Chapter 16 #3
I made two quick incisions along his neck and another two along each collarbone.
He jerked, gasping in pain, but the binds held him mostly steady.
The cuts weren’t deep, but enough to separate the skin.
I slid my blade into the one under his left collar bone and waited for him to look up at me.
Then I used the knife to peel the skin down towards his breast a few inches.
He cried out, his voice hoarse and weak. Blood dripped from the wound as well as the layer of skin now pinched between my thumb and the blade.
“Such a delicate thing, skin. It’s our entire armor, and yet it breaks with barely a touch.
” I walked over to the side of the boat and tossed the piece into the sea.
“It holds our entire body together. It keeps us warm and holds our muscles, organs, and bones into place. And yet,” I took another slice, getting even closer to the man’s nipples, “it breaks so easily! It makes you wonder if our ancestors had tougher skin and evolution eventually gave us this thin layer because humans were supposed to evolve. We were supposed to grow and become better.” I tossed the second shaving overboard.
“People like you and me, Mr. Jones, we’re the lowest of evolution.
We both enjoy hurting others. While I do it to protect my home and my ‘ohana, you do it for a sick, twisted pleasure inside you. Either way,” I took a third slice of skin, “the result is the same.”
I flicked the skin into the seawater. “Now, Mr. Jones, I’ve been doing some research this week.
I’ve hurt people, tortured them. Just the other day, I put a thousand fishing hooks into a man.
Actually, you know him. Or knew him,” I corrected.
“His name was Konstantin. Now, while that was fun, and a new experience for some, it was, like, the third or fourth time I’ve done that.
I want to stay inventive and up to date on my tortures.
So, you,” I pointed my dagger at him, “get to be my guinea pig.
“As I said, I’ve been doing some research.
Trying to figure out the best tool to use when it comes to skinning someone alive.
Now, I do know that if I do it slow enough and do various sections at a time, it’ll help whoever is getting skinned, in this case you, stay alive longer.
And that truly is my goal.” The man let out a pitiful whimper.
“What I don’t know is the best weapon of choice.
I could use my dagger,” I held it up to show him.
“It worked quite nicely, but I can see my hand cramping after a while. And,” I looked him up and down, “you have a lot of skin to take off. So, I brought some other items with me to see what works better, what hurts you the most, what takes off a full layer at once or do I have to really apply pressure to get it all in one go… As you can see, there’s a lot for me to figure out.
” I gave him a studious look. “But I’m willing to learn if you are. ”
I clapped my hands together, feeling almost giddy.
This week was hard on me too, and yesterday especially.
There were very few people present who knew I was the one with Nishi when she died, and a lot of people had questions.
Wanting her memory not to be tainted, her family chose not to reveal the circumstances surrounding her death.
I understood, and respected that, but it didn’t make what I had done any easier.
I’d never taken an innocent life before, and that was something I was going to have to live with for the rest of mine.
This boat trip wasn’t just about vengeance. It was cathartic, in a way. I would release my guilt and do my damnedest to move on, knowing I’d never forget.
“So, up first, we have a carrot peeler.” One of the twins handed me the small kitchen utensil.
“Not to ruin the surprise, but I want you to know everything we brought with us, because later you might be a little out of it. There’s also a woman’s razor.
I’m told, they’re very sharp. A cheese grater.
I don’t have high hopes for that one, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
The twins—you remember the twins? They shoved you in a suitcase for a week—they have this watermelon peeler that they’re very fond of.
I’ve tried it once before. It was to remove a tattoo though.
Wasn’t a full-body removal like what we’re doing here.
Plus, I used a nail gun to put that man’s skin back on, which I won’t be doing here.
“And lastly, we have a horse shaver. Personally, I am looking forward to trying this one the most. I am a Hawai‘ian cowboy, after all.” I tipped my hat at him. “Now, let’s get started. According to my research, the longest time anyone’s been recorded surviving being skinned alive was three days, and it was hypothermia that killed them in the end.
” I tapped the carrot peeler against his other collarbone.
“Let’s see if we can break that record, ?ae?
