AN: Hi guys! Once again, thank you so much for the amazing reviews! I haven't had the time to personally reply to any of them from the last chapter, but I promise you I will! So many of you asked to see what Red would do to the guy who raped Lizzie, so here it is! I hope it's not too big of a disappointment. That being said, this chapter is rated M for torture. Enjoy!
FrostyFingers, my wonderful beta, you're awesome! Thank you so so much for taking the time and doing this!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Lizzie was drunk, wasted even as she was being dragged into an alley by a mountain of muscles. She was completely helpless and there was no one there to defend her. If only he could move… but it felt as if his feet were glued to the floor. The guy was ripping off her clothes, touching her body completely carelessly and unaware of the fact that she was supposed to be worshiped and treated with respect.
No, he didn't care about any of it. The guy kept punching her, hitting her beautiful face all the while penetrating her without any concern for what she was suffering through. He emptied himself inside of her with a loud groan, filling her with his seed and humiliating her even further. And as if that hadn't been enough, the man drew out and tucked himself back into his pants before pulling a knife out of his pocket, plunging it into her soft flesh. It looked like he was trying to gut her. There was blood all over her body, oozing from the open wounds and pooling around her on the hard and cold pavement. Her stomach was practically ripped open. He looked into her face, watching as the life slowly faded from her usually bright eyes. He tried to scream, desperate to help her. Desperate to hold her in his arms, to take away her pain. But his mouth wouldn't move, wouldn't form a single word. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't move a muscle. Tears started falling from his eyes as realization dawned on him. She was all alone and he couldn't get to her to comfort her. Couldn't tell her how sorry he was. Couldn't sit by her side, so she wouldn't have to be alone. And then she was gone.
Red shot up in bed in the middle of the night and hurried to the bathroom, throwing himself to the cold tiles, fully ignoring his protesting knees as he bent over the toilet just fast enough to throw up last night's dinner. Tears were streaming from his eyes. He couldn't seem to stop puking. But that nightmare had been too much; it had seemed so the toilet, he sat down and leaned back against the side of the tub, the cold surface relieving him of some of the sweat on his back, as he thought about the dream he had just had. If any of that was even close to what had happened, he didn' think he would be able to hold it together when he saw her. He had felt her suffering. And not being able to help her had been the worst feeling he had to endure in over twenty years. Without the power or the will to go back to bed, he just remained there, sitting on the cold and hard floor.
Whatever had possessed him to leave her side? He had fallen in love with her, yes, but why hadn't he just sucked it up and pretended it was okay? Hadn't he promised her that he'd never let anything happen to her? Hadn't he told her that he would always be there for her whenever she was in need? And now her life was hanging by a thread and where was he? Over five thousand miles away from her while she was lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and with no one to hold her hand, while she was fighting for her life. How much of a man he was.
Still feeling sick from the images that wouldn't stop spinning in his head, he took off his soaked shirt and sleeping pants to take a cold shower. The icy water was immediately relieving some of the tension in his muscles. Everything was going to be okay. He kept telling himself that. Everything was going to be okay.
"Good afternoon, I'm here to see Elizabeth Gibbs," Red said to the first nurse he saw.
"Are you family?" The elderly woman asked him with a suspicious look on her face.
"I'm her husband," he answered, the concern so clear on his face that the nurse didn't need to ask further questions.
"Room 314."
Red practically ran through the corridors until he came to a stop outside her room, with Dembe close behind. Taking two deep breaths, he slowly opened the door, attempting to not make any noises, but what he saw inside nearly made him empty the contents of his stomach again, if there was even any left inside. His arm shot out and he blindly grabbed the first thing he could reach to steady himself – which happened to be Dembe. His friend held him upright as Red's eyes widened and tears started to well up. His breath became labored as all of his ticks appeared on his features, making him look like a nervous wreck.
Seeing him in that state, Dembe quickly helped him sit in the chair at the foot of the bed. Turning his attentions to Liz, Red noticed how immobile and fragile she looked with all those cables connected to her body. There were ugly bruises on her usually immaculate skin and he didn't even want to imagine what her body would look like under the covers. Risking a quick glance to Red, Dembe watched as the first droplets of tears rolled down his friend's cheeks and excused himself to give him some privacy.
Red got up from his chair and took the few steps to Lizzie's side. The need to touch her, to feel her skin against his, to feel her warmth so he could be sure that she was still alive was stronger than the rational thought to not disturb her. He desperately needed to know that she was still alive. The warmth radiating from her hand instantly relieved him all of his fears. She was still there, she hadn't given up yet. The rise and fall of her chest was enough evidence for that. As his thumb slowly ran over her knuckles he felt the need to touch her face, as he had never had that opportunity before. Her beautiful face that was now covered up in bruises and scratches. Without letting go of her fingers he slowly lowered his head until he could touch his lips to her forehead, giving it a chaste kiss that was a promise. One that he knew he would never break, even if it cost him his life.
