"Don't worry, I'm coming for you soon," I mumbled to myself as I started my car and sped off into traffic.
I turned the radio up as the warm, salty Miami air wafted through my hair. I pulled my sunglasses from my sun visor and slipped them on as a radio personality read the most recent news.
"So last night, another murder happened on the outskirts of town," the woman said. "Hunter York was found dead late last night in the same brutal fashion as Josh Cannon and Tyler Fox."
"Don't you think it's a coincidence? I think karma came back to get them," her male cohost said.
"What makes you say that?"
"All three of those guys are known rapists. They've been getting away with things for years. I guess someone got tired of them getting off on charges and served their own justice," he said.
I chuckled and adjusted my sunglasses. "You got that right," I mused and continued driving.
While I had no idea about the other rape cases those morons had over the years, they only paid for one. Turned out that they were able to get all of their karma delivered to them in the form of one monster. Three down, seven more to go.
"Well, aside from what you think about them deserving it, police are saying that we now have a serial killer on the loose," the woman continued. "They've even gone as far as saying that the killer is a Jigsaw copycat, the fictional main character in the horror Saw movie franchise. Now experts are discussing the harm that gore in horror movies can do."
The man scoffed. "Horror movies have been around since the beginning of time. One psycho taking out the trash doesn't make horror movies the problem," he said. "I watch horror movies all the time and I haven't gone out to kill a single soul."
"But you have to think about all the violence we have in movies and video games. There's been plenty of true crime shows that always start with some kid or teenager having these murder fantasies and when they act on it, their response is usually, 'I just wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone...'"
I rolled my eyes and plugged in my aux cord. Hunter had said the same thing right before I killed him. Jigsaw or any fictional killer was the furthest thing on my mind. The only thing I thought about when planning their murders was how I could make them suffer the most. And after studying to become a civil engineer, I carefully planned all the devices and methods and which I'd kill them. And boy did I have some nice surprises for Sevyn and her bitch friends that I couldn't wait to try.
Traffic slowed to a stop for a red light. As I waited, I put my music on shuffle and put my phone back in the cupholder, drumming my fingers against my steering wheel until the light finally turned green and traffic moved again. I drove across town to my best friend Paul's house, seeing him in his driveway polishing his Corvette. He tossed the towel over his shoulder as I pulled in behind his car.
"Took you long enough," he said when I got out.
"Had stuff to do," I said with a chuckle, playfully punching his shoulder when I approached him.
He looked around and lowered his voice. "I saw the news this morning. That was fucking sick, man! I wish I was there to see it."
I shook my head. "The less you see, the less trouble you'll be in just in case this shit blows up in my face."
"Tell me you at least recorded this one like I asked," he pleaded. I pulled the flash drive from my pocket.
"I mean I brought this thing along, but I didn't know if you'd be into that kind of thing—"
"Count me in, you son of a bitch. Let's go," he interrupted, snatching the flash drive from me. I grinned and followed him into his house. "Plus, the guys are down in the basement. We've been waiting on you to figure out the plan for tonight."
Just the thought of tonight's plans made my skin tingle with excitement. It wasn't one that I could execute on my own, at least gathering up all the girls at once. I didn't want to risk tipping off the other girls and giving them time to run, so I needed them rounded up all at once. Unfortunately for me, I was only one man, but thankfully I had a group a men who were down with my cause and eager to help in any way they could.
Paul and I made our way through his messy house, empty pizza boxes and beer cans littering his living room.
"Another long coding session?" I teased as we headed for the basement.
"You know it, brother. Plus, I had to work overtime creating your alibi like you asked me," he said and winked, opening the door leading down to the basement. The smell of marijuana hit me square in the face as we descended into the smoky basement, Curtis, Ryan, Jake, Tony, and Victor all sitting on the sectional.
"Aye, Luther's here!" Victor said and took a puff from a joint they were all passing around.
"And he brought the video!" Paul said excitedly, holding up the flash drive.
