“So you admit it, Benjamin? You admit that you and Father told me lies to keep me imprisoned here?” I said calmly. It took every ounce of restraint I had not to scream at him. My fingernails bit into my skin as I fought to keep control.
“Your father did it out of fear of losing you. I did it because it’s what he wanted. He knew you wouldn’t be able to live in the real world. It’s too cruel and mean for someone as innocent as you, Danny.” His shoulders slumped, and he sighed as he stared at me. The frown fell from his face and was replaced with a blank mask. “I’m sorry, Danny. I didn’t mean those words I said. I was angry and it’s been a long day. Let’s go to bed and we can talk about it in the morning, okay?”
“I will never sleep another night in this house. It belongs to me, doesn’t it? I will sell it when I get a chance,” I sat up slowly, my legs still stretched out.
“You don’t exist, boy. How can you own anything?” He laughed, and that was all it took.
“Morgan Kenneth Steel, owns it and I believe that’s me, isn’t it?” As the words shot hatefully from my mouth, I knew I had overplayed my hand.
He stared at me, and I could feel the fire burning through his gaze. He turned abruptly around and walked out of my room. I heard the painting hit the floor and his rage echoing through the house.
A cold chill ran through my body. I had made a fatal mistake. Benjamin knew everything, and before I could think to get off the bed, Benjamin ran through the door and jumped on top of me. His fists were fast and I wasn’t prepared for his wrath. He cold-cocked me on the side of my face and the room spun.
I tried to crawl off the bed, but he grabbed me from behind, and his arm went around my throat. I gasped as I struggled for air. He was stronger than I had expected and his anger fueled him. He squeezed tighter and I struggled underneath him, his thick frame weighing me down. I felt as if I was about to blackout but I resisted with every ounce of strength I had. If I didn’t, I knew that my uncle would make sure I could never leave this place again. I reached down to the foot of the bed and pulled with all my might. Benjamin’s grip loosened for just a second and I remembered what I had hidden between my mattresses the night before.
I grabbed the knife and sliced it at my uncle’s arm. He let go and screamed as the blade cut him open. He hit me again in the back of the head and I fell off the bed. His hands grasped my neck and he squeezed again, his fingers digging into my windpipe. I couldn’t find the knife. I must have dropped it.
I panicked and reached up and grabbed hold of my hair. I don’t know what made me think of doing it, but I threw my hair around Benjamin and grasped it from the other side. I managed to reach up and pull it again around his neck and I pulled with all my might. My muscles bulged as I yanked hard, the hair forming a noose around his thick neck.
Now he was in as much trouble as me. He let go of me and tried to pry my hair from its grip around his neck. I had him bound and I heaved again. I could feel his blood trickle onto my face as he grasped and yanked the silky blonde bond I was strangling him with.
He grabbed as much of my hair as he could from the top of my head and yanked, pulling some from my scalp. I screamed, and one of my hands hit the floor from the pain. The hilt of the knife found its way back into my hand. I grabbed it and jabbed at him as hard as I could.
His hands released me, and he gurgled as the blood flowed from his eye. I scurried away on the floor and turned around, my hair, now as red as a rose, dragging loosely behind me.
Uncle Benjamin fell back on the bed and never moved again. The knife stuck out from his eye. I rolled over and puked onto the floor. The sight of his gory body was too much for me to bear.
The last thing I remember is screaming as I slid onto the slick floor. This is not how tonight was supposed to go.
I was a killer.
Chapter Ten
When I awoke, I saw Benjamin’s lifeless body on my bed. I cried until I could cry no more, not really for the man I had thought of as my uncle, but for what I had become. Father wanted to keep me locked away to protect me, and in doing so, he had started a chain of events that had led me to this place.
The world could not be any more horrible than this.
I slowly pulled my shattered psyche together and walked into my bathroom. I scrubbed my body as I showered until it was red and angry. I purified myself as best I could, and when I got out of the shower, I stared at myself in the mirror. I pulled my long hair into a ponytail and picked up a pair of scissors and slowly cut it. Danny Gothel fell away, and Morgan Kenneth Steel stood before me. This hair belonged to a child. I had to now be a man. I carried it out and walked into the kitchen, where I put the long hair into a plastic bag.
I dressed as I stared at my uncle’s corpse. I had no idea what I should do with it, with him, I meant. It felt wrong to leave him here, but what else could I do? No one would find him behind these locked doors. No one ever came here unless they were invited. My uncle’s suitors would find no entry and would be turned away at the door. This would be his final resting place, and I wouldn’t be able to sell it until I found a way to deal with his corpse.
I would find the delivery place and cancel the order. They were the only people whose suspicion could be aroused.
That would be for another day. I grabbed the bag that held my hair and carried it into my closet. I opened the suitcase and laid the bag inside. Who knows, one day I might be glad I saved it, maybe I could find some use for it sometime in the future.
As I zipped the bag, I noticed a small piece of paper wrapped around one of the piles of money. I grabbed it and grinned as I read it. Finn hadn’t completely abandoned me. A date and time were written in black ink. I could see Finn again if I chose. I walked out of my bedroom and didn’t look back.
