Hell Followed With Him

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I closed my good eye, and finally looked at her. "Sweetheart, Jim, Jack, Larry, Darren, and Geoffrey are all in jail right now and charged with rape."

"Oh, my God," she said, then started crying. "Did they...?"

"Yes," I said in a barely audible whisper. "When I got out of the office, I tried texting you, but got no reply. So I then tried calling you. It rang a few times, but then went to voicemail. When I tried calling you a second time, it went straight to voicemail, so I believe that one of them turned your phone off. When I got to the party, I found Cindy, and she said that Jim and Jack had helped you to a bedroom to lie down, since you weren't feeling well."

I had to pause to keep from exploding. I once again took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Cindy and I looked around for the five assholes, but none of them were in the main room. When I asked her which bedroom they took you to, she pointed and I went looking. The door was locked, so I kicked it in. Jim was..." I had to stop. Recounting it was hard enough to Detective Rains. To tell my wife that she'd been raped was even more difficult.

She put her hand to the side of my face and stroked my cheek, wiping away a tear. "I thought it was all a nightmare," she said in a haunted tone. "Before I blacked out completely, I felt someone rip my panties off..." Her own voice trailed off as she broke down in sobs. I moved up onto the bed beside her and held her close as she cried into my shoulder.

"Umm, Mr. and Mrs. Harper?" I heard a Nurse say from the doorway.

We both sniffled and I turned to look at her, still keeping my arms around Latisha. "Yes?"

"There's a Detective Hart here to see you," she said with a tentative smile. "She wishes to speak to your wife, if she's up to it."

I looked at Latisha. "Are you up to it, baby?" I asked gently.

Latisha sniffled again and nodded. I could see her steeling herself for what was to come.

A Doctor came in right after the Detective, and said that he had to tell Latisha something before Detective Hart could interview her. He looked at me, and saw our fingers interlaced as I moved to sit next to her on the bed so I could face them all too.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harper, I'm Doctor Alenko, and I'm afraid that I have some bad news for you. Mrs. Harper, due to the stress placed on your body by the Rohypnol you were given last night, I'm afraid that you had a miscarriage," he said in a soft and sympathetic tone. Unfortunately, his tone of voice didn't help as Latisha turned and buried her face in my chest as she threw her arms around me and cried even harder. I'd already heard it from Doctor Lawton, but that didn't help much as I held my wife close.

"I'm really sorry for both of you," he said before leaving the room.

"It's going to be ok, baby. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere," I said in a soft voice, but with conviction in my words. "They will pay for what they did to you. They're going to prison for a very, very long time."

"They killed our baby," she said in a shuddering voice. "They didn't care that I was pregnant. They went ahead and drugged me anyway!"

"Wait, they KNEW?!" I asked, incredulously.

Latisha nodded. "I made the announcement at work last week after we found out. They were all there, along with everyone else in the office!"

Then Latisha turned to Detective Hart. "Put them away forever!" she snarled. The tears were burning in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks, so I turned her face to look at me.

"Sweetheart, please calm down. The police and prosecutors have this one well in hand. When Detective Rains talked to me last night, he said that it was a slam dunk for the DA. We might have to testify, but at least we'll be able to help put them away if we need to," I assured her.

"He's right. We already have more than enough evidence, but if you take the stand and testify to the effect that they drugged you after finding out that you were pregnant, we might be able to put them away for Life," said Detective Hart.

"Then I'll do it," Latisha replied with a stoic and steely look of determination that showed in her voice as well.

I was released that day, and had to take a cab back to the Walker residence to pick up my Mustang. Bill Walker informed me that they would keep Latisha's Prius safe until she came to collect it as well, and I thanked him. He was obviously nervous, but I assured him that I wasn't going to sue him or his company.

He did let me know something important, however.

"Steve, you and Latisha are like family to us. But as far as those assholes go, they have already been terminated for cause. Just please be careful. Their families are very wealthy," he told me.

"How wealthy?" I asked, my now familiar cold friend taking up residence in my gut again.

