Page 27 of Bleed for You
Nodding, Raj said, “Me too. I’ve put up with Flint’s behavior because I like working here and everyone is great, but I can’t keep coming every day and have Flint treat me like shit.”
“No one enjoys coming here now.” Craig stopped talking when Flint stormed past his office. “Who is he going after now?”
“Someone probably looked in his direction.” Standing, Raj ran a hand over his face. “Hopefully, I can get back to my office before he sees me. You have no idea how much I want to punch the fucker.”
“Join the club,” Craig muttered darkly. “I’m not prone to violence, but for him, I could make an exception.”
“He does have a face that says punch me.” Raj left, scurrying down the corridor, and Craig sighed softly. Thinking over what Cat had said, he reached out to his contact at Simpson. As the phone rang, he tapped his fingers on the desk, hearing Flint’s raised voice.
“Craig,” Ralph said when he answered. “Any issues?”
“No. It’s more of a personal call, if you have time.”
“Okay.”
Craig paused, licked his lips. “I’m considering a change of scenery.”
“The scenery is fantastic here and someone with your skill would have no problem fitting in.”
“I have a few things here to clear up—”
“Sorry to interrupt, but you’re the third person this month to call about coming here. Why?” Craig heard Ralph move, then he asked, “What reason do you and others have to leave?”
“If they’re on my team, then it will be one person, and I can’t say who.” Craig sucked his lips in, glancing at the door when Flint came into his office without knocking. “Ralph. Please give me a minute.” Craig looked at Flint. “Is there anything I can do to help you, Flint? I’m on a business call.”
Flint scowled at him. “I need to speak to you about your abysmal work.”
“It’ll have to wait until I’ve finished this call. As I said, it’s business related.”
Flint’s jaw clenched, and he spun on his heel and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him. Craig breathed deeply for a few seconds, then returned to his call. “Sorry about that.”
“I suspected it was him. Is he like that all the time?”
“He’s my boss so I shouldn’t—”
“He may be your boss, but he has no right to speak to you like that. And I know your work isn’t abysmal.” The sound of paper shuffling reached Craig’s ear. “I know you have several projects on the go, including the one for us. When you’re ready, call me. I’ll sort something out. We’d be stupid to let someone with your skill slip through our fingers.”
“Thank you.” Craig exhaled heavily. “You have no idea how that makes me feel.”
“Nothing worse than being treated like a piece of shit. I worked at one place… Doesn’t matter now, but I know how it feels to be damn good at your job and not appreciated. Call me when you’re ready.”
Craig thanked Ralph again and hung up, leaning back in his chair and staring at his desk. He’d done it. He’d made the call, and it felt like a lead weight in his stomach. Not because he felt like he’d done something wrong, but because he’d genuinely loved working there. Until Flint had been promoted. He hadn’t seen himself leaving for a long time, but here he was, in a position he hadn’t anticipated.
Sighing softly, he sat up and tried to focus on the project in front of him. He had work to do.
Chapter Seventeen
Staring down at Rafe’s body, Jinx was surprised he was still alive. He wiped his forehead with his arm and watched Rafe’s chest lift up and down with every breath he took. Rafe’s breathing rattled and Jinx picked up the rib shears and showed them to Rafe. Rafe’s eye tracked him. The other one Jinx had removed then dangled in front to Rafe when he’d come to after passing out. At that point, Rafe had cried and begged Jinx to kill him.
“When those little boys begged you to stop hurting them, did you?” he asked, his voice low. Rafe had looked away. “I didn’t think so.”
Now he cast his eyes over the ruined shell that had been Rafe’s body. Both legs were gone below the knee, an arm at one elbow and the other at the armpit. All had been cauterized, so Rafe didn’t bleed out. Now it was time to see if he could remove Rafe’s sternum and keep him alive in the process. He’d already removed the skin, flesh, and muscles, exposing the bonesbeneath. Rafe hadn’t managed ten seconds before passing out from the pain. There were other areas of Rafe’s body that Jinx had damaged or removed. Bone lay exposed on Rafe’s thighs, the muscles twitching in the light. Burns littered on what skin was left, nails on other areas where Jinx had hammered them in, a necklace of Rafe’s fingers lay around his neck and Jinx leaned over, flicking one and smiling when Rafe shuddered. He would be dead soon, but not soon enough. He could still feel pain before he met his maker, and Jinx intended to make sure Rafe did.
There was still one more thing he wanted to do, and that was to place electrodes to Rafe’s dick and balls, put a metal rod up his ass, then electrocute him. Repeatedly. How many times would Rafe pass out? He was dying, his body shutting down, so Jinx might not have much longer to play. With that on his mind, Jinx grabbed what he needed and put them on Rafe. When he held up the rod, Rafe whined softly, then grimaced when Jinx shoved it up his ass. He didn’t bother to lube it first. Why should he? He knew exactly what Rafe had done to the boys he’d kidnapped, and now he was getting a taste of his own medicine. Once in place, he made sure there was plenty of water covering Rafe.
Grinning, he held up the picana, a device used to deliver electric shocks. He’d have to start low and assess how Rafe reacted. He didn’t want him dying too soon, even though he was barely clinging to life. Thinking about that, Jinx paused. Maybe he shouldn’t do it. He did want Rafe to live as long as possible. Grinning, he shook his head. Rafe deserved to suffer as much as possible before finally dying.
Switching it on, he held it against Rafe’s dick and watched his body jerk and twist. He removed it and watched Rafe, seeing his labored breathing, the small tremors that rolled over his body. Hitting him again, Jinx grinned at the sound Rafe made. Not like he could scream now. Jinx was pretty sure Rafe had torn hisvocal cords. Not like Jinx cared. After a few seconds, he removed the picana and watched Rafe again. He wanted Rafe to die, but Jinx still had plans, so he needed to make sure he stayed alive for a little while longer.
