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Theo’s blue eyes find me next from behind his glasses.

“I bet she was curious as to why everyone was gone,” he says, smirking.

Over the last two days since our very vigorous outdoor activities, he’s refused to treat me like glass, even as he watches me constantly. I’ve been working out under his supervision, and there’s been a sweetness in him that I didn’t know existed.

It definitely feels like I’ve stepped into an alternate dimension.

I’m Jared’s wife and his friends haven’t tried to drown me or throw me off the cliff just outside, how is this real life?

“Just remember,” Elijah murmurs, his lips against the shell of my ear so only I can hear him. “This is our agreement that we all want you. We were going to let the pigs have him alive, but your presence here may change that. Sit your cute ass down in the chair, Rachelle.”

“Oh,” I whisper, shocked when he lifts me and physically sits me on a stool.

“Hand me some gloves,” Elijah sighs.

“That’s interesting,” Jared says. “Well, wife, I hope you enjoy the show.”

“What the fuck is going on,” Dr. Michaels screams.

I guess even assholes like him can crack.

“Remember, we have to clean up how much of him ends up on the wall,” Elijah says, making a face as he pulls on his gloves.

I have no idea what this is, but the sight of them all working together wasn’t something I thought I’d ever see. Common enemies have a way of bringing people together, I guess. I haven’t forgotten the past, and a shiver runs up my spine that has nothing to do with how cold it is in the basement.

“How are you, mija ?” Emil asks, his eyes on my ex therapist and doctor. Mr. Cruz merely appears amused as he leans against the wall watching as Lili, Ignacio, and the guys continue to carve words into Dr. Michael’s skin.

“Confused,” I mutter.

“I fucked up,” he says. “I didn’t recognize the monster until it was too late. Dr. Michaels was doing his own unethical research with you as his guinea pig. Thankfully, you’re stronger than he thought you’d be.”

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Dr. Michaels spits out. “You’re like a goddamned cockroach.”

“I think that’s enough of that,” Liliana says primly, finding a mask that reminds me of a ball gag.

I can’t help but giggle as she forces it over his head, shoving it so deep, he gags. There’s something written on his forehead, and I smile serenely when I see it.

“Hack,” I say, reading it. That’s exactly what I feel my therapist is. While some of the work we’ve done has helped, other things have thrown me into a deeper spiral.

“Dr. Michaels’ used to have me regress into my memories,” I remember.

“They come out really clearly in my nightmares, and a part of me wonders if he fucked around in my head when he did that. Whenever I would tell him about my dreams, he’d remind me that my mental health was a series of bubbles that we had to pop to get to the bottom of my trauma. ”

Bullshit , Theo and Elijah write together across Dr. Michaels’ stomach.

“I think that’s a load of bullshit,” Ignacio says quietly. “Sure, in some sense exploring things is healthy, but if you’re not resolving them at all, he’s just stirring up your emotions and fears.”

“He’s right,” Theo grunts, finishing off the word. “The good doctor is fucking with your memories and fears, because he likes to control people’s lives and break them.”

“I already took your cock, I think I need to take your balls. You don’t need them,” Liliana says.

The guys move aside, and I see a gaping cauterized hole when the doctor’s cock used to be. Now that I’m paying attention, I can smell the scent of burned flesh.

“Hope your stomach is strong enough for this,” Emil says. “Breathe into your sweater if it bothers you.”

All I can do is watch as Liliana grabs the doctor’s saggy old man balls and starts to use a dull knife on them. Dr. Michaels screams and writhes, and I can’t help but smirk as I witness this. I should be horrified right? Maybe I’m broken, but I’m not.

There’s even rust on the fucking knife and Elijah cups himself as he looks away.

“I told them that if they fucked up with you again, Liliana would do the same to them,” Mr. Cruz said with a bark of laughter. “If this isn’t the equivalent of a shotgun while waiting on the porch during a first date, I don’t know what is.”

I mean, it is amusing, but…

“Fucked up with me?” I ask softly.

The guys are fully immersed in watching Liliana, while Ignacio simply tells her how beautiful she looks. It takes a special kind of love to be able to praise one of your girlfriends while she tortures a man, but I suppose that’s exactly what Ignacio is.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the Kings are obsessed with you,” Mr. Cruz says.

