Embrace the Darkness (The Maura Quinn Series Book 1) - Ashley N. Rostek Page 0,23
other things.” I sounded monotone and factual. There was zero emotion behind my voice as I told everyone what happened. They all silently listened. All men. My uncles, cousins, and their men. The room was filled with nothing but men and all of their attention was on me. It didn’t matter because at this point, I was completely numb. Too numb to feel ashamed. Too numb to care.
“I was able to get Tyson first. He about pissed himself when he saw I had a gun and begged me to let him go. I lured Zack out by sending him a text from Tyson’s phone. I started with Zack because Tyson seems to have a thing for watching.” I paused as the memories flashed behind my eyes. “It went on for hours. Their cries. Their begging.”
A deafening muteness overtook the room as everything I said sank in. I stood from the table and walked over to Stefan. His eyes never wavered from mine as I approached him.
I reached into the front hoodie pocket again and pulled out Jamie’s switchblade and a sandwich bag that contained Zack’s penis. It was the first thing I'd done to him as Tyson watched. I tossed the switchblade in front of Jamie and placed Zack’s penis in front of my father. Everyone stared down at the penis.
“Please send this to Zack’s mother. She should have taught her son how to treat women better,” I mumbled before turning to leave. “What’s left of their bodies is in the old warehouse off of Stone Street just before the highway. You know, the place you all like to take certain individuals to ask a few questions,” I informed them
over my shoulder just before closing the door behind me.
The house was silent for days. I didn't see or talk to anyone other than Brody, and even those interactions were one-worded. I barely ate or drank. I just wanted to sleep. Stefan hadn’t come to see me after I'd crashed his meeting and I was beginning to feel ashamed. He was probably angry with me for letting this happen. He blamed me.
Five days had passed and Brody was getting on my last nerve. He wanted me to eat and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“What’s the fucking point? Just leave me alone!” I yelled at him and he stalked off, exasperated.
Later that night, while I numbly stared at the ceiling, my door opened. I didn’t care enough to see who it was.
“Brody says you’re refusing to eat.” It was Stefan. I turned my head, finding him standing next to my bed. Shock pulled me from my numbness as I took in his appearance.
My father was always put together, dressed nicely, and oozing self-assurance. Even when he came home covered in someone else’s blood. The way he held himself, he made it seem like blood was meant to go with his Armani suit. The man who stood before me now was anything but. This man was unshaven, clothes wrinkled, hair disheveled like he’d run his hands through it too many times. There were dark bags under his eyes. He looked miserable.
“Do you blame me?” I didn’t mean to ask him, but I was dying to know.
My question was answered when he looked completely defeated by it. “I blame myself.”
“Why?”
Stefan kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed next to me, and wrapped his arms around me. I was so surprised, I couldn’t move. Is he comforting me?
“Because it’s my job to protect you and I failed.”
He is! He cares. He’s not mad at me!
“Are you mad I killed them?”
“No. Strangely, proud. The whole family is a little shocked. I think your cousins might be afraid of you now. We all went to the warehouse.”
My mind drifted back to the warehouse and how I'd left their bodies there. I'd butchered them for hours. Each cut or fillet I'd made with Jamie’s switchblade, I'd gotten a moment of relief from my own pain and felt the slight taste of satisfaction as I'd watched them suffer. Just like I'd suffered. But it had been all short lived and I'd known it had been time to end things when they'd started to beg for death. With Jamie’s gun, I'd put a bullet in each of their heads, leaving them behind in that warehouse still tied up in chairs and their blood staining the concrete floor.
I burrowed myself closer to Stefan. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be.