Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Nadia
M att, Matthew and I came home from the hospital two days later. It took a while for us to adjust to the small Clubhouse room and the noises coming from the members, Ol’ ladies and patch bunnies throughout the day and night but we did it. Exleigh and Syvanna have been with me every step of the way. They even go as far as spoiling Matthew. He lets out a little whimper and the two of them are right there, picking him up, cuddling him or feeding him. They’ve been a Godsend these last few weeks.
I can tell they’re still struggling with what happened to them, but I have to remind myself time will heal them. They’ll never be the same as they were before, but they will become stronger after what Josiah did to them. They’ll be survivors.
I’m just laying Matthew down for a nap when Kensi and Matt come into the bedroom.
“Come on, Pulchra, I have a surprise for you,” Matt whispers into the quiet room. He takes my hand and pulls me out. “Kensi is going to watch Matthew for us for a little while.”
Matt gives me a wink that always sets my panties on fire, but since I’m only three weeks post-partum, I know we’re not going to take the edge off. According to the doctors, we have another three weeks before we can be intimate.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
Matt pulls me down the hallway, through the common room, out the garage doors and into another building behind the Clubhouse that I didn’t even know existed. The old rusty building has a creepy vibe to it, creating goosebumps on my arms.
“Matt, I don’t like this,” I say running my palms up and down my arms, trying to warm myself up.
There is an old musty smell in the dark building that invades my nose. The floors are made of concrete and the walls are made of sheet rock. There are no visible windows either. Matt keeps a hold of my hand and together we enter a room in the back. The first thing that hits my nose is the smell of piss, vomit and copper. A man is chained to the rafters in the ceiling. His arms are stretched as far as they can go and his toes are barely touching the floor. He’s shirtless and blood covers ninety percent of his exposed body. I don’t recognize this man strung up like a pinata until he lifts his head.
My whole world stops when I come face to face with Josiah. The man who’s haunted my dreams and has a starring role in my nightmares. He snarls and tries to get me but the chains wrapped around his wrists prevent him from going very far.
I look at Matt with confusion on my face. “Matt, what’s going on?”
Matt stills Josiah’s moving body with the tip of a bat. Josiah tries to kick it out of Matt’s hands but he can’t lift his legs. “Danyella’s speech at the hospital really got to me.” Josiah snarls and Matt sends the bat into his solar plexus, effectively shutting him up. “When she said you need to make the decision on this, I couldn’t see why. I didn’t want you to be exposed to something like this. Ending a life isn’t easy and the guilt you feel afterward eats away at your soul. I wanted to protect you from that, but you were right. You need this closure.” Matt hands me the bat. “If you want to do this, I will not stop you.”
I carefully take the bat from Matt’s hands. Shuffling feet behind me draws my attention. Trigger and Tiny come strolling into the room with Exleigh and Syvannah behind them. Both women are terrified but it’s not from being around these two men, it’s from leaving the safety of the Clubhouse.
The two women are visibly shaking while hanging on to each other. I was really hoping they were healing after what this scumbag did to them, but it’s apparent they’re not. Their eyes are pinging all over the room and neither one of them sees Josiah hanging from the rafters right away. Exleigh is the first one to see him, then her eyes fall to me holding the wooden bat.
“Nadia, what’s going on?” Exleigh asks with a shake in her voice. “Why is he here?”
Syvannah releases a loud gasp when she spots Josiah and her fear turns to anger. “What the hell is happening?”
“Matt and the Royal Bastards are letting us get our retribution for everything Josiah did to us if we want it.” I approach the two women carefully. “Is this something you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Exleigh whispers. “Are you?” She asks me.
I think about this for a moment. Do I need revenge against Josiah for all he did to me? I’m not broken like these two women are. He didn’t harm me more than he did them. They need this more than I do, but from the fear they’re radiating, they won’t be able to do this unless I’m with them every step of the way. Will I be able to live with myself if I have a hand in ending his life? Will the blood on my hands affect the way I raise my son or what I see when I look in the mirror? If I don’t do this, will I always cower to a man, knowing he is stronger than me? Will I live the rest of my life in fear because I didn’t fight back?
