Chapter 24

A/N: It's Monday. Posting day. Thanks you to everyone for reading, reviewing, and recommending. This chapter has all the warnings, mostly violence and some triggering material. Seriously heed the warnings because it gets rough. Thanks to our prereaders and beta. Y'all know who they are and we love them. This chapter has a split POV so pay attention to those tags. And off we go.

Songs- Cut the Cord by Shinedown, Regulate by Warren G and Nate Dogg

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BPOV

If it was Liam and Alec's plan to break me down slowly, they were doing a bang-up job. After Liam attacked me and saying they had stuff to take care of before they had fun, I braced myself for what I knew was coming. I wasn't stupid, and it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Since then, nothing had happened. While I could count this as a blessing, I had no real idea of how much time had passed, and I knew that it would still come. I know that it had been at least a day or maybe two. They fed me, but not directly. They had come in once to untie me so I could eat.

I had no real fighting skills, never needed them, and out of all the cop things Charlie had taught me, how to defend myself was never one of them. I was just a girl who could be protected by him or Jake, which was a fucking joke. Now, I was paying for it because I had no hope of fighting not only one but two guys who were larger than me. I knew that I should be terrified, but I really couldn't feel anything except for a hollow, cold feeling in my chest. I knew I had to be distancing myself to protect my mental wellbeing.

While most people in this situation would ponder their life choices and think about why they were in this predicament, I didn't because I knew it all came back to one person—Edward. The funny thing was I wasn't angry with him. I was pissed off at Liam and Alec for whatever their fucked up reasons were, and I was upset that Edward left me in the dark for so long, but I'd lied to him as well. All that crap in the past really didn't seem like such a big deal, looking at the big picture.

Once the initial shock of my boyfriend is a killer wore off, I analyzed it from another angle. Emmett had said that it wasn't just black and white. Edward's parents had been executed because his dad had owed too much money to the wrong people. So, there were people out there who did terrible things and put others in danger. Liam and Alec were shining examples of the types of dogs who needed to be put down. I couldn't see Emmett or Edward taking out someone who didn't deserve it.

I heard footsteps on the stairs again for the fifth time since they left me alone. They never came in the room, never turned on the light, never said a word. Just went down the stairs, walked around, and went back upstairs. This time, there were two sets of footsteps.

"Look, I don't care what you do to her, just leave her alive."

"What is Cullen gonna do to us? You told me yourself that bitch has made him soft."

"Because I fucking said so, Alec. Don't forget your place. You're lucky that I didn't shot you months ago. Working with the fucking police isn't what we do."

"I told you, he kept our shit under wraps as long as I found her, and I did."

"Whatever. I'm in charge, so just remember that. Now, I gotta go get some stuff. Entertain yourself."

I heard a set of footsteps leading back up the stairs. I wanted to scream "no." Out of the two of them, I worried about Alec the most. He had a real penchant for choking. While it was hot as hell when Edward did it, it just terrified me when Alec did it. I knew Edward would never hurt me; he would never take it further than I wanted him to. Alec couldn't care less about me or my wellbeing, so I didn't have the same faith in his control. I heard the door latch click, the light came on, and I closed my eyes against the bright light. After being left in the dark, it burned my retinas. I felt my eyes start to tear up, and I blinked quickly to clear them.

Once Alec's face came into view, I felt a hate stir in me so intense it left me breathless. I wanted to slit his throat and paint with his blood. Aside from those homicidal thoughts, I tried to clear everything else out of my mind. I would need to keep my head to make it through this. Alec tied my hands together again, and when I fought to keep from being bound to the headboard, too, he slapped me and reopened the cut on my lip.

Alec didn't say a word as he trailed his hand down my arm, letting it skim down my side, and stopped to let it grip my hip, tightly. The cry I tried to suppress came out a choked squeal. I was quite sure there would be bruises. He grabbed my chin with his other hand and leaned in to skim along the column of my throat with his nose. "I'm going to enjoy making you scream because I know you're going to try to hold it back," he said and bit my neck. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from making a sound.

This seemed to break something inside of him because before I knew it, he was straddling me, sitting at my mid-thighs, completely keeping me from being able to kick him. I tried to buck him off me and that just caused him to grind down into me. I felt my stomach roll, and I wanted to throw up. The fucker was getting off on my struggling.

"You're going to die, and I'm going to enjoy watching it," I taunted.

