Rebecca spit blood on the floor in response, resulting in Paul hitting her in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle.
“Fucking disgusting,” he mumbled as Rebecca’s unconscious body slumped down in her seat.
“You can sit down now, Carrie,” I ordered. She licked her lips, her eyes gazing beyond my guys and toward the foyer teasing her behind them. I shook my head as I saw the gears turning in her mind. “Trust me, you won’t make it. You’re more than welcome to try, but I promise you’ll be shot dead before you even pass my guys.”
Her shoulders sagged in defeat after a moment of hesitation. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she sulked back to her chair and sat back down, flinching when Ryan roughly clamped the restraints back down on her wrists.
“Next order of business,” I announced once she was settled. “What would you like your last meal to be, Carrie?”
She furrowed her brow at me, confusion coloring her face. “Wha-what?”
“Your last meal,” I repeated. She still had that idiotic look on her face as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I ran a hand down my face in frustration. She was living, breathing proof of the “dumb blonde” stereotype. “Last meal, Carrie, the last thing you want to eat before you die. You know, like they do for death row inmates before they’re executed.”
“But we aren’t inmates!” she protested.
I frowned. “You should’ve been,” I growled. “Either choose something or die hungry. Makes no fucking difference to me.”
She looked down the line of women with tears in her eyes. The others looked apologetic and sad, a hint of fear in their gazes as they realized that they’d soon be in the same position.
“Um,” she started, licking her lips again. “I don’t know what to choose since I don’t know where we are or what’s available.”
“It doesn’t matter where we are. Just choose something.”
“Um…Chipotle or something?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck, you’re aggravating the shit out of me,” I grumbled. “And what do you want from there, Carrie?”
“I’ll have a rice bowl with both chicken and steak. Oh, and I also want cilantro lime rice, pinto beans, tomato green-chili, cheese, and guac. And a side of queso and chips.”
“Got that down?” I asked Ryan.
He scoffed. “You expected me to actually pay attention to this air head while she spoke?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Carrie turned slightly in her chair to face him as best as she could and frowned back at him. “You don’t have to be an asshole, Mark. It’s bad enough that you’re even doing this to.”
He rolled his eyes. “The name is Ryan, actually. And I don’t give a shit about how you feel about anything. You’re practically a dead woman walking.”
I chuckled at his bluntness. It was a good thing that he and his dick were allergic to commitment. With the way he talked to women, it was surprising most times that he even convinced them to sleep with him.
“Just get her order and run into town and get it, man,” I mused.
“Or I’m going to have this shit delivered at the gas station nearby,” he said as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
I frowned. “Just go to the damn place and pick it up,” I stated. “I don’t want to run the risk of anyone getting too close to this place.”
He looked at me for a long moment before he finally released a deep sigh. “Fuck. You’re right,” he finally said. Narrowing his gaze at the back of Carrie’s head, he said, “Repeat your pretentious ass order again.”
He typed it into his phone as she repeated it again, putting his phone in his pocket when she finished.
“Thank you,” she murmured and bowed her head.
Victor raised his hand. “Since you’re going out, I want to place an order, too,” he said. Ryan glared at him.
“Do I look like a fucking Doordash driver to you?” he snapped.
“I mean you’re already getting food. It’s not like it’s an inconvenience,” Jake said and shrugged.
“I’m not getting you fuckers food. It’s not even lunch time for us anyway,” Ryan countered back.
“He’s right about that,” I said. “Just get Carrie’s order and hurry back.”
A groan sounded behind me just as Ryan was about to say something. I looked over my shoulder to see Sevyn slowly wiggling around on the table. Five of her friends sat up straighter in their seats, probably hoping that Sevyn being awake could save Carrie’s life if Sevyn took another punishment for her. Too bad for them that it didn’t work that way. One of these bitches would die every day for the next seven days and Sevyn would witness every single one of them meet their end.
I moved over to her and firmly slapped her cheek. She cried out, her gorgeous features contorting in pain before her eyes fluttered open.
“Welcome back, sunshine,” I said as her gaze finally settled on me.
“Wha…” She lifted her head and peered around at her bound friends, one of them still unconscious. “No…this…this isn't happening…”
“It's definitely happening,” I said with a chuckle. “Now let’s get you back on your cross. You carry the burden of this whole situation after all, right?”
But she didn't respond to me. She kept murmuring how this wasn't real and this couldn't be happening.
“This is just a dream…this is just a dream,” she kept chanting as I unlocked the cuffs that held her wrists and ankles. She screamed in pain when I yanked her off the table, falling into me as I tightened my firm grip around her arm.
“Does that pain feel like a dream? You're in a living nightmare right now and there's no waking up from that,” I said with a dark grin. I looked down at her trembling, naked body. “And I think I'll just keep you naked. I always loved seeing you naked.”
“I hate you,” she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“The feeling’s mutual, baby,” I said and dragged her back over to the cross. Victor, Tony, and Paul moved away from their girls and put their rifles on the table. We each grabbed one of Sevyn’s limbs as she kicked and screamed.
“No!” she screamed, but her movements were weak. Tony and Paul held her legs against the wood and tied them down as Victor and I tightly secured the rope around her wrists.
