by Eva K. More
“You disappoint me, Beast. After all I’ve seen of you, it is a woman that makes you betray me. Tell me, what is it?” Ivo pushed his face into Kat’s hair and smelled it noisily, a shudder rippling through her body. “What’s so special about her?”
“It’s not her, you stupid little shit.” Beast’s steely voice boomed through the hall and was only made harsher by the metallic aftersound of the mask.
“Huh?” He murmured, confused by the words spat at him.
“You were always just a means to an end. I’ve got everything I need from you, so your time’s up.” The slow laugh that escaped that metal mask made Kat’s skin develop goosebumps. “You actually did me a favor by creating that little scenario.”
“You’re lying,” Ivo said, and it was noticeable that all of his previous confidence was going down the drain.
“Sorry, boss,” Beast said with haughty falseness, “direct orders from Kapov.”
Behind her, Kat could feel Ivo’s countenance dip a little as the knife against her throat flickered when his hand started shaking. Beast’s gaze lowered only for a second.
“Motherfucker,” Ivo said. “Bastard. I think you’re bluffing. Let’s see if you really don’t give a shit about this bitch.”
Kat felt the air shift and knew the moment Ivo turned serious. She gasped when the sharp blade slid more harshly against her skin.
“Drop that gun, Beast. Now!” the disgusting man screamed.
For a moment, Beast stood still, not moving a muscle, assessing the situation, and slowly he retracted his hand.
“That’s right. On your knees, show me your eyes and put the gun on the floor. No, throw it away. You won’t need it,” Ivo said.
Kat saw Beast bent first one knee and then the other, slowly dropping down on the cold concrete floor. “I’m a lot better with my fists anyway.” When he pulled back his hood, the intense fire in his eyes took her breath away. No doubt, he didn’t need the gun to do severe damage to his enemies.
Ivo remained behind her, sensing the danger still oozing from Beast and becoming more agitated by the defiant tone of voice.
“Shut it! You think you are so mighty? Why are you on your knees then?”
“I’m curious, and I’ve got time,” he said as one of his shoulders shrugged carelessly.
“Are you having fun? Oh. Let’s all have some fun.”
Kat’s throat felt raw and bruised. Beast’s eyes flickered to where she felt the deepest cut, but he showed none of his thoughts. He might have looked the same way at an annoying fly buzzing past his ears.
Ivo slowly stretched to his height behind her, and when Beast made a move, he returned the blade to Kat, but this time, it hovered right in front of her heart.
“Na uh, don’t even think about it. I won’t kill her for now. But I will hurt her within an inch of her life,” Ivo said.
“I know what you did to all those girls, and I’ll happily end your miserable life. You think you’re man enough? Why don’t you come here and show me? Instead of using a woman as a shield, you piece of crap,” Beast said.
“Isn’t it funny how he still thinks he has the upper hand?” Ivo said mockingly and yanked on Kat’s hair.
She whimpered in response. Kat didn’t know how much blood she had lost up to now, but her head was feeling dizzier and dizzier with every second that passed.
“You get off on blood, you sick fuck,” Beast said.
“I get off on seeing you beg for mercy.” Ivo hissed and pulled her hair tighter, exposing more of her neck and making the wound there hurt much more.
“That’ll never happen.”
“We’ll see how you react to her first real scream.”
“No more games. Coldness seeped from Beast’s every word, and he appeared bigger, more lethal even kneeling on the floor than Ivo could ever be. He may have been unarmed, but as she watched Beast’s eyes sharpen and right brow rise, she knew he was still deadly.
Slowly, he rose to his feet. “Keep the knife; I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
“You savage.” Ivo remained surprisingly calm. “You better not take another step, or you won’t be able to walk ever again. I may not have a gun on me now, but my friends do.”
Suddenly, four slightly familiar men emerged from the darkness; two of them were pointing big, silver guns at Beast. They were all dressed in black, and ugly sneers covered their faces. Kat recognized them from the mansion.
