Broken Kingdom (Corium University Trilogy 3)

“Look at your ass taking my cock like a good little whore,” Matteo grunts, forcing himself into her from behind. “You should thank me for using some spit.”

She is on all fours now, her back arched and her head held up by Pauli.

“You are right. She is being a really good whore. I’m going to reward her with a fat lollipop to suck on.” Pauli snickers. “Open your mouth, little slut.” He slaps her across the face so hard her upper body slumps to the ground. Pauli pulls her back up by her hair, and Aspen cries out in pain.

I press pause and shove my phone back in my pocket. Taking a few calming breaths, I remind myself that Aspen is safe in my room, and Pauli will suffer greatly for what he has done.

According to my father, we’ll be able to bring him in today. Apparently, Pauli is even dumber than the rest of his family since he is not even trying to hide.

Not much longer, and I’ll be able to let my anger out on that piece of shit.

Making my way through the house, I ignore all the extra guards Dad has put in place and make my way to his office.

“We’ve got him,” my father announces as soon as I enter the room. Closing his laptop in front of him, he continues. “Our men are bringing him to the same warehouse they held Aspen in. Still no sign of Matteo but maybe his dear uncle can help with that.”

“I’m ready to find out. Did we get the venom in?”

“Yes, it’s already packed in the car.”

It didn’t take me long to come up with an appropriate way to kill him—after we torture him, of course. Both of which I will enjoy dearly.

I follow my dad outside, thankful that we don’t run into my mom or my sister. I don’t have the time or patience right now to act like a normal brother or son when all I can think of is leaving to torture someone to death.

It’s rare that Dad drives the car himself. Normally, we have a driver ready to take us anywhere we want. Today, my father slides into the driver’s seat of the blacked-out SUV. I take my seat in the passenger’s side, relieved to have another moment to ourselves.

“I’ll let you take the lead on this unless you give me a sign that you want me to take over,” my father says, breaking the silence.

“That won’t happen.”

“I didn’t think so either, but I wanted you to know you have the option.”

“I want to make him suffer.”

“He will, and you’ll be the one making him.”

All I can do is nod. Silently, I wonder how fucked up our family is that we bond over shit like this. The relationship between my father and me has been strained to say the least. It’s been so bad I didn’t want to be in the same room as him.

This whole thing has brought me closer to him. I feel our bond strengthen again. I’m still not over him lying and taking my birth mother from me, but having him by my side now makes me appreciate the man my father is.

Normal people don’t have to deal with half the shit I go through, but they also don’t get to hunt people down to make them pay for what they did. Most days, I feel like our lifestyle is a burden. Today, I’m fucking glad my dad is who he is.

When we get to the warehouse, my father’s men have already stripped Pauli of his clothes and tied him to the chair we had altered.

Our footsteps echo through the large open space as we approach the tied-up bastard. He is already whimpering against the gag like the little bitch he is.

I hate being in this place, knowing it’s where they hurt Aspen. The image of finding her naked, battered body on this nasty floor still haunts me, but that’s a part of the reason I wanted it to be here. I want good memories to replace the bad ones. And by good, I mean I want this place to be filled with the screams of Aspen’s abusers. I want their blood to coat the walls and their piss to soak the floor.

“Hello, Pauli,” my father greets, excitement coating his tone. “Looks like you are just getting comfortable.”

Pauli struggles against the rope holding him in place. His junk is hanging out of the hole we had cut in the chair, making me smirk.

We also had a table set up with an array of special tools and liquids that I’m dying to try out. When I walk over to look at what my father brought, my excitement only grows. I reach for the castration clamp, normally used for cattle. Picking up the heavy metal object, I take a closer look at the sharp edges.