"Why not kill her with the baby, or better still let me do an abortion for her?" Bridget asked Skylar as she wiped her bloody hands with a dishrag.
The soft cries of Annie could be heard faintly from down the basement where she was still laying in her own vomit cradling her belly, with her other arm limp by her side.
"I was wondering that myself," Jim said.
"Because an abortion wouldn't be painful enough for her," Skylar replied without hesitation. "I want to punish her for what she did to me. And I know the best way to punish her."
Bridget tossed the rag into the waste basket before joining them at the dining table. "And how do you propose we do that?"
"She will carry the baby, give birth to it, and I know she will come to love it, perhaps even relax her vigilance over it. And then after, I will kill the baby, let her wallow in her pain and misery then kill her."
"Wow." Jim breathed. "That's one helluvah punishment, if you ask me."
Skylar turned her flashing eyes on him. "Which is why you have to be careful with the way you hit her. If she looses that baby, I would have your head."
He shrank back into the chair. He didn't doubt her words for a minute, seeing as she killed her other partner just because he was lusting after the Mckade girl. The last thing he wanted to do was piss her off.
"The police are already searching for her." Jim said, trying to steer the conversation away from himself. "I saw it on the news yesterday. Her family looked sad and worried."
Skylar grinned. "As they should be. But I think this is about to get a whole lot better." She raised her brow at Bridget. "Do you have the video with you now?"
Bridget nodded. She pushed the white envelope on the table toward Skylar. "There's the disc. Shouldn't we contact Lukas to deliver it? I mean, the cops would have already figured that it was I that took her from the hospital."
"He's on his way." Skylar said as she opened the envelope and peaked inside. When she found what she wanted, she nodded before sealing it back. "Lay low for a while. No funny business, and don't ever try to show your face in public. I would not hesitate to eliminate you if you become a threat to my plans."
Whatever Bridget planned to say was lost in the sound of the doorbell. Jim pushed his chair backwards quietly, and withdrew his 9.mm from the waist band of his jeans as he cautiously approached the door.
"Who's there?"
"Open the door, you dimwit."
"Ah, right." Jim rolled his eyes. He unlocked the deadbolt and stepped back for Lukas to enter the house, then locked the deadbolt in place after making sure that no one was lurking outside. He joined the rest of the clique at the dining table.
"About time you showed up, don't you think?" Bridget scowled. "What the hell took you so long?"
"Watch your mouth or I might just set it on fire." Lukas deadpanned. "How is she?" He asked Skylar who was busy fiddling with her phone.
"Could be worse." She shrugged. "I had then roughen her up for a bit just to make the whole thing believe able. How are thing with the Mckade's?"
"Not good." He sighed as he combed his fingers through his hair. "That detective's onto me, I can feel it. And while I would have loved to set that bitch on fire, I would have to wait. Besides, who says you don't have to play with your food before having it?"
Skylar returned his smile. "No one. There's no fun in eating it all at once."
Lukas brows furrowed when he heard faint cries somewhere in the house. "Is that Annie?"
"Yes." Jim said. "Still nursing her smarting arm and face. That girl's a pussy. I thought I would be seeing some feisty little bitch, but this one just screams coward."
"What's the extent of the damage?" Lukas gritted his teeth. "I told you to be careful with her. She's carrying a-"
"Baby, yes we know." Bridget rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun. I thought we were supposed to make her suffer? Or is there a change in the plan we're not aware of?"
Lukas pushed his chair back and jerked to his feet, his nostrils flaring in time with the twitching of his hand. "What did you do to her?"
"Helped her straighten her arm. Jim here landed a few punches though."
Before anyone could blink, Lukas had Jim pinned to the dining table. He twisted one of his hand behind his back and held a switch blade to his neck. Skylar scrambled out of her seat, while Bridget crossed her legs and relaxed into the chair with an amused smile on her face.
"You fucker!" Lukas yelled as he pressed the blade down, nicking the skin in the process. "Who told you that you could hit her?"
Jim winced when the sharp blade pressed down a little Morey, drawing blood this time. "Jus' thought it'd be more convincing. No hard feelings, man."
"Well, listen good asswipe." Lukas said. "The next time you touch her without getting permission from me, I would gut you like the pig you are. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
Skylar shook her head in exasperation. "Let him go, Lukas."
Lukas pressed the blade down a little bit, then released Jim, who scrambled away from him with a hand clasped around the cut on his neck. He pointed the tip of the blade in Bridget's direction.