Beast remained standing but turned his head, a calculating glimmer in his eyes. “I’m not surprised those are your friends. You all never lived up to Kapov’s standard.”
“Kapov is an asshole.” Ivo let loose of Kat’s hair and abandoned his place behind her to move forward. It didn’t escape her notice that Ivo remained a reasonable distance away from Beast.
The two men that pointed a gun at him had her quiver in fear for his life, but she chose to believe his confident pose. At least, when it came to saving himself because, after all, he had said that he didn’t care for her and that all he wanted was to see Ivo dead. So what if she died in the process? Beast was so cold, so aloof, so distant.
Does he really not care for me? She thought as she tried imagining him as she had last seen him, a little ruffled standing in the bathroom in front of her, still distant, but there had been a distinctive warmth in his eyes.
Could she rely on the Beast to save her? Or would Gabriel, the man, have at least some qualms about letting her die?
Ivo put the knife on the table, and without averting his gaze from the other objects, he addressed Beast again. “Now, tell me how you’re going to kill me.”
“Easy, I’d rather show you.” He calmly replied as if he was in complete control of the situation.
Ivo sighed. “I never liked you; you are just so… primitive.”
She couldn’t have interpreted Ivo’s strange nod fast enough, but suddenly one of his men lurched forward and kicked Beast in the knee, making him fall to the floor. His eyes narrowed in pain, but he didn’t make a sound, and Kat held her breath. Even the mighty Beast was overpowered with five people against one, six if she counted Lina, who still stood silently in the shadows.
Kat’s face hurt, her throat throbbed, and she felt her energy drain with every small drop of blood. She had been prepared to fight, but with every passing second, she felt the hope leave her body; they were unarmed and outnumbered. Especially since she had yet to find a way to free herself from the stool.
As she watched Beast once again kneeling on the ground, a tick in his temple showing his anger, a wave of utter dismay washed over her. She didn’t want to be the cause of his downfall. He had kept her safe from the first moment on. He had been rough and cutting, but sweet and tender at times. He had shown her passion and caring, and she had fallen for him, hard. Dear God, she was in love with that man. Even if his affection for her wasn’t genuine, hers for him definitely was, and she couldn’t bear even the thought of his death.
She didn’t want to be there anymore. She didn’t want to see him suffer. She wished now he hadn’t come to this dingy old factory.
Two men rushed to his side and took hold of Beast’s arms, and only then did Ivo step forward.
“Any last words?” Ivo asked.
“Kapov gave you everything – all of you. Why did you go behind his back to Anton?” Beast asked and watched Ivo calmly, as though the threat to his life at that very moment was a farce.
Ivo’s scornful laugh transformed his face into that of a volatile snake. “Kapov is a fool, and his business is old and boring. There is so much more money and pleasure to gain from fresh human flesh. It’s so much more fun. I could never understand why he was so opposed to it.”
“He doesn’t like his city to dirty itself with sick fucks like you,” Beast said.
And those words were like a breaking point as while the two men held him, Ivo kicked Beast in the stomach. He doubled over but still didn’t make a sound. It was Kat who winced for him.
“His cit
y? He won’t have to worry for long, because Anton’s going to finally kick him off his throne and own every single soul in this place. That is, if he is even alive. With his absence, he’s made himself vulnerable, and as you can see, his men are starting to turn on him.” Ivo stated and opened his arms in what he thought was a grand gesture, to then pointedly look at Kat. “We are going international, and we’ll be kings of the world with girls like her.”
Beast’s back straightened. “You underestimate Kapov. Nobody gets to be on top of the underworld and is that easy to beat. He managed to drown Anton years ago; he’ll handle him again.” He replied, looking murderous.
“Anton’s grown stronger, and Kapov hasn’t been seen around here for months.” He spat and then laughed. “Your precious friend has disappeared, and everyone knows it. He might be even dead.” Ivo paused then, positively frightening Kat with his toothy grin. “And now let me show you why our business is so much more fun, and then you can die a happy death... You’ll watch me rip that pussy apart.”
