by Jarica James
“Not my last name, but yes, I’m Sana,” I said tentatively, curious why he was even here.
“Then this is for you. The bosses said to change and be ready for them at seven,” he directed, nodding his head and never losing his somber expression as he set the bag and paper cup on the counter. Without anything else, he rushed out the door, barely making eye contact. I’d know a mafia lackey on a direct order anywhere, and that man had definitely been ordered to not even look at me. Making people call me by his last name and now this? Killian’s such a possessive dick.
The cup was too enticing to ignore, so I peeled off the cap and let out an appreciative groan, the warm, rich chocolate begging for me to drink it. It was unlike him to do something sweet, but I guess maybe things had changed?
As I pulled out the silky garment in the bag, I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. It was a tiny black dress that would have left nothing to the imagination. A low cut v-neck, barely there straps, and there was no way it would even reach mid-thigh. He sure thought he was something.
As I held it up to inspect it further, a note fluttered out and hit the floor. I picked it up and started to read it over.
Baby Girl,
Pick you up at seven. Wear this and don’t you dare go home and get underwear. I want to know that pussy is bare and waiting for me.
-Kill
P.s. What kind of grown ass woman drinks hot chocolate?!
The audacity of this man was astounding. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was already thirty minutes until seven, so I closed up shop early, wrote out a quick note, and rushed out of the door. If they thought I was some cute little girl they could order around, they had another fucking thing coming. I wasn’t going to get involved with them; my freedom was too important to me, and even I wasn’t evil enough to lead them on. One thing I knew about Kill was that he was one of those people who drew you in and held you transfixed. If I gave him the chance, I’d lose myself in him and his beautiful darkness, and I couldn’t have any reason to hesitate when it came time to end this deal. For the past few years, I'd had the chance to live my own life, for better or worse, and I could never go back to letting someone else keep me in gilded, blood-crusted chains.
“I’m done asking, and I only repeat myself once. What happened to the missing shipment of heroin?” I asked, staring at the man in front of me. He was already painted in blood and tied to the chair, unable to fight back, yet he still held out on me.
“Fuck you, Adrostos. I’d rather die than rat out my family,” he spat back. I’d never bothered to learn his name; he was just another drain on our city. The tremor in his voice sent a brief shiver of pride through me. I loved having the power to terrify men before I’d even gotten started, though my men had done a number on him already. He hadn’t seen anything yet.
“Kyrell, if you would,” I said to my brother, who chuckled and opened the curtains that hid my torture instruments from view. I preferred to have the big reveal, loving the small whimpers and pleas that slipped through their wet lips as their tears flowed freely, all semblances of dignity lost.
As I looked over the tools, my mind drifted to the call earlier. Something about Kill’s voice told me that wasn’t your average fuck, and I couldn’t get that woman’s perfect cries out of my head. It had been some time since he’d brought around a girl we could share, though none of them ever lasted long, but his voice told me this one was different, and the anticipation alone was killing me. My dick ached, unsatisfied with my hand alone. I needed to fuck someone, which meant our trip to the club was well timed.
Finally settling on a sharpened pick axe, I pulled it off of the wall, grinning at my guest’s hyperventilating breaths. Before he had time to register it, I was on him, running up and slamming it down on this hand, pinning it to the arm of the chair.. The sharp end of the axe went straight through, blood spraying, tissue tearing, and bones splintering as his screams echoed in the small, cement room. Making eye contact with our victim, I wrenched the axe out of his hand, and blood splattered over my suit as the tool was freed. The warmth of his blood seeped through my dress shirt, the familiar feeling comforting in ways I couldn’t even explain. Some people preferred the warmth of a bubble bath encompassing their body, but I... well, ever since my first kill, nothing had compared to the peace that overcame me when those fiery red droplets hit my cheek.
“The Lachs will get this message… loud and clear.” His fear deepened at my words, a shiver of excitement running down my spine.
