by Ashley Jade
I nodded my head. I didn't necessarily agree with him...but in a twisted way, he had a point.
I mean, I would be pissed as fuck if the girl I loved left me for dead. Especially after she killed my brother and I was stuck paying the price for her crime, no matter how much it was warranted.
Luckily I wouldn't ever have that problem. Love was something that would never exist in my world.
I saw first hand what it did to people.
“Well, I hope you get your closure one day.”
“I will Tristan. I'm counting on it.”
*******************************
Another week had gone by. At least...I think. I had lost all concept of time.
Alex screamed out in agony as he slumped against the wall.
“Alex breathe. Go to your happy place, remember.”
Today was absolutely brutal for him. I was beginning to think he was right about our father not caring if he was alive or dead.
“I don't think I have a happy place anymore Tristan. All I see is wrath...all I see is her.”
Shit.
“We'll make it out of this Alex. I know we will.”
“No Tristan, you'll make it out of this. I'm not going to.”
“I'll find a way to get us out of here...I promise.”
“You're crazy. There is no way out of this.”
I exhaled sharply and tried not to focus on the fact that my back was now completely shredded and mauled.
Even the slightest movement caused excruciating pain.
Maybe Alex was right...maybe there was no way out of this after all.
I closed my eyes and began to drift off.
***************************
“Tristan come on let's get you ready for bed,” my mother's voice called out to me.
I was five years old. Life was good. My mother didn't cry anymore...we were happy.
I took her hand as she tucked me into bed.
“I love you sweet boy,” she said as she kissed my forehead.
“Where's Duncan Mama?”
“He's out of town on business right now.”
I had the sudden urge to ask her at that moment.
“Is Duncan my dad?”
My mother stared at me wide eyed.
“No my sweet boy. Duncan isn't your father.”
“So, where is my dad?”
She took a deep breath before she answered. “Your father is a very bad man Tristan. Duncan and Camilla rescued us from him.”
I sat up in bed then. “Wow, are they super hero's?”
I looked up as Camilla entered the room.
She smiled sweetly at me and I couldn't help but smile back.
She sure was pretty. Her big green eyes and dark auburn hair were beautiful against her golden skin.
“No Tristan...we're not super hero's, trust me.”
My mother turned her head and looked at Camilla.
“It might not have started out that way, but he's right Camilla. I can never thank you enough for all that you've done. He would have become his father if we stayed. You saved us...you saved him.”
Camilla looked down at the floor. “He really is a sweet boy. I'm happy that you both have one another.”
A silent exchange passed between them that I didn't understand.
“You did the right thing Camilla. You did what you needed to in order to protect her.”
A tear rolled down Camilla's cheek. “It hurts so much. I think about her every second of every day. I miss her.”
“Camilla, please don't cry,” I said as I got off the bed and ran over to her.
I flung my arms around her waist. “Don't be sad Camilla. I'll protect you. I'll be a super hero.”
I heard the sound of my mother and her chuckling as she wiped away her tears.
She kneeled down in front of me. “You really are such a special boy Tristan. Please, don't ever forget that.”
The sound of gunshots in the distance made me scream.
Fear flashed across my mothers face. “Oh god. They found us.”
“Get under the bed now. Underneath the floor board,” Camilla whispered.
My mother grabbed me and she did as Camilla instructed.
“Come on Camilla. Get under here with us. Please,” My mother pleaded.
She shook her head. “No. I told you I would protect you both. No matter what happens do not come out from underneath there.”
Panic crept up my spine. I didn't understand what I was supposed to be so scared of at that moment, but I soon found out.
My mother closed the top of the floorboard over our heads but I could still see through a small crack.
“Ah Camilla, we meet again,” a deep voice called out.
“Sorry, If I knew you were coming I would have put out some refreshments.”
“Where's my boy Camilla? Where is she? Where the fuck is my money?”
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a gun.
“I really have no idea what you're talking about Hector. Not my fault you don't know how to keep a lady happy.”
He took a step toward her. “Tell me where they are and I might just let you live.”
She pulled out her gun and aimed it at him.
“Too bad I won't be able to say the same for you.”
He smiled as he held up his cell phone. “I had a feeling you might say that. I think Duncan may be able to change your mind.”
Duncan's voice filled the room. “Camilla...just give him what he wants. Please sweetheart.”
He sounded frightened. Duncan was never frightened. My fear quickly grew to epic proportions.
She took another step back. “Never.”
The sound of a window crashing made me jump.
Camilla collapsed on the floor as I heard the sound of a gunshot go off.
I tried to scream but my mother's hand slammed across my mouth.
Oh god, they shot her...but she was still alive.
My father kicked the gun away from her as he crawled on top of her.