"Little dark for me, babe. But whatever gets you off," he said, one of his large hands closing around my neck. He squeezed, cutting off the air. I struggled to breathe, and just when I felt like I was going to pass out, he let go. The air burned as it rushed into my lungs, and I gasped in lungfuls of air. He gave me less than a minute of relief before he started the whole process again of choking me just to the point of passing out and letting go. He did this several times until the lack of oxygen started to make me feel almost drunk. I was so exhausted.

He ripped my shirt down the middle, leaving me just in my bra. He roughly kneaded my breasts over the top of the bra; I wanted to scream and get him off me. I didn't want him touching me. I tried to fight him off, but he was positioned exactly right to keep me from making any progress. He grabbed my hair in his fist and pulled my face close to his. "I can make this hurt, or I can make this feel good; either way, it's happening, so stop fighting me."

I glared at him with narrowed eyes and did the only thing I could think of and spit right in his face. He shot up off the bed, swearing. He turned and wiped his face, then punched me on my right temple. This time, I couldn't stay quiet. "Fuck!" I swore, my eye throbbing, and a haze started to settle over me. I fought to stay conscious. This situation was so fucked up, but it would only get worse if I passed out.

Alec grabbed a pocketknife and cut down the seam on my pants, ripping them off me completely, along with my underwear. I was so tired and about ready to give up. I just wanted to let the haze swallow me and sleep. Alec stepped back from me and undid the button on his jeans and pulled down the zipper. The minute I saw his dick, which was hard, I felt a burst of pure adrenaline. This was not going to happen, and I would fight him tooth and fucking nail to keep it from touching me. I started kicking my legs and got in a shot to his knee. He looked pissed, and he punched me in the stomach, causing the breath to whoosh out of me in a forceful exhale.

I was dazed, but the horror of the situation brought stunning clarity. Alec grabbed my legs and pinned them to the bed, crawling up my body. I started fighting again, and he slapped me once, and then punched me again. I started losing the fight to stay conscious, and as the black was about to swallow me, I could swear I heard Edward's voice yelling my name.

EPOV

"I sent the correspondence to Connell, Marx, and Boden." I glared a hole in the back of Dylan's head. "They'll be meeting us there. They'll take one side of the house, and we'll take the other."

Emmett pushed the kid as he drove. "How many of these motherfuckers are there?"

Dylan subconsciously rubbed the sting out of his arm. "I don't know about now, but when I left, maybe six or seven. That's besides Alec and my dad."

We drove a block away from where Dylan said they held Bella. I should've given it a few hours until the cover of night, but the truth was I couldn't stand the idea of these assholes having Bella for one more second. Lord only knew what they were doing to her, and judging by the flashes of pain that kept stabbing through me … well, it wasn't hard to guess.

Several times along the drive here, I felt as if someone was choking me, and the closer we drove, the more intense the pain seemed to get. The problem was, I couldn't let this newfound weakness be known.

Rigidly, I sat with a gun pointed at Dylan and Charlie. While Dylan was a kid who seemed hard to shock, Charlie looked as if he would piss his pants at any given moment. When that level of fear was the dominant emotion, it was hard to tell what a person would do, so I clenched my teeth with every stab of pain, my jaw aching with pain as the choking sensation relentlessly pounded me. With each new pang, my nostrils flared, and I got angrier.

"There's Connell now," I started, spotting his truck coming up the street in the opposite direction. "Pull up alongside him … have him and the others go around the back."

The barrel of my gun grazed the back of Dylan's head as I leaned up to speak to Connell. "You, Marx, and Boden go around to the other side. We'll hit them going this way. But keep an eye out for Liam. I want him in my hands alive, and Adrian as well. I have special treats in store for them, and every fucking body will be there to see it."

"Your call, boss." Connell nodded. His gaze never wavered as he dipped his head in agreement. "I'll shoot him in the fucking leg if I see him." Casting a sidelong glance at Boden and Marx, he twirled his fingers in the air, indicating to get ready. Immediately, they withdrew their guns and prepared their firearms. "Meet you in the middle, bossman."

I tipped my head in confirmation as they pulled away. Power and dominance filled me all at once, and my head tilted at an angle as the need to kill something overrode every other instinct I had.

Many people were going to meet their maker tonight, and it was going to be my distinct pleasure in sending them in that direction. Chills danced down my spine as Em pulled into an alley. If these motherfuckers had been smart, they would've had surveillance clear down the block waiting for me, yet lucky for us, they weren't as intelligent as they thought.

Snarling, I gestured for Charlie and Dylan to exit the SUV. "Get out, and don't try no stupid shit. I'll put you in the gutter down the fucking block."

