*Remember, this chapter contains triggering material. Please skip if such subject matter offends you or makes you uncomfortable. There is some important relationship material at the beginning of the chapter so if you want to read bits of this chapter, go ahead. Stop reading after they enter the cabin if you don't want to read anything about her revenge. She doesn't do anything insanely graphic in this specific chapter, but there is still death involved.*
•Talia•
Ryder brings me to my apartment first, for a change of clothes and a couple of lorazepam to calm my nerves.
My body is jittery, practically buzzing with excitement, fear, anticipation, nerves. My stomach rolls with nausea and I hold it down, knowing that once this is all over, everything will be fine. The build up has to be the worst part. I can live with the aftermath, but getting to that point is what's going to be the hard part.
Doing what I'm about to do will forever change me, I'm not lost on that fact. But doing what I'm about to do will also prevent them from ever hurting anyone else ever again. I can't have been the only unfortunate soul they've decided to rip to shreds in every monstrous way imaginable. Who knows if they've done it again since our last interaction. For all I know, this is a regular weekend activity for the band of merry pricks.
At least now, with myself taking charge of the situation and bringing down the five men who deserve to rot in the deepest pits of hell, I can rest easy at night knowing I've helped some future girl from her fate at the hands of these men.
Now, after these two, all that's left is the three waiting back in Florida - who I pray haven't realized their buddies are missing. As far as they know, they're still on vacation here, according to Ryder, but it's only a matter of time before they know something is up.
Good thing is, I'll be quick with these two. They've suffered for almost as long as I did. Tied up and left unknowing what their fate will be.
I'm behind Ryder on his bike and my arms hold tight around his waist. My cheek is resting against his back, the leather of his cut, smooth and buttery soft, sliding against my face.
The bright lights leave us, a stark contrast between the city and the blank expanse of the desert, only the glistening stars and full moon to light our way.
Only one other vehicle's headlights pass us on the journey to the cabin and it makes me slightly nervous. As if they somehow know what we're about to do. Shining their beams of judgement onto us for just a second before disappearing behind us, heading back into the city.
I know the Wolves don't get caught for the things they do. And I'm not blind to the fact that almost everyone in the club has killed before. Either they know how to cover their asses or cops really do turn a blind eye to them.
As long as it protects me from the justice system, I don't care how Ryder and his brothers handle their dirty business.
Going to the police to report what my attackers did to me won't accomplish anything. I'll be brushed off once they find out I'm unable to provide any evidence. They'll continue to walk free. Potentially harming others in the process. Serving up justice myself is the only way these men won't be able to do what was done to me to anyone else.
It'll also make me feel better if I know they're not out there walking free.
We pull down a dirt path and arrive in front of a house, neatly decorated outside. The house itself is dark and rather ominous. My heart rate picks up, knowing that the men who fucked me without my consent, beat me until I was broken and bloody, and belittled me until I was a mess are just beyond those doors, somewhere inside.
"Are you ready for this?" He asked me back at the Den was I sure I wanted to go through with it. Now he's making sure I'm ready to go through with it. I know I can change my mind. I know I can walk away. And he's giving me that out. He's letting me turn my back on this insanity.
There's no way I ever will. "Is anyone ever ready for what's about to happen?"
He looks at me with sympathetic eyes. "I never have been." He places his hand on my cheek and pushes my loose hair away from my face. "To take a life... it's a feeling like none other. It's terrifying. It's messy. It's powerful." He drops his hand and rests it on my waist instead. "Not everyone can handle being a killer. Even if they think they're ready. I just want you to know, if at any point you can't finish what we're starting, I will handle it. No questions asked. No judgement. I've got your back."
I give him a small smile. "Ryder..."
He sighs. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do this just because they hurt you. They hurt all of us. In incredibly different ways than you experienced, but if you can't do it, I gladly will. Because my heart broke for you when I found out what happened. A girl I'd never met." He pulls me into his arms and places both of his hands on the sides of my neck, tilting my head up. "When they told me what happened to Letha's friend from Florida, I was overcome with rage. I wanted to kill them right then and there for hurting a woman. Hurting anyone for that matter. They're disgusting excuses for human beings to do what they did and haven't earned the right to keep breathing."
My eyes soften and my chest expands knowing he was willing to fight for my honor even before we officially met. Reaching my hand up to take his cheek in my palm, I begin rubbing my thumb across the underside of his eye.
My fingertips dip into his hair before sliding to the back of his head and pulling him down until our lips collide. His arms wrap tightly around my waist until he's pulling me up, my legs wrapping around his hips and ankles crossing at his back.
The breath is sucked right from my lungs and our lips move in tandem against one another, my thoughts fading away until I'm consumed with all that is Ryder - Dylan - and what we came here for slips away with the wind.
Pulling back, both of our chests heaving with every barely catchable breath, I look into his eyes, too dark to see the color from the indigo sky above. "I think I love you."