He then proceeded to take out a knife.
“What's that expression that you mobsters use? Oh that's right- 'I'm going to gut you like a fish',” he sneered as her screams filled the room.
Blood spewed all across the floor as I watched the most sickening killing take place right before my very eyes.
She was wrong...turns out she was a superhero.
************************
I opened my eyes as I heard the sound of the cellar door opening.
I expected to see one of the guards...but it was Duncan.
Holy fuck. How did he get in here?
He quickly unlocked my chains and helped me up off the floor.
“Thank god your alive,” he said.
“How did you find me?”
He closed his eyes. “ Let's just say...I made a deal with the devil. It was the only way to get you out of here.”
“What kind of deal Duncan?”
“I can't talk about that right now. We have to go.”
I turned my head and looked at Alex.
“We have to take him with us.”
He shook his head. “No son, we can't. He wasn't part of the deal and if I take him too, they will kill you and me both.”
“I'm not your son Duncan. I'm not leaving without him.”
“Mira are you crazy? Leave...forget about me Tristan. You have a chance to get out of here. Take it,” Alex screamed.
“No Alex...I'm not leaving you. I can't. You're my brother.”
Duncan began dragging me out of the room then.
I swung my arm and punched him in the face.
“I'm not leaving you Alex.”
“Forget about me. Go with him Tristan.”
Duncan stood behind me and began pulling me away.
“I swear, I will kill him for you Alex. I will come back for you one day. I promise.”
He looked up and met my eyes. “Hermano,” he said.
“Hermano.”<
br />
Chapter One (Tristan)
(Chapter One from “Twisted Wrath’)
I never meant to fall in love with her.
I kept fighting against my own heart to stay away.
But I couldn't.
Turns out that love is stronger then willpower, control, and common sense.
Funny thing is, knowing what I know about her now...I would do it all over again in an instant.
I knew I had a choice to make.
However, I knew that bringing her here to safety was the only choice for me.
I know that telling her the truth, or at least most of it, will change everything.
“You're a monster.” Her words echo in my head and it slices through my heart like a knife.
It kills me because I know that part of me is a pure monster.
I didn't want to be one though. I had no choice in the matter.
Just like I had no choice when she took over my heart and soul.
I prop up a chair at the end of the bed and watch as she ever so slightly stirs before drifting back to sleep.
She's going to be knocked out for awhile. At least another 10 hours.
She ended up waking up in the middle of the flight and lunged right for Moe.
She damn near took the entire helicopter down...given that he was the pilot and all.
It did wonders for my fear of heights.
I had to think quick and jab another needle in her thigh.
I hate that I had to drug her and take her against her will in the first place.
I never wanted her to find out the way she did.
Odd thing is...she hardly even knows anything at the present moment.
She only has the tiniest kernel of knowledge.
She has no idea just how much danger she's in.
I thank my lucky stars that she trusted me enough to open up to me and tell me the truth, and I was able to put two and two together before it was too late.
She would have been dead by now...if she were lucky.
He almost got away with it. She would have walked right into the trap.
She almost did a few times.
I put my head down but quickly snap it back up as I hear her sigh my name.
She's still asleep. What she's dreaming about currently is anyone's guess.
It's probably the last time I'll hear her sigh my name and it kills me.
At that exact moment the sexy blue dress that she wore to the gallery decides to move up the apex of her thigh.
She wasn't kidding...she really isn't wearing any panties.
My cock twitches as I watch her and it's all I can do not to crawl on the bed and bury myself deep inside her.
God...I love this woman.
I love everything about her.
Will she still love me when all is said and done?
Will either of us even make it out alive to tell the tale?
The thought hits me like a ton of bricks and it takes every bit of strength I have not to keel over and curse whatever god may exist in the world.
How can fate be so cruel? How can fate be so cruel and fucking twisted?
How the hell is she going to handle hearing the truth about everything?
How is she going to handle hearing that her parents were hit men for the mob?
How is she going to handle hearing that they managed to pull off a heist so insane...that it's beyond legendary and she's got a trust fund full of blood money to show for it?
How is she going to handle hearing that the man she killed was Hector Martinez's first born son...the most notorious leader of the Mexican drug cartel.
How is she going to handle hearing that her first love is still alive?
Even worse then that? Not only is he still alive but he's the new leader of the cartel...and in his short 6 month reign he's proven to be more dangerous and ruthless then our father ever was.
13 years of non-stop torture will do that to you.
He's out for her blood and he'll stop at nothing to get it.
And he's got the perfect pathway...straight through her heart.
Chapter Two (Dev)
(Chapter Two from “Twisted Wrath)
I roll over in the bed and smile.
That sure was a strange dream. It almost felt real.