“Twenty minutes if you want to shower,” Kyrell told me from his spot against the wall, his voice laced with amusement. My brother watched intently as I took the blunt top of the axe and brought it down on the idiot’s shin. The leg of the chair he was secured to kept him steady to optimize the damage.
“Please,” he begged, but I wasn’t listening any longer. By this point, anything he said would be just what I wanted to hear. While the pickaxe discouraged lies, it also sometimes got in the way of the complete truth. Oh well. All the more fun for me!
“We warned your family this territory belongs to the Adrostos, but you wanted to keep pushing your tainted drugs on this city, so now you’ll be the example. Next time one of your family members decides to come on Adrostos territory and intercept one of our shipments, I want them to think about the bloody and broken body that we sent back to them. We don’t tolerate thievery,” I taunted, my voice calm and cold. The sound of liquid hitting the cement had me stepping back, the acrid smell of urine filling the small space and ruining the fun.
“Oh, fuck no,” Ky growled. Walking forward and pulling out his gun, he pressed it to the man’s forehead and pulled the trigger, the sound deafening as it echoed off of the stone walls.
“Ky!” I protested, throwing down the pickaxe, rage and aggression building again with my toy being taken away from me. “The fuck?!”
“I was not about to stand here and smell his pee. This had to end, Keir. Come on, I want to go find out who Kill is going to share this time. He’s had me blue balled all fucking day, and I need a damn drink, he fired back as he pulled the heavy door open and walked out, my hand grabbing it just before he let it fall closed behind him.
“I’ll follow in a moment,” I called after, turning toward the corpse bleeding out on our floor, bits of his skull and tissue decorating the wall behind him. The bindings were the only thing holding him up now. Grabbing a serrated blade from the wall, I cut through the leather straps, letting him fall. Once he was on the ground, I sliced through his shirt, exposing his back to me.
The pimple-marked skin was riddled in scars, but that didn’t spoil it. He was a blank canvas begging to be painted in blood and torn flesh. I crouched down and thought for a moment before carving our family name into his back, so there’d be no question who they were dealing with. When that was finished, I rolled him over and dropped the knife, cocking my fist back and smashing it into his now cool face. Each blow that I rained down on him released a bit of my tension, though only by the smallest factions. When he was nearly unrecognizable and I was panting, I finally stopped, taking a shaky breath and standing. I was now covered in blood but a bit more grounded. There were only two other things that could blunt my jagged edges; I needed whiskey and sex like I needed air. Time to rectify that.
“Terrance, get the crew to clean up, then you can deliver the body to his family. Beau can get you the address,” I ordered as I stepped out of the room, finding Terrance and my brother, the former at patient rest and waiting for orders, while the latter’s teeth grinding was nearly audible. “My brothers and I will be out and are not to be disturbed. We have plans for the evening.”
“Yes, sir,” Terrance said from his desk. A loyal soldier, he was always where I needed him. When Ky turned from his post nearby, Terrance gave a nod. “Have a good night, Boss.”
Without response, I followed Ky to the elevator, the two of us taking it up to the space we’d made ours. My brothers and I had renovated an old office building, claimi
ng the top two floors for our home, using the middle floors for offices, meeting rooms, and a few other operations. The lower levels and basement were special, those spaces transformed into our fully soundproofed containment area and torture rooms, only accessible by entering the correct keycode in the elevator.
The Adrostos family owned an estate across town where our father had lived until he got sick and eventually died. Now, my brothers and I were running the family, and the estate was just full of bad memories. Our uncle still lived there with a few other family members, but we were more hands-on and wanted to live in the heart of the city.
Instead of heading to the main living area, Ky stopped in the locker room we’d built just outside the elevator for occasions like this. It might seem weird, but we came home covered in bodily fluids way too often to trek that shit into our home. He started undressing, dropping his clothes in a hamper inside the door, no modesty needed between us. We were brothers, for fuck’s sake, plus we’d fucked the same women on many occasions, so I’d seen his dick enough times to be desensitized by this point.
