Page 118 of Serpent & Saviors

“I’ll add mine now as well. You had it from the moment we walked in here.” Nik’s voice boomed with pride. “You stepped in with Bellaruso like you were one of us. And so you are. She trusts you. That’s good enough for me. Aye.”

Pasha beamed, and it hit me hard. He really was one of us now. “Let’s finish this then,” I said, staring at Pasha.

My fingers curled into Cameron’s hair and pulled his head back. His eyeless face stared up, mouth open, a stream of blood flowing freely down his chin and onto the floor.

“You still have your ears, and you keep those, because I need you to listen. I told you I would destroy every part of you that you used to hurt her. By my count, you have one part left.”

Bash whistled lowly. There wasn’t any fight left in Cameron when we stripped him and cut off his blood-stained clothes.

“What do you think, Evie?” I asked. The husk before me trembled on the floor. I studied the bloodied blade Pasha had used in my hand. “Do I take my time, or do I make it quick?”

He didn’t try to speak or cover himself now. Without a tongue, his moans had taken on a throaty, wet quality.

“This is the kind of revenge that only comes once,” Alek advised. “I’m pretty sure he took his time with you and that red sharpie pen all those years ago. You don’t get a do-over, Counselor. Make it count.”

I nodded. Slow it was.

“The other blade, then, please.”

It materialized, and I took the offering from Nik, kneeling in front of Cameron while the others held him down. I took deep, even breaths. He might have been barely responsive, but every man holding a portion of him down in that semi-circle knew that was soon to change.

With the pliers again, I held his shriveled cock taut and straight. The metal clamped onto his foreskin. I envisioned him raping my angel over and over. The tip of the blade cut deep into the private, most vile flesh of Cameron’s body, gliding into his groin with resistance.

He howled and screamed, blood rupturing from his mouth in a fine mist. He bucked blindly but only succeeded in cutting himself up even worse. Pasha looked pale as droplets of blood flew around, but his eyes stayed intense and his expression determined. He had seen it through.

The kid would get my vote.

I refocused on getting rid of the parts of the bastard that he never deserved. I let the blade curve lightly over the base of his cock, paper-cut thin slices up and down, up and down. He kicked and shrieked. Deeper past the skin, I hit some more resistance.

The blade was more than a little dull, and it took its time. The flesh was weak, but the muscle beneath was resistant and strong, making me saw through it. Cameron’s spine arched, body coming off the floor as he screamed and bellowed for mercy.

A dark red stain gathered under him, spreading a thick pool of blood around my shoes. There was more life left in him than I expected, as he kicked and wailed. With unhurried precision, I cut through him until the flesh finally severed away from his body, and he bled freely from the remaining stump. I threw it down on what was left between his spread legs.

Sebastian tilted his head appraisingly. “Is it just me, or is there not that much of a difference?”

Alek doubled over in laughter as I chuckled.

“It won’t be long now,” Ivan said. The blood was flowing fast. Cameron was bleeding out, suffering, and in pain beyond description. He curled up into a ball on the floor.

“True,” I said, watching the man’s miserable suffering. “But it’ll be long enough. Bash, what’s your vote going to be?” I asked as Nik passed out wet wipes.

“The kid didn’t throw up. Clearly, he has the stomach for it. I’m impressed. It’s an aye for me.”

Pasha’s chest heaved as he turned his gaze to me, the only member who hadn’t voted. I took a deep breath. “I guess you better start planning your final tattoo, Dancer.”

A grin spread across his face, and he exclaimed, “Fuck yeah!”

Two Weeks Later

The deep stare coming from Andrew was laced with concern. The air was suddenly heavy and charged. My favorite drawing room was cloaked in the quiet intimacy of the late hour. The one lamp I’d lit earlier had shadows dancing along the edges of the furniture. Andrew sat beside me.

His damned blue eyes searched mine with a depth that had every ability to unravel me. “Is there something you’re not telling me, angel?” His voice was gentle, but there was an insistence that demanded honesty.

I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. The room suddenly felt too small, and the walls were closing in on me. My fingers fidgeted with the hem of my dress, a desperate attempt to divert my attention, except all it did was draw his. The weary sigh that followed tore at my heart.

“I know what you’re going to say, Sir.”

It had been two weeks since that night at Cameron’s. So much had changed, but I still had far to go. Declan had been tucked in hours ago, and I’d spent the time waiting for Andrew to get home from a late-night hospital visit. I’d tried to read, but my nerves had gotten the best of me.