39. Ian
39
IAN
I watched her drive away through the curtains of the living room. I didn't sleep a wink through the night.
The moment she left, I started to think of how to help her. But I was unable to come up with anything except to follow her, so I did just that.
When I reached New Jersey, I still hadn't found any way to keep her from doing something she's clearly been blackmailed into, so I decided to play the villain.
I mean, why else would she agree to suddenly save a man she hates if not because she's being blackmailed? If my guess is right, Peter found out who Olivia's father is and threatened to sing like the pussy he is.
Asshole.
So, I found the nearest clothing store around me, got some concealing clothes, and drove to the hospital with the intention of acting like someone I never thought I'd ever have to be.
And what do you know? It was a success.
Driving for well over an hour to lose any trail I may have behind me, I circle back to an abandoned warehouse I know in my old neighborhood and pull up in front of it. I wait a long time for the sun to set a little before I drag the bastard out and take him inside.
I get him tied up, drive to the nearest store, and get the scariest tools I can find. I drop by the fire station, too. I grab an ax and a chainsaw, but not without running into Richard.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
Hiding the items in my hand behind my back as best as I can, I plaster a smile on my face. “I forgot something, just here to get it.”
“Does this mean you're back from your trip then?”
“Not quite. Listen, I have to go, okay? I'll call you.”
I rush out of there, awkwardly trying to conceal the tools before I drive back to the warehouse.
He's still out when I arrive. And while I want more than anything to leave him passed out forever, I have a man to scare.
Uncapping the bottle of water I bought on the road, I take a sip, swallow some, and then gurgle my mouth before I spit it out in the face of the despicable human being in front of me.
He shoots upright from his seat, of course still tied up, his eyes crazed.
“What the fuck?” he barks, his eyes half closed.
I take another sip of water and spit it in his face again. This one has his eyes opening properly.
The moment his eyes land on me, he starts to stand up, but he's unable to. Slowly his eyes trail away from me to his body where he finds himself tied a thousand ways to a chair.
“Fuck,” he cusses.
“Yeah, fuck,” I mock.
Recapping the water, I toss it on the floor and start to bring out the tools I brought, and the ones I took from the station. His eyes follow my every movement.
I pick the ax first, scrape it on the floor, and let it draw out a menacing sound through the air.
“What are you doing?” he asks, looking at me like I'm crazy.
I do feel crazy, so maybe he's not so wrong.
“Just testing to see which part of your body this will chop off fast enough.”
“What?” he barks, and then starts to struggle against the restraints. “You can't do that! You can't do anything to me! Do you know who I am? I will kill you once I get out of these ropes.”
Although he's the one screaming threats, he looks about ready to piss his pants. It's so hilarious I can't help the laugh that leaves my mouth.
He stops struggling and looks at me with renewed fear.
“You're not joking,” he states.
I shrug.
I am. But he doesn't need to know that. There's no way I'm removing anything from his body without landing in jail. And since I'm not looking to go to jail forever, I should get back to scaring the shit out of him. Enough to get him to back off Sarah, at least. It won't be easy, but I'm ready for anything.
Dropping the ax, I pick up the chainsaw and then drop it, deciding to go for something less threatening. If I rush this, it may fail. But if I go slow, it'll make more of an impact.
I hold the pliers in my hand and walk toward him.
“Stay back.” He protests with every step I take toward him. By the time I'm in front of him, he's dropped more than a liter of sweat.
We're getting somewhere.
Pressing the pliers by the handle, I open the mouth and pick one of his hands, acting as though I'm going to clip his nails off. He starts to struggle against me, screaming while he’s at it.
“Quiet,” I command in a deadly tone.
“Please, we can work this out,” he begs in a little voice.
So, he can get scared?
Good.
“No, we can't. You've been coming after someone I care about for a while now, and I've let it slide because I thought you'd be smart enough to know not to mess with me. But clearly not, so I'm just going to make you learn the hard way. Although, I'm not so sure you'll be able to implement the lessons you learn here today.”
“No!” he screams. “I swear to God, I'll leave her alone. I don't care if my dad dies. Just let me go! Please.”
Is it funny that I am disappointed at how easily he's cowering?
Isn't this the man with many restraining orders against him? How was he ever able to bully people if he can't take some bullying of his own?
Maybe he's just putting on an act to make me go easy on him. Or maybe he's not. Regardless, I'm not stopping until I'm convinced he's going to be running whenever he so much as hears Sarah's name.
“I don't think that's enough, Peter. I gave you many chances, and you blew it. Now I'm just done. I want you dead, and I'm going to take my time to enjoy it.”
