Chapter Fifteen

The sounds of skin slapping together and grunts filled the tepid air of Jonas’s playroom. Aptly named, his playroom was easily disinfected, all the surfaces either covered in chrome or vinyl. V had brought him a disgusting whore for his purposes tonight, but she wouldn’t be here long. And neither would any evidence of her.

Jonas looked down, pleased to see his cock ramming in and out of her pussy as she moaned pathetically. He should have gagged her because he didn’t like the porn-star encouragement from her, but he’d been too excited tonight about what had happened with Simon.

He’d known the tree in the road wouldn’t kill Simon Pierce, yet the entire episode had worked out better than he’d ever dreamed. Simon was petrified. And Jonas had gotten more than he’d bargained for in seeing the two of them together in Simon’s Jeep before he’d crested the hill to the “fallen” tree.

Yeah, Jonas had been there.

Even now, looking back on the connection between the two, Jonas got hard just thinking about how he would break it. Which was good. He would sever the bond with Simon like he’d severed Jonas’s bond with Bonnie. He needed to think about that because if he kept looking at the whore, he was going to lose his erection.

Flipping her, he slammed into her tight asshole.

“Ow! Fucking use some lube,” the whore moaned.

“Shut up.”

Jonas had tracked Lacie and Simon out to the lake and found the perfect opportunity to scare them on the near-deserted road leading to the marina. That was one thing living a life of privilege afforded him and Simon—having access to hideaways.

Slamming his dick into the disposable woman beneath him—her tight ass slickened with her blood—he relished her cries of pain. Jonas imagined Simon’s pleas to save Lacie right before Jonas bled her life’s blood from her.

Julia had taught him the beauty of inflicting pain, the pleasure that could be obtained from it. The discovery had changed the course of his life in so many ways.

That’s why he’d created this room for himself. Sometimes he shared with V, but not much lately. Something had changed with the dude after they’d had Bonnie. Of course, Jonas could readily admit Bonnie was special and could probably change anybody.

V was a “comrade” who helped him with his dealings. V was actually one of the only people he could trust, mostly because he was a simpleton Jonas controlled by doling out just enough drugs to keep him high and make him do his bidding. And he was scary as fuck to look at, which also served his purpose.

The whore was weeping now, her porn-star moans having turned to soft cries. It was time. Jonas’s balls drew up tight as the tingling started at the base of his spine, and he came into the rubber with a roar.

Now for his favorite part.

He sank down on her back, cooing encouraging words to her—words a lover might say—as he retrieved the blade from his pocket. It was his dad’s hunting knife, one they’d used on trips to gut and skin deer when Jonas was a kid. The barb on the end was sharp, and perfect for slipping up under the skin, then catching it as it sliced across.

He held the whore, turning her so he could see her eyes as she met death and her final peace stole over her. He’d gotten better at this part. It was almost perfected, and he’d eventually see Bonnie’s eyes as the pain engulfed her while he took his pound of flesh.

Blood draining from a human was hotter than one would imagine, and the slick fluid warmed Jonas as it covered his arms and chest.

When she was gone, Jonas heaved a sigh and slipped from the bed. He pushed a button on the wall and told V to clean up the mess as he walked into the shower in the corner of the room.

As he scrubbed the blood off his body, watching it spiral down the drain, Jonas thought of Julia, his stepsister and lover. Watching his father favor her through the years had left Jonas feeling insignificant, which only served to give him the drive to succeed, to figure out what was so special about Julia that he couldn’t compete with her affections.

He had found out on his sixteenth birthday when she’d “accidentally” come upon him in a private moment. So she said.

That had begun a year of stolen moments before her tragic death. Forbidden moments. Moments his father had suspected and possibly encouraged in his passive-aggressive way. He constantly left them alone in the house together while he and Mother went out. Jonas and Julia had a passionate love affair.

Then she’d disappeared. That part was hazy. Jonas sometimes thought he had something to do with her disappearance and death, but other times Bonnie’s face took over the memories and he couldn’t remember anything with certainty. He didn’t suppose it mattered, really. Pound of flesh. Those words were important, though, and he clung to them to get him through the hazy times.

Jonas’s skin was red with scrubbing and the heat of the water. He could smell the disinfectant V was using to clean the room, obviously having gotten rid of the woman already.

He was safe to think of Julia in here, his cleansing shower, where the filth and defilement of his playroom couldn’t touch him.

Yes, Julia had died, his father had descended into his own hell, and his stepmother had become a figurehead to hide his madness—heading all sorts of charitable fundraisers and such for the children of Austin. A harsh bark of laughter escaped Jonas as he switched the hot water off and cold water streamed down on him in hard needles.

Had she even known of all the depravities that had taken place under her roof? Who the fuck cared? She was currently wallowing in her estate relishing her recent widow-hood, and Jonas hadn’t visited her in months. He was too busy.

With redemption for his father’s legacy.

Dad had treated Julia reverently, the treatment deferential to even his stepmom. And after Julia had disappeared, he’d shipped Jonas off to school, where he’d found Bonnie. Bonnie, with the same brown eyes and carefree black curls. Bonnie, who had spurned his affections and gone crawling home to her brother—Simon Fucking Pierce. Bonnie, the perfect substitute for Julia, if only she would cooperate.

To his credit, Dad had allowed Jonas to come home to lick his wounds and grudgingly let him in on his “side” businesses. Truth be told, Jonas had found out on his own and threatened to expose the senator if he didn’t let Jonas play too.

And so it had begun.

Jonas had found a way to improve upon the senator’s more unsavory aspects of his income. Jonas believed the smaller fish didn’t draw as much attention.

That was the key.

That and the desperation of the players.

Jonas had the information for hundreds of women in his database, but only a half a dozen were available to the highest bidder. And the highest bidders were desperate for discretion, not for any political purposes but for personal reasons. That was the key.

Small fish don’t get caught. And men with personal agendas don’t blab.

Now that he’d found Simon Pierce, Jonas had the man running scared. Scared men made mistakes—ones that would get him Bonnie Pierce and bring down the endeavors of Pierce Enterprises.

Stepping out of the shower, Jonas turned to V, who was hosing down the room.

“I have another job for you, and when it’s over, I have a lovely surprise for you.”