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It feels like an eternity that I’ve been sitting here watching him slowly remove their skin. The need to vomit has worn off. I feel numb to it.You aren’t numb. You understand him. He cares about you.I have been watching how he does it. He doesn’t cut deep. He removes the smaller, top layer, and my best guess is that it is to keep them from bleeding out and dying too quickly. I watch him carve and throw, and carve and throw, until there is nothing left.

I will never be able to get the screams out of my head. They will haunt me day and night. I fear that many things will haunt me about this. The darkness that surrounded me in the room. The helpless feeling. The thought of dying. It felt appealing at one point. I think that if I had any say in it, I would erase the last month and start fresh.No, you wouldn’t. He makes you feel alive.I would have never engaged with Dante, but it seems as if now, it’s too late. The damage is done. He will kill for me. He proved that much at least.

He steps over to the sink and cleans his hands. He wasn’t wearing gloves. He takes the blade of his knife and runs it under the faucet. I watch the water slowly turn clear, washing away the sin. He puts the blade away and approaches me. He rips the tape from my mouth. It comes off easily from all of the spit and tears behind it. I can’t cry. I don’t feel anything. He scoops me out of the chair, and my body settles against his muscular chest. He carries me out of the room. I still don’t know where I am, and unfortunately, I’m in too much shock to pay attention to my surroundings. The next thing I recognize is his car. He slides me into the passenger seat and buckles me in.

I slowly drift off into sleep, feeling like no one could hurt me anymore. The Devil will kill them if they try.

* * *

Dante

I pull up to my house and park inside the garage. She passed out about fifteen minutes into the drive. They had taken her two hours outside of town. I know the place well, considering the Cross’s work for my family. Or at least did.

I would have tracked her location, but the signal stopped at the bar. I recovered all of her belongings in the storage room at the facility. Tristan didn’t rape her. I know he didn’t.

The bastard would have made sure I was there to watch. That or he would have filmed it. Sick prick. She’s lucky I got there when I did. Otherwise, this could have had a much different ending.

I get out of the car and retrieve her from the passenger side. She looks like she’s been beaten to Hell. It makes me fucking livid. Four fucking days. Lucien didn’t call me because he knew I would leave the job immediately. He thought he would be able to figure it out himself, but that’s where he was wrong. I am the one who tracks people down. I am the hunter. He focuses on logistics and planning. He had no fucking right to withhold that information from me.

I carry her inside the house and bring her to the master bedroom. She slowly opens her eyes and stares blankly at me. I plant a kiss on her forehead. Even though I want way more than that right now. I have to wait. She’s in a fragile state right now. As much as I want to ruin her, it’ll have to wait until she is whole first. I want to be the only thing she is thinking about when I do that.

“You saved me.” She whispers.

Instead of answering her, I lay her on the bed as I start a bath to wash away her pain.

15

D & E

Dante

I watch her scrub her skin raw, as if it’s going to remove the past. She doesn’t like what she is becoming, but I do. I love to see her distraught and scared. I love seeing her for who she is. Mine. It makes me so fucking homicidal to see the marks left on her. Even if it was just from captivity. They left her chained up for four fucking days. She can barely walk.

Her wrists and ankles have minor injuries. Just a few cuts and blisters, nothing major, but the position was extremely uncomfortable for her. I hate myself for leaving her so vulnerable.

She continues to wash them, her face wincing with every move. She tries her best to put on a brave face, but I know badly she wanted to fucking die. Anyone would want to die after being held, kidnapped, and starved. That reminds me— she needs to eat.

She refused when we first got back, and I know she probably doesn’t feel like eating much. Watching me skin up those men made her lose her appetite— if she didn’t lose it already, that is.

I grab her a fresh towel from the towel warmer and set it on the tablenext to the tub. I reach down for her hand, but she doesn’t take it. I squat down next to the tub and watch her chest rise and fall. She’s numb.

“I did what I had to do.”

She slowly raises her gaze to meet mine.

“W-why did you make me watch?” Her eyes search mine for answers.

“You needed to see what will happen to anyone who tries to take what is mine. That was nothing compared to what would have happened if…” I shake my head, letting the thought escape my mind.

“If what?” She asks nervously.

“Nothing… Are you ready to get out? You need to eat something.”

She stares at me with a blank expression.

“Come on. I’ll get you whatever you want.”

She slowly raises her hand to reach for me, and I help her out of the tub. Her legs are still a bit wobbly, but she uses my shoulders for balance.