Page 72 of Unhinged

31

ALICE

I watch Taren circle Ileana.

He brought her back to the house and tied her to her office chair. She’s still out cold but has twitched and jolted a bit in the past minute, signaling she’s coming back to consciousness.

“Are you sure you wish to be here for this?” he asks, not looking at me but keeping his eyes fixed on the woman who did unspeakable things to him.

I felt such anger when I heard Taren confronting her about what she did. I had a feeling she’d abused him physically, but hearing it... I want to kill her myself because, despite the crazy circumstances of how we met, I care about this man more than anyone on this earth.

He’s complex and dark and broken but so beautiful. He could be more beautiful for it.

“I’m certain.”

He keeps his gaze on Ileana. “It’s going to get very bloody. I need to do what I want, and I can’t have you going soft on me.” Suddenly, Taren’s gaze flicks to meet mine, his eyes dark and full of a strange vulnerability.

It’s a look that slices through me, making my heart clench. “Get as bloody as you want. I won’t get in your way, I promise.”

“I’m going to bathe in her blood, literally,” he says, as casually as if he told me he was going to order takeout. I wondered why he had the buckets.

A part of me isn’t sure whether I can get on board with watching that, but I know I won’t stop him. “If it gets too much, I’ll simply leave. I won’t stop you, I promise.”

He nods, and as if on cue, Ileana begins to regain conciseness, groaning.

Her eyes flutter open, confusion etched onto her face at the sight of Taren and me. But beneath that confusion, I see the fear start to creep in. Good. She should be scared.

Taren was a vulnerable kid who had watched her murder his family and bathe in their blood. And then she took him, and I don’t know the details, but it’s clear she abused him. From what age, I can’t be sure. All I know is I’ve never wanted some dead as badly as I want her dead. Not even Michael.

Taren steps forward, his footfalls echoing in the dimly lit room. “Are you ready to face the devil?” His voice is cold. “There’s no way you’re going anywhere but straight to hell. And if I’m heading there too, I don’t care. It’s worth it to watch you suffer a painful, horrific death.”

Ileana struggles in her seat, the rope cutting into her wrists as she tries to get out of the seat. “Stop this madness, Taren!”

I step forward then, needing to question how she can call a man getting revenge for everything she’s done mad. “The only mad one here is you. After what you did to Taren, how could you expect anything else?”

“Keep out of this gringo,” she snaps, glaring at me.

Taren growls. “You don’t speak to her like that.” He moves forward and slaps her hard, the echo of skin against skin satisfying.

The look on Ileana’s face is priceless. She’s a woman who’s never been put in her place.

“Taren, you don’t want to do this, surely. I raised you.” He ignores her and grabs a bucket, positioning it beneath her chair. And then he draws a knife from his pocket.

“I’ve got a rabbit to bleed.” He smirks at her. “Didn’t you wonder why I loved hunting and bleeding out animals? Because I was learning the best techniques to capture the most blood possible.” He tilts his head. “There won’t be enough to bathe, but I’ll use your trick and half-fill it with water.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

His smirk widens. “It’ll be a fitting end for me to bathe in your blood after I’m done, won’t it? The way I watched you bathe in my family’s blood.” He snarls, the rage spiking out of control. “After you made me carry the buckets to the bathtub.”

Watching Taren, I struggle to understand how he’s kept it together all these years. How he’s managed to keep his rage at bay, waiting for the right moment. What she has done to him is unspeakable and unfathomable.

What monster makes a little kid do something like that?

Taren holds up the knife, and Ileana’s eyes widen. She thrashes more violently, her desperate cries filling the air. But her struggle is futile.

He cuts her in methodical ways, the blood being caught in the bucket perfectly. It’s as if he’s done this before.

Ileana’s screams are piercing with each cut. The sight should make my stomach roll, but I’m surprisingly okay with it. The gore doesn’t affect me how I’d expect.

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