CHAPTER 48
LUCKY
Seeing Nicholai slumped over and handcuffed to the bed gave me a sick little thrill.
Oh, how I longed to torture him.
Maybe a few cigarette burns on his face.
Or, perhaps a few strategic cuts along his scrotum.
Or, in my darkest fantasies, cutting off his cock completely…
He’d never forget what he’d done to me if I got such sweet revenge.
Not for a hot minute.
I stood over him, watching, waiting for him to wake up. Slade and Ziggy stood guard behind me, and I was pretty sure Slade was just itching to hit him again.
“Wake up,” I barked, nudging him with my boot, an exact replica of the one that Slade was currently tee-tottering in. What a sight he was. Now that the act was over, he’d ripped off the blonde wig and wiped the lipstick off his lips by smearing it over his cheek and the back of his hand.
The lingerie he wore, my lingerie, was now stretched out and sagging in all the wrong places, revealing much more about Slade than I ever thought I’d learn. If I wasn’t so heated, I might laugh at the absurdity of all of this.
But none of this was funny.
“Wake up!” Slade said, slamming the toe of his boot into Nicholai’s ribs. He cried out in pain and Slade laughed. “Hey, it worked!”
Nicholai blinked awake, staring up at me and Slade in confusion. It didn’t take him long to figure it out, his eyes landing on mine finally.
I nodded slowly, all the words I’d practiced over the last few months in my head, sure I’d hurl them at him like daggers the first chance I had, failed me completely.
Instead, I spat on him, right in the face.
He flinched, turning his head, before slowly coming back to face me again.
He lifted his chin defiantly.
I took a deep breath and slapped him, hard. His head flew to the side again, a bright red welt popping up on his cheek.
“I trusted you!” I said, my words dripping with rage. “I was so young. You took advantage of me. You controlled me, like I was some dog you adopted.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining,” Nicholai replied, spitting his words out angrily.
“Because you didn’t listen!” I cried. “I was miserable. You ignored me. You used me. And you killed Eddie. All that time, I had no idea you were a fucking murderer, Nicholai, how do you think that made me feel? I slept with you!” I cried in disgust.
He smiled up at me, a sick smile that made my stomach churn.
“You fucking loved every inch, bitch,” he said. I took a step back in surprise, his words echoing in my head. In a flash, a fist appeared from my side, slamming into Nicholai’s face, blood splattering from his mouth.
“Watch your fucking mouth!” Ziggy glared at him from my side, Nicholai’s blood dripping from his knuckles.
I smirked, pleased at the sight of blood trickling from his mouth. He shook his head, staring up at me.
“You’re nothing without me, Lucky,” he whispered. “Nothing. Look at how everything’s falling apart. Look how far you’ve fallen.”
“You’re wrong. I’ve soared, Nicholai. You were a dead weight and now you’re nothing but a sinking anchor.”
“You’re the one who’s wrong, Lucky. You think a pair of handcuffs and a bunch of stupid beefy men are going to keep me away from you? You think the cops are going to come in here and take me away and the threat is over?” He laughed, an evil, disgusting laugh that chilled my bones. I bristled in anger, shaking my head.
The click of the gun broke me out of my rage-filled trance.
“Maybe this will convince you that it’s over, you evil fuck!” Ziggy’s gun was pressed tightly to Nicholai’s temple, his eyes wild with savage anger. “All this time? You’ve been torturing this woman. You lied to her for a decade! You killed the man she loved! What kind of fucking monster does that? You think we’re going to let you live, prick?”
He was shaking with rage and I glanced over at Slade. Sure, I fucking hated Nicholai and I wanted him gone, but suddenly this was so real and I knew that if Ziggy pulled that trigger, I’d lose the only thing I had left.
“Ziggy, don’t…” I whispered. Hesitant to move forward, I stayed frozen in place, unable to breathe.
“Do it,” Nicholai said, laughing, taunting him. He knew just as much as I did that it would only hurt me if Ziggy killed him, because Ziggy would be the one in jail for life. “Shoot me, you little bitch. Do it.”