I got to the front door and paused. I grabbed the door key off of the hook where my father always put it and I slid it into my pocket.
This was it. All I had to do was open the door and step outside. After a few calming breaths, I took my first step over the door frame.
Somehow I managed to take my first ride in the elevator. That took a minute to figure out. But there was only one button, so I pushed it. The feeling of descending made me feel weightless as if I were flying. Finally, I had wings and was free to do whatever I wished.
The doors opened, and I stepped out into a large room. A man in a suit smiled at me as I walked past him towards the glass doors where the streaming sunlight beckoned to me.
I opened the door and took my first step into the open air. I let the cool air into my lungs. It tasted of freedom.
I was free. I looked up as the birds circled above me, soaring on the winds. The sun was warm and the air smelled of possibility.
This is what happiness was. I walked down the street, glad to be one of the little people walking to wherever I chose to go.
The End
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Something else to read by Sean….
It’s in my blood
Chapter One
Dominic
I send out my men, Fox, Jack Rabbit, Bear, Knave, and the twins; Rack and Coon, to go find me some more information. I need to know who’s trying to muscle in on my business. Someone’s buying and selling guns as well as drugs to my buyers. When I find out who they are, they’re going to wish they hadn’t as they’ll get a bullet between their eyes. I run this shit; no one else will be selling to my clients except me.
I’m Dominic Pascale; my name is feared amongst everyone. If you don’t know who the hell I am, you soon will. I’m not one to be messed with, and I’m certainly not someone you steal from. That’s exactly what this fucker is doing. They’re stealing my clients. They need to come to me and not some other fucker or they won’t like the outcome. I will get rid of anyone who gets in my way, client or not.
I took over this business ten years ago from the ailing Richard Dwight. I made sure I was the perfect son-in-law, marrying his daughter, Stevie. All it took was showing how
much I loved her. In reality, there’s only one reason I married her - for the title of The Boss. Love is for losers; love isn’t a real thing. It has no place in life; it's just an infatuation.
I mean, look at me. I was abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as a newborn; that's where love got me. So no, I don't love Stevie Dwight. She is a means to an end. I have this business and I get sex whenever I want it, however I want it. My wife fears me just as everyone else does.
I make some more calls; I want to know how many of my buyers have betrayed me and gone elsewhere.
My temper rises when I find out ten of them have gone to this fucker. I need names now, every single client and that fucking bastard who has been stealing them. I’m not even going to let the lost boys deal with them. I’m going to deal with this. I haven't killed anyone in a while and I miss it. Usually, I give the order and the boys do it without question. The twins are the best killers I have. Scratch that, they’re the best killers in the world
The boys turn up the next day with a name. My blood is boiling and adrenaline pumps through my veins.
“Sit, boys. Tell me who it is,” I instruct, and they immediately do as I asked.
The twins are the ones to speak first. “His name is Joshua Crook.”
Jack Rabbit joins in. “He’s from London. We’re still getting information on him. Seems he’s made a name for himself there. He’s been around for a few years now.”
“A few years?” I yell. “Why the fuck am I just hearing his name for the first time now?” I glare at each and every one of them. “This is your fucking job! You’re to keep me informed of all that's going on. Each and every one of you has obviously been slacking. You’ve been enjoying the money and the grandeur my name brings you.”
I know that’s not true; they do whatever I tell them and they earn what I pay them. But I need to let them know that they’ve well and truly fucked up.
This guy is smart; he has to be as he’s stayed under the radar for years. I’m wondering what his plan is. Has he teamed up with my enemies to bring me down? If he has, it’ll be the last mistake he makes.
“Fox, do what you do best. Fly to London, I want everything there is to know about this fucker. I want it all. I want pictures, information on his family, but most of all, I want him.”
As usual, Fox doesn't speak. He gets to his feet with a sharp nod of the head and leaves the room. He’s not one for talking. He’s the one I go to for keeping me in the loop as he can blend into the background and observe everything without getting spotted. I trust him the most to get this job done.
I throw my glass across the room; it shatters into tiny pieces as it hits the wall. I’m letting my men know just how angry I am.
Knave pipes up. “Look, boss, when we get the information, we will get this guy and deal with him.” He puffs out his chest. I sometimes wonder why I even have these men.
“Really, Knave? You really believe he can be ridden off with just a click of the fingers? A man that’s hidden under my radar as he so brazenly stole my clients? You don’t think he’ll have men? That he won’t have connections?” I snap. I need to think of another way to get at this Crook. When I get more info, I’ll know how to hit him, hopefully where it hurts him. “Get out, the lot of you. Go now. I can't bear looking at your ugly mugs anymore!”
I need to go find Stevie and take it out on her in some way, maybe a little flogging. It’s time to release my pent-up anger.
Now that sounds like an excellent idea.
I go in search of the wench for some fun. She’s going to hurt in the morning, I smile at the thought. I don’t care as long as she satisfies me in every way I desire. I don't care if it hurts her; it's what she’s here for.
