Chapter 61 Do you think he will still want me?
Torque
The sound he made was a beautiful thing. I worked the edge of the tool, peeling a long strip from his chest. My brother, Viper, tipped the bottle, and the clear liquid fell onto the raw, open flesh. The man was a mess of pieces. For two days, I had taken from him, leaving a random, bloody design across his body while my woman got her strength back. He was a ruined thing. The air in the shed was thick with the copper smell of blood and the chemical sting of alcohol. This piece of shit was the one who forced himself into my woman’s mouth. Leonardo finished the one who used a knife on her too quickly, so this one was mine. And I was enjoying myself.
“You believed you could touch what is mine and walk away?” I said. “You should be glad. We are near the end. There is not much of you left. But I have a final point to make. Step back, brother. I would not want you to get dirty.”
I watched his eyes. They were huge with a terrible understanding.
“Since you enjoy forcing your cock into places it is not wanted, you should understand how it feels.”
He tried to shake his head, a frantic, jerking motion. My gloved hand closed around him. The scream he let out when I pressed the tool to his balls was the best one yet. I worked slowly, taking everything. Then I took what was in my hand and pushed it into his open mouth. I forced it down, deep into his throat, until his screams became wet, choked sounds. I kept pushing. His face changed from red to a deep, dark color. I watched his body fight itself, and a deep, quiet feeling moved through me. When he was still, it was done. My woman answered.
Catalina
Two days. Jenna and I were still in the hospital. The ride back to New York took ten hours because they had to stop and tend to me. It was pure hell. One of the younger guys drove the truck while Viper held me in the back. Viper just held me and let me cry against him for most of the trip. Everything hurt, and I was so tired, but more than anything, I was safe inside his arms again.
Now, lying in this bed beside my sister, I was just thankful to be breathing. We were supposed to get married tomorrow, but Jenna and I agreed to wait until we were whole again. My father came. He stayed a long time.
With Georgio gone, we were free. The New York family was too busy trying to hide their own disaster, a Don losing his mind and snatching two women in front of a crowd. There were too many people who saw. Everything got pinned on Georgio, which was perfect for us. No one could link our club to any of it. The Lords of Chaos were not in the news at all. The whole story was about the Mafia. The new head of that family even put out the word: we were not to be touched. They would not come for us for killing so many of them, including their old boss.
The new head of the Jackals said Atlas and his men acted alone. Their club did not vote on it, so it was his own private war. There was no reason left for why he took another club’s woman. So what happened to him was his own fault. No war would come to the Lords for protecting what was theirs. I thanked God, and maybe I thanked Vice for being such a fool, deleting proof and keeping his mouth shut. Men who think with their dicks are fucking idiots.
I was glad for the quiet, to just lie here. No visitors right then. Viper and Torque were handling some business they would not discuss. I looked at my sister and my heart eased just seeing her chest rise and fall. When they took us apart, I was sick thinking of what they might be doing to her. We had not really talked about it yet. I had not told her about what Vice did, and she had not told me her story. We have been mostly sleeping. The guilt was still there, a heavy stone in my gut. I had not told Viper about Vice. I did not know if I should. Part of me believed that if he never knew, it could not wound him. The other part knew he deserved the truth.
“Catalina, your monitor is going faster. What is it?”
I looked at Jenna and my eyes filled.
“I am trying to decide,” I said. “Do I tell Viper everything, or do I keep it inside so it does not hurt him?”
She gave me a soft look and reached out her hand. Our beds were close, so I could take it and hold on.
“Did they film it?” she asked.
“Some of it. Not everything.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Did they rape you?”
Was it rape?
“I do not know how to name it,” I said. “It was just one. Vice. When the other two were gone, he… he used his mouth on me. Then he used my body to get himself off. My body reacted.” A sob broke out of me.
“Oh, Catalina. You were violated. That is rape. You did not say yes. Call it what you want, rape, assault, molestation, it is all someone taking what is not theirs. I am so sorry.” She took a slow breath. “They did things to me, too. One used a knife handle on me. He made me suck him. I threw up all over the bastard.”
I let out a wet sound that was almost a laugh. “He deserved worse. I am sorry you went through that, Jenna.”
“I am sorry for both of us,” she said. “But we will get past this. We have survived worse. You should tell Viper. Do not let secrets live between you.”
“Do you think he will still want me?”
“Catalina, that is a stupid question. That man loved you from the first minute. You were in a hospital bed after your ex destroyed you, and he never left. Of course he will want you.”
“Who will want who?” Viper asked as he and Torque walked into the room.
My breath caught. Jenna squeezed my hand. “Can you say it with Torque here? I can make him step out.”
“No. He is family. It is okay.” I pulled in a deep breath and looked at Viper. His eyes held only worry and a waiting kind of fear.
“You all saw the first video of the beating. You saw the last one, after it was over. But what you did not see was…” I stopped when Viper sat on the bed and took my hand. The tears started falling for real then. He leaned in and gathered me into his arms, gentle, avoiding the tubes in my arm. He held me and moved his hand over my back while I cried. He rocked me, making quiet sounds until I could breathe again.
“Anything you tell me changes nothing,” he said, his voice low and solid. “I love you with everything I am. You are my whole life. Nothing that happened is your fault. You carry no guilt for it, because I think I know what you will say, and I know you. You feel guilty. So stop. Right now.” He helped me lie back and fixed the pillows behind me.
I looked at him. He meant every word. I loved this man so much it was a physical ache.
“Vice used his mouth on me,” I said, the words rushing out. “Then he rubbed himself against me until he finished. My body reacted.” I waited, barely breathing.
“Okay, baby. It is all right. It is like my body reacting to Sophie. I wish I could have been the one to end that motherfucker, but what you did to him… I think he suffered. Choking is a hard way to go,” he said, and his mouth curved into a small, warm smile.
I searched his face. There was no hate there, no blame. I let out a shaking breath. I was so sure he would be furious, maybe at himself for not getting his own revenge. But maybe we had both learned something.
“I am just happy you are here, alive, and with me,” he said. “Now all we need to do is get married.”
“Yeah, that needs to happen yesterday,” Torque muttered from the doorway.
Jenna and I both laughed, a real, light sound.
“I promise,” I said. “As soon as we are healed, we will do it.”
Viper smiled. He leaned down and kissed me, his lips soft against mine.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” I answered, and I let all that love show in my eyes just for him.