them when we went for Christmas and Mae’s baby shower, I immediately put in an order for them—one in red and one in black leather.
So, in the meantime, I’m wearing some simple flats that will be burned afterward.
Punisher places my bag on the table, and I put on some gloves before opening it.
Inside there are a couple of whetstones and multiple sharp knives I use when dressing deer I’d shot while hunting, one of them being a filet knife that’s so sharp I can skin the deer like I’m cutting through butter.
I also have a couple of bone saws and replacement blades.
I excluded the other items from the bag that I use for field dressing a deer, like the tarps, game bags, game shears, and the butt out tool.
I figured Punisher had better equipment than what I had, and I’d much rather use his tools to inflict as much pain as possible on Darren.
However, I did add some other knives I’d bought over the years.
I’d also already brought down a spare crossbow and some bolts for it, which I notice Punisher rigged something to hang them from the cement walls, almost like they were part of the décor.
Each item in the bag, I pull out and make a show of inspecting them. When I get to the bone saws and filet knife, I can audibly hear Darren swallow hard.
“Since you’ve been manipulating my life for so long, I’m going to take a stab that you know I like to hunt.” I pause, picking up one of my filet knives and walking toward him. “You stalked me like I stalk a deer, so now it’s your turn to feel like the prey.”
I trail the knife down his cheek, cutting into it just enough to make him bleed.
“Who were the men you hired to kidnap me?”
Darren clenches his jaw shut and I can’t stop my wicked grin. “I was hoping you’d pick the hard route,” I purr and I hear a few guys chuckle behind me.
I cut into his skin in no specific rhythm or reason until I’ve littered his body with a dozen or so cuts.
Looking up, I notice he must have clamped down on his tongue or bitten his cheek at some point to keep from crying out because a trickle of blood dribbles out of the side of his mouth and down his chin.
Standing, I step into his direct line of sight, placing the knife underneath his chin, making him look at me.
“Who were the men you hired to kidnap me?”
The corner of his lips lift, and I grin.
Reaching up, I grasp a section of skin on his pec where I’d made a deep slice earlier.
Slowly, I drag the knife across his skin as I start to literally skin him.
Once I have a large chunk, I make a clean slice, separating it from his body.
When I drop it down onto the plastic below us, Darren flinches as it makes a bit of a ‘splat’ noise.
He stares at the piece of skin on the plastic before his gaze returns to mine, and a sliver of fear finally enters his eyes before he masks it.
Whoever he is protecting, they must have something on him. Or he personally knows them. Hmmm…
I get to work, skinning more areas off his body. For other areas, I simply cut him in the same spot as before, but I go deeper. Unfortunately, Darren still refuses to talk. My suspicion that he knows the four men grows and unease settles in my gut.
Spinning on my heel, I set the filet knife on the table and walk over to Punisher’s toy closet as he calls it.
Opening the doors, my gaze roams over the weapons and my gaze settles on an acetylene torch.
Grabbing it, I light it and adjust the flame.
Darren’s eyes widen as I walk back to him.
He licks his lips nervously. The action smears blood on his lips, further confirming that he’s bitten his cheek or tongue in an effort to keep quiet.
“Who were the men you hired to kidnap me?”
His lips press in a hard line as he refuses to talk. Again. His gaze bounces between me and the torch a few times before it settles on something over my head.
I bring the torch closer, cauterizing the worst of his wounds before randomly running the flame over his skin.
Glancing back up at him, I force my face to stay neutral when I see his own face is red and the veins in his neck and arms are bulging from his straining.
My anger grows at seeing him still refusing to talk.
Fine.
Bending, I slowly pass the flame over the toes that are still supporting most of his weight.
He cries out in pain for the first time, but still, he doesn’t give me anything useful.
Except for more promises of pain while he breaks me into the submissive I’m apparently supposed to be since I’m a woman.
I chuckle darkly as I stand before running the torch back and forth over his nipple.
“Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I have to be submissive.
” I pause as I shift the torch to his other nipple, making it burn and blister like the other one.
“I am my own person. I think for myself. No one owns me, and they never will. Now, who were the men you hired to kidnap me?” Pausing again, I pass the flame over the side of his neck, inching up toward his ear since I know how much it hurts to have it burned.
“Who did they work for? Was it someone you know? Is that why you’re being so tight lipped about them? ”
His eyes widen at my words and I smirk internally. Now we’re getting somewhere.
Lowering the torch, I pass it over his inner thigh, and right before I get to his dick, he cries out again.
“They’ll kill me if I talk!”
I take a step back and his body visibly sags in relief, but then his eyes turn wary when his gaze meets mine again.
“You’re going to die here anyway, so you might as well tell us what we want to know. If you do that, death will come quicker.” I purposefully leave off that he’ll still be tortured some after he gives us the information we want, but I won’t drag it out as long.
He hesitates and for a moment I think he’s not going to talk, but then he slowly nods his head.
“I don’t know their names. I got their information from someone else since she owed me a favor.”
“Who did you get their information from?”
Once again, Darren hesitates, and I narrow my eyes at him. He seems to come to some sort of decision because he somehow manages to hold himself straighter and clamps his mouth shut again.
Well, if he wants to play it that way, then that’s how we’ll play.
“Punisher and Beast, can I have some help please?” I purr and Darren blanches when he notices the pain I have promised for him in my eyes.
Punisher walks past me and soon the sound of squeaky wheels reaches my ears.
My grin deepens as Darren twists to try and keep Punisher in his line of sight, but he can’t twist that far with how he’s chained up.
Beast helps Punisher get the table fully extended and when they open the clamps, the sound echoes throughout the room. Darren visibly flinches in response.
“Wha-What was that? What are you going to do to me?” Darren shakily asks as beads of sweat form on his forehead.
I grin but otherwise stay silent.