Chapter 29
Sierra
The chains above my head creak softly every time my body shakes, the sound mixing with the shaky pull of my breaths while blood keeps sliding slowly down my skin in sticky trails.
My wrists feel raw where the restraints cut into them, my shoulders burning so badly it feels like my arms could rip out of place at any second, and I honestly don’t even know how much blood I’ve lost anymore.
Everything inside me already feels heavy and weak, my body struggling harder and harder just to stay upright while black spots keep flickering at the edges of my vision every couple seconds, but none of that is what my mind keeps circling back to.
Kage.
The name keeps echoing through my head in slow, sick loops while the conversation replays itself over and over again.
“Once he takes someone, they stop belonging to themselves.”
A violent shiver crawls through me while my mind keeps replaying the same thought over and over again no matter how hard I try to stop it. I can’t stop imagining that door opening and some stranger walking through it, somebody even worse than them.
The room feels quieter now, almost relaxed, after the emotional explosion Tess had minutes ago, like everybody already got what they wanted from me tonight.
Cain sits lazily against the couch with a glass in his hand while Dom leans against the wall nearby, his eyes fixed on me with that same unsettling focus.
And then the realization finally settles properly inside my head, cold and heavy enough to make my entire body tense.
They’re done with me.
They already handed me off to somebody else in their heads.
Tears instantly burn behind my eyes, my chest tightening so badly it almost hurts to force the words out.
“Please…” My voice barely comes out above a whisper. “What’s he gonna do to me?”
Nobody answers. The silence stretching through the room afterward feels almost worse than the answer itself, slowly crushing the air out of my lungs while Cain lazily lifts his glass and takes another sip like we’re discussing the fucking weather instead of my life.
“Honestly?” he mutters casually. “Death would probably be the kinder option.”
My breathing instantly stutters around the words.
No.
No, no, no.
Dom notices immediately. A slow grin spreads across his face while he pushes himself off the wall and starts walking toward me again, looking almost entertained by how fast I’m starting to fall apart.
“You know what the funniest part is, kitten?” he says softly. “Everything that’s been happening to you so far has been personal.”
I shake my head weakly without even realizing I’m doing it.
“Tess hates you,” he continues while his eyes slowly drag over the cuts spread across my body.
“We hate you.” He stops right in front of me before lowering his eyes toward my face, studying me like he’s enjoying every second of this.
“But him?” Dom mutters quietly. “He doesn’t even know who the fuck you are. ”
The words settle inside my head slowly before the meaning finally hits me properly, and the second it does, something deep inside my chest seems to collapse while a broken sound slips out of me before I can stop it.
“That’s what makes people like him worse,” Cain adds from the couch while lazily swirling the whiskey around in his glass. “Guys like us still have emotions attached to this shit.”
My body starts trembling harder, exhaustion and fear crashing together so violently it feels impossible to separate one from the other anymore.
“But Kage?” A quiet laugh leaves him. “To him, you’re just another fucking job.”
Fresh tears instantly blur my vision while my breathing falls apart all over again, each inhale growing harder to drag into my lungs as fear spreads deeper beneath my skin until it feels like my own heartbeat is trying to suffocate me from the inside out.
“No…” My voice breaks apart completely. “Please… I won’t tell anyone anything, I swear. I’ll leave, okay? I’ll disappear. Please just don’t send me with him…”
Dom actually laughs at that, and somehow the sound feels even worse because it doesn’t come out cruel or angry. It sounds genuinely entertained.
“Too late for that, kitten,” he says while looking at me almost thoughtfully. “You should’ve learned a long fucking time ago that everything has consequences. Maybe you should’ve stayed wherever the hell you disappeared after Reed died.”
The words settle deep inside my chest before the meaning finally crashes through me properly, and for the first time since they dragged me into this place, something colder than pain starts spreading through my body.
Because I finally understand this wasn’t the worst thing waiting for me. It was only the beginning.
“Did you tell her yet?” Tess’s voice suddenly cuts through the room while I stare at her in confusion, my exhausted brain struggling to understand what the hell she’s talking about now.
