Before the men can get into a shouting match, I hold up my hand and growl, “Shut up.”
Silence falls over the group, and I lock eyes with John for a second before he lowers his head.
“Jenna,” I say through clenched teeth, “told me everything you did to her.” I slowly stalk closer to him until I’m able to grab him behind the neck and yank his face to mine. “Look at me!” His eyes lift, and I see the fear trembling in his brown irises. “She told me what you said to her, and it gave me an idea.”
He begins to shake his head again, giving me a pleading look. “I don’t know no Jenna, boss. Whatever–”
My fist connects with his side, and his stale cigarette breath wafts into my face. Letting go of the bastard, I walk to the table and pick up one of the knives.
I hold it out to John. “Here’s how you’re going to pay your dues.” I nod at the blade. “Take it.”
Cautiously, he steps closer and takes the knife from me.
Santiago shoves his foot against Wayne’s back, where he’s kneeling, and it makes the man face-plant into the hard concrete floor. “This fucker first.”
I gesture at Wayne and order John, “Slit his neck and fuck his throat.” All four men look at me as if I’ve lost my mind, and I shrug as I tell John, “It’s the only way to pay your dues.”
“But…” He lets out a weird-sounding chuckle, kinda like a balloon deflating. “I…No.”
I pick up one of the other knives, and while looking at the blade, I say, “Either you slit that bastard’s throat and fuck it, or I will shove this knife up your ass and rape you with it.” I let theanger that’s been festering inside me come to the surface for him to see.
“Why are you doing this?” he asks. “You don’t even know the woman.”
“I lovethe woman.” My fingers clench around the hilt of the knife as I take calculated steps toward him again. “Jenna belongs to me, and I will do anything for her. One of those things is avenging the horror you and your friends inflicted on her.” I press the tip of the blade against his stomach. “You better get going. You only have four hours to fuck your three friends, or the deal is off the table.”
When John’s eyes flick to Wayne, the man starts trying to walk on his knees, but with his tied ankles and wrists, it’s a bit difficult. “Don’t even think about it, JJ,” Wayne shouts. “We’ve been friends since school.”
As John moves toward Wayne, Santiago comes to stand beside me and says, “This is going to turn bloody real fast. I’ll stay so you don’t have to see this part.”
John begins to cut into Wayne’s neck, and the other two men shout and scream as they try to wiggle away from their friends.
I turn my head and look at Santiago, “I’m okay to stay.”
“You sure?” he asks, concern for my mental health on his face.
“Thanks, though,” I say as I nod and pat his back. “I appreciate it, brother.”
As John pulls down the zipper of his pants, Santiago lets out a burst of laughter as he grins at me. “You called me brother. Finally! Took you for fucking ever to accept me as family.”
For the next two hours, John does as he’s told, and by the time he stands breathless and covered in blood between the bodies of his friends, I don’t feel much better. Jenna’s biggest monster is still breathing.
He drops the knife while swaying on his feet, clearly exhausted from having to fight the men as he slit their necks and fucked their throats.
“It didn’t look like you got off during all the fun,” Santiago mentions. “Should we give you more time with the bodies?”
John shakes his head, looking utterly defeated.
I give a chin lift to the guards, and they come to grab John, dragging him over to a table where they forcefully strap him down with chains.
“No! No! You said I just had to pay my dues,” he shouts, terror making his voice high-pitched.
“I lied.” I move closer, and shrugging off my jacket, I order the guards, “Strip him.”
While I roll up my sleeves, Santiago picks up the culinary torch and checks if it works.
“No. Please, boss!”
“Not only did you betray me.” I take the torch from Santiago and move in beside the table. Looking down at John, I growl, “But you brutalized a seventeen-year-old girl. Today, I’m going to show you just how long four hours are when you’re being tortured.”