"Well, put that shit on then, brother! Let's see some action!" Curtis cheered. Paul walked over to his projector and turned it on, plugging the flash drive into his computer. Victor held out the joint and blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Want a hit, man?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nah, I'm good," I said. Marijuana wasn't really my thing, but I didn't mind it. Any other time, I would've taken a puff or two for the hell of it, but I wanted my mind to be completely clear for tonight. I didn't want any mistakes or hiccups. I only had one chance to execute this and I wanted to savor every moment of it sober.
"Hey Luther, did you get all the good parts on the video?" Ryan asked. "I heard the details when my dad was talking to his old partner. He'd said it was one of the worst cases he'd ever heard."
I flopped down on the empty spot of the sectional couch and nodded. "I got every moment of it. I bet your dad is glad he retired now, huh?" I mused.
Ryan shook his head. "He wished he'd have seen it. Said he would've spit on Hunter's body. He sexually assaulted my cousin and got away with it. My dad and uncle were fucking pissed, man."
"Yeah, that fucker got what he deserved," Jake said.
"That dick Justin and Tyler tag teamed a girl I grew up with. People should be kissing your ass and calling you a hero for cleaning up the trash of this shit city since the justice system didn't do anything about it," Tony muttered, taking the joint from Victor and taking a puff.
"Will you dickheads shut up so I can start the video?" Paul said.
"Yeah, yeah, go 'head, man," Tony said, waving his hand at Paul.
"And here we go," Paul said, bouncing around on the balls of his feet and pressed play on his computer.
The room fell quiet as everyone looked at the video. Adrenaline flooded my system as I relived that night playing on the screen, remembering the lingering rage and pain I felt as I forced an explanation out of him. The guys were all silent, my voice from the speakers filling the space around us.
"Good part's coming up," I finally said as they all watched me retract the chain.
"I gotta agree with what the local news are saying about you looking like a Jigsaw copycat," Tony said. "That low key looks like a Jigsaw trap that could possibly be in the movie.”
Jake nodded. "There was a trap similar, but it wasn't controlled by anyone. The person had to poke his eyes out or some shit in order to get out of it—"
"Will you shut the fuck up?" I snapped. "I'm not Jigsaw and I'm not trying to be him."
Jake held his hands up. "My bad, brother. I was just saying," he said and took another hit from the joint.
"Shh, shh, shh, the good part's coming," Paul said, his eyes fixated on the projector screen. We all watched as I put on the rain protector and face shield, the guys howling with laughter when I grabbed an umbrella.
"Forget Jigsaw. If they saw this, they'd think you were fucking Mary Poppins," Curtis exclaimed before he howled with laughter.
I chuckled and shook my head, still watching the screen. Paul was damn near salivating over the scene before him, his eyes wide with wonder as we all continued to watch.
"There it is...." Ryan said as he scooted to the edge of his seat. "And....there it is!"
They all cheered wh
en the chains pulled Hunter's limbs from his body. "Holy shit, that was sick! I gotta rewind that," Paul said, going back to his computer and rewinding back to the part where Hunter was still suspended in the air by the chains.
"Did you guys hear what dickhead over here said?" Jake teased, playfully elbowing me in the ribs. "How fucked up is it to talk about the weather to a man that's pretty much already dead?"
I shrugged and smirked. "Maybe he wanted to know the forecast."
"And it didn't even rain that night," Ryan added with a scoff.
"That was the whole point, dumb ass. He was talking about raining blood," Paul said, shaking his head.
"Oh," Ryan said and chuckled. "Fuck, I'm so high, man."
"Isn't it bad luck to open an umbrella inside or some shit?" Curtis asked.
"Probably, but my whole life has been a clusterfuck of bad luck," I said. "One more stroke of bad luck won't hurt if it means that someone dies."
"Right on, man," Victor said, pointing at me.
"I thought he was going to break out into some kind of tune. Imagine the last thing you hear while you're dying is someone singing and tap dancing in your blood? That'd be fucked up to the max," Ryan said.