Kat’s eyes widened in fear as Ivo approached her, his eyes gleaming like venomous orbs.
Right then, she heard a mighty roar, more like that of an animal than that of a man, as Beast howled and ripped his arms free of the men holding him. He did it with such ease, as though his arms were made of stone and the other men of foam. She watched in fascination as he stood and fought them with his bare hands, and by the sounds of it, breaking their bones.
He made moves she had only seen in movies, ducking, turning, twisting. The sounds of flesh pounding flesh were gruesome, and the time passed as if in a loop. By the power he showed, she had thought that the men would be done sooner, but Beast had to hit them a few more times before they finally ceased moving altogether.
Then, as he started marching up to her, a movement in the background caught her eyes, and she cried out in warning, but it was too late. One of the men struck Beast in the back of his head with a metal pole, and he fell to the floor, next to the two men he had beaten to a bloody pulp.
Manic laughter filled the room. “You cannot win, Beast.” Ivo looked down at him with a twisted grin. He circled him slowly, almost lazily, until he stopped in front of his head; then, he hit the mask with his shoe, the sound making Kat’s stomach revolt.
“I think I’d like to see your ugly face first before the fun begins. That mask has always aggravated me,” Ivo said.
Despite the gore and aggression of it all, Kat held her breath as the third man crouched down next to Beast and held a gun to his head. He then moved a hand, ripping open the first latch of the three that kept the piece in place.
Kat had wanted to see what was beneath the mask for a long time; she had longed for him to show her what he kept hidden. But not like this. This was not him opening up to her; this was Ivo taking his dignity.
“No!” She screamed, and at the same time, a loud bang sounded, and the man who was crouching on the ground toppled over. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and blood oozed from between his eyes.
Kat had barely been able to follow the hectic movements of the last seconds, but now time stood still as Ivo’s wide eyes searched the shadows.
“What the hell!” Ivo screamed, looking around in desperation. Kat saw as the panic took away all the confidence he showed just a few seconds earlier.
Then she felt a tug on her hands, and with effort, turned her head around to notice as Lina fumbled with the ropes, pushing Kat’s sweater up, tearing at her sore arms. For whatever reason, Kat realized, Lina was freeing her, working fast to loosen the confines that kept her secured to the stool.
“Who’s there?” Ivo asked with annoyance.
With dawn on the rise, the sky outside the windows had become a deep blue color, but inside the factory, it was still much too dark.
“It’s me, you traitorous son of a bitch.”
Kat caught the surprise and fear in his voice as Ivo muttered one word. “Kapov.”
east jumped up at that moment, using the surprising momentum to strike the fourth man, his powerful punch turning his head forcefully to the side. The second fist landed in his stomach, and the third hit caught his jaw, the ghastly sound of bones breaking was a prelude to the man’s fall.
Breathing heavily with blood splattered all over him, Beast stood amid the four seemingly dead bodies and reminded her of an avenging angel, doing honors to his name.
In the chaos, Lina had also managed to free her legs, and Kat decided that it was her time to run, but unfortunately, the moment she took a wobbly step forward, a bony arm snaked around her waist.
This time, Ivo held a gun to the side of her head, the sound of the safety click unmistakable to Kat and the standing men in front of her. If it weren’t for his other arm holding her in place, she would have faltered to the ground.
“One step closer and I’ll blow her brains out.” Ivo spluttered, his foul breath brushed her ears, but she felt the tremor in his body.
His plan hadn’t worked out the way he had wanted to, and he wasn’t so self-assured anymore. But, if anything, this could prove to be even worse for Kat. If he panicked, he could lose control entirely and kill her on the spot.
“Leave the girl be.” There was that deep voice again, now closer than before. Despite her vision blurring a minute ago, it sharpened on the figure that appeared behind Beast.
Kat didn’t know how she had pictured him, but Kapov was a tall, distinguished-looking man, impeccably dressed in a dark blue suit with charming grey hair at his temples. A mustache graced his aristocratic features, and the lines in his tanned face made him somehow appear friendly, pleasant even.