Dylan climbed from the passenger seat, throwing a look in my direction, saying, "Dude, I have no intent of pulling any shit. If you were smart, you'd let me help you take some of those assholes out."

"I wouldn't trust you with a fucking gun if I were lying on the floor, bleeding out," I told him. "Em, tie Charlie's ass up. I don't have the patience to watch two dicks at once and take on a house full of traitors."

"But … I," Charlie started and was promptly cut off by Em yanking him back by the scruff of his neck.

"This is about fucking Bella, so keep your trap shut," Emmett declared, shoving Charlie back into the SUV. Tying him up, he stuffed a gag in his mouth. "Pray we make it out alive because if we don't, you'll rot where you sit."

We didn't spare him a backward glance as we crept down the alley. Dylan indicated a hidden drive, and I quickly glanced around. As bone-weary as I felt, a rush of adrenaline flowed through my blood as we wound around the drive. If it hadn't been for the kid, I would've never located Bella. A sliver of admiration for the kid conflicted with the initial distrust, yet it could all have been a trap. There was always the possibility Liam had orchestrated this entire scheme, and Dylan once again was part of the plot.

An eternity seemed to pass before the house came into sight. As the boy had said, four guys stood in random spots, which was only on this side of the property. Em and I could take out two of them, but not without alerting the others to our presence. The muscle ticked in my temple as I contemplated actually trusting the kid with a gun. Seeing no other choice, I shoved my Beretta into his hands, saying, "If you shoot me, better fucking kill me … if I get my hands back on you afterward, I will make your death far worse than anything I have in store for Liam."

Dylan's startled gaze darted between me and the gun I put in his hands. The corner of his mouth tipped, and to my utter amazement, he said, "I don't betray my people, bossman." With those words, he lifted the gun, his eyes squinting and the barrel moving until he decided he had a person in his sights. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled that trigger like a pro, planting a 9mm bullet in the Italian's eye.

Satisfaction filled me as I watched the man crumble to the ground, and before I could even lift my gun, the kid took out the Italian's partner a foot away. Considering I'd wasted enough time, reveling over my trust issues and the kid's evident dedication to my cause, I instantly lifted my gun and aimed, seeing Em do the same out of the corner of my eye.

Together we pulled the triggers, and four unsuspecting men lay lifeless on the ground. With a quick assessment of our surroundings, we jogged across the lawn in tandem. Before we even reached the front door, Connell and Marx were coming around the house with confirmation all was clear. "Left Boden looking out …"

"Great call," I stated, quietly edging toward the front door while Dylan and Emmett peeked into the windows. "Marx … stay close to this door and shoot anything that comes into fucking sight. You already know what to do if Liam or Adrian come anywhere close."

"Take out a leg," Marx confirmed, his arms folding in front of him as he scanned the yard. "Got your back. Go …"

"Where are they keeping, Bella?" A fire burned in my chest as her name left my lips. A predatory feeling consumed me, and a daze took over. Once again, I hovered above myself. A noticeable rumble left my chest, and everyone in attendance looked in my direction.

Dylan met my steely gaze, and with a lift of his chin, he murmured, "Basement. Through the house, off the kitchen."

Emmett looked in our direction, a dark brow raising, "Ready?"

As soon as I nodded, everything happened in a flurry of activity. Em's large foot crashed into the doorjamb, effectively slamming the door against the wall. When I would've barreled inside, Dylan darted in front of me, his gun lifted at the ready, nailing another Italian I didn't even recognize. Yet, currently, I was too distracted to be much assistance, my sole purpose being to make it to Bella.

Several bullets whizzed by as I ran directly for the kitchen, thankful for Em's quick reaction as we turned the corner to find a guard by the door, a bullet sinking into his skull. His limp form thumped against the barrier, and with a roar, I ripped his lifeless body free from my path. I yanked the door open so fast a hinge on the side popped free. Despite the time of day, little light lit the trail as I rushed down the stairs. When I came face to face with a giant of a man, I lifted my gun and shot him where he stood, splatters of blood smacking me in the face. I felt a drop hit my bottom lip, and with ferocity climbing my chest, I licked it. As the coppery essence tingled on my tastebuds, I felt Bella's name being ripped from my throat as I crashed through the last door keeping her from me.

