Chapter 21 #2
He lets out a pained swear and drops her immediately, hunching over as he makes a retching sound. Just about every guy has gotten a hit to the nuts, and it’s a special kind of agony. I don’t give him time to recover. I charge and body-slam him against the wall.
He cries out, flailing a hand at the gun on the dresser as he goes down. I bend forward and whack my wrists just below my tailbone, breaking the zip-ties. Then I’m on top of him, my fury unleashed in punches to his face and sides.
Every strike sends a dull pain up my knuckles, but vindictive satisfaction through my veins. This bastard harassed June through texts, made her feel unsafe in her own home, plotted to violate her while I was forced to watch, and even made plans to kidnap her so he could continue violating her.
He would’ve succeeded in hurting June if she hadn’t invited me in to her apartment that Sunday, or if I’d rejected her invitation like I almost did.
Make him pay.
Make him suffer.
Make sure he never hurts her again.
“Stop! Please! Stop!” he cries out, bucking and kicking under me. He tries to shield his face with his hands. I shove them aside and grab his throat, tightening my grip.
“Would you have stopped if she begged you?”
His eyes are wide with terror because we both know the answer. He wouldn’t have stopped. I won’t either. He grabs my wrists, choking and spluttering for the oxygen that I’m denying him.
As the fight and tension gradually leaves Tyler’s body, I notice June out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at her fully. She’s standing beside the overturned chair, a small can of pepper spray clutched in her hand, that stricken look on her face again.
She’s watching me.
She’s watching me strangle someone to death and she’s horrified by it.
I look down at Tyler, my grip slackening around his throat. Blood runs from his nose and busted lip, bruises already forming all over his beaten face.
One can say this is justice being served, but it’s not legal justice. It’s not honourable either. Because of blind vengeance, I just broke several rules of the code I followed for years.
Fuck. As much as I want to, I can’t kill him. All I can do now is tie him up and call—
“June, stand up the chair,” I order, an idea forming in my head.
She silently obeys while I check Tyler’s pockets for other weapons. I only find his keys and extra zip-ties. I haul him up from the floor and flop him down onto the upright seat, then quickly secure one of his wrists to the side of the chair.
“Is he... dead?” June whispers.
I glance up at her while I shift around the chair and tie Tyler’s other wrist to it.
“No. He’s just passed out.”
I stand after tying his feet to the chair legs as well. Fucking finally. I turn to June and pull her into a hug.
She wraps her arms around me, melting into my embrace in shared relief. I hold her tighter.
Thank fuck.
She’s alive and safe in my arms. Everything feels right in the world again.
“You were so strong, sweetheart.” I press a kiss to her temple. “So brave.”
Although I wanted to be her protector, I couldn’t be more proud of her that she protected herself.
“I wouldn’t have known what to do if it weren’t for you,” she says softly, looking up at me with gratitude.
I slip my finger under her chin and tilt her face to claim her lips. She curls her fingers into my shirt as she briefly returns my kiss, then she breaks it and looks over her shoulder at Tyler.
“We should call the police now, right?”
“Not yet. I need to take care of a few things first.”
I release her and stride to the dresser. She joins me, watching as I grab a shirt from her laundry basket and pick up the gun. I eject the magazine, then rack the slide. That fucker. It’s empty. All along, this thing was all bark, no bite.
“I’ll be back in a few seconds.”
The gun is useless without bullets, but I quickly hide it on the highest shelf in the linen closet anyway.
I head to the bathroom to wash Tyler’s DNA from my hands, the warm water stinging and soothing my knuckles. When I return to the bedroom, I toe off my shoes, then go over to Tyler and pat his face.
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”
Tyler groans and winces as he comes to, swearing under his breath. He must have a raging headache, along with the soreness all over his face, body, and between his legs. Good. He deserves the pain and more.
“What the fuck,” he hisses, looking down at his restraints.
He yanks on his binds and wiggles in his seat. He doesn’t move an inch. When he raises a baleful look at me, I turn and beckon to June.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
June abandons her spot by the dresser, approaching cautiously. I pull her into a sideways embrace, caressing her hip as I face Tyler with a smile.
“Since you were really looking forward to a show today, June and I will give you one before we call the cops to come get you. How does that sound?”
“Fuck you!”
He yanks hard on his binds again. June twists to look at me with wide eyes.
“Mal, we can’t do that!”
I pull her close and kiss the corner of her lips.
“I promised you this morning we would pick up where we left off when I’m home. Here I am.”
She’s resistant in my arms, pushing against my chest.
“But not in front of him!”
“He was going to do it in front of me. Besides, he committed a bunch of crimes today. He’s headed to prison for a good while.
” I turn my head and smile at Tyler again.
His chest is heaving, outrage twisting his features.
“Let’s give him something to remember on those cold, lonely nights in his cell. ”