He smirks, holding me tighter. "I thought you'd never admit it."
Slapping his chest, I wipe the smirk off his face with another kiss. "Anything you want to say back to me?" I wait for a response and watch his face as he thinks about it, my anxiety growing.
"Hmm, I would have thought you would have already known," he grins, setting me back down on my feet, "I've been in love with you for ages now. Unconditionally, deeply in love with you, Miss Talia Montgomery."
My cheeks blossom with heat before his lips return to mine.
Reality sets in after a while and I know we can't stand out here all night basking in the afterglow of our commitment. "Can I take a rain check on the rest of this?" I motion between us, leading onto the fact that not only did we almost have sex earlier but we're now officially out in the open in love with each other.
Coming back to earth and calming my raging desire for another kind of passion of mine, I try to focus all my energy back on the task at hand.
We step through the threshold into the darkened cabin and Ryder flips the light on, flooding the space with the soft glow from the fluorescents.
I don't know what I expected, but it most definitely wasn't this - a fully furnished and decorated living space, a half empty beer bottle still sitting on the coaster on the coffee table as if someone was here just hanging out recently.
"They're in the basement," he says and leads the way through the furniture and down a hall where a door resides.
A certain thrill travels through my body knowing they're down there in the darkness, tied up and helpless - exactly how they left me in that warehouse.
He opens the door with a set of keys produced from his pocket and shuffles in, holding it open for me before locking it behind us.
I saunter behind him as he leads me down the stairs to find a small landing where a metal door with a keypad is.
"That's some hella security," I comment.
He snorts. "Can't risk anyone finding their way down here. We had to up the security a few months back, just in case. The club itself hasn't had a chance to test it out yet."
"Seems to have worked pretty well if they're still in there."
He looks at me with a warning look on his face. "Oh, they're still in there. I checked when you were getting changed. I've been watching them on the cameras installed in the room for the past weeks. I've also sent Sean out here to replace their shit bucket every few days, but I've got to warn you, the ventilation isn't the best down here and the smell is a little rancid. I checked on them in person a few days ago and they're pretty ripe having not showered."
I shrug. "They didn't let me shower until Dmitri wanted me moved. I'm sure I wasn't smelling like a daisy either."
He puts in a lengthy code into the door keypad and the little red button at the top turns green, signaling that the lock has been disengaged. "Do you want me to go in there with you?"
I nod. "At least in the beginning."
I'd rather not be alone when I have to face them head on after not seeing them for so long. Even though it feels like yesterday when their snarling faces were hovering over my weak body.
Ryder grabs my hand and pulls open the door with his other, letting light flood into the room designed for torture.
The smell is the first thing I take notice of - an overwhelming stench of shit and piss and other bodily fluids. The cries of frustration and anger the next.
"When the fuck are you going to let us out, goddamnit?!" I would recognize that voice anywhere. The very same voice that told me exactly where I belonged - under him, taking his cock in my ass - as he did exactly that, his hands closed around my throat and cutting off my oxygen.
My body clenches in fear just from hearing his deep throaty roar and I unconsciously take a step back. Ryder's hand finds its way to my lower back to stop me from crashing into the door and I'm grateful he's here.
"Chris is on the left and Rob is on the right," Ryder whispers into my hair.
I can hardly find my voice and it cracks when I finally speak. "I know." I've spent hours studying their faces. Memorizing every feature. Back then when they had me in person and recently online. Their faces haunt me at night and they're something I'll never forget.
Ryder turns on a light inside of the room and their bodies are illuminated with the room's lights instead of the light from outside. They squint, blinking rapidly to try and adjust to the light they've been deprived of for so long.
When they finally adjust, they look up and finally take notice of me, malice embedded into their expressions.
My throat closes up and my palms grow sweaty.
"Bringing your little bitch with you this time? What? To taunt us more? Let us the fuck go you piece of shit!" Rob hollers, banging his chained wrists against the wall behind him, rattling their short length against the wall.
"We'll pay you both whatever it is you want. Let us the hell go!" Chris bargains but his bargains are useless here.
Nothing will satisfy my bloodlust except their blood staining my hands. No amount of money in the world could ever make me forget what they did to me.
As I stand there, appraising them, walking around, I realize... they don't even know who I am.
I scoff. "Do you even remember me?"
Both of their faces are filled with confusion and I turn to Ryder with fury written in my countenance. "How many woman have they done this to to forget my face so easily?" I ask rhetorically before spinning on my heels and facing them once more.
It wasn't that long ago they were holding me down, prying my mouth open to force their cocks down my throat. Choking and slapping me until I coughed profusely, nearly losing consciousness. It felt like yesterday and these men seem to have no recollection of the event whatsoever.
What they did to me isn't even a blip on their radar.