"Go get me a mask and the first aid box. And you," he pointed at Jim. "Get me fresh towels and a bowl of hot water now."
"Yes, sir." Bridget threw a mocking salute in his direction before going to do as he asked. Jim left without a word or a look in his direction.
"What has gotten into you?" Skylar snarled at him. "She's my business and Jovon's is yours. You don't see me butting into your business, do you?"
"Well, I thought so too." He snarled back. "Until I discovered that you had Celine meet Jovon without consenting me first."
"That was just a ploy to throw him off track a bit!"
"I don't want him off track!" He slammed his fist into the table. "How would I get him to sign away his property if he falls in love with another?"
Skylar sighed. "Fine. I'll tell Celine to back off. But that means you would back off too. I have the right to treat Ansela the way I want."
"But nothing too extreme or so God help me. . ."
"The things you requested for are already in the basement." Bridget announced as she sauntered into the hostile arena. "Here's your mask."
Lukas gave Skylar one last warning glare before accepting the ski mask and storming out if the room.
"What's his problem?" Bridget asked once he was out of earshot. "Does he have feelings for her or what?"
"I don't know yet. But it better not be true or I will put a bullet between that bitch's eyes, revenge be damned."
* * *
When Lukas got to the last step of the basement, the sight of Annie laying facedown on the concrete had him sprinting to her, calling her name.
When he reached her, he skidded to a halt, dropping on his knees. "Annie!" His voice was urgent, a vise squeezing his chest. "Open your eyes!"
He sprinted up the stairs into the kitchen where the others were. "I need some help!" Bridget rose to her feet the swore softly. "Get your equipment and meet me in the basement now!"
Then he ran back into the basement. He heard several pairs of feet running down the stairs. She was already coming around when Bridget came barreling down the stairs carrying a case. She was an EMT resident before she became a murderer, which was why Skylar gave her the job in case of emergencies like this one.
"What the hell!" Skylar said when she saw the state Annie was in.
Annie's arm was swelling rapidly. Her hair and face was smeared in what looked to be her own mess. Her right eye was swollen shut and sported a angry red. Her jaw and bottom lip was also swollen and had dried blood on them. He body was still shaking. She looked so small in the the blue hospital gown she was still wearing.
"What the hell did you do to her?" She rounded on Jim, who took a step back as his eyes darted left and right for an escape route.
Annie groaned as a hand pressed down gently on her smarting jaw. Even with the blood covering one side of her face, she looked like an adorable waif as she stared up with her good unfocused eye at the people crowding around her.
Bridget looked at Lukas. "Let's get her into a sitting position."
Luka gently helped her up. He dropped into a squat and pulled Annie's limp body against his chest. "Lean against me,Annie."
She moaned in answer. It wasn't as if she had enough choice as it was.
With a gauze pad, Bridget began to clean the blood off her face. Blood. Lukas' stomach lurched violently, his hands clenching in murderous intent. He had seen his fair share of blood in his life, but something was snapping like crazy in him at the sight of Annie's blood. His fingers itched badly for a match or lighter. Anything to set the bastard that did this on fire.
Bridget cupped Annie's chin and flashed a light back and forth several times in her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relieve and met Lukas' murderous eyes. "No concussion. Let's take a look at those cuts and swellings." She dabbed at the seeping wound at Annie's hairline. "Superficial. It won't need stitches. But there's one killer headaches coming up. Also need to keep cold compresses over her swollen face."
Luka rose, supporting Annie. With his hands under her arms, he managed to help her stand. He didn't let her go, something urgent and primitive stirred inside him. She leaned into him, and he knew it was because she was so out of it at the moment.
He lay her on the bed. After getting a scissors from Bridget's box, he cut away the hospital gown from her body and set to work. He dipped one of the clean towels into the warm water in the bowl and began to wipe her down. When he turned her on her back, his pupils dilated with murderous intent and his pulse flared.
A large dark purplish bruise was blooming steadily in her lower back, close to her spine. Skylar must have heard the change in his breathing or saw his shaky hands, because she was beside him in the blink of an eye. She took the towel from him.
"Go and wait upstairs. I will do it."
Lukas took one last look at the bruise then he was striding across the room. He caught Jim at the top of the stairs and pinned him to the basement door with a mad look in his eyes.
"Please! Don't kill me."
"She must have begged like this,right?" Hr sneered, baring his teeth. "Did you let her go?"
"N-no."
"You made a mistake."
