Pure Vengeance

Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Natasha

My head ached and I struggled to open my eyes. Brilliant light sent agony through my skull, and I squeezed them shut.

“Should we dose her again?” a male voice asked. “She’s waking up.”

“We can’t,” another man said. “She’s supposed to feel everything.”

Someone touched me between my thighs, and I gasped when I couldn’t close my legs. Cold restraints kept my ankles stretched apart, and my wrists were immobile too. My vision hazed and wobbled as I tried to figure out who was holding me.

There were two men and a woman, all dressed in dark blue scrubs. I had no idea who they were.

“Wha—What’s happening?” My throat felt thick, and I slurred my words. “Who?—”

“Shh.” A woman said. “Relax, and this will all be over before you know it. Just be glad we managed to get the laser hair removal done before you woke up.”

“You’ll feel a pinch, sweetheart,” the second man said.

Without warning, a sharp stab of pain pierced my most private spot and I cried out. Before I could try to struggle free, the first man laid a hand on my breast. “Nipples next.”

“I’ll get her tongue and septum when you’re done,” the woman replied.

“Vertical and horizontal. He wants four on her tongue,” the second male added.

“Christ. Sick bastard.”

“We don’t judge,” the woman said. “We do what we’re paid for.”

Oh, god. Had my father come back? Lachlan wouldn’t hurt me like this, and I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

I felt a sharp tug on my right nipple, then a terrible stab of pain. Scant seconds later, my left breast suffered the same fate. I wanted to look down and see what they’d done to me, but my head felt too heavy to lift.

“No, please—” Before I could finish speaking, something hard pinched my tongue and pulled it from my mouth.

I screamed as a flood of agony erupted. Choking, I cried weakly, feeling hot tears on my cheeks as someone pushed gauze into my mouth to soak up most of the blood.

“Could you hand me the makeup wipes?” the woman asked. “I need to clean her face before I do the septum piercing.”

I smelled lavender as the woman removed my makeup, exposing what I’d tried so hard to keep hidden.

“Fuck’s sake,” she muttered as she dabbed gently at the paint. “Next time he asks for an appointment, tell that sick bastard we’re busy.”

“Please stop,” I whispered. “My husband won’t let you do this to me.”

“Oh, honey.” The woman shook her head sadly, sending her blonde ponytail waving. “Who do you think paid for our services?”

I stilled and didn’t react when she pushed a needle through the cartilage separating my nostrils. I didn’t resist when they flipped me to my stomach and set an electric branding iron to the outer curve of my ass.

Despite my determination to stay silent and unmoved, tears coursed down my cheeks as I screamed.

They released the restraints and helped me to my feet before leading me to stand in front of a mirror. My nose had a ring through it like I was livestock, and matching rings dangled from my nipples. My clit hood had a fucking bell on it that chimed with every step. Even my pubic hair was gone, taking away what little protection I had.

A white bandage covered the brand on my ass, but I didn’t want to know what it was. Probably Lachlan’s initials. When I took the gauze from my mouth, the studs in my tongue clicked against my teeth and I forced myself to swallow the blood pooling in my mouth.

My stomach gurgled in warning, giving me only a few seconds to drop to my knees next to a wastebasket before everything came up. When I was done retching, the woman cleaned my face and gave me a cup of water.

“Here. It’s just saline. Rinse out your mouth and spit in the sink,” she said quietly. As if she thought it would help, she patted my back when I obeyed, then replaced the gauze.

I should have known better than to hope.

I should have fucking known . God, I was too stupid to live. Why, for a single second, did I think something good could possibly happen to me?

Naturally, no one offered me anything to wear. The dumbass heroine in a dark romance was always naked, and my level of dumbassery reached critical mass the minute I married Lachlan.

To no one’s surprise, Saoirse strode into the room, but refused to meet my gaze. Without a word, she attached a thin chain to the ring in my nose as one of the men locked shackles on my wrists.

He pulled my hands behind my back, and I heard a soft click as he linked the shackles together.

Gazing at me sadly, the woman affixed a steel collar around my neck and locked it with a hex key, then mouthed, “Sorry.”

To Saoirse, she added, “You already have the aftercare instructions. Bring her back if there’s any sign of infection.”

“Got it.” She tugged gently on the chain, making the pain in my nose flare. “Let’s go.”

I should have poisoned their breakfast.

I couldn’t do anything but follow her unless I wanted that fresh nose piercing yanked out. Of course, given my current state of undress, and the fact that my wrists were restrained, I wouldn’t get far if I tried to run.

Didn’t stop me from thinking about it though.

