SLAUGHTER

by Tessier, Shantel

  “It’s not what you think,” the man cries from the chair before me. As usual, I’ve nailed his hands to it.

  “Then explain it to me,” I counter. The guy has nothing, and we both know it. He’ll be dead within the hour. And Kayn will bury him with the rest of the sorry bastards I take out.

  Just then, the door opens, and I spin around to see Marvin standing there with his arms behind his back. “Sir, Mrs. Decker is looking for you.”

  “It can wait,” I snap, pissed that he interrupted me. He knows better …

  “She’s in your study.” He goes on. “And she is upset.”

  I look at Kayn as he stands off to the side, and he nods his head once, letting me know he’ll keep an eye on him. I grab a towel off the table and try to wipe off some of the blood. My knuckles are cracked and muscles tight. I need answers about Victor and Damon, and no one seems to want to give them up.

  Storming into my office, I find Bunny sitting on my couch. Her head in her hands. “What?” I snap. “I’m in the middle of something.”

  She looks up at me, and tears run down her gorgeous face. Her eyes are red, and she’s practically gasping for air. My anger fades instantly. “What’s wrong, Bunny?” I ask, coming to kneel in front of her.

  Her eyes scan the blood that lingers on my clothes and skin, but she doesn’t question it. She prefers to stay in the dark when it comes to my job.

  Her lips begin to tremble. “Bunny, talk to me. What happened?”

  She buries her face in her hands and sobs while mumbling something I can’t understand,

  “What?”

  “I’m pregnant,” she cries out.

  I pull her hands from her face and hold them in mine. My eyes roam hers as I try to make out what she is telling me. “What … that can’t be …”

  She pushes me away and starts to dig in her purse that sits beside her. She pulls out four pregnancy tests and tosses them onto the floor.

  I bend down to pick them up.

  “I bought them earlier today when Kayn took me shopping.”

  I hold them all up and shake my head. “No. This can’t be.”

  “I’m sorry.” She begins to sob again.

  “You had a hysterectomy.” I state the obvious.

  Her head snaps up to look at me when I stand to my full height. “What did you say?”

  “You had a hysterectomy.” I repeat.

  She just stares up at me blankly, tears still falling down her cheeks. Seconds tick by that turn into minutes. And I begin to think that I’m missing something.

  Finally, I break the silence. “I had Kayn do a medical report on you.” I know she remembers me showing it to her. “It states that you had a hysterectomy.”

  She takes in a deep breath. “When I woke up from my coma, Lance told me that I had lost the baby and had to perform an emergency hysterectomy. But months later, I found out he had just said that to scare me.” Her eyes drop to the floor. “When I found out it was a lie, I got an IUD. I’ve had one ever since.” She sniffs.

  “Wait a minute.” I drop the pregnancy tests. “How is that possible? How was your information not updated by other doctors?”

  She shrugs. “How do they twist shit? Money.”

  I run a hand through my hair trying to wrap my head around all of this. “So, we’re having a baby?”

  Her eyes instantly tear up again, and she shakes her head. “It’s … it can’t be …” She begins to sob so hard she can’t talk. “I think …”

  I lean back down and cup her face. “What? You can tell me.”

  She swallows. “I haven’t had it removed.” I frown at her words. “I remember Lance checking me before I passed out …” Her voice trails off, and I begin to understand why she is so hysterical. “He must have taken it out. And your father …” Her voice trails off and I stand up. “I didn’t think he had raped me.” She hiccups. “But I was in and out of it a lot. Maybe I just don’t remember.”

  “No,” I say.

  “What if it’s …?”

  “He didn’t rape you that time,” I say and my jaw tightens.

  “But what if …?”

  “He didn’t rape you!” I shout.

  Silence fills the room, and she stares up at me. “How do you know? You weren’t there.” Her voice rises with anger.

  I take in a deep breath and say. “Because your brother sent me a tape. He recorded everything that they did to you for those forty-eight hours.”

  She slowly stands, a look of disbelief on her face. “You watched another tape of me?” I stay silent because I already told her that. “You didn’t tell me.”

  “Bunny …”

  “What the hell Avery?” She yells my name.

  “I didn’t think you needed to know.” It’s that simple. Contrary to what she thinks, I don’t like hurting her.

  “I’ve been sitting in our room for the last three hours trying to decide how to tell you that I could be pregnant with your father’s baby to find out that it wasn’t even a possibility,” she screams.

  I reach out for her, but she pushes me away. “Don’t touch me!” She shoves me out of the way and stomps toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” I ask.

  “To bed. And don’t bother coming after you’re done torturing some sorry bastard,” she snaps. “You can sleep in your dungeon!” She opens the door and then slams it shut.

  I spin around and slam my hands down on my desk, making everything rattle.

