by Dani René
“What is it?”
“APB is out on Rayne. I’ve just gotten word from our man on the inside. She’s been reported as kidnapped by Amoretto,” he informs me.
“No. No, you can’t give me to him.” My sister starts shaking violently. Shoving away from me, she moves back into the cell, scuttling onto the bed and curling into a ball.
“Rayne,” I call to her, closing the distance between the bed and myself. “We’re not giving you to him. Tell me what’s wrong? Did he hurt you?”
She looks so small, so fragile as she cries on the bed. Her tiny frame even more delicate than before. Her fear is palpable. I feel it right down to my bones.
“Listen, little one,” Dante says. “We’re not sending you back there. You need to tell us what happened.” He sounds so confident, so sure of himself. Dante was always the brother I knew would survive this better than Drake. He wasn’t subjected to a lot that Drake and I were, but he knew what happened. He’d seen enough to know that his father was evil.
“He . . . That man is bad,” Rayne finally whispers. “His house has a room hidden in the walls.” The more she talks, the more my body vibrates with fury.
“What room?” This time, Dante is on the bed, attempting to pull her out of the ball she’s curled herself into. I can’t move. My body is frozen, and I know if I touch anyone right now, I’ll kill. I’ll rip them apart, so I allow Dante to take charge.
“It’s a place like this,” she tells us. “He does things in there, with . . .” Her voice tapers off, but my imagination is running rampant with horror-filled images.
“With?”
“He takes girls, or boys, in there.”
Dante’s hands are on her arms, holding her steady because it looks like she’s about to pass out. His voice is composed, calm, but I can tell he is as angry as I am. “You’ve seen this?”
She nods.
The party is tonight. We need to get in there and find this room. There’s no longer a doubt about when we’ll take them down; it has to be tonight. Or we’ll all be killed. Amoretto is a dangerous man. He’s known to be connected to organizations that deal in guns, drugs, and children. He needed to die a long time ago, but I know Drake’s focus was on Caia. He needed to find her. Now that she’s here and helping us, we can finally put an end to this.
“Rayne,” I finally utter her name again. “We’re going there tonight. Can you explain where this room is? We’re going to help those that are hidden in his home.”
Her eyes land on mine. “He’ll kill you.”
“I have something to do. Dante, can you take her up to Caia and ask her to help my sister?”
“Yeah, man. Where are you going?”
“A place I know I’ll find help for tonight.” I push off the bed and head to the door. Without looking at my sister, I mutter, “I love you, Rayne.” And then I walk out, leaving her with one of my best friends.
23
River
The lights of Twisted & Shaken appear in my view ten minutes after I’ve left Rayne and Dante in the cell. I knew what I had to do. The luminous blue lights of the bar beckon me in the darkness. I found this place when I needed escape. When I needed to leave the Savage Mansion and take a breather from what I’d seen.
Stalking into the bar, I find the raven-haired woman I’m about to fuck into next week serving a beer to a burly biker. Her long dark locks are streaked with blues and purples. Her dark eyeliner is what you would call emo. A ripped black tank top hugs her curves but also teases the large tits I know are real because I asked her one night.
She’s been a distraction for years. Drake and I had an understanding — if we needed time, we could go out and find someone to use for the night. It’s how we’ve always lived. Guilt sits in my gut this time because I care about Caia, and I love Drake.
The woman smiles at me when she meets my eyes. “A double shot of whiskey,” I tell her, dropping a fifty on the bar. “Keep the change.” She sets the glass in front of me, her eyes shimmering with knowing. Every time I come in here, I’ve taken her in the back and fucked her.
“You’re feeling generous,” she remarks, lifting the bill from the counter. I shrug in response. Gulping down the amber liquid in one swallow, I feel the burn all the way down my throat and into my chest. “Something on your mind, River?”
“Another drink.”
She nods. Moving to grab the bottle, she fills the shot glass and meets my gaze with a curious arched brow.
“Nothing you need to worry yourself with. Perhaps you can take a break soon?” I ask, lifting the drink to my lips. I need to release this tension Rayne has brought about. I don’t know how I’m meant to get her to trust me. Love and rage are two very dangerous emotions. They’re deadly, and tonight everything will finally come to a head.
“I can always take a break for you, River,” she responds with a lift of her plump lips.
“Good. Give me five,” I tell her as I drain my drink and head into the men’s restroom to take a piss. Moments later, I’m back at the bar. “Let’s go, baby girl.” I don’t wait for her. Instead, I stalk to the back of the bar and into the office where we’ve fucked more times than I care to count. The door clicks, and I settle in the large leather chair that sits behind the desk.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?” she asks, but I shake my head in response. She knows I don’t ever tell her about where I come from or why I need her. We’ve been through this before. Countless times. The problem is, she’s the only person other than Drake I trust to just give me what I need.
I tug my belt from the loops, crooking my finger to call her over. She kneels between my open my legs. Once I’ve wrapped the leather around her neck, I tug it up, causing her to rise to her feet.
“I don’t want to talk. Do you understand?”
She nods. So fucking obedient. I love it.
