Page 32

Alora

I’d dreamed and contemplated what sort of punishment I’d dole out to Keith if I ever got the chance. If I was ever brave enough to confront him, what I would say. But I never truly believed that I’d get the opportunity, and I definitely hadn’t thought about doing this. Then again, there were many things that I’d done since meeting Greyson that I hadn’t thought I would ever be doing before he came along.

The tip of the knife made another small cut on Johnny, but he didn’t wince until I used the spray bottle filled with lemon juice and coated the open wound. I cut him again, making the final line of a star on his side, and gave it a spritz, making him cry out as he jerked on the chains. The large sections of skin that Greyson had peeled off were lying at his feet, and I’d started his torture by just spraying those areas. But the nightmares that I had about Evie and what she looked like had carved this image into my mind. Each cut was a tiny victory.

The more he cried, the more justice was served, and as he begged for death, a calm bathed me in warmth. There was no anger or malice in the air. It was as though Evie had found a way to let me know that she was happy now that I was righting this wrong. My hands were tired from holding the burden of blame, and it was time to redistribute the weight so that it no longer fell solely on me.

Johnny’s face and arms looked exactly like how I remembered Evie. Every bare piece of skin had been cut by glass, and blood coated every inch of the car that I could see. Another cut, another twinge, another whimper. It wasn’t the cuts affecting him now as much as it was the sharp spikes that Greyson had set up to jab him from all sides if he moved. The one that was just touching his puckered asshole held a fucked up therapeutic quality. I’d already made Keith tell me what he did that night. Each act, slap, and fear he inflicted on my sister, Greyson, found a way to do to Johnny.

Had Greyson made me insane, or had I always been this way? I didn’t know, but what I did know was that I was seeing this through. They’d lived the last eight years free from retribution, but no more. I was the collector of souls tonight, and my hand was out waiting for payment.

“Please. Just kill me. Please, I’m begging you,” Johnny cried. Keith’s soft sobs could just be heard over Johnny’s, and I wasn’t sure which of them I took more pleasure in. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I took her to the party. I’m sorry that I didn’t stop my brother, and I’m sorry that I lied for him. I’m sorry for so many things that I can’t take back.” That was the first apology that had tumbled from either of their lips, and I cocked my head and stared as he continued to apologize. “Please forgive me, Evie. Please, please forgive me,” Johnny said, and my chest constricted with pain at the sound of her name.

“Greyson?”

“Yes, Doll?”

“How long has it been since we started?”

“Forty-six minutes,” he said, and I nodded.

Placing the knife under Johnny’s chin, I forced him to look at me. I could see what my sister had seen when we were younger. He had a pretty boy smile and a strong jaw. I remembered him having a sexy, gamer vibe that was just starting to come into fashion. But now he looked like every other suit that worked a nine-to-five.

“Do you really mean you’re sorry,” I asked softly.

“I do.”

“That’s not going to get you out of being killed, you know?”

“I know, but I had to say it. I mean it. I wish I could go back and just go to the movies like we’d originally planned. Please kill me. Even though I have no right to ask, I’m begging for this one mercy. I did care for Evie. I swear it.”

There was a good chance he was saying all the right things just so that I would stop the insanity and let him die. Regardless of his motive, I was satisfied, and more importantly, it felt like Evie was telling me she was too. That was what really mattered.

Stepping back from him, I turned to Greyson. “Put him out of his misery,” I said, as if he were an animal that needed to be euthanized.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Johnny cried as he relaxed in the bindings.

“No, don’t do this. We’ve learned our lesson, and we will never say anything to anyone. Please don’t kill my brother.” I glared at Keith.

“Why should I give either of you the luxury of living? Life was the very thing you took from my sister. You raped a girl half your age, half your size, and terrified. Then your ego couldn’t handle that I gave you the beating you deserved before you chased us down and ran us off the road.”

