AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve never been more attracted to you.” He kissed my hand as he stood.
“We’re two messed up individuals.”
“No, no,” Tess peered over my shoulder, “that’s Trigger’s and my title. Find your own.” She laughed, and I joined in, thinking how easy it was to be around Tess. I didn’t feel the need to curb my dark humor because she was one step ahead of me.
“How are we doing this?” I asked Elio, who had unbuttoned his dress shirt and looked relaxed.
Trigger spoke up “I have a suggestion. We’ve been checking out Rome, sightseeing and the like,” he peered over at Tess, who just smirked, and something told me there was more to that story, “and it got me thinking… They have some cool old torture chambers down there, man. Lots of pictures of what they used to do. So, you know? When in Rome.” He stepped closer to Elio and spoke quietly in his ear. “There’s two bikes.” I heard the last few words.
“Have you ever ridden a bike, Sienna?” Tess asked, ignoring the guys as she draped an arm around my shoulders.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Wanna learn?”
“Yes, I do.”
Before I knew what was happening, I was sitting on a bike with Tess straddling me from behind as she taught me how to shift gears. It took about thirty minutes before I got the balance down, but when Elio removed another chain from the trunk and tied it to Mariano’s arms, I suddenly lost my confidence.
“Trigger,” I called as I slipped off the bike, “here,” I tossed him the helmet.
“You don’t want to rip him apart?”
“Call it a late wedding present.” I smiled
“You sure, even after all he did to you?”
“Yeah.” I looked over at Mariano, who barely moved as Elio secured the chain. “Some things are even better from the sidelines.”
“If you change your mind…” He backed up and headed for the bike.
“You don’t want the revenge? Despite what people say, it feels amazing, kind of an aphrodisiac, if you ask me.” Tess licked her lips while watching Tigger mount up. Something told me a lot of things were an aphrodisiac for them.
I held up a hand for them to hold off as Tess handed her helmet to Elio and he got on her bike. I bent down to speak to Mariano.
“Please, please, please, Sienna,” he was pathetic, “you know that wasn’t me, it was the drugs. I love you. I was the one who brought you and Elio back together.”
“Shhh.” I leaned down close so he could hear me over the roar of the engine. “When the bikes take off and you feel your body slowly rip apart, remember this. Andrea and Piero killed your parents, and they deserved it. I killed Anna and Salvo, and they deserved it, and now Elio and I are killing you. Say hello to the Devil for me. This is going to hurt like hell, and you deserve it.”
He started to cry and struggle, writhing about in the dirt, but I just smiled. It was his time to go. I nodded to Elio, and he and Trigger started their engines and jolted forward in opposite directions. Once the line was taut, they inched forward, and Mariano screamed and yelled gibberish. The sound of bones and flesh ripping at the seams was oddly stimulating. It meant one less person to worry about and one less person to have to watch for over my shoulder.
Then he tore apart, sending a spray of blood into the air, like the fireworks that ended a party.
“That was beautiful.” Tess sighed, and I turned to look back at her.
“Your definition of beautiful is vastly different than mine, Tess.”
“You begin to see beauty in the darkest things,” she explained. “Death can be the most beautiful thing of all.” She shrugged. “When someone’s tried to take your life, it warps your view of the world. You can let it swallow you up, or you can embrace it.” She pointed at what was left of Mariano. “You look for the hidden gems in it all. Sure, his mangled body is gross, but it was either you or him. And it needed to be him.”
“I see what you’re saying.” I did; she was right. It came down to one of us being killed, and the other night it was nearly me.
“Whoo!” Trigger clapped his hands with excitement. “That was one hell of a wedding present.”
I handed Trigger the lye, and we got to work. It took some time to prep the spot and add the chemicals, but once it was ready, we wasted no time and tossed Mariano’s body parts into the drum then sat back to enjoy the evening.
Tess started a bonfire a few yards away. She and Sienna had retrieved the drinks from the trunk of our car and set up the lawn chairs.
“Hey, Sienna, if you squint hard enough, you can see the evil escaping as his flesh dissolves.” Trigger grinned at her, and she laughed and squinted over at the barrel. I shook my head and thought how Trigger hadn’t changed much since he was a boy. Trigger had been dealt a bad hand in life, but somehow, he’d found the strength to turn things around and made it better. Although the wordbettermight be subject to the beholder. “Shall we celebrate?”
