Buying Beth (Disciples 3)

Johnathan punches him in the gut.

“Stop,” I hear myself whisper, but the sound is too small.

Sasha wheezes and it sounds like something inside him is rattling before he chuckles. “They fucked her in her pussy.”

Johnathan takes another swing, his fist connecting with Sasha’s jaw again. There’s a crack, and this time my voice is louder when I cry out, “Stop!”

Sasha’s head whips to the side and seems to bounce right back. He groans pitifully and a gush of blood spills from his lips. It takes him several tries before he can successfully spit out more teeth.

I don’t know how he survived the punches Johnathan just threw at him.

The man should be dead.

He coughs and hacks, and sounds like an old man when he wheezes out, “They fucked her in the ass.”

Johnathan pulls his arm back, prepared to take another swing when I scream out, “Johnathan, stop!”

Johnathan freezes in place and shoots a worried look back at me.

“The more she cried,” Sasha coughs out. “The harder they fucked her.”

Johnathan’s face contorts with rage and I’m afraid he’s about to follow through with his swing.

“Johnathan, please,” I plead and his face falls.

Slowly, with a look of regret, he lowers his arm and then walks over to me. “You okay, baby?” he asks while pulling me into his arms.

I shake my head and feel the tears I’ve been crying splashing against my cheeks. How could I possibly be okay after hearing all of that?

“You want to leave while I finish him off?” Johnathan asks as his arms squeeze protectively around me.

Johnathan is big and warm and safe, but I can take no comfort in him.

“Is it true?” I hear myself whimper.

Johnathan goes stiff and I know the answer before he mutters it. “Yeah.”

Fuck! I can’t believe Amanda had to go through all of that. I don’t want to imagine it, but after everything Sasha just said, I can’t stop the horrors she must have endured from filling my head.

Amanda cried so much, and she was the most afraid out of the three of us…

“I thought you said she was safe,” I sob, a fresh wave of sorrow slamming into me for my friend.

“She was,” Johnathan explains reluctantly. “Once we rescued her.”

“Oh god,” I groan.

I push away from Johnathan and he lets me go. Bending over, I start to dry heave, overcome with sudden and intense nausea.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Johnathan apologizes as he pulls my hair back for me. “I was just trying to protect you…”

His big, warm palm comes down on my back, rubbing in soothing circles as my stomach clenches and my body tries in vain to force something up.

Thankfully, or not, I haven’t eaten in hours so the nausea passes with no results.

A shadow appears over me and I look up to see Lucifer. He holds out a bottle of water for me.

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and straighten.

“Thank you,” I croak out as I accept the bottle.

Lucifer nods his head and watches me with keen interest.

I take a moment to gather my composure and drink from the bottle. Johnathan continues to rub my back and lingers by my side. Once I think I can handle it, I look back to Sasha.

Just the sight of him makes me sick, and it’s not because of his poor physical condition.

“Come on,” Johnathan says, his arm coming to wrap around me. “Let’s get you home. This was a bad idea.”

I nod my head and can’t help but agree with him. This was a very bad idea, and I have no clue what Johnathan was thinking.

I don’t belong here. I don’t belong in this kind of world, and right now all I want to do is escape it.

The thought of returning home, of curling up in Johnathan’s arms and crying my heart out, gives me the energy to put one foot in front of the other.

We make it halfway to the office door before Sasha starts laughing.

And that fucking laugh will haunt my nightmares.

“I let them fuck your friend before I fed her to the pigs!” he yells out with glee.

I stop in midstep and it feels like someone just ripped open my chest and yanked all my insides out.

“What?” I gasp in horrified shock and spin around.

Vaguely, I’m aware of Johnathan murmuring, “Don’t listen to him,” but it’s so hard to focus on him over the roar in my ears.

I take another step towards Sasha and have to shrug off Johnathan’s arm. “What did you just say?” I nearly scream at Sasha.

Sasha tries to grin, but it ends up just a horrifying spread of his mangled mouth.

He has the gall to shrug his shoulders. “She was still warm and beautiful, even with her brains leaking all over the place.”

Oh god.

Oh god… oh god… oh god…

I know he’s not lying, he’s too damn smug about it, and I don’t know how to process it.