“We’ve learned. I swear. I’ve been a better person since then. Please don’t kill him. I’ll do whatever you want, and I’ll stay here like a pet.”

“A pet?” I snickered at the thought. “Naw, I already have a dog, and she is far less trouble than having you for an hour would cause me.”

“This won’t bring your sister back,” he said. I sucked in a deep breath and stared at the new cuts on the back of my knuckles and the trail of blood that ran off the end of my knife.

“I’m acutely aware of that fact. But I begged for punishment, and here you both hang,” I said, lifting my eyes to Keith, who looked genuinely filled with horror with his eyelids stapled open. “Whether it was God or the Devil who gave me this gift, the payment is your souls in return.”

I held out the decorative knife that looked like something out of a fantasy movie to Greyson. He pulled me into his body and dropped his head to the side of my neck and the spot he’d taken to nuzzling all the time. I moaned as he breathed deeply like he was trying to commit my scent to memory.

“Go get cleaned up and look after Yara for a little bit. I won’t be long. Then I plan on doing other things to you. I’m so fucking hard,” he whispered against my ear, his warm breath fanning my cheek. “Go on before I lose the last of my control.” He kissed my cheek, then let me go. I looked at Johnny and Keith, testing my morals one last time. Nothing flickered. Whatever compass I had before was officially destroyed or spinning in another direction.

Smiling, I walked out of the room.

I’d fed Yara and taken her for a walk around the crypt before tucking her back into her kennel with her blanket and the toy she liked to snuggle. All the while, either Johnny or Keith screamed until Johnny stopped altogether.

My feet swung back and forth as I sat on top of the large coffin when Greyson dragged Keith into the room by his chains. He was crying so hard that the few words he said couldn’t be made out. Red coated Greyson, and he was holding something in his hands that caused a pool of blood to puddle on the floor.

“Push the lid open for me, will you, Doll?” His eyes were wild despite the calm of his tone, and what would’ve once sent me running had me getting wet all over again.

Hopping off, I found the release latch and began to push before wondering if I was going to find a body inside. Luckily, there were just dust and cobwebs lurking.

“No, please. No!” Keith fought, his heels trying to dig into the stone, but he just slid across the floor. “No. I’m scared of small spaces. Oh God, please.” Greyson punched Keith across the face with his chain-wrapped hand, and he crumbled to the ground like a stone. “No, please,” he mumbled, and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Picking up Keith’s feet, I helped load him into the coffin. “Remember Keith, I want to hear you scream,” Greyson taunted as he closed the top of the coffin. He locked it into place before his eyes flicked up to me. “You put clothes back on.”

“I took Yara outside. Didn’t think you’d want me wandering around naked and bloody. You seemed opposed to the idea before,” I said, pulling the hoodie off and tossing it aside.

“You’re right. I would’ve had more people to kill for sure.” He held out his hand, and it took me a second to understand.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes. It’s Johnny’s heart and Keith’s cock. Not much to look at if you ask me. They are your souvenirs.” He set them on the top of the coffin, and I stared at the body parts. Maybe I could suggest black flowers in the future. “I’m going to turn them into pieces of art for you. Something that you can display, and no one will ever know that they were once attached to a person.” I smirked.

“I love that idea,” I said, running my hands through the blood on his chest and smearing it into designs. I purposely cleared away the blood that was covering the upside-down cross and then smiled. His jaw muscles twitched, and I knew what would happen if I ran for fun. He was so close to the line that he might kill me for real, and yet there was still no fear, at least not like before.

Grabbing the front of his jeans, I pulled them all the way open as he crushed our lips together, his hands snaking into my hair. The kiss was brutal. His teeth cutting my lips only made him more frantic. One moment, I was standing, and the next, my jeans were ripped off my body, and I was laid out on the coffin with my legs spread wide. The cold stone pressed into my back, and I sucked in a deep breath.

