Page 27 of Look What You Made Me Do

Hmmm. Wrist restraints next time.

I shut the basement door, which plunges us both into complete darkness, and that seems to freak him out even more. “Come on, man,” he pleads. “We don’t need to do this.”

I say nothing as I prod him down the staircase. At the bottom, I take his neck again, and in the pitch black, I lead him past the gym to the rooms in back.

The Panic Room is hidden behind a large mirror, and on touch alone, I manage to slide that out of the way. Beyond the mirror is a bank vault door that’s always left open, because unlocking it is a pain in the ass.

My footsteps echo on the cement floor as I step into the room and flip the light switch. Blinding fluorescent light floods the small space, and Kai shields his eyes from it. There’s a metal chair in the center of the room, conveniently placed right above a drain. I gesture to it. “Sit down.”

Kai shuffles forward and does as he’s told. For once.

With his hands clasped in front of him and his spine curved forward, he looks up at me like a penitent child. “I’m an initiated member of the Burning Crown,” he reminds me. “And you can’t hurt me. That rule is in the bylaws.”

God, this guy is fucking insufferable. He’s not wrong, though. The bylaws state that no member can commit violence against another member. But the bylaws say a lot of shit that the Sacred Sons ignore on the daily. Hell, the men who wrote those rules ignored the fuck out of them. Those rules are for the boys who follow, not for the men who lead.

Without responding, I lean against a table that’s positioned directly in front of Kai. “I hear you’ve been fucking around with Wyn.”

Panic registers in his eyes. “No, listen. That’s not what happened…”

My anger is rising. Just watching this cunt try to explain his way out of touching Wyn when Ispecificallytold him she was off-limits, makes my blood pressure spike.

“People saw you at the club.” I step forward and get right in his face, red seeping into my vision. “You touched her. You touched what wasn’t yours.”

He shakes his head. “No, I?—”

His words are cut off by my fist making contact with his face. His head whips back, and he groans. Blood pours from his nose, coating his mouth. When he coughs, blood spurts everywhere.

He straightens his head, looking dazed. “What the fuck?”

“I told you to stay away from her, and you didn’t. Did you really think I’d let that shit slide?”

Christian and Ash come strolling into the room. Word must have gotten around that I’d brought Kai to the basement.

“Yo, bro.” Christian’s gaze falls to Kai, who looks like he’s about to piss himself. To be fair, he’s in a basement with three ofthe four Sacred Sons. I can appreciate how terrifying that might be. We’re not exactly known for having a soft, patient approach to outright disobedience. “What’s happening here?”

Ash leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching. By some miracle, he keeps his mouth shut. And thank God, because I really don’t have time for his social justice bullshit right now.

I flick my chin at Kai. “I’ve told this cunt to stay away from Wyn, and come to find out, he was at her place a few days ago, fucking around with her.”

“Oh, shit,” Christian says casually, looking the guy over. I haven’t filled my brother in on everything that’s happened with Wyn, but he’ll back me up regardless. “We can’t have willful disobedience, now can we?”

Kai’s hand flies to his chest, and he looks at Christian, eyes wide. “We just kissed, I swear to God. I was knocked out before anything happened.”

I walk over to the table that we have pressed against the wall, and brush my fingertips over the various knives and implements we have lying there, the polished metal glinting underneath the harsh fluorescent lights.

Just knowing this guy touched Wyn makes me see red. He had no fucking right. Did she moan for him? Did she beg him to fuck her? The images flashing through my mind are making me feelveryviolent.

I grab a couple of zip ties off the table and walk back over to Kai. “Hands at your sides,” I command.

“Please,” he whispers as I secure each of his wrists to the sides of the chair. “It won’t happen again, I swear to God.”

Straightening, I throw a punch that catches him in the jaw. There’s a loud crack, and his head whips to the side again. Shit, that one fucked up my knuckles. I shake my hand out, then I grab his bloodied face, so I can force him to look at me.

“That’s right, it will never happen again,” I say it like he’s a goddamn toddler. “I don’t care if she’s naked and begging you to fuck her, you’re never touching Wyn Barker again, got that?”

He nods emphatically, blood still gushing from his nose.

“And when all this is over, you’re going to tell everyone that you came onto her and she knocked your ass out. None of this shit about her lying to the police to set you up.”

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