“Kapov,” Ivo hissed, unable to say anything else, and the gun trembled alarmingly against her head.
The older man’s eyes disdainfully narrowed as he looked her over. “You hurt her, Ivo. That’s not how you treat a lady.”
“You call this bitch a lady? You’ve gone soft, old man. Where did you spend your time these past few months? A monastery?” Ivo mocked, but the stutter of his voice gave his nervousness away.
Kapov made a kind of pout with his mouth that expressed his disgust for the other man. “And you’ve become crazy.”
Manic laughter filled Kat’s ear, and she was sure that, if Ivo were crazy before, he was slowly becoming more unhinged now.
Both Beast and Kapov stood still like rocks, watching over them with calm calculation, their victorious stances intimidating the small weasel behind her.
She could feel her heartbeat like a drum and was unable to concentrate on her surroundings anymore as a sudden panic invaded her mind. The big boss was here, and he wanted Ivo gone, so what did he care about her wellbeing? Beast might have kept her safe on his own volition, but Kapov certainly wouldn’t dirty his hands with her. Still, he was looking at Kat strangely with something akin to concern and kindness.
“You let Beast kill my men. Is that how you treat your partner?” Ivo asked.
“You are not my partner,” Kapov said calmly. “You are a traitor. And those were my men initially, so you shouldn’t expect a different treatment for them. You know how traitors must be dealt with.”
“You left me no choice! You halted all our projects at the bottom. People are what gets all the money! All of the control!” His screams were becoming worse, and Kat closed her eyes when she felt the gun hitting her temple.
“And you think Anton will share his fortune with you?” Kapov asked with a deriding tone.
“Yes,” Ivo said.
“Pathetic. I knew you were insane, but I didn’t think you were naïve. No true man exploits innocent children or women. Do you think that a man like that would keep to his word?” Kapov raised one elegant brow.
“Oh, come off your high horse! You kill people; what do you care about others?” Kat felt Ivo’s spit as his speech became even more aggravated.
“Yes, I kill those who deserve it, those who know what they are getting into. I’m not a rapist or a pedophile.” Kapov said.
“Like it really makes a difference.”
A crooked smile graced Kapov’s face. “It does to me,” he said softly. “Give up; you’ve lost.”
During their verbal exchange, Kat had remained still and had watched Beast creep slowly back into the shadows, something that apparently Ivo had missed. The morning had already begun, the blue sky was lightening the roof, but the light was not yet reaching where they stood.
Then she felt Ivo loosen his grip on her while gesticulating wildly, provoked by Kapov’s relaxed demeanor.
“Beware of a man who has nothing to lose!” Ivo said. “I’ll kill all of—”
“Now, Kat!” Beast boomed at her, and she pushed her elbow back, hitting Ivo and running forward. She expected an impact, burning pain, a falling sensation in the pit of her stomach. But none of it came.
She couldn’t see where she was running to, couldn’t hear another sound besides her beating heart. Only when warm arms encircled her did she stop.
Ivo hadn’t shot her; she was alive, alive, and safe.
Gripping the soft fabric with trembling fingers, she turned her head back. Her befuddled brain registered that whoever was tightly holding her wasn’t Beast, because he was standing a small distance away, his hand with the gun outstretched, pointing it at Ivo.
The ugly snake had used the same moment of distraction Kat had and had crept backward, now holding Lina as a hostage.
She saw as Beast assessed the situation for a moment.
Why didn’t he shoot? Kat thought. Was he that much of an honorable man that he didn’t even kill women who deserved to die?
“Beast.” It was a low warning.
The aforementioned looked at Kapov for a moment, the expression in his eyes unreadable.
Ivo’s laughter filled the hall; it’s cackling sound resonating off the walls. “That’s right, huh? You won’t risk her life, too.” He said, as his sparkling gaze moved from Beast to the man holding Kat.