Oh, and Mr. Jones,” I smiled down at him, “don’t forget to scream. ”
Three Months Later
I rubbed my hand over Lu’s baby bump where my son was growing.
We got confirmation a few weeks ago that we were having a boy, and I was taking great joy in telling Lu that I was right.
My boy was being very active today and was nearly two pounds already.
I was extremely proud of my balls since hearing that news.
Some changes had come to the club since we returned from the Mainland.
Some of it had been determined by Lu and Holly, of all people, and others had been voted on in Church.
The bunkhouse’s construction was now finished and my house was completely demolished.
Rather than building a new house, though, Lu and Holly had determined that we, Lu, me, and our baby, would move into Bacon’s house.
Bacon was as blindsided by this news as I was, but he was also as pussy whipped as me.
He would do anything to make Holly smile, and this was what Holly wanted.
Only, it wasn’t just Lu and me. The entire club had now moved into the McMansion.
The Prospects were now living in the bunkhouse, which had become our party, torture center, and new porn studio.
Club members now lived in the giant house.
Some were doubled up, but there were now plans to expand the building.
This time, I was pitching in with the insurance money I’d been given for my house.
It wasn’t much, but it was more than nothing.
And Bacon was a sucker when it came to putting a smile on Holly’s face.
There were two major rules that he implemented: no drugs of any kind in the house and the sex dungeon was off-limits.
Our baby wasn’t going to be the only kid in residence either.
We were still trying to determine the truth about Caroline and Samantha.
DNA proved that Samantha was not Caroline’s, as we suspected, but Caroline was her mother in every other way.
And despite her young age, she was a good mom from what we could see.
Tangaloa was keeping a close eye on both of them, and had even gone as far as to give up his room in the McMansion and had been sleeping either in the bunkhouse with the Prospects or on one of the couches in the living room.
Neo was doing their damnedest to figure out who Caroline’s family was.
Anytime one of us asked, even one of the women, she had a panic attack.
It might be one of those things that went unanswered.
Kalea had not been back, but I was keeping a close eye on her and Pualani. She was another mystery I was going to solve. Just not today.
Today, the house was quiet for once. The others were out for a ride. Lu had been horny as fuck, so we’d stayed behind. Maybe it was wrong for the President of a Motorcycle Club to skip a club run, but I didn’t give a fuck. Actually, I did give a fuck. That was kind of the point.
Lu and I were now relaxing. The windows and doors were open, the waves were crashing in the background, and we just were.
Until heavy footsteps came stomping into the room.
Both of us cracked an eye open to see Tangaloa, who was fuming so badly I was surprised smoke wasn’t coming out of his ears.
Things had been tense, to say the least, between the two of us.
Lu’s ultimatum hadn’t said I couldn’t still be pissed at him.
In our defense, I was busy with Lu and the pregnancy and he’d been keeping pretty busy with Samantha and Caroline. And we’d get over it. Eventually. We didn’t have to talk it out like Lu kept insisting we needed to.
“Who pissed in your Cheerios?” I asked. Lu and I were naked, though we had a throw tossed casually over us. We hadn’t been expecting anyone back for a while, which also begged the question why Tangaloa was back so soon. Were the others too?
“Caroline!”
Both Lu and I sat up a little more, though I had to help her a bit. “What about her?” Lu asked. But Tangaloa just shook his head. He was pacing like a wild cat caught in a cage. “Is she hurt?”
“What?” Tangaloa stopped. “No, of course not. She’s fine. That’s the problem!”
Lu wasn’t understanding but I was. My eyes narrowed on my ex-brother-in-law. “Tangaloa,” I warned, my voice low and dangerous. He better not be saying what it was I think he was saying.
He flinched, and I knew in that moment that I was right. “Look, something,” he cringed, “something happened. It was consensual, I swear. I just…” He shook his head. “I need to go before something happens again.”
My eyebrows flew up. “She’s a seventeen-year-old trafficking victim, you sick fuck!” I didn’t care that sixteen was the age of consent, he had no right!
“You think I don’t know that?” he roared back at me.
“You think I haven’t called myself worse over the past few months!
