Page 157 of Restitution

Barry drops Bernadette on the ground. She’s groggy, smelly and her hair is matted at the back of her head. Good.

“She’s in protection in Ireland with Ewan,” my assistant says. “Tylar and Desmond are with them too. From what I can see on their reports, they’re just being cautious. The protection is set to end shortly.” Barry folds his arms and crosses his ankles. “The manor is gone. It collapsed completely a few hours after you escaped. The chances of them finding anything is low.”

“Is Stacey still sleeping on the couch with Luciella?”

Barry shakes his head. “She’s in the shower room. The dogs aresleeping outside the door.” He looks over at my dad, then at the buckets, then to Bernadette and lets out a low sigh. “I thought you were joking.”

“I don’t joke,” my dad replies. “Surely you know this by now?”

Barry only slightly shakes his head and raises his eyebrows at me. I pat his shoulder as I walk past and go get Base. He should be here when she realises she just ate her husband.

The dogs lift their heads when they see me making my way to his bedroom. Stacey’s still showering. She usually takes an hour minimum when she’s in there herself. I want to go in and kiss her against the tiles, but I stop a few doors away.

Base is being sick in the bathroom.

“Bernadette is in the kitchen,” I say to him. “Come watch her eat Archie.”

“Fuck,” he replies, spitting into the toilet bowl. “I have a strong stomach, but fuck.”

“Let’s go,” I reply, tossing him a face cloth to wipe his mouth. “We watch her suffer together.”

I lean against the doorframe while he brushes his teeth and takes a few deep breaths, staring into the mirror. Then he pushes off the sink, shakes himself off and follows me to the kitchen.

We both pause in the doorway, seeing Barry lifting Bernadette into the chair, the cooked human meat on a plate in front of her. Her head lolls to the side as Tobias stabs her in the arm with a syringe and pushes the plunger to empty the contents into her system.

A few minutes later, Bernadette’s eyes lift to me, and they widen a little. “K-Kade.”

“Don’t fucking talk to me.”

“After everything I’ve done for you?” She’s slurring her words,slobber down her chin. The adrenaline Dad gave her is kicking in. “You’re going to allow them to treat me this way?” She sneers. “You’re better than that.”

Base blows out a breath and manages a laugh, and all I do is stare at her as if it will burn a hole in her face. Dad washes his hands in the sink, kicks aside the bucket then leans against the counter – silent. Deadly silent.

“Eat,” Barry says. “This is the only courtesy we’ll give you. You’re growing weaker, and we aren’t kind enough to let you die yet.” He cuts a strip of meat from the chunk on the plate and lifts it to Bernadette’s mouth. “Eat.”

Her lips part, and Base grimaces and turns away. Her eyes are on me. Burning into me. Fucking watching me like I’m going to help her.

She chews and swallows. Then she takes another bite and another and another, until the chunk is gone. Barry tips water into her mouth, but only a little, pulling the glass away when she chases it.

Dad tilts his head. “How did he taste?”

She glares at him, weak, then glances down at the plate. Her eyes lift to me.

Base steps forward. “He asked you a motherfucking question, bitch. How did your husband taste?”

Her brows pull together in a confused frown, her bones shaking. “W-What?”

Base grins. “I think you ate a part of his leg.”

“Yep,” Dad says. “But we can’t be sure since Kade blew him up with a grenade in his mouth.”

She vomits all over the table and passes out.

For two days, Bernadette is forced to eat her husband until we decide what’s next on our let’s-torture-Bernadette-until-we’re-bored plan.

Base came up with this next part. And I agree. Luciella and Stacey are inside helping Dad tidy up, Barry is sleeping and the dogs are playing in the shallow river in front of us.

“We’re not here to talk,” Base says, dropping Bernadette on the ground next to the river. “We’re going to play a little game. We like games, don’t we, Kade?”