I know I won’t live my life in fear. I won’t allow this man to take over any more dreams and turn them into nightmares. “I am.”
“Then so am I,” Exleigh nods her head.
I turn to Syvannah, “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. If I don’t I will continue to live my life in fear.” Syvannah answers while squaring her shoulders, ready to fight. Ready to take her life back. They both are. We all are.
“Then, let’s do this.” I turn around to face Josiah.
Josiah lifts his head, watching us. A devious smirk is on his bruised and bloody face. “You three won’t hurt me.” His words come out slurred like he can’t open his jaw very well. Matt punches him in the stomach.
I look at Matt in question and he shrugs his shoulders. “The fucker wouldn’t shut up so I had to dislocate his jaw.” Matt leans against the wall, propping his foot behind him. “His knees, his ankles, oh and his elbows too. Eventually, he smartened up.” Matt’s carefree attitude about inflicting pain on Josiah brings a smile to my face.
I walk over to Matt and kiss him fully on the lips. “Thank you for doing this in my honor.”
Matt’s face turns red, the blush I love appearing. “Pulchra, you are my beginning, middle and end. Everything I do is in your honor. Now finish him and take back that power all three of you are missing.”
I kiss Matt one more time before strolling over to Josiah and Exleigh and Syvannah steps closer. Josiah stirs and lifts his head. When he sees the two women coming closer he growls and tries to get to them like he did me when I first entered the room. Again, the chains stop him. So does the wooden bat I have in my hands. I swing hard, connecting with his thighs. The impact jars my hands but I keep going.
I couldn’t protect these two when we were held captive in that dingy motel, but I can protect them now. “You want to stick your dick in places it doesn’t belong, Josiah? You like raping young girls until they can’t breathe or deal with the pain?” Blow after blow I land on Josiah’s body until I can’t lift my arms and my soul feels lighter. I know I can defend myself against a man. I have taken back the power this asshole stripped from me. For the first time in my life, freedom calls to me. “How you do like it, you piece of shit?” I spit on him and toss the bat away. “I’m finished with this asshole.”
I walk over to Matt, still leaning against the wall. He has a smirk on his face. He pulls my back against his chest and I can feel how aroused he is watching me. “Did you enjoy that?” I ask.
“More than you know.” Matt nuzzles my ear.
“I can feel how much you enjoyed it, Matt.” I push my ass against his hardness and Matt releases a low moan.
“Three weeks, Pulchra. Then I won’t take it easy.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Matt’s arms tighten around me and kisses the side of my neck. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. And thank you for doing this for me and the girls. We did need it.”
“Anything to help you three heal.”
Turning my attention back to the scene in front of me, Tiny has a knife in his big hand and he hands it to Syvannah. He hands another one to Exleigh. “Make it hurt ladies. If he passes out and you’re not finished, we will wake him. “
They both approach Josiah and Exleigh slams the knife into his right thigh. “That’s for taking something from me that wasn’t yours.” Blood pours out of his thigh when she yanks the knife out.
Josiah screams and Syvannah slices his chest from nipple to nipple. Repeating the process until blood coats her hands. “That’s for leaving me disfigured from your teeth.”
Syvannah picks up the bat I threw down and hits Josiah in the mouth, shattering his teeth. “That’s for every time you bit and marred my skin. I might have marks on my body, but you will never take my soul.”
Exleigh and Syvannah go after Josiah for at least an hour and Tiny had to revive him twice. The two women are covered in blood but instead of fear in their eyes, they have a spark that’s been missing the entire time I’ve known them. They’re not afraid anymore. It will take time and together the three of us will heal, but this is a start.
Exleigh looks over to me and flips the knife hand out to me. “Together we end him.”
I step away from Matt and grab the butt of the knife. “Together.”
The three of us hold onto the knife and drive it into Josiah’s heart. He lifts his head and his eyes flutter open for a brief moment before his head drops down toward his bloody chest and he takes his last breath.
“Come on, let’s get cleaned up,” I tell Exleigh and Syvannah. The three of us might have entered that room broken, but together the three of us leave it as new women. Women who will fight for everything we have in our lives. And we will not give up, ever.