“Lift your skirt. Let me look at those beautiful holes.” Trinity spins around, my belt tightening with each movement. She lifts the micro-mini she’s wearing to show me the blue thong meant to cover her cunt. A thin string disappears between her pert cheeks, and I rain down a slap on each one.
I reach for the thin material and rip her thong from those beautiful hips.
“Bend over the desk,” I order gruffly. I make quick work of my zipper and grip my cock, stroking it as I drink in the woman before me. My fingers taunt her slit; it’s slick and needy. She’s always ready for me. Perhaps that’s why I lose interest. I want a challenge. I need someone who’ll tell me no.
But I know it’s more than that. It’s because I’m in love with someone else. I crave him more than I do my next breath. And now, with Caia, I’ve been sucked into their world, and I hunger for her just as much.
Pulling a foil packet from my pocket, I rip it open, sheathing my dick. Once I’m covered, I thrust into Trinity’s pussy, balls deep.
My body moves with hers, but I don’t feel the gratification I want. The happiness I seek is not here. I’m so fucked up, so tortured, I’m here wanting to find sinful pleasure from someone I don’t love.
I pull out of the woman before me, slumping down on the chair, causing her to turn to face me. She has so many emotions flitting across her expression it makes me sick.
“I need your help,” I tell her.
“Clearly.” She rights herself, hiding her pussy from my view, and I’m thankful for it. Not because she’s not beautiful, not because I don’t find her attractive, but because I came here for something else.
“Tonight, I have an event, and I need a woman on my arm.”
“That’s new.” She smiles.
I rise, stuffing my dick into my pants before I meet her gaze. “This isn’t something fun. It’s not a date. The home we’re going to is owned by a dangerous man.”
“And you need me to be . . . what?”
Running my fingers through my unruly hair, I meet her gaze and offer the truth. It’s the only thing I have. “A toy. A whore on my arm.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re taking me to a house that could be a danger to me, and you want me to agree to it?” She sounds as incredulous as I thought she’d be. But I’ve known her for a while, and I thought it would be something she’d do for me. Granted, I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but lies have been far too volatile in my life.
“I just need you on my arm. To be my escort tonight to a gala dinner with a few men I will be meeting with. We won’t be alone. Drake and Dante will be there too.”
She sighs, and I can see the resignation on her face. Trinity has met the twins before. She’s seen what they’re capable of, especially Dante. He has a violent streak when he’s drunk.
“And if I agree to this, you’ll pay me for my time?”
This is the reason I went to her. I know she’s easy pickings, and it might be wrong of me to put her in that situation, but with the party we’re going to, each man needs a toy on his arm, and I’m not taking my sister into that house. She’s far too volatile to be in a situation where she’ll see men who’ve clearly hurt her before.
“You know I’m always good for it,” I assure her. “I have a dress for you to wear. I need you to agree to it before I can offer you any more than what I have so far.”
She watches me for a moment, and I’m certain she’s about to deny me, but then, when I turn from her gaze, she utters, “I’ll do it. But if anything happens to me—”
“Nothing will happen to you. I’ve never let anyone hurt you before, and I won’t allow it now.” As much as I voice the words, I know they’re a lie. I’ve hurt her. I know it, and so does she. But that wasn’t my choice; it was hers. I told her I can’t love her, but she fell anyway.
“Okay.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
I leave her to mull over it and head back to the car. It’s done. I tap out a message to Drake and Dante informing them of our guest and make my way back to the house to get ready.
24
Caia
I glance at myself in the mirror. The dress Drake bought for me is more than beautiful. It’s flawless. The silk hangs over my newly found curves, hugging each dip of my body.
“I know why I’m not allowed in there,” Harper says from behind me. She’s sitting on the bed, her legs crossed Buddha-style as she watches me. “But I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Dad sees you again.”
“I doubt he’ll recognize me,” I tell her. I hardly recognize me. The tattoos have become a part of me. I see them as my strength. I survived hell. I wish I’d had a normal life. Every day, I wonder what would have happened if my father wasn’t a monster. And each day, I realize I would never have Drake, nor River, in my life.
“You look so pretty,” Rayne — the girl who was locked in Thanos’s dungeon with me — offers. She’s perched on the window seat. Her eyes are the same shade as her brother’s. Dante brought her up here, told me to clean her up.
When she finally stepped out of the shower, I noticed all the bruises and scrapes on her porcelain skin. But it was when she was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top I noticed how pretty she is. Her hair, a golden blonde color, shimmers in the light, as if it’s spun silk. Her curious gaze follows me everywhere within the confines of the room.
“Thank you, Rayne,” I respond, offering her a kind smile. Her beauty is startling. When we found her, she was hidden behind layers of dirt, smudges of black on her face, her hair matted and knotted. She truly was a broken toy. I wonder why Thanos never gave her what he did me.
A knock on the door has me turning to face the entrance as Drake appears. He’s dressed in an expensive black suit, the shirt underneath a dark red, with a silver tie. His hair is tousled, styled as if I’d just been running my fingers through it. I can’t help admiring how handsome he is.
