Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
T he screams echoing from across the room do little to disturb my calm as I lounge back in an armchair, shuffling a deck of cards. Teddy stands with his back to us, blocking the view as he works over the hostage tied to a chair. The man's agonized cries bounce off the log walls.
Beside me, Jason flinches with every wail and choked sob, his wide eyes fixed on the wall behind my head. His hands jerk unconsciously against the Christmas lights binding him into place.
I chuckle under my breath. "I'd stop squirming if I were you. Wouldn't want Atlas to think you're trying to escape."
Jason's gaze cuts to the behemoth leaning against the wall, eager for his own turn. Atlas cracks his knuckles with a grin.
"Why are you doing this?" Jason croaks, eyes darting between us. "Just take what you want and go."
"Oh, don’t you worry about all that. It has nothing to do with you," I assure him lightly, jerking my chin toward Teddy and the hostage. His face melts with relief, and I chuckle, putting an end to the small amount of reprieve my words gave him. "Your part in this little drama is far more personal."
Jason pales. "What does that mean?"
"It means you fucked with the wrong girl's heart," I snip, slapping the cards down to rise from my seat. I cross the space and grip Jason's jaw, forcing him to meet my glare.
"I don't know what Grace ever saw in a pathetic worm like you. But the days of you hurting our girl end here."
I backhand him hard enough to split his lip. Behind me, Atlas makes an approving noise. When Jason straightens, hate burns in his eyes, but he wisely keeps silent.
Teddy chooses that moment to turn from the now motionless hostage and enters Jason’s line of sight. His cold gaze surveys Jason's bleeding mouth, his lip curling in disgust.
He jerks a nod at me, and I return my attention to Jason, grabbing the front of his shirt while simultaneously smashing my fist into his unguarded stomach. A broken whimper leaves his mouth at the impact, his eyes rolling just slightly before focusing once more.
It’s not enough.
I do it again. And again. Everywhere I can reach that won’t leave a mark for Grace to worry over gets the treatment it deserves.
My anger flaring as I remember the agony reflected in Grace’s eyes as she gazed at her little tray. At all the food she had made for this bastard just that morning, only for him to shit all over it. The betrayal. The insecure-fueled control he held over her. Taking away her job. Her passion. Not letting her do shit besides serve him like a king!
Not letting her have a dog?!
Each thought in my head is punctuated by a slam of my fist.
I’ll get her anything she wants. She can be our nurse back at the hideout. There’s plenty of patients around there with our operation. I’ll get her a dog. I’ll get her ten of them if she wants. She’ll have whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
"That's enough," Teddy says, grabbing my shoulder as I rear back to land another punch. Jason groans, head lolling forward as blood drips from his split lip to the floor. Even through the red haze of violence, I yield to Teddy's command, even if my fingers are itching to do more.
Stepping back, I shake out my aching knuckles as Teddy presses the barrel of his gun under Jason's chin. The beaten man jerks with a garbled whimper, eyes rolling wildly between us as the smell of fresh urine fills the room.
Yuck.
"I want to be crystal fucking clear on something," Teddy murmurs, deathly calm. "You don't look at Grace. You don't think of Grace. As far as you're concerned, she no longer exists." His finger caresses the trigger meaningfully. "Give me a reason to end your miserable existence. Please ."
Jason shakes his head frantically, fresh tears cutting tracks through the blood on his face.
Pathetic.
Teddy steps back with a noise of disgust, jerking his chin at Atlas. The big man wordlessly unwraps Jason from his ironically festive binds. Still sniveling, Jason staggers away from us before pausing on the threshold of the door, fear and hate warring on his face as he looks back at us.
"This isn't over," he grates out hoarsely. "I'll make you bastards pay for this."
I bark out a laugh as Jason makes it two steps outside before Atlas grabs him by the scruff and drags him back in, kicking and shouting curses. He deposits the struggling man on the floor at our feet none too gently.
"Forgot to mention," I say brightly as Jason glowers up at me through his swelling eye. "We're snowed in, genius. Going anywhere requires wings."
I nudge him with my boot, sprawling him onto his back with a pained grunt. Atlas looms over him, cracking knuckles in promise.
"Now, you be a good boy and stay out of the way." I squat down, patting Jason's tear-stained cheek. "We've got a hot little minx to charm, and your ugly mug will only kill the mood."
Jason tries lunging to his feet. "Don't you fucking touch her!"
Teddy snags the collar of his shirt and slams him back down effortlessly. "She's not your concern anymore. Though I assure you, Grace will be blissfully occupied for the duration of our...visit." His smile turns positively ravenous as he lets Jason jerk from his hold.
Scrambling to his feet, I step in his way as he turns to flee once more, and he almost falls back on his ass trying to avoid touching me. I cross my arms and look him straight in the eye before letting hatred and bloodlust play over my features. He pales, and I chuckle dryly.
"Run along, little man. And remember..." I tap two fingers to my brow in mock salute. "We'll be watching."
Jason departs with a final venomous glare, though the effect is lost because he’s limping and piss-stained, not even able to slam the door properly.
We share a look between us, victory and anticipation melding into a heady blend. Now to clean the cabin, set up the cameras and rid ourselves of any lingering evidence of the violence we inflicted.
We wouldn’t want to scare off our perfect angel after all.