“Stevie!” I shout as I leave my office. She doesn’t reply so I stalk through the house, repeatedly calling her name. No doubt she’s heard me yelling so she’ll know what I’ll want. I eventually find her in the library. She’s always in the fucking library, nose stuck in some shitty romance story like it’s real life. I snort at the thought. “Come,” I say, holding out my hand. “I have needs of your cunt and mouth wrapped around my dick, pleasuring me in every way possible.”
I feel her shudder under my grip, I’m not sure if it’s from fear or excitement of what’s to come.
I pull her through the house to my room, where I keep all of my toys. Her room has none in it so it would be a waste of time. I need this now.
I enter the room and throw her on the bed. Turning to my unit, I pull out my favourite flogger. When I turn back to face her, those brown eyes of hers light up. She loves this just as much as I do. I grab the handcuffs; it’s time to restrain her.
Now it’s time to let loose and have fun.
Chapter Two
Red
Is it wrong to sit here and drool as your man works out while you’re supposed to be working out as well? I just can’t help myself; he’s gorgeous. While I'm drooling, I don't notice him looking up at me with pure desire in his eyes. As always, I’m caught ogling him, but Joshua Crook is the love of my life. He’s my saviour. I was an eighteen-year-old living on the streets when I first met him over five years ago. I had nothing, nobody. I grew up in an orphanage. I was dumped and never knew why or where I came from. Now I don’t care as I have Joshua. He took me in, he fed me, and I fell in love with him, just as he did with me. He shows me every day just how deep his feelings run. That’s why I can forgive what he does. He’s The Don. He took over from his uncle a few years ago after being one of his soldiers for seven years. I might not like that he sells guns and drugs, or that he owns parts of London as well as people paying him for protection. But I deal with it. I push all of it to the back of my mind because he’s a good man, and that’s all I need to know.
“You watching me, Red?” he calls softly across the gym.
I giggle. “How can I resist looking at that amazing body?” I blush because I’m pretty sure Smith can hear us. Joshua always calls me Red. People don't get why as I don’t tell everyone my full name. I’m sure some guess, but I'm Lily Rose Bell. That's why he affectionately calls me Red, after the flower. He found me going through bins looking for food on the day we met. He offered to pay to look for my family, but I've told him no. If they didn't want me, why should I want them? I’m happy here with Joshua. I live in a beautiful house, drive a nice car, have food when I need it. He’s even helping me set up a shelter for young girls sleeping on the streets like I was.
“You finished up yet, Red? As I can think of other exercises we could do.” He smirks while wiggling his eyebrows.
“Well, you know me. I can never turn down that kind of exercise with you.” I laugh.
If he had his way we would never leave the bedroom, and some days we don’t. Those days, I don’t need to go to the gym.
I quickly run over to him and throw myself into his lap, and we start making out, completely forgetting that Smith is at the door as he always is. Being Joshua’ bodyguard as well as mine sometimes, he’s always around us.
Things start getting heavy and a cough breaks through our lusty haze. “Crook, we have a situation,” Smith says, and my heart sinks.
“Sorry, babe. Duty calls,” Joshua says as he kisses my nose.
Oh, well. Looks like that will have to wait until he’s done with the situation. I don't ask as he never says. I stay away from the business as much as possible. What I don't know, I can’t tell anyone. Not that I would.
“Okay. Don't take too long,” I say. “I'm off for a long soak in the bath.” I walk past him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek and smiling at Smith. I’m hoping my hint at the soak in the bath will hurry him along so he can come and join me.
I have my very long soak in the bath, waiting on Joshua to return, but it turns out the duty call has him going out to check on something he had been told, so now I'm lounging around, waiting for him to come back. I have a feeling the mood will have passed and he’ll probably not be in the best of moods when he gets back.
I must have fallen asleep waiting on him, as the next thing I know, I'm being carried upstairs. I instantly know it's Joshua; that musky scent of his is one I love so much. I’m too tired to complain so I stay half asleep as he puts me to bed.
I wake to gentle kisses down my back and strong hands gripping my hips. Now, this wake-up call, I don't mind at all. I groan and he knows I’m awake. “Sorry, Red, for last night.”
“That’s okay. It must have been important.”
“Yeah, it was really big, but let's not go there. Let’s make up for the rain check last night,” he says in a sexy, aroused voice.
I giggle as he knows I can't resist him. Next thing I know, I'm on my back with him raining kisses down my body towards where I know he's going to make me come more than once between his fingers and tongue. Who am I to complain?
I come, screaming his name with him placing me on top of him. “Make me come, Red. Use me whichever way you want.”
“Oh, yes, please!” I say, my tone sultry.
I climb on top of him, slowly lowering myself down onto his dick. He’s huge. Every single part of him is big, so riding him this way makes him go even deeper. I start off slow, loving the pain of his thick dick inside me. I moan with every thrust, my pleasure building with each movement. It’s not long until I lose control and come; he’s right there behind me. His hands tighten on my waist as he growls my name.
“Now that was worth the wait,” I say through giggles.
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