Page 98 of Mutual Obsession (Rivals of Blackthorn #2)

Jake’s smirk grows as he nods, amusement written across his face. “Yes, he did, but he can’t take all the credit. You made a big mistake around nine years ago, and now you’re paying for it.”

Now The Count looks confused, his brow furrowing as he frowns. “What mistake?”

“Does the name Indianna Evans mean anything to you?” I ask, watching his face for any recognition.

The Count pauses for a moment, tilting his head as he thinks, before shaking it slowly. “No, should it?”

“The girl Gregg was dating all those years ago, the one who saw you that night with the three boys,” Jake explains.

We both see the moment he recalls exactly what we’re talking about, as the colour drains from his face and his eyes take on an almost haunted look. “Gregg told me he took care of her years ago.”

Jake lets out a dark chuckle. “Gregg’s a fucking liar. Indie ran, and she’s been running for all these years. No matter how much he looked, he never found her, and she never forgot about the horrors he put her through, or what she witnessed that night.”

Although it’s clear by his eyes that he’s affected by this information, he shrugs dismissively, keeping his face blank. “What does that have to do with you two arseholes?”

“I’m Jacob Santoro, one of the leaders of Blackthorn, and this is my boyfriend, Miles.

We both fell in love with Indie, and she trusted us with her story.

For her to stop running, we have to make sure there’s nothing chasing her,” Jake states proudly, and my heart does a little flip to hear him so casually referring to me as his boyfriend.

“Clearly, she means nothing to me. I didn’t even know she was still alive,” The Count retorts.

“But if you knew she was still alive, and could identify you, of course you’d have hunted her,” I add.

The Count lets out a very inelegant snort. “How can she fucking identify me? It’s been years since she last saw me.”

Jake chuckles, his devilish smile widening once more. “The joys of technology. She worked with a sketch artist, and we used technology to age the drawing. When then ran that image alongside any CCTV sightings of Gregg, and it didn’t take us long to find you.”

“All because of Indie,” I add on smugly.

“What does this have to do with anything?” The Count snaps, sounding incredibly annoyed by the whole thing.

“We want you to die knowing that Indie was responsible for your downfall. You will die tonight, all because a young girl had the fucking balls to stand up to someone who terrorised her for years, without even realising it.

“You are the one who created Gregg, and he’s the one who tormented her.

He chased her, not only because he wanted her back, but because he knew you needed her contained.

He may have gone rogue at some point, but he always answered to you.

He’s paid for his crimes, and now it’s your turn,” Jacob tells him, his voice taking on a dangerous edge that heats my blood.

“You’re here to kill me?” The Count sounds almost relieved by this news, and I’m not sure what to think about that. I don’t want him to have an easy death.

“We are, but we might make you suffer a little more first,” I tell him, watching his face for any hint of a reaction.

He looks almost resigned to his fate as he sighs. “Do whatever you wish.”

Jake stands and takes a step towards me, his gaze meeting mine as he frowns. Although he says nothing, what he’s thinking is written all over his face—there’s no pleasure in torturing a man who has already resigned himself to death.

“You want to die?” Jake asks him.

The Count’s eyes narrow at Jake as his lips lift just slightly into the ghost of a smile. “I’ve known I was going to die since the moment I was captured. I held out as long as I could, but there came a point when I knew death would be better than anything they put me through.

“I gave up every last piece of information I had, not because I thought it would save my life, but to earn me a quicker death. When death is all you have to look forward to, speed is all you can hope for.”

I’m not sure if that makes me want to drag it out or kill him quicker, and I can tell it’s something Jacob is struggling with, too. I lean closer to Jake, my lips stopping just beside his ear, so only he can hear me.

“What do you want to do?”

He turns his head so he can whisper his reply into my ear. “He’s ruined the lives of so many children, and Indie. But I think the Doughtys have made him suffer. When I look at his broken body, I’m not sure what else we could do to him.”

“So you want to go for a quick death?”

“That doesn’t feel right either,” Jacob groans, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“I have an idea,” I tell him, before pressing my lips against his cheek. “Do you trust me?”

Jacob nods, keeping his gaze on me as I turn and walk over to the cupboards on the wall behind us. As soon as I find what I’m looking for, I grab the large knife and head back over to The Count.

His gaze flicks to the knife, but there’s no emotion there at all. I’m not even sure he has the energy for it.

I turn to Jake, holding out the knife for him to take. “You want the world to remember who he is and what he’s done, so mark him.”

I don’t need to say anything more, as this act is something Jacob has described to me many times before today. As he takes the knife from me, his chocolate eyes darken until they’re almost black, making my cock twitch in appreciation at his dangerous side coming out to play.