"Rich enough to send quite a few contracts my way in return for hiring their boys on as employees," he said with a guilty look. "I swear to God, if I had known they were like that, I would have told their families to stick it up their asses."

"Thanks, Bill," I replied, using his first name. He'd told me before to use it, so I did. We shook hands, and I started up my Pale Horse and drove it out of there.

They had to keep Latisha overnight again, so I drove home to get another change of clothes, and to pick up some clothes for Latisha too. Once I had them packed, I drove back to the hospital and took the overnight bag up to her room.

"Thank you, baby," she said with a strained smile as I set her bag down on the little couch in her room.

"Anytime, Beautiful," I replied with a smile of my own, then leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too, honey," she whispered back as we leaned our foreheads together.

"Hey, when you get better, we can have another baby," I said, still whispering, but with a slight smile this time. I was still torn up inside, but until she rediscovered her inner strength, I would have to be strong for both of us. God knows, she's helped me through some tough spots in my life over the years. The death of one of my best friends being one of those times.

She chuckled in spite of herself and the situation. "Yeah, we can. Can't we?"

"And with those assholes behind bars for the next 20 to 25, we won't have to worry about them ever again," I nodded sagely.

She actually gave me her usual radiant smile that time. "That's one reason I love you, boo. You keep me from falling down, or if you can't catch me in time, you help me back up and hold me close."

"Likewise, sweetheart," I replied, kissing her tenderly again.

I stayed with her all that day. When the Nurse came by to tell me that night that Visiting Hours were over, I told her that no force on Earth was going to take me from my wife's side. I ended up sleeping on that little couch in her room, and so was able to take her the next morning to pick up her Prius and then follow her home.

Over the next two weeks, we helped each other through our emotional crisis. She wasn't ready to have sex yet, so I just held her at night as we slept in each other's arms.

When the indictment hearing came up for the five assholes, we attended, sitting side by side. We entered the courtroom expecting indictments to come down and were planning to visit the DA to volunteer our testimony if necessary.

Instead, our nightmare became even worse.

The five rapists were given plea deals to lesser charges, including Aggravated Assault and several other misdemeanors including Distribution of a Controlled Substance. I felt my anger building with each slap-on-the-wrist sentence the Judge handed down to all of the shitstains who had raped my wife! None of them served more than 90 days in County.

Latisha was crying as they filed out to serve their sentences, and we had to find comfort in the fact that they now had a criminal record, and would find it very difficult to find work after they got out of jail.

Then Jim, the ringleader of the rape gang, leaned over to where we were sitting and leered at my wife.

"This ain't over, bitch. We're gonna have that fine ass again before it's all over, and you won't have anyone coming to rescue you this time!"

Before I could even think, I jumped up and decked the sorry motherfucker so hard, I felt teeth give way to my knuckles. My hands and face had healed up, and my ribs, while still tender, were feeling a helluvalot better than they had 5 weeks before.

The next thing I knew, bailiffs were restraining me, and I glared at Jim as he was led out of the courtroom. His final glare told me that this wasn't over by a long shot. My glare right back told him that he was right.

After spending three days in jail for misdemeanor assault, I was released. I had pled No Contest to the charges, and the Judge, luckily, was sympathetic enough to give me the bare minimum sentence. Yes, it was a different Judge than had handled the rape case that was nipped in the bud.

After about a month, things got back to normal at home. Well, as normal as they could get after what we'd been through. We both went back to work, but speaking for myself, I did the bare minimum necessary to keep my boss off my back.

"Baby, we need to talk," Latisha said one evening after we'd finished eating dinner.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I replied, the sadness and despair coming back again. It was like a barely scabbed-over wound. One little pick at it and it started bleeding again.

Her expression was soft and loving, but I hadn't noticed that with the words she'd spoken. "No, baby. You have no reason to be sorry, here. I'm the one who should apologize. I love you, Steve. I know you love me, and I love you too. I think I'm ready tonight. I need you," she smiled, and the relief that washed over me almost made me miss the meaning of her words.