She led me outside into bright sunlight, then to Lachlan’s town car. I couldn’t decide whether to be happy it was parked in an enclosed lot where no one could see, or wish it wasn’t.

After opening the back passenger door, she laid a thick towel on the seat, then pointed at it. “Get in.”

It was hard to talk through the gauze, but I asked, “And if I don’t?”

Saoirse shrugged, then pulled a small, black device from the pocket of her slacks. “I really don’t want to do this, but you’ll get tased and I’ll put you in the trunk.”

Maybe I should have tried to run, but I didn’t delude myself into thinking Saoirse wasn’t completely serious about tasing me. I’d long since learned that being conscious and able to see was better than not.

Lachlan

“I think I might hate you as much as Natasha probably does.” Saoirse shook her head as we watched Jerome, my kennel master, lead Natasha to her new home. “She truly thought you’d come rescue her until the piercing artist told her you were the one paying for everything they did to her.”

“So?” I shrugged and kept watching as Jerome opened the chain link kennel door and pushed her inside. “It just means I did my job and fucked her well enough to convince her I liked her. Hell, she made us breakfast.”

“Don’t be crass and stop deflecting.” She turned to face me. “I know I agreed to your plan, but Natasha isn’t like Steve. It’s not right what we’re doing to her.”

“And you know this after one day?”

My sister laid a hand on my arm and sighed. “Let me ask you something. Were you too busy gloating to look at her face?”

Unwilling to admit I’d been paying too much attention to her curvaceous backside and wishing the brand was healed enough to uncover, I asked, “What about it?”

“Someone…” She hesitated, then added, “Did you beat her last night?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Well, someone did,” she retorted. “Her face is black and blue. It must have happened either the day of or the day before the wedding. The ones on her ribs are faded a bit, so I think they came earlier.”

For a moment, I wondered if Steve knew someone had touched his precious daughter but shook the thought away. Whoever had beaten her wouldn’t get another chance, and I liked knowing Steve would never get his own vengeance over the person who hit my wife.

Although Natasha’s immediate future would be filled with humiliation, degradation, and debasement, she wouldn’t be physically harmed. After I set her free, she could remove the piercings, and her brand would eventually fade. Steve might even be able to find her another husband who would accept my sloppy seconds—especially after I trained her for obedience.

It was more likely she’d find another husband quickly. After all, it wasn’t every day a man got to marry a trained slave who was also competent to navigate society. Then again… I wondered if I ought to choose Natasha’s next husband. I wanted someone who would understand the value of the time investment I’d be making.

I considered a few gentlemen of my acquaintance and made a note to present Natasha to them at her pseudo coming-out party. Fuck, that day couldn’t come soon enough, but for now, I had a sister to placate.

After kissing her cheek, I pulled her into a hug. “You know why I’m doing this, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to watch it happen.”

“I’ve already had the pilot file a flight plan for Boston. I’m leaving as soon as I pack.”

“Of course.” I accepted her kiss on my cheek, then added, “You’ll be back in six weeks, right? I don’t want you to miss the look on Steve’s face when he sees Natasha.”

“I’ll be there,” she promised. “I just hope you can live with yourself afterward, because I think you’re crossing a line.”

“Don’t worry.” I allowed myself a small smile as I gazed at the kennel. “It’ll be worth it.”

I waited until Saoirse’s driver took her out of sight before making my leisurely way to the kennel, but Jerome met me halfway.

“Did she say anything?”

“No, sir. I kept expecting her to beg for her no-account father, but she hasn’t said a word.” He shrugged, then added, “There isn’t much we can do while she heals from the piercings and brand.”

“You’re the only man I’d trust to take care of her.”

“I’m honestly not sure why, sir. I seriously considered strangling her.”

Darragh wasn’t our only loss that day. Ben, Jerome’s oldest son, had died trying to protect my brother.

He scowled, then added, “I’m not inclined to beat on a woman’s face but looks like someone already taught her some manners. Maybe that’s why she’s quiet.”

Jerome didn’t question me like Saoirse had, but I knew what he was thinking. Unfortunately, I had no idea who hit her. My ignorance irritated me more than it should have.

“Just imagine the look on Steve Ashland’s face when he sees her.” I slapped his shoulder companionably. “We don’t have much time, so get her bathing protocols started today. If she misbehaves, use the strap on the backs of her thighs, but be careful not to hit the brand.”

“The dragon tongue is easier to handle and hurts more, so I doubt she’ll act up after the first time I use it.”

“I bow to your wisdom, but remember, I don’t want her to know why she’s here.”

“She won’t hear it from me.” He grinned, then added, “Would you like to watch me work?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”