After the initial relief of knowing that his Lizzie was still alive, he felt the angry running through him again. Infuriated with himself for being so stupid. Mad at the man who had been responsible for her safety at that time. And most of all, livid with whoever had done this to her. He was going to pay for this, Red would make sure of that. His left eye twitched and his free hand, the one that wasn't holding onto hers, balled into a fist by his side,his jaw tightlyclenched. He gently put her hand back to the mattress and with one last look at Lizzie, Red left the room knowing that she wouldn't wake up any time soon.
He spotted Dembe a little further down the hall talking to a man who looked very frightened and nervous. Reaching the two of them, he realized just who that man was, he lowered his voice addressing the short man in a way that he knew would frighten even the most powerful man in the world. "If you ever let her out of your sight again, I promise you'llbe begging me to kill you. Am I clear?" By the looks of it the guy almost wet his pants then as he dropped his eyes, not able to face the grey-greenish eyes that seemed to see right through your soul and eat you alive. "Don't let anyone inside her room apart from the nurses and the doctors until my return. Dembe, take me to him," he said and started making his way to the elevators to take care of that last matter before he could dedicate himself fully to his Lizzie.
After a fifteen minutes drive, Dembe pulled up outside an old warehouse where the guy named Bert was being held. Red jumped from the car and immediately went for the entrance, his blood boiling from all the anger he was feeling. Images of Lizzie in that hospital bed were whirling around his head. He saw the man tied to a chair in the middle of the room.
"Who are you? Why am I being held here? What do you want?" The man started asking at the sight of Red walking in. The latter simply ignored him and remained silent while he removed his suit jacket and fedora before starting to roll up his shirtsleeves. "How long are you gonna keep me here? What have I done to you? What do you want?"
Taking the small handgun Red carried with him, he put a bullet into the man's right knee. The crying noise coming from him was so loud that Red actually made a face while waiting for him to quiet down. "I am your worst nightmare. Last night, you were at a bar and approached a lady who was quietly seated at the counter, drinking her glass of Scotch. Were you not?" At the man's silence, Red shot him again, this time into his left shoulder. "I believe I asked you a question."
Bert had tears running down his face as he shouted back, "Yes! Yes, I saw her, she was there!"
"You offered to buy her a drink and once she was finished, you took her outside, and lead her to an alley." His voice was dead serious and low. The look in his eyes was murderous. "What did you do to her?"
Deciding to answer right away in hopes of avoiding any more bullets the man opened his mouth, "I had sex with her! So what? She wouldn't have gone to that kinda bar if she hadn't wanted some fun!"
Upon hearing those words, Red had to fight the impulse to just beat the crap out that guy. Instead he motioned for the two men standing by the entrance of the warehouse. They went into a room where Bert's eyes couldn't follow and came back minutes later with a bull made of bronze.
"Do you know what this is, Mr… I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Red asked, faking interest in the man tied to the chair.
"Bert Holden," he answered grumpily. The loss of blood clearly starting to take effect on him.
"Yes. Do you know what this is Mr. Holden?" Red decided to take his silence as an answer and continued "This is a brazen bull. It is a torture and execution device created in ancient Greece as new means in executing criminals. See that door over there, at the side? That's where you will go." Motioning once again for his men, they approached with their arms loaded with firewood. Seeing panic starting to show on Bert's face, Red laughed. "Oh yes, I see you've managed to figure out what happens next, haven't you? I'm going to make a little bonfire and put it under the bull here, which, as you can see, is made of bronze. Wonderful material, bronze, don't you think? Capable of heating up in an incredible speed." And as suddenly as it had started, the laughter was gone. "You are going to pay for every single bruise you gave her. Every single scratch. And now you'll be able to feel as hopeless as she was when you raped her, you son of a bitch! Get him inside!"
As the two men started to untie Bert from the chair, he began struggling against their tight hold, trying to free himself. "Please, please, I'll give you anything! Please don't do this to me! Please, I beg you!" He screamed, the realization of being close to death dawning on him.
"Oh, have I told you the best part of this wonderful device yet? You can scream as much as you want, there's acoustic apparatus thingy that converts your screams into the sound of a bull! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Once again he started laughing. Lighting up the firewood, Red smiled viciously. The certainty of putting an end to that man's life making him feel somehow better. Yes, he was a monster, but that man had dug up his own hole.
No one hurt his Lizzie.