"You mean?" I asked, a smile growing on my lips. Yes, we'd spent almost two full months without having sex, and I for one was horny as hell. I could tell by her body language that Latisha was also hornier than she'd been in the past three months!

There was also a practical reason for that. The possibility of at least one of the five rapists having an STD was enough for Latisha to get a full battery of tests done, including the new HIV test that can detect the virus within thirty days. Luckily, and I prayed my thanks to God every night, my wife was 100% clean.

Also luckily, she didn't remember much of the rape itself, having passed out from the drug they'd given her.

So we made love that night, long and slow, and multiple times. As I said, it had been quite a while for us, so we definitely had some catching up to do! We reaffirmed our love for each other at least five times that night and the next day. I woke up in the morning to a fantastic blowjob as Latisha did her best to suck my balls out through the head of my cock.

Oh dear God, did I fuck her hard after that! First, I ate her pussy until she was screaming and creaming, then I bent her over the bed and fucked her hot cunt until she screamed some more and spanked her fine bubble butt as we went. She was screaming out orgasm after orgasm, and I finally filled her with a gallon of cum as we both collapsed on the bed with me on top of her and my cock still embedded in her cunt.

I rolled off of her, and she just looked at me with glazed eyes and grinned at me. I grinned back, and if it hadn't been for the grumbling in our stomachs, I think we would have gone again... or at least tried.

We made breakfast and ate in silence, smiling at each other and finally laughing as our grins grew bigger.

When we returned to bed after breakfast and a shower, where we... ahem... washed each other's back, she finally said something. "I want us to try again to have a baby. Do you still want to?"

"Always, Beautiful," I responded as I held her close and kissed her lips softly.

Part 3: The Horseman of Death

The first to be released from jail was Geoffrey Gelman. From the police reports, he had voiced some concerns to his Frat brothers about the whole plan to drug my wife, and had objected to them raping her. However, he had gone along with it in the end.

I took a month's vacation from work, mostly to spend time with my wife. But one day was set aside for Me Time. I hadn't forgotten what they'd done, and I would never forgive them for what they'd done. The slaps on their wrists had been stinging slaps in the face to my wife and me. Oh, that Judge was going to get his, too. But first, Geoffrey "With a G" Gelman had a meeting with the Pale Rider.

Tracking him was easy. He still had his apartment, paid for with Mommy's money, since he was now out of a job.

He never saw me coming.

When I hit him with the stun gun, he fell like a sack of shit and twitched on the floor. It was fairly easy to handcuff him to a chair by his ankles and wrists. I then found a pair of used underwear from his hamper and stuff the tighty whiteys in his mouth.

Once he was secured, a calmness came over me. I knew I was crossing the line, but Justice had been denied for too long.

It took a few more minutes for him to come around. He took only a few seconds to assess his situation. Then he saw me, sitting in a chair turned backwards leaning forward over the back of the chair. "Welcome back, Jeffy," I said in a voice that could freeze molten lava.

When recognition dawned on him, he started struggling against the cuffs and trying to say something around the racing striped undies in his mouth.

"Shut up and listen, asshole," I growled. When he had stopped trying to talk, and was looking at me with abject terror in his eyes, I continued. "This is what's going to happen. IF you want to walk out of here alive, you will do exactly what I say, when I say it. Do you understand?"

He nodded his head frantically.

"Good. I know that you objected to how your Frat brothers treated my wife. That means something. However, you participated in her rape. That also means something, and the Scales of Justice need some balance. Don't you agree?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He was just staring at my implacable eyes as he slowly nodded his head.

"Good man," I said, my voice still emotionless. With God as my witness, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to rip his fucking head off right then and there, but I needed him.

"Here's the deal, Jeffy. You now work for me. Your paycheck for being employed by me is another day of life. As you can see, I'm wearing latex gloves, and there will be no DNA or fingerprint evidence that I was even here. I also have an airtight alibi, just in case you want to report me to the cops after our little meeting has concluded. If you do that, I will come back and kill you with no qualms whatsoever. You could say that working for me is a win-win for you. You get to live another day." I paused to let him digest what I'd just told him.

