Chapter 14
Riptide
Ididn’t look around while I walked to the dais.
My back was an aching mass of nerves thanks to the beating I gave that piece of shit a few minutes ago.
If I saw that asshole Barclay’s—who named their fucking kid that—smug face, I’d end up finishing what I started, pain or no pain.
Fury raged inside of me over the fact that he’d even touched Sloane.
I wanted to rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.
Not to mention the fact that he’d laid there and tried to justify the fact that he’d tried to rape a woman.
Butcher had prepared me for the things I might find once I got here, but it hadn’t mattered.
Until you saw these things actually happening there was no way to steel yourself against the horrors these people lived with.
The fact that Ethan was ‘punishing’ me for helping my wife and punishing her for stopping a rape was…insane. There was no rationalizing this shit. The people here who bought into all this bullshit were crazy, pure and simple.
Was it good that Ethan protected the younger women? Yes. But at the cost of the older women? How the fuck could you make that okay? You couldn’t. The mental gymnastics of this place were hard to keep up with.
There was a massive circle that’d been created between the bleachers and the stage.
It looked like paint. I frowned at it, but then met Ethan’s steely gaze.
I’d questioned him in front of the others.
Stupid, but there’d been no other choice.
The last thing I was going to allow was for Sloane to be punished for anything.
No one would ever lay a hand on her again without me killing them for it.
I watched seven men begin to strip out of their shirts as Ethan started up his usual booming speech. My eyes narrowed as I saw Bruce and Jacob were among the men. My focus was completely on them, so I wasn’t really paying attention to Ethan. I didn’t give a shit right now about what he had to say.
The seven men stepped into the circle and I didn’t need Ethan’s words to know they were my punishment.
Of course they had to pick the seven biggest fuckers here.
Bruce and Jacob were much bigger than the others, but being outnumbered seven to one meant that it didn’t matter the size of the other five. I was going to get my ass kicked.
My muscles tensed when a hand landed on my shoulder. I glared at Sloane. “I told you to go home. I don’t want you watching this.”
She returned my look, putting her hands on her hips. “I came to warn you. You can’t fight back.”
“What?” I asked.
“If you fight back, Ethan will just keep adding men until you can’t anymore.” She pointed to where a group of men were standing near the seven who would be entering the circle first. “They’ll beat you until you’re either unconscious or dead.”
“They’re going to do that anyway,” I muttered, frustrated by this whole process.
Sloane shook her head. “Ethan will stop it before then if you just take it.” She hesitated, then pressed in close to me.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, glad that she was taking comfort in me.
It would be understandable if she was standoffish with me, but she seemed to understand that I wouldn’t hurt her.
“It’s not too late. I can take my part of the punishment. ”
“Not happening, Wife.” I leaned down and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Now go home.” I swatted her playfully on the ass to get her moving.
“I should stay. Help you get home afterward-”
“Go,” I ordered. She didn’t know me well, yet, but if I knew my angel, she’d try to help me in some way and end up seeing Ethan’s punishment anyway. “I’ll get myself home.” Or I’d lie in the dirt and rot.
She nibbled her lower lip, but finally gave me a nod and hurried away.
The tension slid out of my muscles. I didn’t want her to watch me being beaten for two reasons, if I was being honest. One was to protect her.
The other was for my damn ego. I wasn’t a useless man.
Fighting came second nature to me and I usually gave as good as I got.
Having her watch me lay there while I got pounded on would be a huge blow to my already bruised pride.
Everything Ethan did in this community was to beat down his people.
He didn’t want them having thoughts of their own, let alone acting on them.
He wanted them to be mindless drones. It was easier to control them that way.
If people thought they could question him, then his rule as the ‘Earth God’ was over.
Ethan called my name and pointed toward the ring.
Sighing, I stripped off my shirt and stepped inside.
My hands tightened into fists as the seven men circled me.
There was glee in most of their eyes, though Jacob looked like he’d rather be anywhere else right now.
Bruce was grinning at me as his fist plowed into my face, sending my blood down into the dirt.
With every punch and kick I took from these pieces of shit, I plotted my revenge. The day was going to come soon, when I’d have my own crew to back me up and I was going to make each and every one of them regret taking part in this today.
I ended up down on the ground, a sea of faces blocking out the sky as they whaled on me. Sound was muffled until all I could hear was the heavy breathing from my attackers and grunts that fell from my own lips.
Someone kicked me in the back and pain lanced through me.
Another responded by kicking me in the stomach.
My ribs groaned with each hit. I focused on the dirt.
If I looked up at them they’d read the hatred in my gaze and know that I hadn’t learned whatever fucked up message Ethan was sending. Then this would just keep going.
Finally, Ethan bellowed out for them to stop.
He couldn’t let them kill me. He still needed me.
I held the access to his money. He walked over to me and I had to smother the fury inside of me before I could meet his eyes.
He nodded decisively and waved the others away.
“That concludes both punishments, Brother Derek.”
It had better. Every inch of me was bruised or cut. I shoved to my feet, swaying a little as my head spun, but I refused the offers of help from some of the others who’d been in the crowd. I needed them to know I wasn’t broken. It would be important later when we came for them.
I made it back to the house they’d given me and shoved my way inside. Sloane’s worried expression turned to horror as she looked at me, but I didn’t stop to comfort her. I stumbled my way to the bed and fell forward.
* * *
Groaning, I pried my eyes open and looked around the room.
The sun was shining brightly and it forced me to squint.
Someone had landed a hard kick to my head that I was pretty sure had resulted in a concussion.
Sleeping wasn’t a great idea if that were the case, but it wasn’t like I’d had a choice.
I’d blacked out. At least I’d managed to get into the bed before doing so.
Sleeping on the floor hadn’t appealed to me and there was no way Sloane would have been able to lift me.
“You’re awake.” She came directly to my side and held out a glass of water.
Grunting, I forced my body to roll so I was on my back. It wasn’t possible to catalog all the various aches and pains. I took the glass, then the pills she held. “How long was I out?”
“All night. Most of the day today.” There was worry on her face, but she didn’t ask anything. She somehow seemed to realize her husband was a pissy patient.
I didn’t like being sick or injured and usually lashed out at everyone around me when I was. “Thanks,” I told her, downing the pain meds. “Missed a meeting with Ethan.”
“He stopped by. I let him see you to prove that you weren’t faking.”
Snorting, I shook my head. “Faking. After having to take a beating like that?”
“He knew you weren’t going anywhere, but he likes to see the aftermath of his handiwork. It’ll help soothe his temper.” She sat next to me on the bed. “If I was worried about what he’d do to you, I wouldn’t have let him in.”
“It’s fine.” I looked down and realized the top sheet was missing.
Sloane followed my gaze and a blush stained her cheeks. “Jacob came for it not long after…” She stood up. “I’ll get you something to eat. Rest. Ethan will come back once he thinks you’ve had enough time to recover.”
I nodded and stared up at the ceiling. Fuck, I missed my brothers. Being in here was going to fuck with my head if I wasn’t careful. It was crazy how only a few days ago I was so confident that this would be an easy mission to complete. Now I wasn’t so sure.
It was imperative that I begin to learn who here was worth rescuing and who was a lost cause. I had seven names in the lost cause category already. The sooner I got us out of here, the better.