Page 35 of Deceptive Desires

I growl as I hit him. My anger overcomes me.

Hit after hit, I break his ribs. His sternum. His clavicle. I keep going until he’s nothing but a bloody, bruised bag of bones.

He’s howling, sobbing, begging for mercy.

“I don’t allow rapists to live. Especially not when they’re drugging women in my territory.” I grind my teeth, pissed at what I have to do. “But you were Cecilia’s friend. And she’d be upset if I killed you. So, I’ll let you live.”

He spits on me, pure hatred in his eyes. “I’m not going to thank you for sparing me. You’re more evil than I could ever be.I may have slipped a little something in her drink, but you’re the one torturing her friend.”

“I’m leaving you alive in honor of her. Because she’s too good of a woman. But you will remember your lesson.”

I grab my knife and a lemon from the table. I cut the lemon in half and swipe the knife through its juices.

I rip up the side of his shirt until his broken ribs are accessible.

Then I get to carving.

RFM

My initials forever engraved into his side. Very largely. He will bear his mark of shame, and if I ever capture him again, I will kill him. I tag him as I do all my interrogees even though there’s no way I could ever forget the man who tried to rape my girl.

Once the wound is bleeding, I grab half of the lemon and press it into his carving. I twist it and squeeze, letting the acidic juices burn into him.

His screams, his tears, are the only thing calming me.

“You… sick… fuck…” he gasps out. “She’ll… never… choose… you.”

I growl and unhook his wrists.

“She doesn’t have a choice,” I mutter, knowing it’s the truth. She’s choosing me now, but if she ever changes her mind, I’m taking her. Keeping her. And no one, not even she, can stop me. “Now, you need a daily reminder of what you did.”

I drag him by his collar to the metal table but keep him on the end away from the weapons. He can barely hold himself up, but even healthy and with a weapon, he’d be no match for me.

I grab a hatchet and lay his left hand down.

When he realizes what I’m about to do he tries to fight me off, but to no avail.

I swing it down, chopping through the bone, dismembering his left ring finger. Now he’ll never be able to wear a ring claiming a wife. He doesn’t deserve that. And no woman should have to be stuck with him.

I throw a rag at him and tell him to keep pressure on it if he wants to live. No way am I helping this fucker not bleed to death. His life is in his own hands.

“Oh, and one more thing. If you ever go near Cecilia, try to contact her, or even think of her, I’ll know. And I will kill you in a more painful way than you can imagine. Then, I’ll go after those you care about. Or maybe I’ll get to them first. Make you watch. Have your last moments on this earth be watching what you did to the ones you love,” I promise. “Do you understand?”

He glares at me.Good enough.

I grab his phone and block Cecilia’s number. I also delete her and Gracie’s contacts and remove all evidence of her from his phone. He’ll never touch her again.

I leave the room and call one of my men to keep an eye on him. He can be set free when his finger stops bleeding.

If it doesn’t stop, my man will cauterize the wound. And as much as I’d love to be here for that, I have my sunshine waiting for me at her place.

***

In clothes identical to the ones I wore at the club, I stand in the corner of her room and watch her sleep.

The slow rise and fall of her chest are the only indication that she’s well. That she’s restful and healthy. That I saved her in time.

It calms me.