Chapter 29

Sometime the next day, Emery slowly opened her eyes and hissed in pain, her arm searing with it. Her upper right arm was heavily bandaged along with her head, only realizing it by lifting her uninjured arm to feel the gauze on her forehead. Emery could instantly tell she wasn't in her bedroom at the apartment, not recognizing her surroundings at first. Then she did, looking around at the walls with no windows and only one door to walk in and out of. Of course it was locked. This was the same place Jon and Joe had taken her when they kidnapped her. She was back where it all started with Jon. Managing to sit up, Emery knew she was being watched and promptly flipped the double bird at the camera in the corner before looking away, beginning to unwrap her arm to check the extensive damage. The damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. She had lucked out, somewhat, and not hit anything major. She would survive and Jon was fairly good with patching people up. He had a lot of practice on himself. Jon watched her from his chair, leaning back with eyes on the camera and, at the same time, listened to Colby's footsteps in the house. After a few minutes, he leaned forward to hit the speaker button.

"Hey Killer, how're you holding up?" Jon bet her head hurt like hell and now he could hear Colby treading towards that room, frowning.

Emery hated the fact Jon was still in the house with Colby. She figured he would've either bounced, left her alone with her ex-fiancé or been killed off by now. "You do realize he'll kill you when he doesn't need you anymore, right? You need to get out while you still can."

Why did she still care about him? Hadn't Jon proven he didn't give a damn about her? Why did Emery feel the need to protect him, even after he betrayed her? Maybe because, for the month they were together and everything was nearly perfect, Emery saw a side of him she knew Jon didn't show to anyone. Not even Joe. She could hear footsteps outside of the door and felt every part of her body go rigid, immediately scooting back on the bed with her good arm as far away from the door as possible. Colby would not take what wasn't his, not unless he killed her and had sex with her dead corpse first.

This woman... even now, after everything, still had no proper sense of self-preservation. Yes, she might've picked up some new toys and even learned new tricks, but underneath that badass exterior Emery had temporarily exhibited, she was still the same, crazy bipolar broad with Stockholm's who had forgiven him for kidnapping and torturing her and then fell in love with him. Jon watched as the door opened, knowing Colby was getting ready to... he pushed away from the desk and monitors. Why watch when he could just join?

"Emery, my sweet Emery…" Colby crooned once the door opened and didn't bother closing it behind him, knowing she was in no condition to fight him off right now. This would be easy pickings, not that she didn't deserve everything he planned doing to her. "How's the arm, gorgeous?"

"Tell me how you did it." Emery demanded, wrapping her arms around herself in spite of the current pain she was in, hot tears burning her eyes. "I should've known you being dead was too good to be true. The disappearance of your body made me leery and now I know why."

"You were always smarter than I gave you credit for." Colby amended, slowly moving toward the bed until he knelt on it, dark eyes devouring her whole. "Faking my death was easy. Simply had Jon 'shoot' me." He did the quotation marks with his fingers, smirking wickedly. "Of course, he really didn't, but we had to make it look convincing. Paid off the coroner and police that showed up on scene as well. It's amazing what money does these days!"

"I lost 6 months of my life because of you." Emery accused, staying on the far side of the bed away from him and clenched her fists the closer Colby came toward her. "And for what? To prove a point that you will always be in control of me? I got news for you, Lopez, you will NEVER have that type of power over me again! I fucked your accomplice currently watching this every which way possible and even let him pop my anal cherry. The ONE thing you never could do because of your puny dick. So eat that, you psycho bastard!"

Jon could hear her yelling because Colby was an idiot, who hadn't bothered shutting the door, so everything Emery screamed he heard clear as a bell. When she screeched out that bit about the anal cherry popping, he had to bite down on his knuckle so he wouldn't burst out laughing, shaking his head. Woman had brass balls, one of the many reasons Jon was attracted to her. Yawning, he stepped into the room and took in the scene before him.