His tanned skin, the scruff on his jaw, and the dark suit are a stark contrast, making his bright blue eyes pop. They’re incredible. “We best go. River is here with his date.”
“Date?”
“These parties are couples only,” Drake explains. “If a man walks in without a woman on his arm, they’ll suspect something.”
Nodding, I pick up the necklace from the vanity and hand it to him. Lifting my long hair, I offer my neck to Drake. The cool metal causes me to shiver when he fastens it. A diamond lands between my breasts.
“Perfect,” he tells me, inspecting every inch of me with his gaze.
Harper gives me a hug before I follow Drake down the hallway and into the entrance hall. River is dressed similarly to his best friend in dark colors, and his tie — an olive green which makes his eyes seem even more luminous — is the only color on him tonight.
“This is it.” He offers me a smile, pressing a kiss to my forehead. And it’s then I notice the woman beside him. She’s pretty, but the glare she pins me with when River’s lips touch me is clear — she’s jealous.
We make our way to the car waiting outside, and my nerves get the better of me. I’m shaking when I slip into the passenger seat alongside Drake, who’s driving tonight.
His hand finds my knee. The heat of his touch calms me somewhat, but deep down, the fear that’s been rooted in me all these years is prominent.
I attempt to focus on the houses we pass by, but nothing allows my heart to cease the violent thrumming in my chest. My throat is tight with anxiety, and by the time we’re pulling into the long driveway of my childhood home, I’m blinking back tears.
It looks so different. It’s nothing like I remember. Expensive cars line the driveway, and I know all the men here tonight are wealthy. They’re some of the richest in the country, all here to celebrate with my father, a monster in angel’s clothing.
Once the car comes to a stop, Drake exits. Rounding the front, he opens my door. His hand in mine is the only grounding I have, because my feet no longer want to carry me inside. I thought I could be strong, seeing my father again, but I’m not a warrior right now.
No.
Right now, I’m the little girl whose father ensured she’d never have a normal life.
Drake leans in, his mouth close to my ear when he whispers, “I’m right beside you. You’re the strongest woman I know, and nothing will hurt you ever again.” His confident words do nothing to calm me. But I don’t allow him to see my fear. I meet his gaze and nod. I can’t find the words to respond, but my wordless answer is enough.
We make our way into the house, welcomed by a butler who offers a swift dip of his chin. The inner sanctum of the devil himself is furnished in only the finest. From the artwork to the furniture we are escorted toward. There are crowds of people all sipping champagne, dressed in expensive suits and gowns. It looks like a royal party from the outside, but I know once you delve deeper into it, there aren’t any flawless people in this house tonight.
Each man has one girl beside him. And each girl, half the age of the man she’s standing beside, wears a necklace similar to mine. As if she’s branded. Collared. Owned.
“Do you see anyone you recognize?” Drake questions in a low tone so only I can hear him.
Shaking my head, I tell him, “Not yet.” We grab a couple glasses of champagne and move farther into the house I grew up in. The living room is exactly like the day I walked out to go to a party. The patio, which is to our right, is filled with men and women laughing, chatting, and having a good time.
I’m about to tell Drake I see one of the men from Thanos’s parties, but I can’t, because my gaze lands on a man sitting at the head of the long dinner table that’s been set up in the garden.
The man I called father.
On his lap is a girl who can’t be more than twenty. She’s wearing a thick silver collar, similar to that of a dog. Hanging from the ring in the center of her neck is a leash. She’s beautiful, but what makes my stomach turn and bile force its way into my throat is how much she looks like Harper. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve called her sister.
“It seems your father has found a replacement
for his runaway daughter,” River comments from my left, while Drake on my right is silent, his hand squeezing mine. It’s as if he knows I need him to be strong for me in this moment.
“I guess so.” My voice is raspy when I respond to River.
I blink back the tears, seeing for myself the monster my father really is.
25
Drake
My girl turns to me. “I need the restroom. Stay here,” she tells me urgently, excusing herself, and I can tell this is affecting her more than she had anticipated. I know it can’t be easy seeing this. She’d been shielded from it for so long, and now, thrown in at the deep end. It was a mistake bringing her here. I realize that now. But she asked for revenge.
She wanted to kill him, and I know if I had refused her, she would’ve gone out and done it on her own. That would’ve only gotten her killed. And that is not something I could live with. Not now, not ever. I watch her race up the stairs, but I don’t follow. Allowing her time to think will perhaps have her changing her mind about going through with this.
Regardless of her decision, tonight, her father will die. Whether by my hand or hers.
“Savage.” Amoretto notices me and waves me over. His eyes are dark, wild, and when I near him, I wonder if he’s high. Possibly. He offers a hand, which I shake, and give him a smirk. Playing to the games of these men is easy. “How are you doing?”
“Good. It’s been a while,” I tell him.
“It has been. I have a treat for you tonight.” This time, he tugs on the chain linked to the girl in his lap. She drops to the ground on all fours like a dog. My anger is simmering when I watch him rise and lead her over to a small bench on the manicured lawn.
“What is this?” I question, the men behind me watching intently. It’s as if I can feel their eyes burning through my back.