Page 46 of Justice

I crouch down, grasping Kevin's right ankle. He kicks and thrashes, but I maintain my hold.

"Football is all about teamwork, isn't it?" I muse, tapping the mallet against my palm. "Working together, supporting each other. But you failed at that when you left Elle behind."

Without warning, I bring the mallet down hard on Kevin's ankle. A sickening crunch echoes through the room, followed by Kevin's agonized scream.

"That was for not helping her when she needed it most," I snarl, tossing the mallet aside.

Kevin writhes in pain, his face contorted in agony. "Please, no more!" he sobs, tears and snot running down his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

I stand up, looming over him. "Sorry doesn't change the fact that you let someone hurt her.”

His ankle is completely shattered. The girls in the cell are crying, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Kevin is screaming so fucking loud that it’s pissing me off further.

I turn to face the girls in the cell, their terrified faces streaked with tears. "Shut the fuck up!" I roar, slamming my fist against the bars. They recoil, their screams reducing to whimpers.

I focus my attention back on Kevin, who's now a blubbering mess. "P-please, I'll do anything," he begs, his words barely coherent through his sobs. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen!"

I lean down to his level, my voice calm. "But it did happen, Kevin. And you did nothing to stop it. That's on you."

I stand up and nod to Mason and Reid. They drag Kevin's broken form back to the cell, tossing him in unceremoniously. He crumples to the floor, clutching his shattered ankle as he wails in agony.

I turn to the rest of them, my eyes cold and unforgiving. "Who's next?" I ask, my tone making it clear that it's not really a question.

Danny, trying to appear brave despite his quivering lip, steps forward. "I'll talk," he says, his voice shaking. "Just don't hurt me like you did Kevin."

I smile, but there's no emotion behind it. "That depends entirely on what you have to say, Danny boy. Start talking."

“The party was meant for us to get Elle to have sex with one of us.”Danny takes a deep breath, his eyes darting nervously between me and the others. "The party was a setup," he admits, his voice trembling. "We wanted to get Elle alone, to… to take advantage of her."

Rage boils inside me at his confession. My fists clench at my sides, the urge to beat him senseless nearly overwhelming.

"Who planned this?" I demand, my voice low and dangerous. "Whose idea was it?"

Danny hesitates, fear etched across his face. "It was… it was Kevin's idea," he finally says, his gaze flickering to Kevin's whimpering form. "He said she was a tease, that she deserved to be put in her place."

I ignore him, my focus solely on Danny. "And you went along with it," I state, my disgust evident. "You were going to rape her."

Danny hangs his head, unable to meet my gaze. "I'm sorry," he whispers, tears falling from his eyes. "I know it was wrong. I should have stopped it."

I lean in close, my voice a menacing whisper. "But you didn't stop it, did you? You were there in the woods, ready to take your turn."

He nods miserably, shame on his face. I look at Derek, and he is being held back by Wilder and Aiden so he doesn’t charge Danny.

“But someone else got to her first.”That whips my head back to him. “We saw a man grab her when she fell and carry her off. He was wearing a hood. He ran with her, and we tried to follow but he was too fast.”

His hands are shaking, and he looks back at Kevin. “Kevin suggested we wait a while until he was finished and then we would go join in.”

I close my eyes, disgusted.

“We found her, but the guy was still hanging around and he yelled at us. I tried to see if I could see him, but he was behind a tree.

“So we ran off and went back to the party.

“Elle seemed to have been drugged. We didn’t do that. I think someone else had something planned for her.”

I feel the rage burning inside me at Danny's confession. The pieces are starting to come together, but the picture they're painting is even more twisted than I imagined.

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