Jake crouches back down again, and The Count stares at the blade as my boyfriend lifts it until the tip is resting on his stomach. He then presses into The Cunt’s flesh, deep enough that blood pours from the wound as he cries out in pain.

Jake doesn’t seem at all bothered by the blood, or the noise coming from the man he’s slicing into.

I silently send a thanks to Kian, or his men, for making sure The Count is strapped down as well as he is, because even though he’s trying to thrash around, to escape Jacob’s knife, he’s not moving even a little.

Jake continues with his cuts like he’s the only one present, working quickly and methodically. He’s not at all affected by the crying and sobbing coming from the broken man beneath his blade.

I’m not at all surprised when The Count passes out, either from the pain or blood loss.

That’s the only time Jake pauses what he’s doing, just long enough to slap the man’s cheeks until he regains consciousness, and then he continues on with his task.

It takes several minutes, but when he’s finally done, Jacob takes a step back to admire his handiwork. He hands the knife over to me with a bright smile on his face, though the glint in his eyes makes him look a little manic.

I watch as The Count looks down at the large word carved into his stomach, scarring his flesh permanently—Paedo.

His eyes widen dramatically before his gaze flicks back to us, his expression turning murderous.

“I’m not a fucking paedo!” he snarls, wincing when the aggressive movement aggravates his wounds, making them bleed more.

Jake takes a menacing step towards him, towering over the man. “You bought or stole children, and used them for your own personal gain. Some of them you sold, knowing full well what they’d be used for when they left your care. You groomed children, and used them to further your own aims.

“We also have evidence that you fucked several who were underage. You are the very definition of a paedophile. I would have put child sex trafficker, but that didn’t fit as well, or have the same ring to it.

This way, you will be marked for all eternity, and everyone will know the type of man you are. ”

As The Count begins to argue with Jake, with the knife in my hand, I walk around the back of his chair. He’s so focused on Jake, he’s not even seen me move. I stop when I’m behind him, listening to his piss-poor excuses.

“I gave the children a life they wouldn’t have had if they’d stayed where they were.

Yes, some ended up worse off, but others, like Gregg, got a life they’d never have even dreamed about.

I helped far more than I hurt. And as far as I’m concerned, any teen is old enough to have sex. I’d never go younger than that.”

My eyes widen at his repulsive confession, as Jake’s face twists with a mixture of disgust and hatred. Before he can respond, I take a step towards the back of his chair and grab a handful of his hair with my fist.

Pulling his head all the way back, I make sure he can see the hatred in my eyes.

“I don’t want to hear anymore shit coming from your mouth.

You are the scum of the earth, and this world will be a better place without you in it.

As you die, I want you to remember this is for Indie, and the years of her life that you ruined. ”

As soon as I finish speaking, I lift the blade to his throat and slice all the way across, cutting deep enough for blood to spurt from the wound. I keep my hold on his hair as The Count gurgles and chokes on his own blood, struggling to pull in any air as he bleeds to death.

His eyes are wide, but there’s also a bit of relief in them, which pisses me off.

I wish we could have kept him alive forever, torturing him so he’d never find peace, but this wasn’t for him, it was for Indie.

She made it clear she could never move on while The Count lived, so we had to do this for her.

Both Jake and I watch as The Count takes his last gargled breath. The light slowly leaves his eyes as his blood coats his body before pooling on the floor. When I’m sure he’s dead, I drop the knife and let go of his hair, watching as his head falls forward.

Jake is staring at me with heat in his eyes, a bright smile on his face. He holds out his hand for me, and I take it willingly, letting him pull me into his arms. He slams his lips against mine, giving me a bruising, passionate kiss that leaves us both breathless when we pull away.

“Fuck, that was hot,” he chuckles as he kisses and sucks along my neck.

My smug smirk grows as I pull back to look at him. “As much as I want to fuck you right now, I think we should go home and let our girl know the good news—she’s finally free.”

Jacob’s responding smile is so bright it lights up his whole face. “As long as you promise to fuck me when we get home.”

I can’t help but laugh as I lace our fingers together. “Pretty Boy, you will never need to talk me into fucking you. I’ll always want to.”

We both laugh as we walk out of the warehouse, covered in the blood of our final slayed enemy, holding hands. We’re not only going back to our girl, we’re going back to start the future we’ve been talking about for so long.

Indie will never feel the need to run again, and we can finally all be together, without the constant worry that she’ll need to run hanging over us.

It soothes an ache in my heart that I thought I’d got past. I thought I’d overcome the pain I felt when she left me, and had forgiven her for it, but as a sense of relief floods me, I realise there was still a part of me that was worried she’d leave again.

While she still had a reason to run, there was always a chance she would, and now that’s gone, my heart feels a little lighter and a lot freer.