The first thing I noticed when I entered that fucking room was Alec on top of Bella, pinning her to the bed. From this vantage point, I vaguely recalled seeing her clothes in shreds next to the bed and Bella's naked limbs sprawled beneath Alec. His head whipped in my direction with a startled gaze, and I leaped across that room with more speed than I'd ever imagined possessing. Before Alec had a chance to react, I grabbed him by the back of his shirt, my fingernails ripping into muscle and tearing him from my Bella.

Fury like no other was born as my gaze settled on Bella's naked pussy and darted to find Alec's dick hanging from his pants. Apparently, my timely arrival deflated his arousal, his cock shriveling as fear quivered through him. Punching with all the force I had straight in the cock, I tossed him toward Emmett. "Break his fucking legs. Stuff a rag in his mouth and tape it shut. Things are about to get interesting."

Alec pled for mercy as Emmett dragged him from the room with Connell's assistance. At the moment, however, my sole focus was the broken woman lying on the bed. Without hesitation, I dropped next to the bed, working the bindings holding her wrists; I pulled her across the mattress as the ropes broke free.

Instantly, her shaking form locked around me, her arms tightly wound around my neck, holding with all her might. I turned my head, burying my nose in her hair, whispering, "It's okay now, baby. I've got ya. Motherfucker is going to get his … Promise."

I held her to me as she broke apart in my arms, her sobs raping my soul as I tucked her mostly naked form into my chest. "Got you, baby … I'm gonna kill him for this … Got ya … ain't ever letting go."

Muffled screams came from Alec in the next room, my teeth clenching and unclenching as I held Bella. I needed my pound of flesh … hell, Bella needed hers. With this thought in mind, my gaze dropped into a glare, and hardness slid into place. Kissing her ear, I shifted to look down into her tear-filled eyes, and I dropped a kiss on her nose. "Ready to become the baddest bitch in Washington?"

Her split lip quivered as tears leaked down her cheeks. Her legs pressed tightly together, trying to hide her nakedness. With the pad of my thumb, I smeared her tears across her cheek as I cupped her hip, shielding her skin from view. "Em!"

When I shouted for Emmett, Bella cringed in my arms, burrowing deeper into my chest. The words that poured from her lips cracked my wicked heart. "I-I-I'm soooo sorry. I didn't want him to touch me … I'm sorry. I tried to fight him, but he kept … t-t-touching me."

The sting of tears caused me to blink rapidly. Kissing her chin, I whispered, "Shhh … It's gonna be okay. I-I know, baby … I-I know."

"Please don't let me go," she cried, her fingernails scratching into the nape of my neck as Em came into the room. Shrinking into a sliver of the woman she was, I growled as Em's shadow fell across the bed. "I don't want anyone … anyone looking at me … please, don't let me go."

"Boss?"

My grip on Bella never loosened as I turned to look at Em. "Gonna need your shirt … only thing big enough to cover her, and don't fucking look at her, man."

Emmett didn't even hesitate as he tossed his gun aside, and he worked the buttons down the front of his shirt, averting his gaze from Bella. He shrugged out of his clothing, quickly turning over his shirt before pulling his jacket back in place. "Here, boss."

I barely spared him a glance as I took his shirt and placed it over Bella's shoulders. I pressed a kiss to her neck as she slid her arms through the sleeves. "Em … find me a knife … the dullest one among the group."

"You got it," he called as he slipped out, leaving Bella and me alone.

Cupping her cheeks, I dropped another kiss to her nose; I tipped her chin until her gaze met mine. "I ain't leaving … not leaving … It's time to be strong, Bella. All the fear inside, the brokenness, the gut-wrenching terror—we're going to turn that all into something else. Right now, right here. Take it all, all those weak emotions and bury them until the rightful anger awakens."

"How? Why?" As Em's shirt covered her skin, her chin lifted, and some of the helplessness subsided. Weakly, with my help, she stood on wobbly legs; leaning against me, she tipped her face into my chest. "I'm not sure I understand."

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I urged her toward the door, noting her steps falter as Alec came into view. He was currently strapped to a chair with a gag taped in his mouth. His legs were resting at the oddest angles, confirming my command had been followed. My lips found her ear, "It's okay, baby. Can't fucking hurt you … won't let him … about to make sure he never touches you again … Are you ready for that? Can you handle this, or do you want Em to take you out of here?"

Bella's wide eyes darted between Alec and me, uncertainty furrowing her brow. "W-what is going to happen? I-I-I don't want you to leave me … I-I wanna stay with you."

"Okay," I whispered. "If it gets too much, babe … let Em …"

"I said I wanna stay, Edward," she interjected with a lift of her stubborn chin.