"Now – now kids, let's play nicely together."

"Your assistance is not required for this, Jon." Colby asserted through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the venom Emery had spat at him. Jon taking her backside... him having a puny dick... He was not happy and could feel his blood boiling.

"Go ahead, beat me up like you did before, Lopez. Rape me and take what's NOT yours. It doesn't matter what you do to me because at least, for a brief period of time, I was happy with someone other than your stupid ass. I was sexually satisfied the way you never could muster up. And I don't regret a single solitary second of it, even if the dick pleasuring me was helping you all along. It doesn't matter. The point is: It wasn't YOU." Emery spat venomously, refusing to back down from the likes of Colby Lopez or Jon.

Deep in her heart, she still loved Jon and couldn't understand why, this betrayal almost being her undoing. To survive what Colby was about to do to her, Emery would have to dig deep down and pull those memories of her and Jon happy together to the surface. It was the same thing she did whenever Colby beat and raped her in Davenport, Emery thought of happier times they had to get through it and to stay strong.

"Just know that every time you rape me in this room, I will be thinking of your sidekick and not you."

His erection, his longing to be buried deep in HIS Emery's pussy was gone. It had been over 8 months, hell over 9, since the last time he had been balls deep in her and now – now she was killing off his ability to do it again. And she was doing it by spewing poison about JON! His best friend, his accomplice, and apparently her very excellent lover. She had been right, Colby planned on killing Jon, but it wasn't personal. Colby didn't need any loose ends to his crimes. Now, however, it was a bit personal.

"Yeah, think about my sidekick..." He snarled, not moving from his spot and his eyes turned into black pools of rage.

Considering that Jon had made her scream, squirt, and call him God in tongues, he smirked, quietly approaching the bed. He stood behind Colby, wondering if the idiot even realized he was there and locked eyes with Emery. The maniac smile widening, he raised a finger to his lips. What the hell? Colby knew Jon was in the room, didn't he? Or was he so consumed with punishing her he didn't realize what was happening? Emery's head felt like it may explode, so much bafflement swirling through her eyes.

"Don't worry, Lopez; I plan on it." Emery promised, moving to sit on her knees on the bed and kept him focused on her, aqua eyes nothing more than pure ice. "Go ahead," She tapped the side of her face tauntingly with her finger, daring Colby to make one move toward her. "Hit me. Show me what a big bad man you are. Just know it's not you in my mind or my heart anymore, Lopez. It's your buddy boy, the man you trusted to bend me to your will. Guess what? He bent me in all sorts of ways, just not how YOU wanted."

She really was pushing her luck showing off that fiery spirit Jon remembered quite well from the last time she had been locked up in this room. As well as afterwards, when she had not been fond of him. The back and forth arguments they had were amusing, if not somewhat head turning.

"You're going to regret this, whore." Colby informed her, raising his hand.

She wanted to provoke him, knowing him as well as she did? Knowing what would happen to her? Fine, then he would give Emery what she wanted, just like he always had. Jon caught that raised hand before it could move, clenching Colby's fingers in his fist rather tightly.

"Colby, at this point, I am officially bored with your resurrection." His tone laced with humor, though his pale blues were frosted over and deadly.

Emery's jaw dropped the moment Jon captured Colby's fingers and curled them into his palm tightly, almost to the point of breaking his entire wrist. It was also the same wrist she slashed and currently heavily bandaged. The fact Jon had stopped Colby from striking her made Emery question every single thing that happened from the second Jon infused Joe's body with the tranquilizer dart and forcefully knocked Annalise out with an ether-soaked cloth. What the hell was going on? Whose side was Jon on? Colby's, hers, his own? Maybe he had his own agenda that involved her Emery had no idea about?

"Let go of me right now, Good." Colby growled, hissing out and was driven to his knees in front of his accomplice, dark eyes glaring up at him. "Y-You dare betray me for a WHORE like HER?"

