by V. F. Mason
“Don’t cry,” he whispered, and I closed my eyes, letting his voice wash over me while I cried silently. I had no strength left in me to fight him, to escape from him, or to protect myself.
I was just tired.
I didn't understand what was going on.
The hot water was soothing my muscles, the ache inside me, and combined with his arms, it finally was making me feel warm.
“Tell me.”
He didn't need to ask what I meant. We both knew what I wanted to hear, and I heard him take a deep breath as his head rested back against the bathtub wall. “I saw you and wanted you to be mine. There isn't much of an explanation to this, Sapphire.” His tone was steady and sure. He wasn't apologizing, far from it.
“My feelings don’t matter?” My words were whispered, but even I could hear pain in them. No one ever really cared what I felt, and for some odd reason, the idea of him being just like everyone else broke something inside me.
He was silent for few moments, and I thought he wouldn't answer me, when he finally spoke.
“No.” I tensed and tried to move away, but his hands around me were firm. “I just wanted you.” He sounded angry, as though it was my fault, as though he was the one who should be offended with what happened.
“What happened today doesn’t change anything.” I wanted him to know that maybe it was the best sexual experience of my life, but he was still who he was, and I was me.
I couldn't be a woman who loved a serial killer.
I couldn’t be my mother, who spent her whole life with a monster.
“I know,” was his only answer, and for the remaining time in the bath, we sat there silently as his hands slowly caressed me and the warm water made me sleepy. I think at some point I felt him pick me up from the bath and dry me with a towel. Then he put me in bed and closed the door.
Surprisingly, no nightmares bothered my sleep.
Sociopath
I couldn't stay away from her. The cries she made in the shower broke my heart—or rather, the piece inside me that still felt something.
It reminded me of the small boy who cried like that when men used him, and how dirty he felt. It made me ashamed, because I never wanted my beautiful Sapphire to feel like anything less than perfect. She wasn't fighting me, but wasn't accepting me either. She wanted to go, but what she didn't understand was that no one would need her or want her like I did.
As I lay on the bed and watched the slow sunrise through my window, I was reminded to make breakfast for her before leaving for the dungeon, where another victim would get my exquisite torture. This one was a long time coming, and my body shook in excitement just from the prospect of touching the fucker with my blade.
Sapphire would have a live show. She needed to know all the parts of me, and besides, this one was for her. I had never met this guy. He wouldn't have been on my radar.
But he dared to hit what was mine, and just like that, he signed his death sentence.
The sound of the cell opening made us frown and share a look. Although we had no fucking idea about the time, or what year it was, we did know that today was Sunday, because it was the only day we got to rest from all their bullshit. Dominic had no clue about my earlier visit, so the food we had, he perceived as a miracle.
Alex smirked then brought someone by the collar and pushed him inside the cell. The person ended up on the floor. “There is company for you—oh, and one more.” Then Alex pushed someone else in and gave us a look. “The end is coming soon, guys. Maybe you can train your replacements?” His laugh was loud, and I wanted to fucking kill him, but it was impossible to do right then. He walked out, and we were left alone with the newcomers.
That never happened before. We’d never met any other people like us. Alex was probably right. Our time was running out and they planned to kill us, which meant I had very little time to get us out of this hell.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard crying. The two bodies started trembling, and Dominic cursed near me, which he almost never did. We moved toward them and put our hands on each of them, but they started to struggle.
I stopped, and the child finally looked up, revealing a beautiful boy who was around six years old. I glanced to the side to see the other one was as beautiful, but a girl. Both had tears running down their cheeks and fear in their eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Dominic whispered, and then tenderly touched the girl’s cheek. “We are not the ones who hurt you, okay?” They were silent, but nodded their heads. By the blond hair, green eyes, age, and similar clothing, it was evident they were twins as well. Another pair of kids whose lives would be ruined.
A girl.
Fuck.
Those fuckers moved to little girls? Imagining all they would do to her made me sick. And I thought nothing could affect me anymore.
“What are your names?” I tried to make my tone gentle. They didn't need more fear in their life. The girl looked up at her brother, who leaned down, took her small hand into his, and squeezed it. He was protecting her.
“Ben and Beth.” As twins, we understood the struggle of names, really.
“How did you get here?”
Beth removed her hand from her brother’s and tried to clean up her tears with the sleeve of her shirt, but she only smeared them all over her.
“We were having an ice cream. Momma was talking with someone, and then they grabbed us.” Her chin trembled and she started to cry again. Ben instantly hugged her protectively while she sobbed into his neck. Some may say he was too small to give her any comfort, but not me. In situations like those, you learn to be a grown-up, because life didn’t leave any choices.
“They told us we will never see Momma again,” he finished, and then with a swallow, added, “Said that now the only love we will get will be from good old uncles.” The boy barely held himself together. Dominic and I froze.
It was like a fucking flashback to what happened to us. The only difference was we were taken from our beds in the middle of the night, while our mom was raped and Dad was restrained by three men.