And now…?” he shook his head, his face tormented with guilt.
“I can’t get her out of my head, Aloiki!
That’s why I need to go. I need to leave.
She’s a temptation I’m not strong enough to resist.”
I went to stand up, but Lu stopped me. She narrowed her eyes on Tangaloa.
“Look at me,” she snapped. Tangaloa paused and did as ordered.
“Do you have feelings for her? Real feelings? You answer that, and I believe you, and I’ll let you leave.
If not, if you’re just fucking around with her and her feelings, I’ll string you up myself on Tommy’s boat. ”
Tangaloa stared at Lu for a long time, but there was something on his face even I couldn’t describe. It was like longing mixed with self-loathing. “I wouldn’t be in this much agony if I was just fucking around with her.”
Lu nodded slowly. She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes sad. “I believe him.”
I did too, the rat bastard. “Go,” I ordered.
He started towards the door like I’d lit a fire under his ass.
“And Tangaloa?” He paused, looking back at me.
“Don’t come back here.” Lu gasped, but didn’t voice an argument.
“Not until you get your shit together,” I amended for her sake.
“I swore to protect those girls, and I’ll do that, even from you. ”
Tangaloa wasn’t pissed, which made me wonder how long he’d been struggling with feelings for Caroline. “Mahalo,” he said softly, and then raced out the door.
Lu tried to twist herself around to face me, but her body didn’t bend so well these days. “Help me,” she pleaded. I chuckled and shifted her so she was sitting sideways on my lap instead of lounging back between my legs. “You can’t keep him from property. He lives here—”
“Not if he’s having feelings for an underage girl that’s under my protection,” I argued.
When she opened her mouth to say something else, I kissed her instead.
“Enough. It’s not today’s problem. Today is for us.
We have this entire house to ourselves.” I dragged my hand up her bare leg, raising goosebumps as I did. “Just you and me, wife.” I bit her lip.
Though she still looked worried, heat rose in her eyes. “I’m not your wife yet.”
“Two more weeks. It’s good enough.” We’d finally set a date, and I fucking loved that Lu had chosen a dress that would show off her baby bump instead of hiding it. “How about we practice consummating our marriage now, so we get it right on our wedding night?”
“You’ll have to catch me first!” She tried to hop off my lap and out of my grip, but she ended up just sliding back on the couch and landing with her legs over mine.
I lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve never caught something with so little effort before.”
Lu scowled. “Help me up, asshole. It’s your fault I’m in this state.”
My smile was cocky as I helped her to her feet. “Fuck yeah, it is.”
“In that case, give me a ten-second head start!” Then she hurried from the room.
Well, waddled would be the more accurate term. Didn’t stop me in the least, though, from staring at her naked ass as she made it to the stairs.
She got about halfway up and then paused, short of breath. I watched her from the couch, despite that it had been longer than ten seconds. Turning, she sat down on the stairs and glared at me. “Stop smirking and help me!”
Chuckling, I got up. “Yes, dear.” I climbed the stairs two at a time, which only made her eyes narrow into smaller slits.
I scooped her up into my arms and carried her the rest of the way to our bedroom.
“Bed or sex swing?” Since we now had kids living in the house, the sex swing that used to be in Bacon and Holly’s living room had been relocated to our room.
Lu glanced between the two. “Swing please.” I was part way there when she said, “Wait! Bathroom first!”
I stopped, spun, and headed in that direction.
“You have no right to look annoyed. This is your fault, remember?”
I set her down on her feet in front of the toilet. “Yes, dear.” Then I kissed her. “Hey, Lu?”
She glanced up at me. “Yeah?”
“I love you.” Her eyes turned soft and her shoulders sagged. I gave her a stern nod, “And that’s number four for the month. I have seventeen more days before I have to say it again.”
Lu’s scowl returned, and she picked up the closest thing to throw at me, which was a lotion bottle, as I ran from the bathroom. “Asshole!”
I poked my head back in, catching the bottle as she tossed. “Yeah, but you love me anyway. Now hurry up and piss! I want to fuck another baby into you.”