“They all banded together the second you were admitted into the hospital,” Emil says. “We’ve had countless ‘family’ meetings to discuss our next steps. If we hadn’t been able to work together, I don’t know that you’d be sitting here.”

“They’ve been different. It’s really hard to process that,” I admit. “My memories say one thing but this tells me people can change.”

“Change is a strong word,” Mr. Cruz snorts. The smell of burning flesh begins as Liliana gets to work with the blow torch, and I focus completely on her father.

I appreciate that they are torturing him in my name, I just don’t want to fully watch it. I do need to see the light fade from his eyes though. It’ll help me sleep tonight funny enough. I need to know he’s not plotting anything, and seeing is believing in this instance.

“What would you call it?” I ask before pressing my nose to the inside of Elijah’s sweatshirt to breathe him in instead.

“They’re using their evil minds to serve you instead of their own self interests,” Emil says.

“Ah, Lili, come on,” Elijah complains.

A quick glance shows that Liliana is slicing up the good doctor and may have gotten some blood on Elijah. Oops.

Hiding my smile that’s probably boarding on unhinged and inappropriate, I meet my stepfather’s gaze.

“I’ve missed your smiles, Rachelle,” he says.

We’re in a corner outside of the spray of blood, which also means no one else can hear us.

“It’s been hard to find them,” I say, shrugging.

“My Lili and those boys want to help with that,” Mr. Cruz says, shaking his head at whatever shenanigans they’re up to. “Higher, Lili. You’ll kill him too fast otherwise. Ugh, she knows better than that. Excuse me.”

No matter the parent, they’re always going to find some way to guide you. Even if it’s the best way to torture someone.

Focusing on Emil as Mr. Cruz leaves, I find my stepfather is frowning.

“I want you to give them hell,” he says.

“They may want to be better for you, but you’re going to have to teach them what that looks like.

Liliana is the only one who really understands it.

Even my son will need a good pop over the head here and there.

Those boys are a product of their upbringing.

They don’t understand what real love looks like. ”

“Do you really think that they want that with me?” I ask, peeking over at them.

Jared and Theo are beating the fuck out of Dr. Michaels’ body with baseball bats. The one time it looks like he may pass out, Mr. Cruz shocks him awake with a stun gun. If he’s been tortured for weeks, I wonder at what point the doctor’s heart will give out.

I’m not sure of his age, but I'd guess he’s in his late sixties. He’s a tough sack of shit, that’s for damn sure.

“I think they’d crawl across glass for you,” Emil says. “Just because they feel shitty about what they’ve done to you, doesn’t mean you should give in. Make them kiss your boot, and whatever other fucked up things you can imagine that a father should never hear.”

“I’ve missed you,” I say, laughing softly.

“I’ve been away too long,” he agrees. “I’ll be here for a week or two before I have to go home. My empire is expanding and it’s having some growing pains. Not because of my men I’m finding, but the idiots who think they can sell drugs in my territory.”

“The date drug thing,” I remember. “There are so many schools in this area, and so many idiot boys.”

“Not just boys,” he grumbles. “Women are using it to drug women. It’s about power, not sex. I need this shit off the market.”

“Are you closer to finding an answer?” I ask, biting my lip because I never inquire about his work.

“Yes. Lili and Nacio have the man pinpointed. I’m going to need to borrow them for a few days. Please don’t blow up the house while you’re alone with the Kings.”

“Shit,” I hiss.

“Rachelle, come here,” Nacio says. “We’re going to play firing squad, and I think you’re the worst shot of us all.”

“Rude,” I call out, slipping off the chair as my stepfather laughs. “I at least know how to point it.”

“Well, sometimes that’s the most important part,” Mr. Cruz says, shrugging.

Walking over to them, I hesitate at some of the blood puddles.

“Boys,” Emil groans.

“Hold on, wife. Let me clear the blood,” Jared says, moving to the giant utility sink and screwing on a hose connector to it.

Turning on the water, he directs the spray nozzle at the ground and washes the puddles down the drain.

“That was kind of gentlemanly,” Liliana mutters.

Ah, it was also really hot. I need to get laid more often if this is where my bar is for things that get me excited.

Floor now wet but clean, I walk to the group where Liliana presses a loaded gun into my hand.