At his tentative nod, I stood up and moved in front of him. "I'm going to remove your gag now. If you scream, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

At his nod, I pulled the undies out of his mouth.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, once he was able to speak.

"Right now, I want you to tell me exactly how you and your friends managed to get plea deals when the evidence was overwhelming and potential eye-witness testimony would have been a slam dunk for the DA," I said, my voice once again dropping to Antarctica.

"One of the prosecutors in the DA's office is from our sister sorority. Jim contacted her and asked her to convince the DA that this was all a big misunderstanding," he blurted.

"Which one?"

"Amanda Ramirez," he said. I wrote her name down for future reference.

"So, Ms. Ramirez somehow convinced the DA that the case might not be strong enough?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't ask me how, but she did it," he said with a shrug.

"Ok, which one of your friends gets out next?" I asked.

"Darren, Jack, and Larry get out in two weeks," he said with some trepidation. "Jim is the only one serving the full 90 days, since he was the mastermind and took full responsibility."

"Well, wasn't that nice of him," I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. "If you say anything to any of them about this conversation, I'll kill you. Do. You. Understand?!"

"Y... Ye... Yes," he stammered.

"Good. Be advised, Jeffy. Your life is hanging by a thread now. I'm going to take the cuffs off. Remember our deal. You work for me, and you get to live. Questions?" I raised my eyebrow again.

"No, sir," he said. Yes, Geoffrey knew which way the wind was blowing.

I got up and walked over to him. "Good," I said, then hit him with the stun gun again.

What can I say? I wasn't taking any chances that he might grow a spine.

Once I'd cleaned up any trace that I'd been there, I left and made my way back to my car at the other end of the complex. When I got in and started the engine, I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what I was doing.

Some say that revenge is a vulture that picks at you until there is nothing left. There's an old saying that says "When you plan your revenge, dig two graves. One for your enemy, and one for yourself."

But sometimes... just sometimes, Justice needs a helping hand. This wasn't just for Latisha and me any longer. These assholes were dangerous to ANY woman who wouldn't give in to their "charm".

Latisha knew that I was planning something. I knew I couldn't keep it hidden from her forever, so I really didn't try all that hard. When she confronted me, it was an interesting conversation.

"What are you planning, Steve?" she asked after dinner one night.

"Justice, sweetheart," I hedged. She just gave me That Look, so I sighed and forged ahead. "This isn't just about you and me anymore, baby. If I don't do something, what's to stop them from doing what they did to you, to some other unsuspecting woman? What's to stop them from coming after you again? You heard Jim's threat in Court after he was sentenced. I get the feeling that they won't just go away after they get out, so I'm putting things in place to deal with the threat once and for all."

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, even as a tear came to her eye. "Please baby. What if you get caught?" she asked at length.

"I'm taking every precaution I can to not get caught. I've already talked with Geoffrey a bit, and he now works for me. It didn't take much to turn him against his former Frat brothers," I said with a slight smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that little snake would do anything to save his own hide. He was the first one to turn on the others, by what I heard from Malcolm."

Malcolm Martin is Latisha's brother and a cop with the SBPD. Former Marine, and while he couldn't be directly involved with the case, he kept his ears open. Hell, it was his sister who'd been raped, and we buried the hatchet after he found out what I'd done to the five assholes at the party.

What I didn't tell her was that very few, if any, of the rapists would survive. I had planned it out and went through different scenarios that took into account anything and everything that might go wrong.

In the two weeks following Geoffrey getting out, I drafted a script for him to use when he contacted his buddies after they were released. I took it to him the day before they would be released from custody.

"What's this?" he asked when I handed him the two pieces of paper.

"This is what you're going to say when you call your Frat brothers, Geoffrey," I said, my voice once again colder than the Arctic Circle.

He looked at me, perplexed. "You want us to plan revenge against you?!"

"No, I want you to follow the script. In one more week, Jim will be getting out, too. That's when you follow the rest of the script. Do you have it memorized?" I asked.