“Oh God, no. Please, no.” He weeps like a child.
It takes a lot of restraint to not laugh in his face.
He's so pathetic.
“Fine,” I say and step back. “Maybe I'll just save you the pain and do this quickly. What do you say?”
“No! No! No! I said I'll leave her alone. What else do you want from me man? Please, don't kill me.”
“But I want to. You've stressed me so much, and I just can't deal with you still breathing after all that,” I say in my most convincing tone.
He blanches. His face is void of any color. There's only one expression on his face: dread.
“Please, don't do this. I swear you'll never hear from me again if you let me go. I swear.”
“Hmmm,” I murmur and step away, pretending as though I'm considering his words. His face starts to relax, and that's when I switch up on him. “No! I want you dead, and I want you dead now,” I declare. I step away from him and drop the pliers in the pile of other tools. Picking up the chainsaw, I turn it on. The moment the sound of the machine fills the air, the sound of his cry accompanies it.
He screams so hard that I am almost scared. Almost. But I know the chances of anyone finding us here are slim. I'm far into the slums of the city where there's only abandoned factories and warehouses. No one visits.
“Quiet!” I roar, padding toward him intentionally. He goes silent, his face white as tears start to stream down. “Sarah begged you, didn't she?” I bark.
He cowers at my voice, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
“Look at me,” I demand, towering over him with some space between us so the saw doesn't touch him. The moment our eyes meet, I'm filled with anger. He's a piece of shit that deserves whatever pain he gets. But it won't be from me. “Now, answer me! Did Sarah beg you not to make her do this or not?”
He looks at me in confusion, tears still streaming down his face.
“She did,” he says in a tone that tells me he is lying.
“How?” I bark.
“W…What?” he sputters.
“How did she beg you?”
“Uh… that I shouldn't call her again?”
What?
What the hell is he saying?
Standing upright, I step away from him, allowing myself a minute to gather my thoughts before I speak again.
“How did you get her to agree to this again?” I ask.
“To what?”
“To save your asshole father, you piece of shit!”
He flinches at my words and starts to speak, stumbling across his words a couple of times.
“Um… I … uh… Well, I told her that I will… um… tell Kyle that he's… um… the father of her daughter.”
It's just as I thought. Why is he acting confused then?
The asshole.
“So, let me get this straight. You knew she didn't want to save your father because he's a despicable piece of shit, but you blackmailed her into it by threatening to tell the notorious bastard who the father of her child is?”
“What?”
“Isn't that what happened?” I bark.
“Yes, I blackmailed her but…”
“No buts. Shut up, or I'll kill you.”
He snaps his mouth shut, his eyes trailing to the machine in my hand before he shuts his eyes in fear.
“Please,” he murmurs. “I won't bother her again, just let me go.”
I step farther back at his plea, seventy percent certain that my plan has worked. He's scared. He's not going to be a bother to Sarah again. But there's a nagging feeling in my belly that won't go away.
Turning off the chainsaw, I place it down and pick up a knife, holding it threateningly.
“But what?” I demand.
His eyes flash up. He looks at me in confusion.
“What?”
“You were going to say something. What was it?”
He swallows, looks at the knife in my hand in fear, and then looks away.
How is he such a coward? I thought he was a menace to women?
But maybe that's it. He can hold his weight against women but not a man.
Coward.
“Talk!”
“She uh… She didn't refuse to save our father because she hates him.”
Somehow, I believe him. I've always known there's more to the story than just a blood complication or hate.
“Then why?” I ask, doing my best not to show how clueless I am right now.
“It's because she's pregnant, and if she donates, she can lose the baby.”
The horrible feeling that was in the pit of my belly moves from there and goes all the way to my chest.
Goddamnit!
She's pregnant. That's all I can hear. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out whose it is.
“So, you ask her to kill a child in order to save your father?”
“Yes, but that's only because I know she's still young. She can have another child, but our father, once he dies that's it and… shit…” He trails off, looking at me with a new dose of fear.
“What?” I ask.
“Fuck, I'm dead. The pregnancy is yours, isn't it?”
Yeah, it is. And he's the only reason I wasn't told.
I rush at him with anger pumping through my veins. He screams as I approach him, begging me to not kill him. But I'm too far gone to care.
My fist is at his jaw, then his nose, and then his jaw again. He passes out without any blood leaving his body.
I'm not satisfied, but I can't harm him. So, I start to untie him, drop him on the floor when I'm done, and then start to pack my shit back in the car. It takes three trips to get me ready to leave the warehouse with him back in my car.
The plan is to dump him where he can easily be found and then go rip Sarah a new one.
How can she decide to kill my child without informing me just to save hers?