  We’re fucking pregnant. I didn’t even know it was possible. We never spoke about it, and now we’ve got a baby on the way. It’s the best fucking news I’ve had in a long time. I don’t care if she’s mad at me for keeping the video from her. I care that my father, once again, managed to fuck with her. For three hours, she thought he had raped her again and knocked her up. That’s why he wanted Lance there. He had checked her and removed it. He said he was supposed to keep her alive. Was Victor planning on knocking her up, but he just didn’t get the chance? I don’t put anything past that sick bastard.

  That sorry piece of shit will pay with his life. And that can’t come soon enough. Especially since Bunny is pregnant. I can’t let him find out.

  I storm out of my study and make my way back down to the cellar. Walking in, I remove my shirt and toss it to the floor. “Now. Let’s try this again. Where is Damon and Victor?”

  “I don’t …”

  I punch him in the face, and his head snaps back. “I can do this all night.” I laugh. Because my wife has probably locked me out of our bedroom. I’ve never slept on the couch before, and I’m not about to start now.

  THE END

  Thank you for taking the time to read Slaughter. Avery & Presleigh’s story has come to an end. But you can see more of them in Tristan & Chloe’s book, coming 2019. Add it to your TBR list now https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42348643-tristan-chloe-s-book

  Continue on to read the prologue of my novel I Dare You. It’s a young adult romance with very mature content. Readers are calling it deliciously dark. It is FREE in KU.

  I DARE YOU

  PROLOGUE

  COLE

  HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO a funeral where the preacher stands before the friends and loved ones of the deceased and talks about how shitty the person was? How he fucked around on his wife? Or spent his family’s life savings to feed his gambling addiction? How about during his bachelor party when he snorted coke off a hooker’s ass?

  Me neither.

  Why is it that we’re fucking saints the moment we die?

  You hear the preacher say things like, “Oh, John Smith was a lovely man who loved his wife and kids,” when he should really be saying, “John Smith was a worthless piece of shit who fucked the underage babysitter every chance he fucking got while his wife was busy working two jobs and raising his ungrateful children.”

  And let’s not forget that the deceased in that casket before you never even went to church. Let alone knew the preacher who speaks so highly o
f him. All he knows are the stories the blinded loved ones wrote down on a little card for him to share.

  He’s a fucking puppet.

  I haven’t read the Bible word for word, but I know the Lord says if we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, he will cleanse our souls, and we will be forgiven.

  Poof. It’s like magic.

  Now that begs the question–what if you’re not sorry? What if you don’t care to be forgiven?

  No amount of holy water could cleanse my soul, and I’m okay with that because when I sinned, I understood that I would one day have to pay. We’re all going to die eventually. You can be one of those people who bury your head in the sand to avoid talking about it all you want, but it’s life!

  Live or die.

  Heaven or hell.

  Angel or devil.

  It’s black and white. There are no gray areas.

  So tell me ... when you’re lying in that casket in front of your friends and family, what are they going to think of you? Are they gonna believe that preacher who talks bullshit, or are they gonna know you didn’t care if you were going to burn for eternity?

  I’m not a religious person. Obviously. But I do know this. When I am damned to hell, it’ll be because I fucking earned it.

  To read more, check out I Dare You on Amazon. Available FREE in KU!

  CONTACT THE AUTHOR

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  TITLES BY SHANTEL TESSIER

  The UN Series

  Undescribable

  Unbearable

  Uncontrollable

  Unforgettable

  Unchangeable

  Unforeseen

  Unpredictable

  Seven Deadly Sins Series

  Addiction

  Obsession

  Confession- Coming soon

  The Selfish Series

  Selfish

  Myself

  Selfless

  Standalones

  I Dare You

  DASH

  Donut Overthink It

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First, I would like to thank my assistant, Kelly Tucker. The most organized person I have ever met. I drive her nuts, but she loves it and I love her too. She’s the best assistant a girl could have and without her I would go insane. And she’s also a pretty damn good friend!

  I would like to thank Jenny Sims, my wonderful editor. I’ve been working with her for four years now and she’s awesome!

  To my cover designer, Tracie Douglas with Dark Water Covers. Thank you for making me another gorgeous cover!

  A big thank you to my formatter and friend, CP Smith. Thanks so much for your help!

  I want to thank Give Me Books and all the blogs that shared and reviewed Slaughter. You guys are amazing.

  I want to thank my lovely betas, Andrea Rawdon, Rita Rees, Sara Brown, Nancy Wambach Schlauer, Angela Berry James, Veronica Ashley and Stephanie Anderson-Cochran. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Slaughter. And for all of our suggestions. I truly appreciate it.

  I want to thank The Sinful Side for pimping and I love these bitches! This lovely group of ladies are awesome at pimping and making me laugh. It’s amazing how you can become so close with someone when they live halfway around the world. These girls are my sisters, and I love them very much.

  And last but not least, my readers. Thank you for taking a chance and wanting to read my books. I hope that you all love them as much as I do.