My heart beat hard, and my stomach flipped as he crawled onto the coffin. At the same time, Keith had come around because pounding started from inside. His frantic screams had Greyson’s lips pulling back off his teeth like he was snarling at me.

“Take me, make me yours,” I said, my voice no more than whisper.

Grabbing my thighs, he pushed them open and stared into my eyes as he dropped his head to my clit.

“I fucking love this pussy. If I could talk you into it, I’d make you lay like this all day and just watch you touch yourself in between fucking you.” I moaned as his tongue swirled around, teasing the sensitive little bundle of nerves. He was driving me insane, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Greyson….” I pulled on his hair and forced him to look at me. “I need your cock in me right now. Please. Love me like a good girl later. I need to be fucked like I was your bad girl.”

He reared up, arms straining as he crawled the rest of the way up my body. His cock nudged at my entrance, and I moaned.

Thump, thump, thump. “Let me out. Fucking let me out of here,” Keith raged under me while the man hovering over me was even more feral.

“I can’t be gentle,” he said, the tip pushing in and spreading me open.

“I know. I don’t want you to be.” With a roar, Greyson thrust into me, and I screamed as he slammed home in one shot. The pain was delicious, and my head was delirious as he pumped faster and harder. I gripped the sides of the coffin to keep from being fucked right off the end.

“Let me out of here.” The coffin shook from both Keith and Greyson, and there was a morbid satisfaction to the act of screaming in pleasure while Keith did the same in fear.

Greyson growled and grunted in my ear, the red blood smearing all over my body with every thrust. The orgasm was building quickly, and like a dam, it broke loose without warning. I arched off the coffin, pressing up harder into the life-shattering pleasure. It was too much, and I almost blacked out from the overstimulation that was as painful as it was pleasurable.

“Fuck yes…oh, fuck me. Doll…I’m coming.”

The feel of his jerking and twitching cock prolonged my climax, and I yelled again while my nails dug into the stone. Greyson thrust one more time and then held still like he was frozen above me, and for as long as I lived, I’d never forget the look on his face. The power of knowing that I could please him to the point that a tear would leak from his eyes as his face was twisted into a mask of desire was simply magnificent.

Greyson collapsed on top of me, our breathing heavy and in sync with one another. Keith continued his hysterical banging and yelling, but we ignored him as we held one another in the blissful afterglow of our lovemaking.

“I am you,” he said, and my lips turned up.

“You are me,” I answered.

“We are one,” we said in unison.

“I love you, Alora,” he said.

“I love you, Greyson.”

“Come on, leave the rest of that. I’ll come back later and finish processing Johnny,” Greyson scolded.

“But….”

“No buts. I’ll take you and Yara home, and then I’ll come back alone. It’s my thing, you know that.” I sighed but nodded and picked up my puppy, who yawned and cuddled into the side of my neck.

I followed Greyson up the stairs and waited for him to move the massive coffin into place before opening the door to go outside. The night was cold, and as soon as I stepped out, I could see my hot breath coiling up into the air.

As Greyson locked the door, movement caught my eye, and I looked toward my sister’s tomb. My heart jumped in my chest as I stared at the ghostly figure of Evie. She looked the same as the day I’d picked her up. She smiled and blew a kiss at me before waving and jogging away down the long row with her hair blowing out behind her. Evie reached the end and looked back at me. I couldn’t see her lips move, but I heard her as if she was standing right beside me.

“I love you, Lora. Thank you.” With that, she was gone, and hot tears slid silently down my cheeks.

“I love you, too,” I said to the wind.

I started when Greyson wrapped his arm around my shoulders, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from where Evie had disappeared. She had said goodbye, and she was finally at peace, or maybe she no longer had to look out for me. My heart soared.

“Are you okay,” Greyson asked, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

“Yeah…I’m perfect.”

He kissed my forehead, and we walked in the opposite direction from where Evie had gone, but Greyson and I had each other and a whole future in front of us.

To me, it was perfect.