Page 74 of Vengeful Devotion
Leaning forward, I kiss Gemma’s temple and whisper. “I love you.”
Taking one last look at Gemma, I leave my bedroom. I walk out the back door of my home, stalking towards the shed sitting in the backyard. The afternoon sun reflects off the tools lining the walls. I reach behind a few of them to access the keypad.
A hatch on the floor opens and I waste no time getting down the stairs. The concrete walls echoing every step. The floodlights are turned on, all aimed at one place. Lonny De Luca. The next man to die in my shed.
Balor notices me, leaving his place against the wall. “He hasn’t said anything.”
“I don’t need him too.” I start to approach him, but Balor stops me.
“I found this on him. Thought you might like it.”
He pulls a cigar cutter from his pocket and hands it to me. I smile. This is about to get a lot more fun. I turn towards Lonny, stepping into the light.
Lonny straightens when he sees me. “Whatever Gemma said I did is a lie.”
The words barely leave his mouth before my fists connect with his jaw.
“Shut the fuck up. This is not a courtroom. I don’t give a fuck about your defense. There’s no jury here. Only the executioner.”
I walk closer to him. His hands are strapped to the arms of the chair, just as Gemma was in that warehouse this morning. I run the cold metal cigar cutter over his outstretched fingers.
“Which one?”
“Which one what?” he asks, panting.
“Which finger did you touch her with?”
His face hardens with my question. I’m sure it’s not one he was expecting, but it’s one I want an answer to. He opens his mouth, but I don’t give him time to say anything. I slide the cigar cutter over his pinky all the way to the second knuckle. Squeezing the sides close together, I feel his skin breaking. Lonny screams.
“I’d think really hard about what you’re going to say,” I tell him, not releasing his finger.
Lonny grits his teeth. The words fighting their way out. “All of them.”
I cut through the last bit of resistance. His pinky falls to the floor. Blood pouring down with it.
I reach into his pocket, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. I take one puff before using it to cauterize the first of many wounds I’ll inflict. His screams vibrate around us, trapped down here, just like he is.
I repeat the process with each finger. Taking every one of them as penance. A penance without forgiveness. By the end of it all, Lonny’s screams become weaker and weaker.
As I step away, I hear him whisper. “I’m her uncle. She belongs to me.”
“You’re the monster that lives under her bed. Her nightmare.”
“And I suppose that makes you the shining knight?”
I yank his head up by his hair. “There’s nothing shiny or noble about me.”
“Then what are you?”
“Vengeance.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Gemma
It’s beenone week since Declan rescued me from Lonny. A week of doctor visits. A week of being treated like a glass doll. A week of nightmares, pain, and tears. I’m sick of it. All of it.
I stare at myself in the mirror as I peel off my bandages. The burns look less red with each passing day, fading into a light pink on my fair skin. I wonder if they’ll leave scars. I hope not. I have enough to last me a lifetime already. Declan walks in as I take the last bandage off.
