“Please, please, no. I’ll do anything.”
“I wasn’t finished,” Spade scolded, humming as he sliced deeper. “Or should this lovely lady exact your punishment first?” I blinked in surprise as his eyes met mine, mischief dancing in their violet depths. I couldn’t help the wave of giddy excitement that washed over me, as though it was contagious. “Something tells me you weren’t reaching for lipstick in that purse.”
At his prompt, I pulled the taser from my bag, not bothering to ask how he’d seen the movement I attempted to keep concealed. Something told me he saw far more than most did.
“Excellent!” Spade proclaimed. I could almost picture him clapping his hands in excitement if he hadn’t been hindered by the blade in his hand.
“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly, glancing around the parking lot, but there was no one else out here. No witnesses other than the three of us. And something told me people were purposely keeping their distance because of Spade.
“Yes you do,” he laughed, brushing off my hesitance. But he was right, I wanted to do this. I wanted to see this man’s body convulse in pain, writhing on the ground as helpless as he’d made me feel just moments before.
He took my silence as his answer and kicked out the garbage singer’s legs, his knife moving to the side just in time to avoid slicing him farther.
“Please,” the singer cried, but neither of us heard his pleading, our eyes locked on each other instead. My breaths came in shallow pants, my body lighting up at his attention.
Intrigue glinted in his eyes as he scanned me from head to toe, my skin heating as he did. When our gazes finally met again, he waggled his eyebrows, glancing down at the sorry excuse for a man shaking so hard his teeth were chattering.
I brought the taser up before me and glanced down at the garbage man. How many men like him had touched me like that, had leered at me and made me feel powerless? I couldn’t even keep track of how many there had been. I had to put up with it all my life, as did countless women all over the world. And this was my chance to fight back. Not to defend myself and run, but to take control, dole out his punishment, and revel in the satisfaction of one less predator roaming the streets.
I pressed the button and a spark zapped across the metal prongs. The spark of electricity brought a smile to my lips as I glanced down at the whimpering man before me.
“Help,” he pleaded, but no one would come to his aid. I knew that now, not with the anticipation vibrating off Spade right now.
I took a tentative step closer to the garbage singer, his sobs racking his chest now that the knife wasn’t against his throat. He slumped farther down as though he could somehow melt into the gravel and slink away from the mess he found himself in. I drowned out his frantic bargaining, my mind already set on the retribution I was about to serve to him—for me, for the countless women he’d done this to before, who weren’t able to get away or fight him off, for all those women whose stories were forgotten.
My hand lowered to his neck, the bolts of the taser mere inches away from him, but he jolted away—only to find the cool press of Spades blade there again, pressing in even harder this time.
“You really don’t listen, do you?” he tsked. “Stay still or I’ll slice your skin off in ribbons right here in the middle of the parking lot.”
The singer’s spine went ramrod straight at that threat, and Spade huffed out a breath of amusement. Apparently satisfied that he wouldn’t put up a fight any longer, Spade drew the blade away again, stepping back for me to take over. I didn’t hesitate this time. Pressing the pins directly against his slick skin, I pushed down on the button, watching his body jolt with the first shock. His teeth clacked together as his body shook, my hand compensating for each tremor. A sick keening sound left his lips as I pressed it harder against him and Spade’s laughter erupted in the background in response.
A surge of exhilaration lit my body on fire as the singer slumped to the ground, his body still convulsing with each wave of electricity I sent through his unconscious form. I wanted to dance, to sing with the hyper energy lifting me up like an endorphin rush. It took me a moment to fully register he was out cold, the constant shocks weren’t having the same effect as they had before, and I backed away, my finger sliding from the trigger and losing that hum that had vibrated through my hand.
“He’ll be out for a bit now.” He shrugged, his foot swinging back to land a swift blow to the singer’s torso. “I’ll kill him after you leave, unless you’d like to do it yourself?” He smiled, tilting his head as he examined me.
“I think that was enough for me tonight,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip as I looked down at the unconscious man sprawled out on the gravel. I couldn’t help picturing how it would’ve felt to press the knife against his neck as Spade had done. Excitement rushed through me at that thought and I knew I would revel in that power of having the control I lacked for so long. When I glanced back up to meet Spade’s violet eyes, a knowing gleam sparked in them, as though he could read every thought that just crossed my mind.
“Is it too early to tell you I love you?” Spade asked curiously as though he was truly contemplating it, completely catching me off guard.
“Well seeing as our only interaction has been you saving me and tasing this piece of shit—” My own foot landed a kick to his abdomen too, not even caring about the pain that radiated through my bones from it. “I’d say it’s a bit too early. Maybe tell me after the next man we bring to his knees.” I chuckled, tucking the taser back into my purse.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” he sighed wistfully, a dreamy look crossing over his face. “I’m not sure I can wait that long, especially not when you say things like that.”
His head tilted to the side, like he was mulling something over, a thought on the tip of his tongue he wasn’t sure he should voice.
“What is it?” I laughed. God, I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed this much, the last time my chest felt this light and carefree.
“I would ask you about what you said to Merrick to make him go berserk back there, but I don’t want to ruin the moment,” Spade admitted, taking a step closer to me. That name brought my head out of the clouds a fraction, but Spade’s presence drawing nearer distracted me from the sorrow that begged to sweep in like a wave crashing on the beach, washing away any sandcastles built from joy.
“Ruin the moment? I’m not sure I’d consider this romantic …” I trailed off, huffing out a breath of amusement. But I couldn’t deny the attraction that sparked between us, that mutual understanding like even without words we already knew one another. Swallowing thickly, I pushed that thought down, it wouldn’t do me any good to get attached to anyone right now.
“Isn’t it?” he asked, his hand reaching out tentatively—giving me enough time to bat it away if I wanted to—and reverently trailed his calloused fingers through my hair, pushing it back to cradle my cheek in his warm palm. I couldn’t help but lean into the comforting touch. Something about this man just reeled me in. “What is an angel like you doing in the devil’s black heart?” he mused, the question so soft it was as though he voiced the thought aloud unbeknownst to him.
“I’m definitely no angel,” I scoffed, my old nickname springing to mind at his mention of the devil’s black heart. If he only knew how wrong he was.
Garbage singer groaned beside us, breaking the moment between us. Spade stepped back and we both pinned the man on the ground with an incredulous glare. “I guess I better take out this trash,” Spade groaned, but he couldn’t rid the eager glint in his eyes. “I’ll be seeing you though,” he promised, giving me a wink before hauling the singer’s limp form up.
“Yeah, I’ll see you,” I murmured back, knowing there was a good chance that wouldn’t happen, not if I planned to get out of this hellhole, which I still did. If I couldn’t have either of the men I’d loved what seemed like a lifetime ago, I wanted to have at least that chance to start over. Tonight reminded me of that.