“I’ll be back!” Ryan called over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything fun without me.”
“Fuck, this hurts!” Sevyn screamed, trying to arch her back so that it wouldn’t touch the wood. It wasn’t like that would help; the whole backside of her body was badly bruised.
I slowly nodded. “Yeah…that’s kind of the point,” I said, the guys and I sharing a “duh” look.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Allison said from the floor.
“Guess that’s my cue to take the dog out,” Curtis said.
“Out? Out where?” Allison retorted.
“Outside. Where’d you think you were going? To the bathroom?”
“Dogs don’t use toilets,” Tony taunted, and Paul snickered.
“But—“ Allison started, but was stopped when Curtis yanked the leash attached to her collar. Allison squeaked in surprise, falling back on her ass. Curtis didn’t bother waiting for her to get her bearings; he dragged her along the hardwood floor, practically choking her as he did so.
“Now this I gotta see,” I mused and looked back to Sevyn. “Don’t go anywhere.” I winked at her, grinning when her face grew red with anger. I couldn’t help but to chuckle. She made it far too easy to fuck with her.
When Curtis reached the front door, Allison gasped for breath as she pulled at the collar.
“Are you ready to walk or do I have to drag you outside, too?” he asked her.
“I’ll walk,” she panted and moved to stand on her feet.
Just as she moved to stand, I tsked. “No, no, no. Hands and knees, dog,” I said. She ground her teeth and moved to get onto her hands and knees, slowly following Curtis out the door as he yanked the
leash along.
Watching her try to navigate the stairs on her hands and knees was rather comical. She was more worried about her dress, which rode up her thighs with each step she moved down. Curtis rolled his eyes and roughly yanked the leash, sending her tumbling down the rest of the stairs with a grunt.
“What the fuck?!” she protested as she fell in the mulch next to the stairs.
He shrugged. “Shouldn’t have taken so long.” He gestured over to the grass. “If you have to piss, then go.”
“In the grass?!”
“I mean that’s where dogs usually go, right?” I taunted.
“You can’t be serious,” she said with a frown.
“We wouldn’t be outside if we weren’t,” I said. When she didn’t move, I grinned. “Oh, I’m sorry. Are you the type of dog that can’t go while people are looking? We’ll turn around.”
Curtis looked at me with a raised brow and I nodded before turning my back to her. He sighed inwardly and also turned around, shaking his head. After a few seconds, she muttered curses under her breath before the unmistakable sound of her peeing in the grass sounded.
I snorted and looked at her over my shoulder. “Good girl. Look at you going to the bathroom outside like the dog you are,” I teased.
“Fuck you, asshole,” she snapped. Her hand was under her dress, probably holding her panties to the side to go to the bathroom considering that she didn’t pull them down.
“What’s the plan for the girls in the meantime?” Curtis asked me.
I put my hands in my pockets. “They’ll eat, I’ll kill Carrie, and then they can be put back into their rooms until tomorrow. You can do whatever you want with the girl you have except kill them.”
“Anything?”
“Anything that won’t kill them,” I repeated with a frown. His eyes glistened with anticipation and I knew what that look meant. Allison would definitely be screaming later, and it wouldn’t be because of me.
“I’m done,” she said suddenly.
“Let’s go then, dog,” Curtis grumbled under his breath and pulled her along. I stood outside for a few minutes and took a deep breath. A sinister grin crept across my lips as I watched Allison walk on all fours up the stairs. As soon as Ryan returned, the real fun would start.
And I couldn’t fucking wait.
SEVYN
I’d had many nightmares over the years of what I thought Luther would do to me if he were to ever get his hands on me. In every dream, it was usually a quick death, one where he’d taunt me a bit before he either stabbed me, shot me, or strangled me.
But not even in my worst nightmares did I ever imagine something like this.
Carrie silently cried in her seat and my heart broke for her. I was the reason all of my friends were in this situation. Realistically, I knew there were only so many punishments I could take, and Luther wouldn’t allow me to die, not yet, anyway. I looked to Rebecca, who was limp in her chair, her mouth bloody and a slight bruise growing on her cheek.
“What happened to her?” I asked, a ball of guilt settling deep in my stomach.
“I happened to her,” Carrie said bitterly. Before I could question her, Sarah answered my unasked question.
“Because you weren’t awake to choose who’ll die first, Luther made Rebecca choose and she chose Carrie,” she said, glaring over at Rebecca.
“What?!” I exclaimed. A large, tall glass box was positioned a couple of feet away from me. I had no idea what it was for, but I didn’t want to think about it either. Whatever it was for, I was sure we’d all know about it very soon.
“Yeah,” Carrie said. “So, I’m waiting for my last meal to be given to me before he kills me. This isn’t fucking fair.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when I figured that Luther would just torture all of us before he eventually killed me. But he was seriously going to kill my friends and in reality, there was nothing I could do to save them. There was nothing that could save me, just like there was nothing that could’ve saved Justin, Tyler, and Hunter.
“Well, as Luther said, sorry won’t get us out of this, so I guess it’s pointless for any of us to apologize now,” Sarah said bitterly. “I wish it was actually Rebecca dying first.”
