Page 62 of Corrupt Desires

“I wish it was me that killed those cunts upstairs, Emilia. To see you tremble sets a fire within me, eager to burn every single one of those fuckers to the ground,” he bends down and whispers in my ear.

Vincent was mine to kill, and I’m glad his life ended by my hand. Lorenzo set all of this into motion though, I know I have to see this through.

“I’ll be OK, James. We take care of this last loose end, and we can finally go home.”

Kayden grabs the door and holds it open for us as we walk through into the dimly lit room. Lorenzo is seated in the metal chair, rope holding him tight so there’s no chance of escape. And even if he managed to get out of the ropes, the soldiers standing around the room would ensure he wouldn’t get very far.

As we walk in, Lorenzo’s head raises and we lock eyes. Unwilling to let him see how this room affects me, I hold my head up high, walk up to him, and smirk. “Lorenzo, Lorenzo, Lorenzo. How you thought this would work out in your favor is completely mind blowing to me. I’m glad you ended up showing your true colors, though. People like you aren’t welcome in my family.”

Lorenzo spits at the ground, his face reddening in anger. “Fuck you, Emilia. I wouldn’t want to be a part of your family anyway. I was so close to having it all, if it weren’t for you. It’s why I killed your parents. Slit your father’s throat while your poor mother watched. Vincent had fun playing with her, by the way.”

Knowing he’s trying to get a rise out of me, I keep my composure even though on the inside I break just a little more. At this point, I’m sure I have more broken pieces than not, but my goal was to make it out alive, and James, Kayden, and his men have ensured that.

“Well, I’m glad Vince got the end he deserved then. And aren’t you such a coward, killing a frail dying man. How very macho of you. You were nothing more than a little lap dog. Let’s be real for a second, Lorenzo. Anthony had no intention of making you into something worthwhile. You’re expendable, that’s why he sent you down those stairs to begin with.”

“He sent me down because he trusted me to get the job done.”

“And look how beautifully that turned out for you.”

He spits at my feet but keeps quiet at my statement.

“Hmmm, cat got your tongue?”

When he remains silent, I turn around and wave James over. “I know you’re eager to get your hands on thispedazo de mierda. He’s all yours.” (Piece of shit.)

“You sure, Em? You don’t want the honors?” asks James, looking at me in bewilderment.

“I’m in no shape to deal out the damage I desire. I trust you to do it justice.”

James nods his head, taking his time as he rolls up his sleeves, seemingly relishing in the idea of getting his hands dirty.

“Where should I begin, Lorenzo? Cutting out your tongue for the lies you so easily told or cutting off each finger that dared to lay hands on mywife? Better yet, let’s just do both.”

I cross my arms and lean against the wall, watching as James deals out revenge for the both of us.

Pulling a knife from the black cargo pants that all the men are wearing, James has one of the soldiers hold Lorenzo’s head while another pries his mouth open. One soldier comes over with a torch to heat the blade so that the tongue is cauterized as it’s being cut. The cut isn’t clean, however. In fact, it’s rather choppy, but James gets the job done while Lorenzo screams and shakes. James throws the mangled piece of flesh onto the ground while Lorenzo bleeds just a little bit, the hot blade doing its job to prevent most of it. We wouldn’t want Lorenzo to bleed out before we get to have some fun with him.

“Now you’re going to have a really hard time telling any more lies. Who am I kidding though, you won’t be leaving here to do that in the first place,” says James as he circles the chair that Lorenzo is sitting in.

Lorenzo tries to speak, but all he does is spew complete gibberish without the use of his tongue.

“What’s that, Lorenzo? I can’t seem to understand what you’re saying,” James mocks as he stops in front of him.

Lorenzo lets out a frustrated yell and starts fighting against the ropes that bind him to the chair. It’s useless, though—he isn’t going anywhere.

As James moves on to cutting off his fingers with the heated blade, I can’t help but to relish in the sound of his screams. For every woman he hurt, for my parents, and whoever else might be on that list, he gets every single finger cut off until he has nothing left but bleeding stumps for hands.

Kayden approaches with a tank of gasoline, halting James as he lays punch after punch to Lorenzo’s face.

“I don’t think he’s got much more left in him, Brother,” says Kayden, clasping a hand on James’s shoulder.

James’s knuckles are cracked and bloody from the blows he dealt to Lorenzo, but if anything, he looks like he wants to keep going.

“James, it’s time to leave,” I say, eager to get home and take a shower to get all the blood off me. “Plus, I want him alive as we burn this entire house to the ground.”

James looks like he wants to protest, but he thinks better of it when he meets my gaze. Maybe it’s the exhaustion on my face, or maybe it’s my wounds—all I know is I’m grateful when he nods his head, taking the tank of gasoline from Kayden and starts pouring it all over Lorenzo. As he makes a trail of gasoline out of the room and out of the house, we all follow as Lorenzo starts to scream again.

A few more soldiers join us, each of them holding empty tanks of gasoline. Now that the entire house has been drenched, Kayden lights a flare, throwing it down into the cellar and watching as the fire ignites, making its way through every room in the house. I faintly hear Lorenzo’s screams, and a smile pulls at the corners of my lips.Good, let him burn.

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