Taken out of revenge, we were kept alive because of our pretty faces. Yeah, there was a lot of fucked-up shit in the world.
I caught Ben’s eyes and held them so he would understand what I was saying to him.
“No one will harm you, okay, kiddo?” He didn't look convinced, but gave me a nod anyway. We pushed them down on the mattress and gave them a clean blanket. They hugged each other and sat quietly. I felt Dom’s hand on my shoulder and turned around.
“We can’t save them.”
“We have no choice.”
He looked down, but then raised his steely eyes. “If we do this, we need to do it tomorrow. I don’t give a shit about my life, but they…” He pointed to the kids, and his words caught in his throat, but he made himself continue, “they deserve better, and I don’t want them to suffer like we did.” And I understood it was his promise to me.
He didn't give a shit about saving himself, but for those kids, he would do everything in his power. Which meant that no one would sleep that night. We had only twenty-four hours to save ourselves and those kids. Untouched souls who deserved better.
We sat down beside the kids, and I saw how Beth moved toward Dom and rested her head on his shoulder as he hugged her. Ben did the same. Their faces were so trusting in their sleep. The part of my heart that could still feel broke in that moment, not only for those kids, but also for the kids Dom and I used to be. No one had been there to hug and protect us. The kids would get all the protection we had to give.
Sapphire
Someone shook my arm, and it annoyed the hell out of me. The bright sunlight in the room didn't allow me to open up my eyes, and honestly, I didn't want to. Who the hell would it be? We hardly had any visitors in our apartment, and Sophie knew better than to wake me up when I had worked the late-night shift. I took the pillow beside me and threw it at her without opening my eyes, and rolled to my stomach, victoriously grabbing the
blanket and diving under it.
I heard an exasperated intake of breath and my warm cocoon was stripped from me, leaving me shivering freaking naked in the cold!
“Soph, are you out of your mind? I want to sleep!” Finally, I snapped open my eyes and froze.
Damian studied my naked body.
Right. I wasn't home, and everything that happened wasn't some kind of bad dream.
Internationally-known Sociopath kidnapped me, showed me the wonders of sex, and took care of me in the bathtub. No big deal, right?
His eyes darkened, so I rose to my knees, picked up the other pillow from the bed, and tried to cover my front with it, not that it did any good.
“I think I’ve already seen it all, Sapphire.” He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. It irritated me how he liked using my name all the time, pointing out that he was talking to me, as though other people were here.
“What do you want?” I snapped, and he raised his brows. His eyes turned dangerous for a bit, clearly not liking my tone. “Stop it!” His stare was unsettling and made me feel as though I did something wrong. I was out of my mind crazy; what he had was probably contagious.
“Stop what, Sapphire?”
Oh, for Christ’s sake! “Stop staring at me like that, and stop saying my freaking name every time you speak to me!”
The minute my words left my mouth, two things happened at once. His stare changed from indifferent and cold, to heated and possessive, and within a second, he had me pinned to the bed, his hands holding mine above my head while his lower body was pushing against my pelvis. He wiggled between my legs and I had no choice but to raise my knees, which brought him closer to me. I bit my lip, because my traitorous body reacted to the closeness of his.
Damian’s eyes lowered to my lips. I couldn't help myself; I licked them, and with an angry groan, he leaned down and kissed me hard. His tongue didn’t ask permission this time. He took and sucked and bit. I felt my core get wet, and involuntarily, I started to rub myself on him. He removed his mouth from mine, and I had to raise my head to follow him once his lips left me. He leaned over me, his hands on each side of my head, and then we had this stupid staring contest again.
“Do not talk to me like that ever again, Sapphire.” My eyes narrowed, and I was about to speak up when his hand covered my mouth, not gently but harshly, sending a thrill through my body. “I will say your name as much as I want to. Stop provoking me.”
Was he right? Was I provoking him to do something to me, so I would hate him without any remorse? He watched me for a few more seconds, stood up, and strolled to the door. Without turning back, he rotated his head to the side.
In an indifferent voice, he said, “I’m going out now. You will be alone for a few hours. A phone is in the kitchen with only my number. Sapphire, whatever you do, or whomever you call, I will know. Do you want to put anyone in danger?” I shook my head, because it was hard to ignore the threat in his voice. “Good, something else awaits you in the kitchen.”
He moved past the door. I grabbed the shirt around me and couldn't stop myself from speaking. “Where are you going?”
He stopped then just chuckled. “You don’t want to know.” With his back to me, it was hard to guess what he was thinking. I couldn’t see his facial expression, but I bet he was far from amused.
“I think I do.” When I came closer, his back tensed, but what he said sent cold shivers down my spine.
“I’m about to lure my victim and play with him.” With those parting words, he left me standing there dumbstruck.
His latest victim.
Oh, God!
He would bring a man here and torture him? The thought alone made me sick, and I quickly ran back to the room, closed the door, and leaned against it, trying to steady my breathing. I felt as though I was shielded and safe in this room. But I had to face reality.