Ryder is visibly upset and goes to grab Rob by the front of the collar of his polo shirt, pulling him up slightly. "Look at her! Really look at her! You want to sit here and tell me you don't remember the face of the woman you beat and raped for weeks?!"
I flinch at the abrupt and harsh explanation of what happened to me coming out of someone else's mouth but stand my ground, squaring my shoulders and trying to appear stronger than I actually am in this moment.
Internally, I'm near passing out from anger, and bile rises in the back of my throat - and not just from the stench of bodily fluids.
He spits in Ryder's face and Ryder drops him to the ground, grabbing the front of his face and slamming the back of his head into the wall behind him. Blood stains the concrete and it's a miracle that one hit didn't knock him out.
He reaches for the back his head and his fingers return to show blood oozing down the digits. "You fucking bastard!" He tries to lunge for Ryder but all Ryder has to do is take a couple steps backward and he's out of reach of Rob's grasping hands.
"No, we don't know your whore girlfriend, now let us the fuck go. We have no idea what you're even talking about," Chris claims, refusing to make eye contact with me again.
Stepping slowly around Ryder and Rob, I stand in front of Chris who still refuses to look up. "Look at me."
He's still defiant.
"I said look at me!" He slowly turns his attention to me, his blue eyes looking up into mine. It only takes but a second before I watch the recognition flutter into his features.
His eyes widen in fright but quickly narrow in disgust just as quickly as his fear sets in. "You're that nasty bitch Petrov had us teach a lesson."
"You sick son of a bitch..." I trail off, my hands closing into fists at my side as my anger rises.
"What are you gonna do? Teach us a lesson? Beat us up? Leave us here to rot a while longer? Gonna get your little revenge?" He chuckles and says the last part in a baby voice before throwing his head back. That's when I lose it.
Grabbing ahold of the pocket knife from my jeans pocket, I flip open the blade in a matter of seconds before stepping forward to drive it into Chris's throat and ripping it free.
His reaction is immediate.
He reaches for his throat, clutching at anything and nothing, trying to stop the bleeding as it pours into his lungs, drowning him in his own blood... slowly.
His eyes widen in fear and he chokes, spitting blood up and onto my jeans.
Rob shuffles back against the wall and screams beside me but I block him out. Nothing exists except for me and Chris as I watch the life leave his eyes.
It's not the revenge I was hoping for, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
He got his comeuppance. Now it's time for the others.
Chris finally goes silent, blood pooling on the floor around his head as he finally collapses forward. His eyes are wide and I can see the fear still evident. He died scared.
"Burn in hell," I spit, stepping away from the body and turning my attentions back to Rob who is now pleading for his life, tears streaming down his cheek.
"Look, please don't do this! I'm sorry! They made me do it! I didn't mean it. It was just a job. You know Petrov, come on, you know he's not to be trifled with. He'd of killed me if I hadn't of done what I did. Please! Stop! No!" His panic rises as I walk closer.
"Beg more," I command, clutching the pocket knife in my fist, the blood dripping off the tip to crash onto the floor at my feet.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, please. Please don't kill me. I swear it wasn't supposed to go down that way. I had no choice. I'm not like that. The others... they're the ones. Yeah! They're the ones who wanted to do it. They made me!"
I laugh. "Funny, you just said that Dmitri was the one who made you. Now you're saying your buddies made you. Well, now, what is it? But wait, before you answer, am I remembering our time spent together incorrectly? Did you not - of your own free will, might I add - tie me down to a board and fuck me while the others watched?" I tilt my head to the side and take another step towards the quivering mess of a man at my feet. No, not a man, a monster.
He sighs dramatically. "I swear! That wasn't me. I didn't even want to touch you, they made me!"
I shift my weight to one foot, propping my hand on my waist and tap my chin with the end of the knife. "Hmm... not good enough, I think leaving you in here to think about your actions for a little while longer would be appropriate." I turn my head to look at Ryder who has been standing off to the side quietly, but ready to assist if need be. "What do you think? Should we leave him here with his bud for just a wee bit longer?"
Ryder smirks. "Can't see what the problem would be there."
I turn back to Rob, crying and occasionally flicking his eyes to the deceased body beside him, the blood leaking from Chris' body inching towards his feet. "What! No! You can't leave me in here with him!"
I bend down, just out of reach, but enough to be at the same level as Rob. "That's where you're wrong. I can do whatever I want, because I'm in charge now. You have no control over me anymore and I want you to be as scared as I was in that warehouse where I was subjected to constant abuse. I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to suffer like I did."
I grab Ryder by the hand and pull him out of the room, leaving Rob to shout after us, the panic overtaking his voice. Maybe he'll pass out.
"How long do you want to leave him there?" Ryder asks, closing the door behind him and engaging the lock again. The screams from inside the room quiet down through the soundproof walls but I can still faintly hear him pleading for mercy.
Why should I give him mercy when he had none for me?
"Two days."
He nods. "Two days."