My clothes were covered in blood, so instead of the hamper, I peeled them off and dropped them straight into the trash, glad I hadn’t worn my best suit today. Stepping into one of the three shower stalls, I turned the water as hot as it could go. Warm, fresh blood? Intoxicating. The tackiness of it after it dried? Eh, unless it was painting the body of the whimpering woman beneath me, I could go without it. Don’t knock it until you try it. There was something about seeing it flow that was mesmerizing. My cock twitched at the sight of it cascading over my skin before it washed down the drain, wishing I had a wet pussy to fuck right now, both of us covered in the blood of my enemies as she followed my every command.
“Stop jacking off. I promise you’ll thank me later.” Killian’s shout preceded his entrance into the locker room, a shit eating grin on his face when he appeared. I was too curious to know what had him this giddy, so I washed as quickly as possible and stepped out, glaring at full force. He laughed, knowing what I was getting at but not giving in that easily.
“Is that a bruise on your jaw? No wonder you’re so fucking happy,” Ky joked, shaking his head at our masochistic brother.
“You have no fucking idea, Ky,” he said, not even flinching at the jab. “Now get some clothes on! We have ten minutes to pick her up.”
“Who?” we both asked at once, but he just held up his middle finger and walked out of the door.
“Have I mentioned how much I hate him sometimes?” I grumbled, walking into the next room, a massive shared closet. “The club, right?”
“Yes,” Ky confirmed, walking in after me and heading for his section. Glancing at my options, I settled on a form-fitting suit with a white button-up underneath, draping the jacket over my arm.
As the default future head of the family, I preferred to keep up appearances. Neither of my brothers had wanted to take the role, so it fell to me. Killian might have been candid around me here, when it was just us and especially to show off when he got good pussy, but outside of our home, both Killian and Kyrell deferred to me. In public, my word was law, and they respected that, which was the only way this could work.
“Let’s go,” I ordered, turning and walking out, Ky following behind me. I glanced back to see he’d gone for a black button-up, the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms and his expensive gold watch. His black slacks were the same as mine, and I was unsurprised to see he was keeping it classy tonight. Killian was really the one we’d have to worry about. He wasn’t afraid to wear jeans and tees, clothing I hadn’t bothered to wear in years. The Adrostos needed to give off an air of intimidation, wealth, and power, so the city didn’t forget who truly ran things. That wasn’t possible in vintage tees and ripped jeans.
“Finally,” Killian groaned as we walked out, my eyebrow quirking up as I took in his clothes. He was wearing a suit this time as well. Just how good is that fucking pussy to get him to clean up? Just to be a dick, I took my time securing my shoulder harness and my favorite Glock, before slipping on my jacket and buttoning up. He managed to bite his tongue until I finished up, the frustrated tic in his jaw something only a brother would notice.
He was fidgeting the entire way down to the garage level, so much so I expected him to run to the Lexus, but somehow he found his fucking control for once.
“Where are we picking her up?” Kyrell asked, taking his usual spot in the driver’s side, Kill getting in the back while I took shotgun.
“Downtown, it’s a small game store on Gradley Avenue, Gamester’s Paradise,” he said, giving us nothing more than that. I knew pushing him for information would be useless, so I just looked out of the window as Ky navigated through the streets. About X minutes later, we entered the more rundown side of town, stopping in front of the store.
“Kill, it’s closed,” Ky pointed out, his tone clipped with irritation that he’d just had his time wasted. I scanned the neighborhood, my eyes stopping on a bright pink piece of paper taped to the inside of the door as Kill started swearing with a venom that even I was impressed by. Unbuckling my seatbelt, the noise unheard beneath my brother’s complaints, I climbed out, walking forward to read the note.
That was the one and only time you get to order me around and pretend you have the power here. I bow to no man, and I owe you nothing.
Go fuck yourself,
Sana
“Sana?” I said slowly, the name so familiar but I couldn’t place it. Apparently, I was taking too long because moments later, I heard the car door slam. Killian leaned in next to me to read it, like usual, not caring that he was in my personal bubble.