Dom’s grin widens instantly right in front of me. Something shifts in his expression so fast it makes my stomach tighten all over again, excitement suddenly flashing across his face in a way that feels almost childish.
“Ooh, let me tell her,” he says immediately while turning toward them with way too much enthusiasm. “No, seriously, let me do it. I wanna fucking tell her.”
Cain starts laughing from the couch, the sound low and genuinely amused, while he points his whiskey glass toward Dom.
“Alright, alright,” he mutters through a grin. “You’ve earned the right to do it.” Another laugh leaves him before his eyes drift toward me. “I mean… she is your wife after all, isn’t she?”
Dom grins wider before turning away from me and walking toward what looks like a large freezer shoved against the side of the room. The metallic door creaks open, cold air spilling into the space while he reaches inside and drags out a massive black bag that hits the floor with a heavy wet sound.
“Don’t think I’m some rude asshole, kitten,” he says while dragging the bag slowly across the floor toward me. “This is my wedding gift for you.”
The second he unzips the bag, terror slams into me so violently it feels like my entire body suddenly forgets how to function.
Heat rushes painfully through my veins while my lungs struggle to pull in enough air, and within seconds panic starts exploding inside my chest so fast I can barely process what I’m actually looking at.
Tears instantly flood my eyes while I keep blinking over and over again, desperately trying to convince myself none of this is real.
While I’m desperately trying to control my breathing, Cain’s laughter suddenly fills the room, low and genuinely malicious enough to make every hair on my body rise.
“See?” he adds through a grin. “I told you she’d fucking love it.”
Dom grabs the bag before shaking it hard at my feet, and within seconds, wet, heavy pieces start spilling across the floor beneath me with sickening sounds that instantly make my stomach twist.
Human pieces.
My entire body locks up while nausea crashes through me so violently I almost throw up on the spot, but somehow none of it compares to the moment the head rolls out last.
Everything inside me freezes.
No.
Oh my God… no.
The severed head lands sideways against the floor like some discarded mannequin, pale skin stained with dried blood while familiar dark hair falls across half of his face—Vince.
A scream rips out of me instantly. The panic attack hits so hard it feels like my chest is physically collapsing while I start thrashing violently against the restraints, my entire body shaking uncontrollably as sobs break out of me one after another.
The restraints instantly cut deeper into my wrists the harder I struggle, and within seconds I can actually feel skin splitting open beneath the metal.
Warm blood starts running down my arms toward my elbows and shoulders before sliding over my chest, mixing with the cuts already carved across my breasts while my vision blurs so badly I can barely fucking see anymore.
Dom bursts out laughing the second I start screaming, the sound loud and completely unhinged while he crouches down beside the remains scattered across the floor.
“Jesus fucking Christ, kitten,” he mutters through another laugh. “You’re acting like you actually loved him.”
I keep screaming uncontrollably, the sound tearing out me over and over again while my entire body shakes so violently it feels impossible to stop.
Then Dom suddenly grabs something off the floor. Before I can even process what he’s holding, the dead hand swings across my face hard enough to snap my head sideways.
“Oh, shut the fuck up already,” he bites out.
Cain’s laughter keeps echoing through the room while Dom studies the severed hand hanging loosely from his grip before a wider grin slowly pulls across his face.
“Ohhh…” he drags out slowly while looking back at me. “And that’s not even the best part.” He looks at me before another laugh slips out of his mouth. “Since you already ate his dick earlier tonight…”
“No…” I whisper instantly.
“Yeah,” he says almost cheerfully. “That special little meal Cain made for you?” He points lazily toward Vince’s remains scattered across the floor. “That was your boyfriend’s cock, kitten.”
The second the words fully register inside my head, my stomach violently turns, and I vomit instantly, making him jump backward just in time with a loud “Whoa, fuck!” before warm bile spills down my chin and chest along with whatever was still left in my stomach besides pieces of human flesh.
Sobs keep tearing out of me while I choke and gag uncontrollably, my entire body shaking so hard the chains above my head start rattling again.
Dom’s attention drifts over the mess before his eyes cut back to me, irritation burning plainly in his expression.
“For fuck’s sake,” he mutters while stepping around the vomit with visible annoyance. “Now I gotta wash you again.”