Colt kisses my cheek, and I feel him pull away, stepping back. Letting me know I can do this on my own, but all I have to do is say the word, and he’ll take over for me.
A man who I now know by the name of Tyson walks into my line of sight. I sat down with him, Colt, and the guys a couple of nights ago in his office at his club Blackout. Colt told me I could ask whatever I wanted, and they would answer it. I learned that night that I had been living with four men who have very dark secrets. It should have made me run away from him, but instead, it made me love Colt even more. Nothing about our past together has ever not been complicated. Besides, Colt has seen me at my worst, and he still chose me. I’ll always choose him too. No matter what he does.
“Here you go,” Tyson announces, dragging Mike behind him by the rope that is wrapped around his wrists. He’s got duct tape wrapped all the way around his mouth and head, like Nate did to me.
Tyson brings him to a tree and throws the rope over a limb before tying it off, securing Mike to it with his hands above his head. His shoes barely touch the ground.
Finn steps in front of me with a smirk playing on his lips. “Give him hell, Ray.” He holds out a Paslode XP nail gun. The same one I used on Nate. He gave me a crash course on it a few days ago. Turns out, the damn thing has some kind of safety. And it only shoots nails when it’s pressed up against the target. Or you can pull the slide back. But I didn’t have that luxury with my wrists tied together. I didn’t know what I did to make it work last time. I’m just glad I know how to work it now. Winking at me, he adds, “I’ve been charging it for you. It’s loaded with fifty nails. Ready for you to use. And I brought plenty more.” He nods to his backpack on the ground by his feet.
The sound of Mike screaming behind his gag makes me smile. “Thanks, Finn.”
I take it in my hands, and it seems even heavier than that day at Mike’s. My heart is racing but not like it was then. This is a different kind of adrenaline. There’s a calmness when it comes to revenge. I know what I’m doing isn’t any better than him, but I just don’t give a fuck.
I’ve always had that kind of attitude, but now I only care about one thing—Colt. He allows me to pull him into the darkness so I can bathe in the light. And I do the same for him.
But Mike deserves to know what it feels like to be helpless. To have no hope of anyone coming to save him. To be humiliated.
“Hey, Finn?” I turn to face him on my right. He’s the closest to me. Everyone else stands behind us.
“Yeah, gorgeous?” he asks.
“Do you have your pocketknife on you?”
“Always.” He pulls it from his pocket and flips it open. “Want to carve him up first?”
I shake my head. “Will you remove his shirt?”
Mike starts thrashing, twisting his body around and kicking his legs out, forcing me to take a step back so they don’t hit me. Finn punches him in the stomach, making him hunch over the best he can with his hands tied above his head. Then Finn starts cutting the T-shirt off his body. Once done, he closes the knife. “All yours.”
“Hold this for a sec.” I offer him the nail gun and he takes it. I undo Mike’s belt and unfasten his jeans. I rip them down his legs along with his boxers to his ankles and fasten the belt, tying his legs together.
I want to humiliate him. Plus, it keeps him from kicking his legs out at me.
“Thanks.” I reach out, taking the nail gun back.
“My pleasure.” Finn smirks.
Mike is screaming, his chest heaving. He throws his head back, looking up at his tied arms as if he can come up with a way to save himself. It’s not going to happen.
Lifting the nail gun, I hold it against the side of his flaccid dick. He stills, body going stiff. I look up into his wide eyes and pull the trigger. He screams so loud behind the tape that the birds fly out of the surrounding trees. “I know how much you hate blood on your dick,” I say, tilting my head to the side. I make fun of the fact he stopped fucking me after he learned I was a virgin. Even though I know it was because of his fear of Colt.