65. Lucian
" N o. No, no, no. CASSIE!" I scream as I rush to her side. There is blood everywhere, and her body looks pale and lifeless. Her neck is tilted and bruised. I go to lift her, but Jayme stops me.
"Wait. We don’t know the extent of her injuries. There’s too much blood everywhere to tell."
I let out a primal, agonizing scream and punch the ground. He checks her pulse.
“It’s weak, but she is still alive. Boys, get an ambulance here, stat!" Jayme screams.
I lean down closer to her. She’s barely breathing, and the little breath she does get in sounds like she is gargling blood. I can’t move. I’m too late. I failed her again. Her body looks so frail and broken. In a matter of a few days, she has lost weight, and her entire body looks covered in bruises and cuts. Her face is almost unrecognizable from all the swelling and cuts. I gently run my hands over her, trying to figure out where all this blood is coming from.
"It’s her head. She’s bleeding from the back of her head.” I glance at Jayme. Tears fill my eyes. He can’t meet my gaze, and I can tell right there that he doesn’t think she is going to make it. "No, we aren’t too late. She has to make it. Jayme, she has to. We got here in time. Please!" He grabs the sheet off the bed and drapes it over her chest and lower body. He sinks to his knees next to me.
"Lucian... I’m sorry. I don’t know..." he can’t finish the words. He puts his arm around my shoulder as I gently touch her hand. It feels all rigid, and the bones are bent at strange angles. God, what the fuck did he do to her. What could have happened to trigger this level of rage?
I don’t even realize there are tears falling from my eyes. I can’t help it. She has been my other half ever since we were children. She’s my best friend, the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Fuck, I can’t lose her. I lean onto Jayme, and he wraps his arm tighter around my shoulders, trying to keep me from losing it completely.
Jayme helps me stand as the paramedics arrive and usher us away. My body is drenched in a combination of Theo’s and now Cassie’s blood. I watch as they carefully load her lifeless-looking body onto the stretcher. They rush around, yelling medical jargon, but I catch a few things as they wheel her out. Possible collapsed lung. Massive internal bleeding. Traumatic brain injury. Brain dead. I watch as they wheel her away. My stomach churns, and I turn and throw up all over the bed. There’s blood there, too; it’s everywhere. God, there is so much blood.
"Lucian," Jayme says quietly. "Where do you want to go first? She’s going to be in surgery for a while. So do you want to go wait there, or do you want to go to the warehouse first? It’s your decision; just know I’ll be by your side no matter what." He puts his arm around my shoulder, and I turn to hug him. It catches him off guard, but he hugs me back. He understands.
"Let’s go end that fucker." I growl as I step away from him. "I want to be the one to end him with my own hands."
"You got it!" He says as he whips his phone out to call Tim. Theo Blackmore will die tonight.
When we get to the warehouse, the sun is setting. I called Cassie’s parents on the way and told them we had found her but that she was at the hospital in surgery. I didn’t tell them exactly the condition we found her in, but I told them to be prepared because it was going to be a lot to take in. I told them I would be there soon. I feel bad I’m not there waiting for her to get out of surgery, but I need to do this. I need to rid the world of this vile human before he hurts anyone else.
"You ready to do this?" Jayme asks.
"Yup."
"Now, listen. I know you killed some guards, but torturing and taking a life with your own hands is different. Let me know if it becomes too much, and I’ll finish it. You still have a soul; I lost mine years ago to this world. I’m hoping you can hang onto a bit of yours."
"Thanks. I got this, though." And I do. I don’t just want to do this; I need to do this. I need to be the one to end him for Cassie. So she can be at ease knowing he is fully gone and not able to hurt her ever again. So that she knows when it comes to her, I will do anything.
We walk inside and lock the door. The doors, walls, and windows are all soundproofed, so loud noises won’t draw attention from anyone nearby. Theo’s screams are flooding the entire warehouse. He is naked and restrained to a chair in the middle of the room. Just a few beams of light illuminate the small space. His one eye is swollen shut and caked with blood. The rest of his face looks just as bad from the damage I did with the gun. He is missing teeth, too. Blood is dripping and pooling on the floor beneath him. He looks defeated, with his head hung against his chest. When he sees me, though, he gets that sickening grin again.
“So, did you find her? I’m assuming you did, judging by the pathetic look on your faces.” He spits a mouthful of blood and smiles. Each word was oozing sarcasm, and it is fueling my hatred. "Poor, poor Cassandra. You know, she could have lived. I would have given her the world. We were going to get married and have kids. All of that. But she just wouldn't love me back. She just wouldn’t let you go, even when she thought you were dead. Dumb bitch. Oh well, she was fun while it lasted." He tilts his head to the side and laughs at me, coughing up blood. Won’t be long now. He is as good as dead.
"Yeah, but now I’ll be the one to have that life with her." He looks stunned. "Oh yeah, you didn’t kill her. She’s still alive. You couldn't fucking break her. She is too damn strong. No one can destroy her. You may have tried, but you failed. Miserably. Now, you will pay for what you put her through."
"No, she can’t be alive." He stammers.
"Yep, they are taking care of her right now at the hospital. So, fuck you." With that, I walk up to the table lined with an assortment of tools, rods, knives, and other items. I can’t even begin to imagine what they are used for.
I start thinking of all the scary movies that woman has made me watch over the years. A lot of the Saw franchise comes to mind. I grab a pair of pliers and stalk back over to him. Through swollen eyes, he realizes what I hold in my hand. He starts thrashing, trying to free himself from the restraints, but it’s no use. I look over at Jayme, and he understands my silent command. He grabs Theo by the jaw, pinching his nose closed until he is forced to open his mouth. Jayme grabs his bottom jaw, and pries open his mouth for me. His screams echo throughout the warehouse as I remove the remaining teeth, one by one.
“This is just the beginning, you sick fuck!” I say as I spit on the ground at Theo’s feet. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
After about an hour of slices, punches, and breaks, all that sits before me is a slumped-over shell of a man. Bloodied and broken beyond recovery. And man, do I feel good. But it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
"Jayme, can you ask a few men to run down to the fishing docks and bring me some buckets of the left-over guts?" I ask. He has been standing by my side, watching, and studying me. He looks at me with a brotherly pride.
"Guts? For what?" He asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. "Boys, you heard him." He addresses the men behind him. I look back over at Theo.
"You worthless piece of shit. I was going to end you now, but death now would be too much of a treat for your pathetic soul. No, I think we will leave you to rot while rats feast on you. You stalked her, abused her, tortured her. I can’t even imagine what you put her through this past week, so that’s why I’m going to leave you sitting here alone in the dark. Covered in fish guts." I smile a sinister smile. "Yes, the rats will come. They love fish." The men bring me three buckets filled with ripe fish guts that had been sitting in the hot sun all day.
"Perfect," I hiss.
He tries to gurgle out the word "no," but it comes out all bubbly from the blood in his throat.
"Too late to beg, you fucker. Now, rot in hell." I douse his body in the fish guts, then smack him upside the head with the bucket. Jayme comes and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"I’m proud of you, brother. You showed zero hesitation. You were made for this life." I’m not so sure I could ever get used to torturing people, only if they hurt my own.
"Aight, boys, clear out and leave him for the rats," Jayme shouts. "Let’s go see your woman." He says to me.
My woman.