"I'm not the singing type," I said as I shook my head. "The only thing they'll hear is themselves struggling to breathe."
"Even better," Paul mused.
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Tony finally asked, settling down in the chair.
"Are you pot heads even going to be able to help me tonight?" I asked the other guys on the couch with a frown.
"This high will have worn off by then," Jake said, waving me off. "Just tell us what you need from us. Do we kill these bitches?"
"Not yet. I'm going to destroy every single one of them myself. I just need you guys to help me transport them where I need them." I looked to Paul. "Can you pull up the info I emailed you?"
"You got it, brother," he said, typing away on his computer with a furrowed brow. The video disappeared from the screen and pictures of Sevyn and her friends appeared. "So here we have Sevyn Langdon on top." He pointed at Sevyn's picture. Her smiling face on the screen pissed me off to no end, but it brought me great pleasure to know that she wouldn't be smiling soon. "And on the second row starting from left to right, you have: Rebecca Colt, Allison Penn, and Crystal Myers."
"That Crystal Myers looks like she can deep throat my cock," Tony said and snorted.
Paul frowned. "Be serious, asshole," he said and turned back to the screen. "And on the last row from left to right, you have: Sarah Andrews, Carrie Tate, and Jamie Scott."
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I know I can’t wait for all of this to be over. She’s so fucking annoying,” he mumbled.
“You mean you’re not in love with your little girlfriend?” I teased.
He scoffed and shook his head. "Hell no. I’m only doing this as a favor to you. My dick and I are allergic to commitment. Besides, she's entirely too clingy and I don't do clingy women ever."
"We appreciate your sacrifice for the cause, brother,” Victor said, taking a hit off the joint before putting it out.
And what a contribution it was.
I knew I’d need an “in” with the girls and Carrie was the easiest target. It took a bunch of convincing to get Ryan to agree with “dating” her to move forward with our plan, but it worked. Now it was finally time to put this plan into motion.
"Well, the girls made plans to go out to a club. I think we should all go there, get one of the girls, drug her, and bring her out to the cabin. And once they're all there, I can take it from there," I said.
Ryan shook his head. “No way, man. I want to watch.”
“I definitely want to witness this,” Victor added.
“Well, I didn’t expect you guys to leave. You just won’t do any killing,” I said.
“I can live with that,” Paul said with a nod.
"Well, who gets who though?" Curtis asked.
"You guys can decide amongst yourselves who you want, but no one will touch Sevyn but me," I ground out.
"That much was pretty obvious," Paul said with a smirk. "I'll take Rebecca."
"Jamie," Tony said, raising his hand.
"I got Allison," Curtis replied.
"I have no choice but to take Clingy Carrie," Ryan muttered.
"I guess I'll take Crystal," Victor said.
"And I guess that leaves me with Sarah," Jake said with a shrug.
"Cool. The girls claim they're all meeting at Sevyn's at 9:30 and should be leaving for the club by ten. Let's be at the club no later than 10:30," I said. The men all nodded to confirm.
"Should we bring anything?" Paul asked.
"Just bring your masks for when we get to the cabin. You'll have to wear them anytime you're around the girls," I replied as I stood.
"You got it, brother," Jake said. "I'm excited. It's been a while since I've seen bloodshed up close and personal."
"Same. The Brothers of Vengeance are back on the prowl," Curtis said, fist pumping the air. I chuckled.
We spent the next hour handling the finer details of tonight’s plan. Excitement ran along my nerve endings the closer we got to the finalized plan. This used to just be a fantasy that I kept safely tucked in the back of my mind, but now it was finally coming to life. I couldn’t wait to see the life leave their eyes, to smell their spilled blood, to hear them beg for their life. Justice was long overdue and I couldn’t wait to dish out their servings.
"I'll text you guys in a few hours. I have to meet my mom up for dinner. In the meantime, figure out a way into the club's cameras and start creating everyone's alibis," I instructed once we finished. Despite their impaired state, they all immediately jumped into work.