I've never been such a lucid dreamer before, besides all my flashback dreams involving Alex...I wonder if it was something I ate or drank?
With closed eyes I reach out for Tristan beside me, but I don't feel him.
The thought makes my heart ache and I squint one eye open.
The ache in my heart turns to full blown heart palpitations as the realization that I have no idea where I am hits me.
I snap my head up and sit up in the bed.
Oh god.
I pinch myself hard and swear when I feel the sensation.
It was real.
I don't know which thought demands my attention first- the fact that I actually have parents. Or the fact, that as it turns out- Tristan is Diego and Alex's brother?
I quickly sweep those thoughts onto the back burner as overwhelming terror erupts throughout me.
He fucking kidnapped me! He's holding me hostage.
It doesn't matter that when I look around the room I see that it doesn't exactly look like a typical hostage situation.
The room is elegant and beautiful. There's even a full bathroom attached.
I also fail to register at that moment that it's obvious that I'm not tied up because I have full use of all my limbs and I can move around freely.
The panic is too overwhelming.
First things first- I need to figure out where he took me.
I rush over to the window and pull the curtain back.
Beyond the steel bars that hold me captive, I notice that the ground is covered in nothing but white as far as the eye can see.
Holy...it's...it's snow. I'm obviously a long way from home because when he took me it was the start of spring.
I glance down and notice that I'm still wearing the same blue dress from the gallery. I couldn't have been sleeping for that long.
I look out the window again.
Holy shit...is that a glacier?
Where the hell am I?
I need to get out of here. I need to tell someone that he took me.
Problem is...I don't know anyone who would even care.
Wait a minute...I do now! I have Aaron and Nathaniel.
I know they'll be willing to help me.
They'll get the police involved and maybe I'll actually manage to make it out of here alive.
I quietly exit the bedroom and tip toe down the long and narrow hallway.
It's eerily quiet...quite creepy really.
I enter a room that looks like an office of some sort. That's when I notice it.
A phone. Perfect.
I drop down behind the desk in order to make myself more inconspicuous.
Not that it really matters at this point, but I'm tired, groggy and it makes sense at the moment.
I dial Aaron's number and he picks up on the second ring.
“Hello? Who is this?” he answers, obviously confused by the unknown number.
“It's me. Dev.”
“Hey honey, is everything okay?” he says.
“No, it's not. I need your help Aaron. Tristan is holding me captive. He's holding me in some sort of house or cabin surrounded by snow and glaciers, I think,” I whisper.
I hear him chuckle on the other end. “Stop bragging you lucky girl.”
I clear my throat. “Aaron you don't understand. I'm serious. I'm really in trouble...”
The line disconnects.
I look up to find Tristan glaring down at me.
A white towel is hung low on his hips and tiny beads of water are dripping down his perfectly sculpted abs and that beautiful v-cut of his.
Dammit, how can a monster be so gorgeous?
He gives me a look that makes me want to cower away in fear, as well
as rip my panties off and tell him to take me right here on the desk. Oh that's right...I'm not wearing any panties.
“What the fuck are you doing Dev?” he screams as he holds up the telephone cord that he's clearly just ripped out of the wall.
I don't answer him.
Instead, I stand up and kick him as hard as I possibly can and bolt for the door.
He catches up to me seconds later and wraps the telephone cord around my wrists.
“Jesus Christ Dev. Would you stop freaking out for one goddamned second. I am not going to hurt you,” he says as he hauls me back to him.
I motion to the cord wrapped around my wrists that he's currently tugging on. “Sorry, but I find that a little hard to believe right now.”
He sighs as he loosens his grip.
“I'm only doing this right now because you tried to run away from me. Do you know how fucking dangerous making a telephone call from here is?”
“Seeing as you're the one holding me captive before you kill me...I'd say that phone call was more dangerous for you then it was for me.”
He spins me around to face him then. “Dev, don't you think if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now?”
I shrug. He has a point...I suppose.
He continues. “Don't you think that if I wanted you dead I would have pushed you off the damn roof when we first met? Do you think I would have spent months with you? Do you think I would have gone out of my way to protect you from fake cops at clubs or burglars in your apartment? Do you think I would have fallen in love with you if I had any intention of killing you?”
I open my mouth to protest...but nothing comes out.
Logically...I know he's right. He's had plenty of opportunities to kill me.
That only leaves me wondering one big unanswered question.
Why the fuck did he bring me here?
About the Author
I'm a New Yorker who's a a lover of psychology, romance, erotica, astrology, and anything else thought provoking...except for math. I've always read books growing up, and after having a strange dream one night; I decided to just go for it and publish my first series. Ever since, I've been written by the bug and I don't want to stop.