Page 61 of Heart Stopping
"He's waking up." Cass stood beside the table, looking down at Fairfield, who was bound to it, hands and feet.
"You don't have to watch any of this." I walked over to him and placed my arm around him, resting my head on his shoulder. "If you need to leave, no one is going to blame you."
"I'll blame me," he said. "After what he did to my brother, I owe it to Augustus to stay."
"He'd understand if you didn't," I assured him. "The things you're going to see, you won't be able to unsee them."
"What about you?" He wrapped his arm around me. "You won't be able to unsee it either."
"I've never been bothered by raw meat," I said simply.
"She seemed to enjoy your raw meat." Boner stepped to the other side of me and grinned. "And mine that night she and I shared."
I snorted a soft laugh. "See, I'm a big fan of raw meat. I can stomach just about anything. If it gets too much, the toilet is over there." I gestured off to the right.
Fairfield groaned, drawing our attention to him. Sluggishly, his eyes opened. Widened. He tried to call out, but the gag in his mouth muffled his words.
"At least he hasn't pissed himself yet," Boner said.
"Yet," I agreed.
"I have a few tools you can use." Archer entered the room, carrying a case. He set it down beside Fairfield and opened it.
"I think I just got an erection," Boner said. "Hardware, my dude, you're my new hero."
"Hardwick," Archer said like he might use one of the implements on Boner.
Ignoring them both, I stepped over to take a look.
"Very nice." He'd included several knives, a pair of scissors, pinking shears, a couple of pieces of rough rope, two pairs of pliers, a spatula, several different sized vegetable peelers and an apple corer.
"A spatula?" Cass asked over my shoulder.
"I can demonstrate it for you if you like?" Boner reached for it, pulling it out of the case and brandishing it in front of Cass' face.
Cass swatted it away. "But what is it really for?"
"Scooping up guts," Archer said, his expression deadpan. "It's easier than bare hands."
"I shouldn't have asked," Cass groaned. But then he added, "And the apple corer?"
"Anal." Once again, Archer's face was expressionless.
"I don't want you to demonstrate," Cass said to Boner before the Englishman could say a word.
Boner grinned. "Anal is better with my cock. I am happy to demonstrate that for you any time." He patted Cass on the shoulder. "Now, where do we start with this prick?" He and Archer looked at me and Cass. For Cass and me, this was personal. For them, it was a bit of fun.
I thought for a moment before picking up a pair of scissors and stepping around the table. Grabbing one of Fairfield'sfingers, I snipped it off slowly, working the blades through muscle and bone, and tossed it beside his face.
"How many women have you touched with those fingers?" I worked off another. "How many young men?"
While he moaned in pain, I removed all of the fingers from one hand, letting him bleed on the table.
"Cass, would you like to do the honors?" I nodded toward Fairfield's intact hand.
Cass was looking a little green as he shook his head, then nodded. "I don't know."
Fairfield turned his face toward him, pleading through the gag. It seemed he'd decided, if any one of us would give him mercy, it would be Cass.