Wickedly, I smiled down at her briefly before dropping a kiss to her broken lip. "That's my girl," I whispered, shrugging out of my suit jacket; I undid the cuffs of my shirt and pulled up my sleeves. "Em, stand with Bella and help her plug her ears. Dylan, grab an arm."

Bella's fingers slipped from my waist as Emmett took my place. Bella didn't seem even mildly appeased by his presence, looking as if she wanted to follow me. "Stay back for a minute, baby. Gotta take care of something … then you can have all the fun you want."

Her expression was a bit puzzled, yet her gaze never wavered as I approached Alec. Suddenly, the image of a panther stalking its prey came to mind, and I felt the power radiating from my blood, my muscles straining as I relived every moment of rage over the last couple of days. Alec's head shook frantically as I closed the distance separating us, tears and sweat pouring from his face in rivers. "Not so cocky now … your dick hanging out … two broken legs, and about to have two arms joining them. I've been waiting for two days to get ahold of you … although, have to hand it to you, totally fucking blindsided me. Never would've expected you to be working with the Irish. Fucking disgusting … no loyalty … no sense of boundaries … touching things that weren't meant for you."

He was spewing unintelligible words muffled by the gag, and I laughed with no humor. "Really? You want to talk now? Talking is for people who have a chance of changing their fate. You—you have no hope of doing that. The second that dick made an appearance, all bets—all bets were off."

"Dylan, arm!" Grabbing Alec's other arm, I fought against his resistance, quickly straightening the limb, Dylan following suit. With a nod in his direction, I braced his elbow against my knee, and with one quick jerk, left Alec screaming, writhing in pain as his bones snapped. This time my laugh wasn't so foreign, a rush of satisfaction replacing the anger. "That felt so fucking good."

I tossed a look in Bella's direction, and to my amazement, she merely stood there without flinching. Feeling completely in my element for the first time in weeks, I wiggled my fingers in the direction of the knife Connell found. "Give me … Bella? Do you want your pound of flesh?"

Emmett looked as if he were going to intervene, yet with a stern look and a shake of my head, his hands fell from Bella's waist, completely letting it be her decision. She stared me in the eye, and hesitantly she came forward until she was standing toe to toe with me. "How? W-what do I-I do?"

The knife came to rest in my palm, and Connell stepped back and, like a good soldier, folded his arms over his hard chest. My gaze never wavered from hers as my voice dropped. "Take this knife and have fun … take all that helplessness and carve him like a fucking pumpkin. Gut the motherfucker … If you don't or can't … I will."

I watched her uncertainty pass across her face, and with a deep sigh, her trembling fingers took the knife I offered. When she stepped back from me, I looked at Dylan through a daze of satisfaction. "Rip his shirt open."

Walking around the back of Alec, I took a handful of hair and yanked his head back on his shoulders. "You even twitch, and I will rip your dick off with my bare hands. Understand?"

Red-rimmed eyes blinked back at me, and I felt his head shift as if he were nodding. Assured he couldn't move, I turned my attention back to Bella when Alec's shirt hung open. "Get 'em, babe. Take your time … there's no rush. Let him feel every bit of helplessness you felt because, right now, he's the scared bitch. About to be a dead one."

Bella hesitantly stepped between Alec's legs. Considering the man had just had all his limbs broken, quite brutally, he didn't have any strength to fight back. I watched her hesitantly lean forward, pressing the knife against his abdomen, and draw the blade over his rigid muscle. A thin line of blood appeared as she traced it across his stomach. With every slice, she became braver, and I watched with mixed feelings as the hardness replaced the empathic person I'd known.

My jaw ticked with emotion as I witnessed the birth of my queen. And with each cut she made, I watched the vulnerability dissolve. Finally, she stepped back with satisfaction, blood dripping from her fingers and knife. A half-smile creased her lips as she handed me the blade. Taking the weapon from her grip, I rounded Alec's limp form. "Just one more thing …" Moving Bella gently to the side, I leaned forward, and with one final swipe, I took his cock off. Looking to Connell, I said, "Deliver this package to Liam … so he can see what he has to look forward to."

Dropping the man's dick on his bleeding chest, I turned to Bella and effortlessly lifted her into my arms. Without a backward glance, I climbed the stairs, and with Emmett and Dylan following in our wake, we quit the house. As I stepped free from the prison that'd held my baby, I said, "Burn the motherfucker down."

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A/N: So, how do we feel? Was Alec's demise brutal enough? Let us know how you feel. We will see you again on Friday! Later lovelies!