Page 81 of Freeing Souls

“Really?” I raise a brow as I hand them over.

“He tortured Harley for a month. He hurt her after she had already been through so much. He was a part of her being away from us for a month. I need him to suffer by my hand too,” he says shakily.

“Okay, baby,” I tell him, gently rubbing his back. I can’t help but feel a burst of pride as I watch him keep his back straight and not even shake as he approaches him again. I know this isn’t normally his thing, and he is struggling, but he is doing it for her and for himself.

Cade holds his head still while Grayson meticulously shoves the spoon into Tank’s eye socket and forces his eyeball out of his head. Tank attempts to scream through the burning on his throat and eventually passes out.

“Do you want him awake?” I ask.

“No. He can wake up blind,” Grayson spits and finishes it off by slicing his eyes out of his head. The eyes fall onto the ground and roll slightly, and I stare down at them. I wonder– “I could put them in a jar and–”

“No,” both Cade and Grayson speak at the same time.

“Party poopers.” I pout. It wouldn’t have been weird. We didn’t have to tell anyone they were real. It would be like those fake Halloween decorations.

Cade wakes Tank back up, and Grayson takes a step back, letting us get to work. “How does it feel to not see anything?” Cade taunts him as he runs a knife across his cheek. “Did you know I know how to keep someone on the brink of death for days on end? I could string you up from the ceiling and taunt you with the pleasure of death for days. You’d think you are going to get it, but then you find yourself alive again. Starving, blind, thirsty, in pain…” He trails off.

“Oh, we could have dates, bring some food down, let you smell it as we eat in the same room as you,” I add in, grinning as I bounce on my toes. “Maybe we should just untie him and let him try to fight his way out of this.”

Cade tilts his head as he thinks it over. “Want to make it a competition? Whoever breaks the most bones wins, and the loser—”

“Has to watch the winner fuck Harley and isn’t allowed to get off,” I laugh.

Cade smirks. “Deal.”

“Dear lord.” Grayson sighs as he fights a smile and scrubs a hand down his face.

We quickly untie Tank, and he immediately shoots to his feet, his head snapping back and forth as his breath turns to panicked pants. Approaching from behind, I lean in close and whisper, “Over here.” Tank spins around, half stumbling as he throws his arms out but misses me by a long shot, causing a laugh to fall from my lips.

Cade moves quickly, grabbing his wrist and bending three of his fingers back until I hear them break. “Three points.” He grins at me.

I scoff as Tank whimpers and tries to bat Cade away, but he backs off before Tank can touch him. Needing to get some points in and not let Cade win, I kick the back of his knee so he drops, and then I stomp on his ankle, waiting to hear the bone crack. Tank tries to scream, but it comes out scratchy and turns into a cough.

“One,” I say as I grab his arm and bend it up his back until his shoulder pops. “Two.” Bending his arm the other way, I snap his elbow and grin at Cade. “Three.” Tank falls into a heap on the floor, and I kick him in the side. “Don’t be a pussy, Tank, man. Get the fuck up.”

“Just kill me,” he rasps, barely understandable.

“Ah, begging, are we? Tell me, did Harley beg for you to stop anytime you put your dirty hands on her or fucking branded her?” I seethe.

He shakes his head and lets out a pathetic whimper that makes Cade chuckle darkly. “Isn’t it amazing how most of you fuckers can dish it out, but you can’t take it? I wouldn’t be on the floor whimpering like a baby. I would be up, fighting my way thefuck out of here. But look at you, a pathetic fucking mess on the floor.”

He delivers a series of kicks straight into his ribs, causing Tank to curl up in a ball on the floor. “Four. Probably broke more than one rib, but I’m playing nice.”

“Oh, fuck you.” I flip him off, which makes him and Grayson laugh.

“Are you guys planning to keep him alive for a while?” Grayson asks.

I glance at Cade, who shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to know he is alive longer than today, and I want us to walk out of here; I want to be able to tell her one of her demons is suffering in hell.”

Sighing, I nod. “No matter how much I would love to play with him for a few days, I agree.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back,” Grayson says as he walks out.

“Let’s put him back in the chair,” Cade grunts. We put the chair back in the center of the room and drag a whining Tank back into it without bothering to tie him up.

Cade grabs some pliers and begins pulling each finger nail off. He takes his time to do one at a time, slowly and pushing on the sensitive piece of flesh after he yanks one off.

Seeing this whimpering, disgusting, pathetic mess gives me so much fucking satisfaction. I needed this. We all needed this, to see him fall apart, knowing we got to take out all our built up anger and fears from the last month out on this piece of shit.

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