Page 23

Nova

The sound of her knee crunching under the baseball bat reminds me of stepping on a bag of potato chips.

What the hell have I been doing with my life?

I should’ve been kicking ass this entire time, instead of taking people’s shit.

Yeah, I killed my mother. And her boyfriend. And Daniel.

But this is different.

This is pure fucking vengeance for the only person who’s ever cared about me. Together we’ll unleash our demons and bask in the depravity of what we’ve done.

“What’s this bitch’s name?” I ask Colt.

He chuckles. “Kathleen.”

She’s holding her leg, howling through the tape as I squat down beside her. “Nice to meet you, Kathy. I’m Nova. Your son told me how you stood there and watched your cunt husband beat the shit out of him over the years. You locked him in this room with his injuries and no food.” I grit my teeth, trying to reel in my rage enough to speak. “You know, I killed my mother. She let her boyfriends abuse me and didn’t give a fuck. Abusing children like that gets you a one-way ticket to hell. Think of me as your guide. I’ll send you the way I should’ve sent her.”

Her eyes widen and I laugh. “What? I just set her house on fire, and she burned to death. Killing you is going to be more fun.”

Colt coughs behind me and I don’t have to turn around to know he’s smiling. I don’t think either of us realized how unhinged I am. Maybe I needed him to bring it out of me. Maybe he needed me to help control his own.

Mommy raises her hand, flipping me the bird.

“Defiant twat, aren’t you? Where was that fire when your son needed you?” I spit in her face, and her body jolts from pain or fear, who the fuck cares?

Raising the bat, I bring it down on her other leg. Her stifled scream gets my blood pumping more and a part of me wants to remove the tape so I can hear her agony at full volume.

“Colt, you want to start in on daddy over there? I think mommy needs to soak in the pain for a little bit.”

He comes up behind me, gripping my hair, jerking my head back. “I’m so fucking hard right now, little demon. I’m going to ruin your pussy when we’re done.”

My breath hitches as he lets go, moving to stand in front of his father. It’s my turn to lean against the doorway and watch my man in his element. I was concerned at first, coming into this house was a shock to his system. But he’s resilient and I knew he would come back to me.

He bends down, removing the tape from his father’s mouth. “I’d be a fool to expect an apology. A bigger idiot to believe it. I only have one question. Why?”

The bastard on the ground snarls, spitting at Colt’s feet. My blood boils, but I keep quiet, knowing he needs to do this himself.

“We never fucking wanted you. That dumb bitch was too stupid to take her birth control every day and then she was knocked up.”

Colt nods. I expect to see anger or hurt.

Anything.

But he’s cold as ice. “You got your revenge, didn’t you John?”

He snarls again. “I should have buried you in the yard. If I’d known whooping your ass would’ve gotten you taken away, I would’ve called the cops myself.”

I snap.

Lunging forward, I rip the switchblade from Colt’s pocket. Pressing the button, the blade appears, and I slam it into John’s thigh. He screams in agony, and I rip the knife from his muscle, plunging it into his other thigh. “You motherfucker!” I shout.

Before I can stab him again, Colt wraps his arms around me, pulling me away. He drags me into the hall, and I spin around, pushing him in the chest. “How the fuck are you so calm?”

His big ass doesn’t move, just watches me as I lose my shit. Huffing out a breath, I fist my hips, staring back at him. He steps forward, pushing me against the wall. Gripping my chin with his fingers, his expression is somber. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I melt against him, holding his wrist. “Are you okay?”

He nods. “Yes, baby.” He kisses me softly. “Will you go in the living room and bring in the bag?”

“Okay.”

He lets go and I head towards the living room to retrieve our weapon bag. It’s a short walk to the shitty couch and I throw the bag over my shoulder. Once I reach the hallway, I hear thumping and smacking sounds. My pace quickens only to freeze when I reach the doorway.

Colt is on top of his father, pummeling him in the face. With each punch, John’s head bounces off the floor as Kathleen cries in her corner, her mangled legs useless in any attempt to get away.

Yeah bitch. That’s your future.

I watch in amazement as Colt’s body flexes with every swing, delivering knock out blows to the face of the man who created him. His breathing is surprisingly steady, his expression detached and void of any emotion.

It’s terrifying how quickly he can go from being soft with me to being unhinged like he is now. It’s even more horrifying to me that I can do the same myself.

I silently wait, letting him work through his childhood trauma. He throws punch after punch for long minutes until his body slouches, his breathing finally showing signs of exhaustion.

His mother is still crying in the corner, and it pisses me off. “Where the fuck were your tears for your son?”

Colt rises to his feet, giving his mother a quick glance before moving towards me. His fists are bloody, his face and chest splattered with red. I look past him to see his father lying unrecognizable and dead . His still chest makes me believe he was gone long before Colt’s blows stopped.

It should concern me his preferred method of killing people is his fists. This is the second person he’s literally beat to death in my presence. His passion doesn’t bother me. If he needs to end someone’s life with his knuckles, I’ll be there to clean and bandage them afterwards.

He takes my hand. “Will you end her so we can go? I’m done with this shit for good.”

I nod. “I have an idea.”

Striding over to his mother’s side, I raise the bat, bringing it down on her stomach, then her chest. She coughs and heaves, but I have to stop myself, my plan will make her suffer so much more.

He must’ve known exactly what I had in mind because as I turn around, he’s holding a black zippo, a tired grin on his lips. “Light it up, little demon.”