Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3)(83)

Of course, that would’ve been a mistake.

Because even though she’d most certainly derive at least a small measure of satisfaction from hocking a giant loogie in his eye, it didn’t change the fact that Lisa was dead—oh, sweet Lord, the thought made her ill with grief and bile instantly coated the gag in her mouth. But she couldn’t break down. No amount of histrionics would bring poor Lisa back. Plus, spitting in Johnny’s eye might piss him off just enough to forgo his so-called “fun” and kill her immediately.

She couldn’t have that.

Not if she hoped to give Rock and the rest of the Black Knights time to save Franklin.

“Tell me,” Johnny placed his hands on the table behind her back and leaned in close, his lips moving against her ear. He smelled like beer and expensive cologne, and the need to barf down the back of his leather jacket nearly overwhelmed her. “Have you been enjoying the flowers? I was so upset when you didn’t want to play that first night.”

Oh God. Her instincts had been right. And instead of trusting herself and telling Frank about it, she’d simply dismissed the entire thing.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

And now she was really battling the urge to throw up, especially when he continued. “Do you like getting titty-f*cked? With jugs like these,” he reached down and squeezed her breasts; the pain had her wincing and biting into the gag until she tasted blood along with the bile, “I bet you do.”

He shoved his tongue in her ear, a brief glimpse of the violation to come, and she started to close her eyes, to ready herself to withstand the rest of it, when a movement at the doorway caught her attention.

For a moment, she couldn’t understand what she was seeing.

It was a man. Shirtless. With some sort of turban on his head. Completely covered in blood from head to toe until the whites of his eyes were the only discernible feature on his whole person. They shined like beacons. Fierce and bright.

And then she got it.

Jake!

He was alive!

She nearly choked on the sharp relief that burst through her chest before she caught herself. He lifted a blood-coated finger to his blood-coated lips—wow, there was a lot of blood; she didn’t know how he was still standing—and she blinked twice, hoping he understood the move for the affirmative it was.

Johnny pushed to a stand and started working at the buttons of his fly, and it took everything she had to keep her eyes on his sadistic face instead of watching as Jake silently slid up behind him.

She stopped breathing when Jake raised his blood-soaked hands.

A split second later, one of those hands was on Johnny’s forehead while the other dragged a knife across Johnny’s throat.

It didn’t make any noise. Not one sound. And Johnny didn’t have time to squeak a protest before dark blood flowed from the wound on his neck in a thick, terrible rush.

It was weird, that macabre silence. That brief moment when time stood still and nothing moved save for the blood pumping freely from what used to be Johnny’s throat. Then he dropped to his knees, his hands scrabbling at his neck, a terrible gurgling sound coming from his gaping mouth until she yearned for the strange quiet of the split-second before.

Watching him struggle, she attempted to summon up some sympathy, especially when she saw the astonishment in his eyes. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to find any. Not after what he’d done to Lisa. Not after what he’d nearly done to her. And certainly not after what he’d no-doubt planned to do to her son.

And then something really strange happened. Johnny’s hands dropped to his side, and his expression became one of…realization was the only word she had to describe it, right before he fell face forward. His head smacked against the leg of the chair she was tied to with a sickening thud, keeping his chin raised and his throat wound gaping open so that an astonishing amount of blood poured onto her kitchen floor in a matter of seconds.

Jesus! She never knew a human body held that much blood…

Jake wasted no time cutting her hands free, and she wrenched the gag from her mouth, bending to scrabble with the ropes around her ankles. She needed to get upstairs. Get to Franklin. The thought of him coming down to see this…

“Franklin—” she began, but Jake was quick to reassure her as he bent to help her with the rest of her restraints.

“I used the fire ladder to lower him out the window,” he said, his voice hoarse. “He’s with the neighbors.”

“Oh, thank God,” she breathed, lifting her toes from the floor to avoid the expanding pool of Johnny’s blood as Jake used his knife to saw at the bindings.

The second she was free, she jumped away from the horror and carnage just as her back door burst open and Rock came barreling into the kitchen, a gun in each hand. He skidded to a halt, taking in the scene, and she raised her hands to cover her naked breasts.

“Dieu, Shell, did he…?” Rock couldn’t finish the sentence, and she was momentarily confused until the realized what he was thinking.

“No,” she assured him. “Johnny didn’t get that far. Jake came before…before…”

“Good.” Rock swallowed and blew out a hard breath, shoving his weapons into his waistband.

“Yeah, dude.” Jake pushed to a wobbly stand and grabbed the table, panting slightly. “We got it all under control here. No problemo.”