Page 87 of Cup of Lies

He trades items with Katana and then the camera is back on him.

“Now we’re going to have some fun,” Dragon reveals with a sinister grin. “Katana, light the fuse.”

The fuse, in this case, is what appears to be Doc Junior’s T-shirt stuffed in his mouth. It’s wet with something flammable. I know this because Katana holds the flame to a corner dangling from their captive’s mouth, and it ignites quickly.

Doc Junior screams as the flames grow and engulf his mouth. He squirms and writhes to no avail and is forced to watch this fire consume him. I’m thankful I don’t have to smell that shit. It must be awful.

“Put it out,” Dragon instructs.

Katana pulls out his cock and pisses on the man. The flames don’t go out as they should. With a grunt, Katana yanks out the flaming T-shirt and it falls into Doc Junior’s lap. Since he’s only wearing boxers, the fire spreads to the material there, all the while Doc Junior screams.

The torture continues and I watch every second of it so Romy never has to. This man hurt countless people, but he especially hurt my girls. Nothing can ever absolve him from that.

Eventually, Doc Junior passes out from shock. This must bore Dragon because he begins carving up the man’s neck, making a bloody mess of things. Then, with a simple, “You’re welcome, Johnny,” the video ends.

Holy shit.

That was fucking awful.

I delete the video from my phone because I don’t ever want to see that shit again. And I sure as hell don’t want Romy or Kaitlyn stumbling on it.

My skin is cold and my heart beats way too fast. I feel eyes on me and note that Nova is now awake and watching me. With a shaky hand, I stroke her dark hair, drawing comfort from the small, precious, beautiful wonder.

I’ll be the best father to her. My real father was a good man who took care of his family. We led a simple life, but it was the best life. Who cares about money and power and influence when you have this?

Romy steps out of the bathroom, wet hair brushed and cheeks rosy from the heat of the shower. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Everything okay?”

I close my eyes when she sidles up next to me. Her soft lips press kisses to my temple and she caresses my hair.

I’ll protect this with every fiber of my being.

It’s the only thing that matters.

“I’m good now,” I assure her.

Turning, I meet her mouth with mine, tongue reaching for hers, desperate for connection. We kiss with a ravenous hunger that’ll never be satiated. As if it’ll never be enough and we’ll always crave more.

There’s a future for us now and that means we’ll have thousands of moments just like this one.

For a lifetime of hell, we deserve this little slice of heaven.

It’s certainly long overdue.

Romy

“Gabby says they’re still there,” Eva tells me, the glow of her phone illuminating her face. “She knows the girl who cleans for the neighbors’ Airbnb, so she’s letting her stay there.”

It’s been a few days since Dad and Bastian went dark, but then the housekeeper at one of Dad’s properties ratted them out. Eva’s been working behind the scenes, reaching out to staff at the multiple homes they owned together, asking them to keep an eye out. Since Eva was always the pleasant one to be around, they all agreed to offer their help.

Which is why we’ve been driving through the night to get to Cape Girardeau where one of Dad’s vacation homes are located.

“We can stay at the house,” Eva says. Her thumbs are flying over the screen on her phone. “I’m making an official booking now.”

For the most part, we’ve left Eva out of the graphic specifics. She knows my biological father is dead by suicide because it’s all over the news. Caius told us about Doc Junior’s death in a very summarized way, but I know it had to have been horrific based on the haunted expression on his face whenever I mention it. I think Eva wanted to come along, not just to watch Nova when I need her to, but because she thinks she can keep us from harming Dad and Bastian.

I don’t want to hurt them.

I want to confront them, demand answers, and somehow make them pay.

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