"You dare betray me?" Jon echoed mockingly, shaking his head. "You sound like a bad novel, Lopez." He squeezed harder, just to watch Colby's teeth grit in obvious pain, taking in the infusion of color reddening the man's face. Jon knew he currently looked like a maniac with the way he was grinning, but... this was kind of comical. "Now, apologize to Killer or else."

"Apologize?" Colby gaped through the pain in his wrist. "To HER?"

"Yeah... it's the least you can do." Jon leaned forward, whispering loud enough for Colby and Emery to hear, but not the cameras. "Because everything you did, Dude Who Is Supposed to Be Dead, is on camera. You assaulting her, threatening her, everything..."

Emery would have a clean slate entirely. There would be nobody who could dispute what the footage would show. All those doubters would have to shove it and she would have her life back. She would no longer be the Murderess Who Got Away.

"You took 6 months of my life and made people believe I was capable of murdering a no good sorry son of a bitch like you. I wouldn't waste a bullet on the likes of you, Lopez. You're not good enough for a bullet."

Emery stood up from the bed warily, still not fully trusting Jon. Apparently the man had a change of heart. He was just as much as a whirlwind bipolar person as she was!

"And apologizing to me won't take away everything you've done to me over the years. So don't bother." She spat in his face, tilting her head as Jon applied more pressure to Colby's hand and heard one bone snap, then another. "Doesn't feel good to be betrayed by those you trust, does it?"

"You fucking CUNT!" Colby roared angrily, clenching his teeth to try to fight back the pain. He was tougher than people gave him credit for. "I'm gonna slit your throat MYSELF!"

Jon's eyes narrowed at that, wondering how much Emery wanted her reputation restored. She could live with a tarnished reputation. She didn't have to stay in Florida. Hell, after all this, he wouldn't be surprised if she disappeared off the radar and he never heard a peep out of her, which actually made his supposedly nonexistent heart clench painfully. However, if Colby somehow walked or was paroled down the line, she would be in danger all over again.

"Emery..." Her name came out of his mouth softly, gaining her attention over Colby's cursing. "Do you want to be safe or do you still care what the world thinks of you?"

Because if she went with safe, he'd snap Lopez's neck right here and now. Colby realized just what Jon meant when he felt his head being put in a lock, knowing just how strong Jon was. Struggling trying to get off his knees, Colby felt Jon use his weight as leverage to keep him remaining in the current position he was in. Here and now, she held Colby Lopez's life in the palm of her hand. Emery wasn't sure how to feel at the moment, but she was definitely vindicated. Either way, she was on her way out of Tampa and still planned on moving to Vegas. Whether Jon came with her or not was up in the air since he had chased her down, bringing her back here to be hurt by her ex-fiancé. The more she thought back to everything that happened, Jon hadn't laid a single finger on her besides grabbing her ankle to stop her from leaving the apartment.

"You'll never stop, Colby. You'll never leave me alone and…I can't keep looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to strike. You are despicable and heartless. You don't care about anyone or anything except yourself and your needs. I loved you once and you were the love of my life, but the moment you laid a hand on me and hurt and raped me, all that love turned into hatred. This world would be better off without you in it. So good riddance and enjoy your place in the farthest deepest depths of hell." Aqua eyes locked on murderous pale blue. "Safe."

A snap resonated around the room and Colby's body crashed to the floor at Emery's feet, his life ending for real this time. If ever there was someone who deserved to die, Colby Lopez was that person. Of course, Jon's hands weren't clean by any means, but he had killed to protect someone he loved twice so far and he'd do it again. He stepped over Colby's body, not bothering to look down and felt absolutely nothing for Colby anymore. Jon knew he had messed up majorly with Emery; everything that had happened today, his shady behavior over the past few weeks, she would never forgive him and that was probably how it should be.

So all he did, all he could do, was simply stand there staring at her, taking in the damage.