Page 32 of Dark Knight

Pulling out my phone, I look down to find a message from Holden. He was on a very special mission today, and I can’t wait for the dark cover of night.

Holden: I’ll meet you at midnight.

A simple message. Could mean a thousand things. In this case, it’s the promise of death for the corrupt fucking sheriff. Hypocritical, sure, given how many people in the department we’ve paid off. But they know better than to cross us. And this time, it was for the benefit of hurting the woman I love. Nobody is safe from my wrath.

I grab a stool from the corner, and Dad hands me a pair of pliers as I sit in front of Morris. “This can go one of a few ways, ladies." I slide my sadistic gaze towards them. "You can tell me what I want to know now, and everyone’s death will be swift. You can watch me torture old Morris here and, eventually, tell me what I want; then, I’ll just continue the torture down the line. Or…nobody tells me anything, but everyone gets tortured, anyways.”

Silence meets my ultimatum. It’s shocking, to be honest. I’ve met weaker men before.

“Have it your way, then.” King unhooks Morris’ hand, and I use the pliers to begin tearing his fingernails out. His screams ring out through the room, bouncing off the walls, before one of the sisters finally cracks.

“Wait, please, stop.” I don’t know which one she is, but I move over to sit in front of her, waiting to hear what she has to say.

“Well…”

Her eyes cut to the mother before focusing on me. “Her. Everything was her idea. She made threats to all of us if we ever told anyone. She’s hated Bea since the day Dad brought her home. She’s always wanted to get rid of her.”

I’m not surprised by this. I verify, “Hamish Plantation, sterilization, treating her like crap, all Flora’s idea?”

“Yes.”

“Did Morris ever try to stop her? Protest in any way?”

She shakes her head. “She guilted him. All the time. She would rub it in his face that she forgave him and that he needed to do whatever it took to make her happy.” I don’t see an ounce of shame on the mother's face.

“And the two of you? You sat back and watched? Did you try and stop it?” That answer is reflected in her eyes.

“They thrilled in it…hurting Bea,” Flora spits out.

“What about Lake Sutton?” I sense the tension emanating from my father at the mention of my sister.

“Who?” the other sister asks.

“Couple years ago, summer camp. Blonde, pretty, shy but friendly.” The more I describe her, the more they seem to remember as they share a look. “I know what you did, or rather, didn’t do.” I’m only guessing at this, but from the way Lake spoke about them, I know they were part of what happened to her.

“We should have stopped that.” The girl in front of me hangs her head. My father’s rage becomes uncontrollable as he shoots forward, grabs her head, and slits her throat so viciously he nearly decapitates her.

Blood spurts out all over me, the women scream, Morris passes out, and Dad slams out of the room. My father has been a lot of things in my life. Ruthless, aloof, calculated; he’s a cold-blooded killer. But not once have I ever seen him murder anyone out of emotion.

Lifting a finger to my mouth, I scoot my stool over and shush the other two. Gripping the remaining sister's face, I lift her head so I can see her eyes. “Does your mother know what you two did to my sister?”

She looks to her mother before ratting her out as tears stream down her face. “You won’t get away with this,” Flora grits out, spitting at me.

Caked in blood, I stand up, reach for the gun in King’s waistband, turn back around, and pull the trigger twice. Morris and Dr. Laura hang lifelessly from their chains with a bullet hole in the center of their heads.

“I suggest—” accepting the towel from King, I wipe the blood off my face—“you tell my father everything about Lake’s assault. Your deaths will be swifter.”

Finished with them, I leave the room, strip down to my boxers, and head up to my old room to shower before I go in search of Bea and spend as much time before I meet up with Holden, buried inside her welcoming body.

* * *

Bea

Lilith and Ariel talk around me, but I feel like I’m trying to reach the end of a tunnel, except I'm not moving any closer. My mind just swims with everything I've been learning. About Nolan, my family, myself.

“It’s kind of overwhelming, isn’t it?” Lake sits next to me as her mom and aunt bustle around the kitchen, making something or other. “They like to cook when there’s trouble in the house,” she explains.

“I’m not allowed to cook,” I say absently. “Everyone is always afraid I will lose my memory and burn the house down.” I feel three sets of eyes on me and give them an "oh well" look.