20. Zack #2
Chloe presses her hand to her mouth. She looks horrified.
He was willing to pimp out his own daughter so he could do this shit?
“Your daughter was being raped in her bed upstairs? Why the fuck would you let him anywhere near her?”
Christopher’s bottom lip wobbles, and all he does is stare at me.
“Why?” I shout, bringing the hammer down, stopping barely an inch from his face.
“Even if I wanted to stop him, do you think anyone would believe me if I accused a priest of those things? It was a small sacrifice to make?—”
Before he can say another word, I swing the hammer down on his chest. “You sick motherfucker. Are all the girls you hurt in that notebook?”
He nods as he cries.
“How long?” I hit him again.
“What?”
Another hit, and this time I hear the distinct crack of bone. “How long have you known about Tristan Daniels’ interests ?”
“A-about ten years I think. Maybe more. I’m not sure exactly. Just please don’t hurt me again. I’m sorry, okay?”
In case I end up caving in his chest too soon, I move to his ankle, bashing it repeatedly until all that’s left is a gnarled mess of blood and protruding bone.
“You could have saved all those girls at the convent! If you went to the cops, you could have helped, but no, you chose to keep being a sick, twisted little pervert. You chose to give up your fucking daughter. So save your apologies, we don’t want or need them.”
Walking away from him, I take Chloe with me .
“Are you okay?” she asks, cupping my cheek.
Fuck, how is she so pure? After everything she’s been through, she’s still thinking of others and not just herself.
“It should be me asking you that.” I glance at the clock on the wall, the hands ticking closer to dawn by the second. I’m running out of time.
Pulling my knife out, I ready myself to get this over with. Then I see a camcorder. Chloe’s watching me closely. Concerned for me.
“There’s one more thing I need to do before we kill him.”
I pick up the camera and find a blank tape to insert.
“You’re going to record his death?” She sounds more curious than anything.
“Not exactly. Darlin’, I need you to stand back for this next part.”
She does what I say, and leans her hip against the table as she waits.
The camera tripod is already set up with a clear view of the bed. I set the camera on it. The screen shows me the exact view from all the tapes. This time Christopher is the one being forced to perform.
I press my finger to my lips to ensure Chloe will keep quiet, then I hit record, and step into view.
“Christopher Davis, you are here tonight, laid bare for all to see your true disgusting form.” I spread my arms wide, putting on a show for the camera, and for Chloe who’s biting her lip with a grin.
“This bed you lie on is the same one you drugged and raped countless girls on. Do you have anything to say for your crimes?”
“Please stop this?—”
I roll my eyes, and carry on. “One of the poor unfortunate souls you hurt was Katherine Vaughn, my sister. ”
I stare dead at the camera, my mask slipping.
Hold yourself together. Just for a few minutes.
“My name is Zack Vaughn, and I am about to put an end to the years of abuse this man has inflicted on others. This has been a long time in the making, and I’m pleased to tell whoever’s watching that Walter Ashbury, Jackson Wood, and Father Tristan Daniels are all dead by my hand.
” I smile wide at the camera, and bend down to turn it off, then I remember to add, “Oh, also two bikers, but I can’t remember their names.
They were in my way. This is my confession.
” I salute to the lens and stop recording.
I hope that I’ve done enough to keep Chloe unidentifiable in the recording. If she chooses to take the list of names to the authorities, then the new tape will hopefully help her case.
“Zack…” Chloe holds her hands to her chest like she’s praying.
I carefully saunter over to her. “Yes, darlin’?”
“You took the fall for me.”
Why do I suddenly feel so nervous? I step up to her, and tuck a loose curl behind her ear.
“That I did.”
She blinks up at me. I’m lost in her eyes as I cup her cheek and graze my lips over her soft ones. She inhales, and the kiss becomes something deeper, more intimate.
“We should finish this,” I say on a shaky exhale once we part.
As I check through the footage, I ask Christopher, “How did Kat get hold of a tape? Did you give it to her?”
Christopher’s head rolls from side to side as he struggles through the pain.
He speaks slowly. “I left her knocked out down here while I was seeing the guys off. Usually, I have the girls back upstairs by the time the drug wears off, but I thought I had more time with her. She took me by surprise when I came back down here. I didn’t realize she’d stolen a tape until she ran.
Nothing happened after, so I knew she didn’t go to the police.
I’ve told you everything, now please let me go. ”
Chloe nestles into my side.
I lean in to kiss the top of her head, but the moment isn’t quite right with Christopher shouting in the background.
“Put the tape and the notebook in the bag. I’ll finish with Christopher, then we’re leaving.”
“I want to help you kill him.”
Once again, I’m questioning how she can be so perfect, and screaming at the universe for leading me to her so late.
I take a mental snapshot of her as she is now. She’s become the person she needs to be to survive this world.
“If that’s what my little sinner desires, then that’s what she’s going to get.” I kiss her then hold my knife out for her.
“You’re letting me have the kill?”
I’m letting you have everything.
“Darlin’, there’s nothing I want more than to see you steal his light.”
She takes the knife from me, and slowly walks over to the bed. Christopher trembles as she approaches. He knows his fate is sealed.
“P-please don’t,” he begs.
“How many times do you think those words need to be said before they’re heard?
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve used them.
I’ve begged, pleaded, prayed, bargained for men to stop.
Take a stab at how many times they actually listened.
” She presses the knife to his throat, and he tilts his chin up as far as he can to get away.
“I-I don’t know. ”
“Take. A. Guess.” She digs the tip of the knife in deeper with each word.
“Z-zero?!”
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.” Looking back over her shoulder at me, she smiles proudly. Then she drags the knife across Christopher’s throat. He gurgles for a few seconds before the basement goes quiet.
After hearing anguish for so long, the quiet is deafening.
I’d envisioned this night over and over in my head. Imagined the glee I’d feel. Sometimes all I could picture was my rage as I took it all out on my sister’s killer. The actual moment is more than I ever dreamed. The sadness, the anger, the despair. All gone. Chloe has made me happy.
She truly is an angel sent to me, but not from heaven. No, I don’t belong there. Wherever I end up, I’ll be content knowing she’s the one who delivered me.
With a heavy sigh, I take her hands in mine. Our fingers, both soaked in blood, slide together with ease. Everything with her feels natural. Life, death, lust, love. She is what has finally brought me closure.
“You did it. You avenged your sister!”
Her whole body’s glow blinds me. It’s not just the drugs making me see it this time. This pure feeling that she evokes in me is what true love is.
“ We did it. Thank you, Chloe.” I just about manage to smile as I pull her close and hold back the torrent of emotions that’s trying to break free. My heart is full, but its ache hasn’t left. “I wish we had more time together.”