Eye for an Eye by Dwayne S. Joseph Page A

and I’m a changed man now” card. Women will forgive him because they’re stupid. Men will forgive him because they’re men. Despite the hole you try to bury him in, he’ll find a way to climb out. But you . . . While you’ll escape the abuse and will benefit financially, you’ll lose something that you have that’s very powerful. Your stature.”
    â€œMy stature?”
    â€œYou’re the first lady. That title gives you a key that only the first lady can hold.”
    Rebecca held up the envelope. “Are you suggesting that I don’t use this? That I just deal with the abuse?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThen what are you saying?”
    â€œThose pictures are power, Rebecca. Power and control. Show them to your husband. Let him know that copies have been made, and that if he lays another hand on you, or says the wrong thing, or even looks at you wrong, that those copies won’t be kept private. That a lot of other people will know about his bullshit.”
    Rebecca’s mouth fell open. “Wow.”
    â€œYou’ll be able to do whatever the fuck you want to do, Rebecca, because I guarantee your husband won’t want those photos released. Seek the divorce and you throw away your control.”
    Again, Rebecca said, “Wow.”
    A live grenade.
    As Lisette suggested, she showed Bruce the photographs and let him know that she wasn’t the only owner.
    â€œEnjoy your stature, bitch, because if you give me a reason to release them, you ain’t gonna have shit!”
    Lisette had shown Rebecca what control was. She’d shown what power was, and in doing so, she’d opened a door to a world that fascinated and intrigued her. Lisette had given her a new lease on life and she was enjoying the hell out of it, doing what and occasionally who she wanted. She loved the Lord, but she had needs that the Lord couldn’t provide, and every so often, when the itch was there, she sought to have it scratched and she didn’t hide shit from her husband. Until Lisette helped her, Rebecca had no real purpose. Nothing really stoked a fire or passion.
    Until Lisette, had come into her life. Now she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to do for others what Lisette had done for her. She wanted to be a liberator, a healer. She wanted to empower women, give them back the dignity that she’d gotten back over a year ago.
    She hadn’t made the photographs public–and really she had no plans to give away the leverage they gave–but she had officially sought a divorce from her husband. She could do some good as the first lady, but she could do a hell of a lot more as a home wrecker.
    Rebecca took a short breath and looked over at Lisette. She was talking to another woman. Rebecca was sure that she was a woman in need the way she’d once been.
    Rebecca smiled and waited for Lisette to finish her meeting.

11
    Bitch.
    Look at her sitting there with her client. Arrogant bitch. She thinks she’s so goddamned special. So perfect. I want to go over there so bad. I want to beat on her over and over and over again. I want to cut her and make her bleed. Want to choke her until she passes out. Wait for her to regain consciousness and then beat, cut, and choke her all over again. I want to do it for days. Want that whore, bitch to suffer. I want to make her ass beg for mercy, beg for her pathetic life.
    Oh, how I want that.
    I can’t stop my leg from bouncing. My muscles are taut. They want me to give in. They want me to allow them to function on their own. They want to take me over there so bad. I clamp my hand down around my thigh, right above my knee, and squeeze.
    Stop bouncing. I can’t do this yet. Not here. Not now. It’s not time yet.
    I’ve thought about it night and day for six months. I’ve gone over the how, when, and where for six fucking months.
    Six months of hell.
    God, I want to hurt her so bad.
    I want her to feel