“Remember all the fucked up shit this man is responsible for and act accordingly,” she says with a nod. “We aren’t looking to keep him alive anymore, so however many bullets it’ll take to make you happy, is what it takes to kill him, Baby Girl.”

To be fair, the man in front of me is a mess. The words dick cheese, monster, quack, and twunt are carved into skin among others. He’s been stabbed, castrated, and skinned. There are also burn marks along his body and his hair has been shaved off his head.

Taking a deep breath to center myself, I raise the gun and remove the safety. As much as I joke about gun safety, Liliana has shown me more than just the basics. However, I haven’t shot a gun since high school.

My first squeeze of the firearm is loud in the basement, the shot sinking into his chest. Dr. Gerald Michaels is a large man, and weighs about two hundred and fifty pounds at five foot nine. His eyes go wide at the pain of the shot, and I feel a spike of adrenaline.

I shouldn’t want to hurt him, but I do. He knows some of the most intimate and personal details of my life. This monster listened to my fears, and found a way to twist them within me to make them worse.

Another squeeze of the trigger registers in my mind before I move my arms slightly downward. Eight bullets find their way into his body, and I don’t even realize I’m crying until I gasp in a breath and my vision begins to blur.

“You’re doing so good, baby,” Jared murmurs, kissing my forehead as he gently removes my hands from the gun.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” I confess, wiping away my tears. “You know what, I do. I fucking trusted you!”

I’m screaming, but no one says a word.

“Tell him, Rachelle,” Elijah says, handing me something. It’s a metal bat.

Everyone moves away to give me space, while I scream and swing it into the doctor’s wide, fucking chest.

“I came to you a mess, scared of my damn shadow, and you used that against me,” I say, choking on my emotions as I swing at the son of a bitch’s head. The dull clanging sound of metal hitting bone is gratifying in so many fucked up ways.

His head rocks back on his shoulders as he makes a pained sound, but it’s not enough. I don’t know if it ever can be.

“I did everything you told me to, and it did nothing,” I wheeze. “I couldn’t regulate my emotions, sometimes even showering would throw me into a panic attack. All you would tell me was to try harder.”

The words are bitten out as I swing again. This time, four men in the room flinch at my words. As much as I’ve forgiven Ignacio, he was there when I was thrown in the creek. I am still scared senseless of bodies of water where I can’t see my feet.

Theo doesn’t know this, but the exercises in the pool are better exposure therapy than anything Dr. Michaels has ever done for me.

My arms are shaking with exhaustion by the time I drop the bat to the ground, and my chest is heaving. The screaming wasn’t great for my sore throat, but my soul feels lighter. The fucker is still alive though.

“You can’t handle a gun safely right now,” Mr. Cruz murmurs, watching the way my arms are shaking.

“We got this,” Jared says, moving to the table with various tools. “His heart won’t last much longer. Let’s use the wand Lili was using earlier.”

“I hope it gives his nuts post traumatic stress,” Lili mutters. “It’s a little heavy, I’ll help you hold it.”

“We’ll help,” Elijah growls, making my head twist so quickly I hurt my neck. “I want to watch the fucker know that he couldn’t break Rachelle. We stand for her, which means we’ll never allow that to happen.”

“Shattered glass still makes gorgeous things when put together again,” Theo says softly. I can tell that means something to him, and I wonder if I’m the glass.

“I need you, Rachelle,” Jared says, and the words make me smile. I don’t know that he really needs anyone, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Jared lifts the wand, and I have to admit that it looks scary. I know I just shot eight rounds of bullets into a man, but damn.

Liliana, Jared, Theo, Ignacio, and Elijah’s hands join mine as we lift the wand, and my thumb pushes the button to full force.

“You’re the thing that won’t die, Dr. Michaels,” I rasp, my voice definitely fucked. “No one lives forever. I hope hell is extra hot, just for you.”

Pushing the wand against the skin above his heart, I watch his eyes roll back in his head as we force him into organ failure. I even ask Mr. Cruz to check for a pulse, just in case, before he pulls the good doctor down to take him to the pig farm.

I sleep deeper than I have in way too long, because I know no one will know what happened to Dr. Gerald Michaels. When you fuck around, you become pig feed and no one mourns your death. It’s celebrated instead.