Page 11 of Knuckles

“Look, Hannah.” The man looked desperate. Sweat glistened on his forehead, one bead trickling down his temple. “I get it. I’m sorry. I realize how silly it all was. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with her all those times, or with you tonight, OK?”

Hannah’s face lit up and she clasped her hands in front of her in an “oh, goodie” pose. Her soft brown curls swayed gently as she bounced up on her toes like she was excited. “Really? So when I move all those tacks and let you down from the stool, you won’t be angry with me?”

“Nope.” He smiled, sensing victory. I was anxious to see how this played out because there was no way Hannah was letting that bastard off the hook that easily. I knew it like I knew my own name. Of course, if I was wrong, he still wasn’t getting off the hook -- the giant meat hook I’d hang his bleeding body from. “All’s forgiven.” I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind, the plans, all the ways he was going to hurt Hannah when he got down from the stool.

If it had been more than a step or two, the guy might have jumped down and taken the pain to one foot, but the room was rather large and she had him in the corner farthest from the door. She’d apparently removed all the furniture except for the tables where each flower vase had sat. He’d have to make at least four steps to even get off the plastic.

“OK. Let me go find something to remove --” anotherZAP! and a scream from Dillon.

“Turn this motherfucking thing off, Hannah! Right fucking now!”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry, Dillon. But the switch to turn it off is on an app on my phone.”

“Well, get your Goddamned phone…” he trailed off, his eyes getting large and round as he seemed to remember a problem with Hannah getting her phone.

“That’s right. You took my phone when I tried to call 9-1-1 after you pushed me down the stairs two days ago. I promised not to tell them what happened, that I’d only get my wrist looked at where I was certain I’d broken it, but you told me to put an Ace wrap on it and suck it up. You wouldn’t let me have my phone back, would you, Dillon?” She sounded so sweet, so matter-of-fact it was hard to argue with her. “You said bitches who couldn’t keep their mouths shut didn’t get to have phones.”

“You got it looked at later,” he whined. “Anyway, I was right. It wasn’t broken.”

“And you still don’t get it.” She shook her head sadly as anotherZAP! followed by several shrill shrieks from Dillon echoed through the room. Sitting on the pad like he was, I had to wonder if his balls were singing. No way they avoided damage. Made me smile. Again, Dillon tried to balance on the stool, keeping his ass from what was apparently a shock pad. I was betting there was some serious juice that wasn’t supposed to be there. “It’s not about being right, you son of a bitch.” There was the Hannah I was expecting. All pretense at feeling sorry for Dillon or, more probably, pretending to be the woman Dillon wanted her to be, was gone. It was all a mind game. A way of fucking with him. “It’s about not fucking torturing the woman you married, or the woman you’re dating.”

I sucked in a breath. “Now, wait just a Goddamned minute!” Hannah didn’t even glance in my direction at my outburst, obviously already knowing I was there. God, this woman was complicated! I had no doubt in my mind now that Hannah knew her surroundings exactly. I knew she was an experienced fighter, but she was so very much more than that.

“Oh, thank God!” Dillon practically sobbed in relief. “She’s crazy. You’ve gotta help me. Just move the tacks so I can get off the stool. I can take care of the rest.”

I tilted my head, then glanced at my brothers to see their reaction. “Whadda ya think, Hawk? Should we help a brother out?”

Hawk snorted. “You know he still don’t get it. Right?”

“Oh, I know he don’t fuckin’ get it,” I bit out. “It sounded a lot like you knew his wife, Hannah.”

“She’s the reason I’m here.” Hannah leveled her gaze on me but didn’t expound. Instead, she cocked her hip, suddenly looking very bored. The bruising on her face was stark even in the shadows of the room, and I felt a smoldering rage building again. Now, I had a target for my rage right in front of me. “And you’re right. He’s a dumb motherfucker. I knew he’d never get it, but I really tried to give him the opportunity to at least pretend to be contrite.” Hannah stood there, her lips curling into a smirk as Dillon squirmed on the stool just before the pad delivered another shock. His face contorted in pain. When he could breathe again, he screamed in pain and fury over and over.

The shocks seemed to be coming with increasing regularity. And intensity. We all stood there and watched dispassionately. I didn’t know about anyone else, but I was enjoying the fuck out of the show.

“Please, Hannah,” Dillon’s voice cracked, eyes wide with that pleading kind of panic that always seemed just a little too late. Which, of course, he was. “I’m begging you.” Tears and sweat streamed down his face. Kind of surprised me the guy hadn’t tried to use his suit jacket as a way to get across the tacks, but honestly, it wouldn’t have made a difference and I think he knew it.

Hannah tilted her head slightly, those brown curls swaying as if considering his words. “Begging?” she mused aloud, her tone only slightly mocking. “That’s new for you.”

And the shocking continued. At one point, Dillon almost toppled over. I was surprised he didn’t, given how hard those shocks seemed to be getting. I wondered where the limit was, but honestly, I couldn’t give a fuck. Bastard deserved this and more just for hitting Hannah at the club tonight. Judging by his other transgressions, he deserved a whole fucking lot more than what he was currently getting.

Across the room, Hawk flicked a gaze my way, an eyebrow arched. “So? We doing this, or what?”

Dillon’s eyes darted between us like a cornered animal. He stammered out a pathetic half-laugh. “Yeah, c’mon guys, help me out here.”

“Huh?” Hawk gave Dillon a questioning look. Then his eyes widened in understanding. “Ohhh… You thought I meant that we should help you.” He grinned. “Yeah. No. I just want to get this done so I can make sure the mess is cleaned up in time for me to go to my kid’s birthday party.”

AnotherZAP! had Dillon’s body jerking violently before settling back into trembling. The motherfucker had threaded his feet through the rungs of the stool in an effort to stay on it. He was either stupid or a fucking pussy, because I was pretty sure the pain he’d get from the tacks on the floor was nothing compared to what he was feeling now.

“How many others have there been, Dillon? How many other women have you terrorized?”

“No one! I swear! No one!” He was panting now. I thought he might have pissed himself.

Hawk leaned back against the wall casually, crossing his arms over his chest with an amused snort. “Dumb bastard.”

“You honestly think I didn’t do my homework before I came after you?” Hannah tilted her head looking at him like the dumb shit he was. “I baited you. And you did exactly what I was told you would do. Right down to the fucking flowers in every room.”

“What?” He looked so dumbstruck I had to cover my smile with my hand. Not because I didn’t want him to know exactly how big a dumb shit I thought he was, but because I knew I was gonna get to play scary monster come to eat his face pretty Goddamned soon and I wanted to get into character. Because, yeah. I was gonna enjoy the fuck outta this.

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