Lukas drew his hand back and plunged the scissors into Jim's stomach over and over again.
* * *
The detective shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "We weren't aware of Bridget Tyson's whereabouts until now. Turns out that she killed one of the nurses that was supposed to be on duty that day and took her pass."
"We don't even know anyone by that name, so why would she want to kidnap my daughter?"
D.I Schneider looked immediately chagrin and worried. "We don't know that yet, Mrs. Mckade. We were hoping you would tell us about Bridget Tyson. Perhaps you owe her something or contributed to her arrest one way or the other?"
Steve shook his head. "We don't know anyone with that name."
"Yeah. So we discovered some pictures in the place miss Mckade stayed in West Mercer. A person calling them self The Revenge sent an envelope to your daughter with several pictures of the family and also a Mr. Phim." Detective Pedro explained. "And we have every reason to believe that The Revenge has Miss Mckade. We also came up with the theory that Bridget Tyson is working for The Revenge."
"Oh,my God." Ella breathed as she fought back her tears. "Let Annie be okay, please."
"Yeah, that's tough. Considering who she's with." D.I Schneider winced when Pedro jabbed an elbow into his side. He backtracked quickly. "I'm sorry about everything. And I assure you that we are doing our possible best to ensure that your daughter would return safely to you."
"Thank you." Kaden said.
William nodded. "Anything else we should know?"
"Yes. The Revenge is out to get the whole family, and like I told Cassie, none of you should go anywhere with an escort. We have uniformed officers patrolling the area, and they would also act as your shadow each time. Also, be with your mobile phone at all times, just in case."
After the detectives left, Cassie pondered on what they said. She tried thinking of anyone who would be out to get their family, but found none. For five years now, the family lived in peace and related with everybody politely and warmly. Who then did they offend for them to be determined to destroy a happy family?
"A letter just arrived in the mail for you." Aunt Grail, the family nanny slash cook, entered the great room with an A3 size white envelope.
Cassie trembled and lost her train of thought, couldn't focus on what was being said. The thought of the envelope containing some kind of grisly thing like Annie's finger made her shiver hard from inside out. Her skin felt taught and she thought she could almost detect the unmistakable smell of blood.
Her heart leaped in a surge of panic. No one knew how she felt about blood now. Especially when she was kidnapped and tortured and almost shot dead. She had pushed the terror into the back of her mind. Now it seemed like a living, breathing entity, ready to engulf her and drag her into its thick red metallic pool.
Cassie took a deep breath, pushed at the crushing fear that slithered through her as if she was pressing against something hard and unyielding.
A hand clasped around her arm and she jumped. She tugged in a ragged breath, battled down the panic bleeding her skin of warmth.
She saw Kaden looking at her in concern, but she shook her head with a small smile that wasn't convincing even to herself.
"Any fingerprint we would have found is long gone since Grail touched it already." William was saying. "So I say we open it."
Cassie watched as William's hand tremble as he reached for the envelope and tore it's seal. He withdrew the contents and lay them down on the glass coffee table.
A dishrag soaked with lots of blood and a disc sealed in a plastic casing along with a notepaper fell out.
* ~ *
Death awaits you in the deepest darkest hour of the night. Who knows if you would die by a blade or even an explosion? But an explosion won't do should you go by the flames. Consummation with the flames will elevate you all. Soon prepare yourself.
P.S: The anniversary party must be held in two days at the chosen destination by Annie or she would suffer the consequences.
~ The Revenge.
* ~ *
William was the only one who was brave enough to insert the CD into the DVD in the great room, while the rest of them sat down in the same spot with a look of dread on their face.
The first thing Cassie saw was Annie squirming on the bed as if she was having a bad dream. Then she jerked upright on the bed and tried to get up but fell over the side. Then a man, who had his back to the camera came into view.
"Beg!" Said the man. "Beg like the little bitch you are!"
"P-ple- Ah!"
Cassie jerked in her seat when Annie was seized by her hair and pulled to her a feet. She watched with growing horror as the man rammed his fist into her face twice before dropping her.
Cassie was full out sobbing now. She heard Ella's soft cries and Arabella's heart wrenching ones, but yet she couldn't tear her eyes off the screen. Blood roared in her ears and her breathing became erratic. Spots danced in her vision and her head was sinking under the quicksand rapidly. Her throat closed up as the grains filled her eyes, burned down her throat and her nostrils until she couldn't breathe anymore.
The last thing she heard was Annie's pained scream.