Paul handed the flash drive back to me and clapped my shoulder. "Nice video, man," he said with a grin. "It'll be even better to see this in person."
I returned his grin. "Well, get ready. The grand finale starts tonight."
And I couldn't fucking wait.
"Oh, look at you, you handsome devil!" my mother exclaimed when she opened the door for me an hour later. I'd run to my condo to change clothes and shower, as there was no way I could step foot in my mother's house still smelling like weed. She hugged me tightly, lingering a bit longer than normal and giving me a small smile despite the sad look in her eyes. After a moment, she stepped aside. "Come on in!"
I stepped inside, the delicious smell of her signature pot roast making my stomach growl. "Smells great in here," I said as she closed the door.
"Well, you know I do what I can," she said. "Your father's in the living room."
I sighed inwardly and followed behind her. It was weird that she still wanted to live in this big house by herself even though my parents were divorced and it was just my mom. I couldn't necessarily say that I blamed her. I'd grown up in this house. There were so many memories here that I was sure she wasn't ready to let go of, even more so after Logan died. It was hard to go into the living room to see all of the family pictures on the wall, as if our happiness were frozen in the past and died along with my sister.
My father stood up when I entered the living room, giving me a small smile. "It's nice to see you again, son," he said. After the divorce, I hadn't seen him too often. He'd moved on to another relationship, treating Mom as if she didn't exist. He had another daughter and didn't want to think about Logan too much. I knew that people had different ways of grieving, but I didn't appreciate the way he'd gone about it. I glanced over at my mom, who still couldn't bring herself to look at him, the hurt evident on her face even after all these years.
"Oliver," I stated, my tone flat. I refused to call him my father anymore. I didn't know who this man was that stood before me other than a coward who turned his back on his family when they needed him most.
His smile fell and he nodded in understanding, sitting back down. My mother cleared her throat.
"Well, since everyone's all here, we can have dinner now. I'm sure you're both busy so
I don't want to keep you long," she said, sadness lacing her voice.
"I'm in no rush, Mom," I said, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "Not sure if I can speak for Oliver considering he took the first chance he got to bail on you."
"You know that's not fair, Luther," he said as he stood again.
"What's not fair is how you left your grieving wife all because she was drowning in sadness and loss and wasn't interested in sex," I snapped. He swallowed hard but didn't respond. "Exactly what I thought. You have no right to be carrying on about what is and isn't fair."
"Boys, please," my mother said with a sigh. "I just want a normal family dinner. I didn't invite you both for you to fight with one another."
I ground my teeth and nodded. "I apologize," I forced myself to say. There was plenty more I wanted to say to that asshole, but now wasn't the time. I plastered on a fake grin and squeezed my mother's hand again. "Well, let's have dinner. I'm starving."
Most of dinner was awkwardly silent. My mother did her best to try to initiate conversations, but Oliver and I weren't in the mood to talk.
"So, Luther, how's things going at work? I heard your engineering firm was contracted by the city for some new infrastructure," she said as she cut into her slice of pot roast.
"Yeah, we're in the designing phase for a new bridge. It's a pretty massive project and all," I said.
"You were always the smartest in the bunch," Oliver said with a small smile. I fought the urge to roll my eyes as my mother gave me a stern look to behave. Even as a grown man, my mother could still shut me down with "the look."
"Thanks," I ground out.
"Oh, and have you heard about what happened to those boys?" my mother said. "Everyone in town's talking about it. Isn't it horrific?"
"If you ask me, the bastards got what they deserved," Oliver muttered, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
My mother looked at him with wide eyes. "How could you say such a thing? I'm sure their parents are hurting just as we did when we lost Logan—"
"You and Logan are so much alike that it hurts, Katherine," Oliver said with a shake of his head. "Those boys raped our little girl—violated and humiliated her—and you feel sorry for them because karma came and bit them in the ass?"
The Destruction of Sevyn (The Vengeance of Luther Book 1) Page 4