He was a killer, right? Which meant he would continue doing it despite having kidnapped me. Apparently, he didn’t enjoy monogamy in his sociopathic behavior. Suddenly, I felt dirty for letting him touch me this morning, for allowing him access to my mouth, and for how I tried to work myself on his leg as if I was some kind of cat in heat.
Killer.
How could he make me forget everything but the chemistry between us in one moment, and then destroy it with his harsh words? I wished I’d never met him; however, I decided not to question the terrible pain in my chest at that thought.
After taking a long shower, I put on a t-shirt and sweatpants I found in the closet and wandered to the kitchen. The table had tea ready, along with chocolate-chip pancakes, which unfortunately happened to be my favorite. Clearly, Sociopath had everything covered. Starvation brought nothing, so I indulged. I dug into the food on my plate and sipped the tea. I was wondering what the hell he meant by leaving a gift for me, when I heard a moan of pain coming from behind me. Confused, I spun around, but no one was there. The sound came again, and then I located the source of it.
A laptop on the table was on, and some kind of movement was happening there. I sat in front of it, food forgotten. My eyes widened as Damian came into view with a knife in his hand as a man sat on a chair nailed and chained to the wall. They were in the dungeon, where I originally woke up, although the chair and all his equipment visible from the camera’s angle stood far away from the mattress where he put me.
When I thought about it, the mattress didn't suit the mood of the room at all. He must have placed it there specifically for me. I ignored the pang in my heart at that thought, focusing all my attention on the video. All this reminded me of watching a bad horror movie. It was so horrific I couldn't keep my eyes away from it, even if I tried.
“Who are you? What do you want? Money? I have money,” he pleaded, and something about his voice sounded familiar. Damian laughed, and his laughter chilled me to the core. He raised his hand and hit the man across the face so hard the man’s head whipped to the side. It stayed there for few moments as he cried out in pain and blood formed. The sound of something cracking made me almost sure Damian had broken the man’s nose.
“Fuck, I haven’t even played with you yet, and you’ve already pissed your pants?” Damian’s voice held disgust.
The bile in my throat rose. Eating breakfast before watching this hideous torture was a big mistake. Damian ripped the man’s shirt open from the front and slowly, as though he was writing something, moved the knife, marking the man’s skin from the left to right side. The man screamed in agony, started to cry, and struggled to get away, but it just earned him another hit from Sociopath.
“Who are you? What do you want?” the man repeated, but Damian was too busy with his task. After seven minutes—I counted—he faced the man again and made sure their eyes held each other’s.
“I must say, Ken, you weren't even on my radar. I had no clue you were part of the organization.” My breathing stopped, as a gasp of shock left my mouth. Ken? He was torturing Ken? “But then you made a big mistake, exposing yourself. Foolish. You know what your mistake was?” Damian asked harshly as Ken shook his head. “Touching what was mine. Hurting her. Betraying her. Making her suffer. No one harms what’s mine and doesn’t pay for it.”
For me.
He was punishing and killing Ken for me. My hands fisted from the deep thrill in my chest for what he was doing, avenging me for the hit and all the other emotions, which were part of my life since the fated day of the masquerade ball. However, it spoke to the crazy and unreasonable part of me.
The normal, human part of me couldn't stand the idea of him killing someone on my behalf. We had no right to decide who lived or died; the privilege solely belonged to God.
“But if your actions only had to do with Sapphire, I wouldn't kill you,” he said as Ken’s eyes snapped open in shock. “Yes, you’d be harmed, and I’d make sure you suffered, but I wouldn't have to kill you. Contrary to what many people believe, I’m not a crazy, psychotic killer.” Damian didn't give a shit what most people believed, so wha
t he just said was for my ears only. “But knowing you were part of the organization? Fuck no, you don’t get to live.”
Organization.
Damian knew about the child prostitution business?
Ken silently watched him and then cursed. “One of the twins, right? The one who got away. I should have suspected something when you started to kill off my clients and guards one-by-one.”
One of the twins.
No!
It couldn't be. My hands were cold. I gripped the laptop's edges to the point of pain. In my heart, I didn’t want to believe it. Ken chuckled. “Your brother didn't get to live though, did he? He was always a weak fucker. Actually, a time or two, I even got the chance to fuck him. He was what, eight? You wouldn’t have remembered my name or preferences. Your looks didn't appeal to my tastes.” His disgusting words filled me with hatred and a deep desire to smash his face against the granite countertop behind me.
Damian, however, had all the means at his hands. He punched Ken in the gut, broke the bones of his hands, and then picked up the chain and wrapped it around his neck.
“People like you don’t deserve to live in this world. That's for my brother, you piece of shit.” With those words, he started to choke the life out of Ken. I couldn't take it anymore, so I snapped the laptop shut.
My mind still tried to process everything it had seen and heard.
Damian and Dominic were two of the kids my dad ruined.
Dominic died.
Which meant all those moments I thought I’d shared with Dom, in fact, I’d shared with Damian.
God, what was happening around me? And more importantly, how should I act around the guy who had every reason to hate me?