“Hurry!” I whisper, turning to the camera. It’s still off, for now. If Jefferson screams, that could change.
Working quickly, Jacqueline lowers me down with the pulley, then unties my ropes. I get up just as Jefferson starts to groan.
I kick again, this time nailing him in the face. He slumps to the floor, sprawling out on his back. Blood leaks from his open mouth, his teeth a broken, jagged mess. I sit down on his chest and slip my hands around his neck.
“You’re a monster, Jonah,” I say as Jacqueline stomps on his hand. “You deserve to suffer.”
He opens his mouth to scream, but I tighten my grip, cutting his howl down to a whine. “I’m in this prison because of you,” I continue, waiting for Jacqueline to finish bending back the fingers of his other hand, snapping bones one by one.
“How many women did you send here, Jonah? How many thanked you for your help, not knowing they signed themselves into slavery?”
Jacqueline unbuckles his pants and reaches in. I can’t see what she does to his cock, but his jaw drops in shock and his whole body shakes beneath me.
“I’d like to make your death longer and more painful,” I say, “but I’ve got women to free and monsters to kill so this will have to do.”
“One second,” says Jacqueline, getting up. She reaches over and grabs the metal dildo she hit him with and drops it into Jefferson’s open maw. “How do you like sucking dick?” she asks, laughing as Jefferson tries to dislodge it with his tongue, but can’t. “Okay, Quinn, go ahead.”
“Jonah,” I say. “If it’s any consolation, you’re about to experience the certainty of death again, but this time you’ll be right.” Then I squeeze his neck with all my strength. He thrashes, flailing his limbs and choking on the sex toy in his mouth. Then he goes still.
Jacqueline sits down next to us and feels Jefferson’s neck. “No pulse.”
Goodbye, Jonah, you fucking piece of shit.
She stands up, then gives me a hand, helping me to my feet.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I say. Now that he’s dead, all of the ramifications start to hit me. “Oh fuck! What about Isabel?”
Jacqueline pulls me into a hug. “I made a deal with Reed. He promised to get her to safety if I helped you.”
A smile breaks out on my face, and I laugh. “That’s amazing! But how do you know he did it?”
She lets go of me, nodding somberly. “I don’t, just like he doesn’t know I helped you. But you trust him, and I trust you, so I took a chance. And if he failed, and what we did hurts Isabel… she’s so damaged, I don’t know what else Prescott can do to her.”
Prescott.
“Grab some cuffs or something. Put them on me but don’t lock them.”
Jacqueline smiles. “Got it.” She secures some heavy leather cuffs around my wrists but doesn’t link them together. I practice holding them together behind my back.
“Yeah, this will work. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Wait!” says Jacqueline. She feels Jefferson’s pants and finds the radio Byron gave him. “Let’s go two-for-one.”
Grinning, I nod.
Jacqueline flicks it on. “Byron, sir. The judge requests your presence in the dungeon.”
After a second, he replies, “On my way.”
Fuck yeah.
The next two minutes are utterly unbearable, but Byron’s face when he steps inside is worth the wait. As he sees me standing over Jefferson’s cooling corpse, Jacqueline shuts the dungeon door. Then the two of us strike.
Byron tries to turn and flee, but he runs right into Jacqueline’s fist. I kick the back of his leg, knocking him down to one knee. He takes a swing at Jacqueline, catching her in the side, but it only pisses her off more. She grabs his shoulders and knees him in the face, then pounces on him, screaming in his ear. I keep kicking him in the side, but stop when I hear a terrified shriek. When I look, I see Jacqueline’s bitten Byron’s throat, and his blood drips down her chin.
She raises her fist to deliver a knockout punch, but I shout, “Stop! Help me get him in the shackles.”
“What, why?”