“Don’t say that,” I said, wincing in pain. Even talking made pain radiate across the back of my neck and my upper back. “She’s your friend. Now isn’t the time to turn on each other.”
“Apparently she was a shady bitch long before we got here,” Sarah fired back at me. “Did you know about what she did to me?”
I furrowed a brow in confusion. Rebecca never told me anything she’d done to Sarah that I could remember. I shook my head. “No?”
“Yeah, well, she gave Jeffrey a blow job and was the reason we actually broke up,” Sarah snapped. “She was the slut that everyone said they caught him with.”
I shook my head. “Who in the hell said that? I don’t think—”
“I had another friend who was there. She was the one who sent the picture to me. It was definitely matching everything Rebecca had on that night from the picture she sent to us in our group chat for a party she was going to that night,” Carrie interrupted. “You’re really blind if you can’t see the snake you’re so close to. Just like with us, she’ll bite you soon enough.”
“She won’t bite anyone she’s in love with,” one of the masked men said with a chuckle.
“She’s not in love with me, you weird fuck,” I said through my teeth. I’d known Rebecca for years; she’d never been with girls as far as I knew, and she didn’t act in any way that would make me think she was in love with me.
“The bitch will get what’s coming to her, that’s for sure,” Sarah muttered, just as a door slammed shut. All conversation ceased as Luther and another masked guy made their way back into the room. It was surprising to see Allison with a dog collar and leash on her. Humiliation colored her features as she crawled back to her spot. She stopped briefly when she got to the little grains of rice scattered on the floor.
“Please don’t make me kneel in this,” she begged. “I won’t say anything else; I promise!”
She looked up at Luther, her hands clasped as she pleaded. He studied her for a few moments and shrugged. “She’s been a good dog. Put her back in the chair,” he finally said.
Relief shined bright in her eyes. “Thank you so much,” she breathed. Curtis put her chair back with the others and Allison quickly sat in it. Curtis reattached her cuff restraints and took the leash off of her, leaving the collar. Luther focused his attention on me and smiled. It’d been so long since I’d seen him genuinely smile. Even when we were on good terms, he didn’t do it very often. He was one of those guys who was one of few words, but he always seemed to transform when we were alone together. Those times alone were the times I saw him at his most vulnerable, and it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. His smile always filled my stomach with butterflies whenever he’d grace me with it. It made me feel special to see when he smiled since it was a rare thing. He only did it when he was genuinely happy about something and seeing that he was smiling at me now sent terror through me.
His smile was no longer in adoration. It was now in thirst of blood.
“Now that you’ve joined us, it’s time for the real party to begin,” he said to me and then glanced over to the guy standing behind Rebecca. “Wake her up.”
The guy reached into his pocket and pulled out a little white pack and popping it. He held it under Rebecca’s nose, and she jumped up in seconds, her wild, unfocused eyes darting around before she finally settled her gaze on me.
“Sevyn! Thank god,” she exasperated, her shoulders slumped in what seemed like relief.
“Yeah, your girlfriend is fine,” Luther said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “While we wait on Ryan to get back, I feel like we should talk a little about what happened.”
“You already know what happened,” I ground out.
“
No, I want to know what happened behind the scenes,” he growled, moving closer to me. “I want to know everyone’s part and I want to know why you did what you did. You don’t go from being best friends with someone to telling them to kill themselves.”
“You keep talking about us but you’re not innocent either, Luther. You doing this is no better than what we did.”
“The difference between you and I, Sevyn, is that I’m finishing what you started. All of this—” he waved his hand around the room. “—is because of you. Everyone is here because of you. You can try to say whatever you want about how I’m reacting to what you did, but the fact of the matter is that it started with you.”
I ground my teeth, the truth sitting on the edge of my tongue, but I forced myself not to say it. It didn’t matter what I said. Whether I told him the real reason or not, it wouldn’t make a difference. He’d still kill my friends. He’d still kill me. If anything, I’d wait until they were my dying words before I told him a damn thing and then he could live with his own guilt just as I have.
He scoffed. “Yeah, I bet you don’t have anything smart to say after that,” he muttered and walked off. Looking to the men, he said, “The kitchen.”
All the men filed out, leaving me alone with the girls. Rebecca’s eyes were glued to my body, which was still naked. I had to admit that it was a bit humiliating being naked in front of everyone, but with the pain I was in, I didn’t really care too much. And with the way Rebecca’s eyes scanned my naked form, I couldn’t help but to wonder if what the others said had been right.
“Did you really suck off Jeff?” I asked her. The odd lustful gaze that’d once been there was quickly replaced with shock as she blinked and brought her eyes to meet mine.
“What?”
“Sarah’s boyfriend. Did you do what they said you did?” I asked. I definitely remembered the way we all comforted Sarah after she’d told us that someone had caught him cheating. Rebecca was the main one allowing her to cry with her head in her lap, stroking her hair and trying to comfort Sarah by telling her men were a waste of time because all they did was break your heart. To know that she was actually the woman he cheated with was as appalling as learning he’d cheated in the first place.
The Destruction of Sevyn (The Vengeance of Luther Book 1) Page 11