“You remember Otsana Priamos?” he whispered as he read it. His eyes darkened when he finished, but I didn’t miss the spark of excitement. He turned and watched me closely as I processed what he was saying. Surely not our Otsana?
“From school?” I asked incredulously, waving Kyrell over. He turned off the car before getting out and glared down the sidewalk in both directions, as if daring the world to scratch it. We were far too well known in the area to have to worry about it, though he’d glare nonetheless. Frankly, I found my attraction to blood much more normal than his attraction to his car.
“Sana… no?” Kyrell asked as he read the note again, whipping his head around to Killian, who just laughed. Within a breath, he was pushing his forearm into Kill’s throat, pinning him to the wall. “Otsana is here?!”
“Why do you two care so much?” he growled, but even Killian wasn’t that dumb. He’d known what she meant to us. She’d been willing to let us fuck her back then, but the four of us had only shared one night before she disappeared. We’d never found another submissive as beautiful as Sana and the way she’d given herself over to us completely under Kill’s direction. Fuck. The memory of that night still got me hard, over a decade later. And now Sana was back in our lives, or at least Kill’s, and it seemed like his lessons hadn’t left a lasting impression. Definitely time for a change in fucking leadership. Her note and decision to leave before we got here were power moves, full of snark and defiance that Kill should’ve taught her better than to direct at us. What happened to her? I thought, my mind immediately throwing me into my last memory of that gorgeous, brown-eyed girl.
Sana tied up and blindfolded on my bed, some barely there lace the only thing covering her. Ky not so carefully cut it with his knife, the fabric splitting and revealing her naked form to us. She was gorgeous, especially with the thin red cuts where he’d purposefully nicked her skin, small rivulets of blood decorating her creamy flesh.
“You fucking know why; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here with you taunting us. Where is she?” Kyrell demanded, his voice deadly and ice cold as he glanced down the street like we’d spot her there.
“She should have been here. I gave her an order. I even sent Alex with an outfit for her to wear!” he protested, pulling out his phone. He waited while it rang, both Ky and I growing more and more impatient. “Alex, you got th
e information I asked for? Good. Send it now!” he shouted, his composure slipping away as he stalked back to the car, us following closely behind. For a moment I thought he’d take the driver’s seat, but he climbed in the back and focused on his phone. Ours pinged a moment later, an address popping up that made me pause.
“She lives there?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, but he just shrugged, tight-lipped as he tried to rein in his anger.
“I’m going,” Kyrell promised, easing back onto the street and heading further into what was considered the Lach, the darker side of town named after the old Scottish mob that used to run this area. The same one whose newest generation we’d just sent back in a body bag.
We sat in tense silence as Ky drove to the address, my knee bouncing as I stared out of the window. Even Kyrell was on edge, which wasn’t unheard of, but he was usually the calmest brother. This has great potential to get messy, and not the kind that I enjoy. We parked in the front of a decrepit building, and he’d barely shut the car off before we jumped out. It wasn’t the best place to leave a car, but we spotted a group of guys nearby, and Ky started walking their way.
“A grand each if you watch the car. You see a single person touch it, you take a picture. We’ll be back shortly,” Ky offered, their eyes going wide with a glint of greed that definitely changed their demeanor. Money always had a way of creating a bridge over enemy lines. All three teens nodded, stepping closer to the car and crossing their arms in front of their bodies as they watched the streets. “Good.”
“Dude, that’s the Adrostos,” one of them hissed excitedly as I stalked away, a smirk taking over my face. I followed my brothers up the stairs, but the door was locked tight.
“Code?” I asked Kill, who shook his head. Seriously? I have to do everything. Not bothering to wait, I pulled out my gun and shot the box, the wiring hissing as the door clicked, unlocking. If we were anywhere but the Lach I might have cared, but here, gunshots were normal. Without bothering to address the excited whispers behind us, we walked inside, heading for the second floor and the apartment in question.