A Beauty So Cruel Manuscript (2)

by Alone Eagle

  His father’s eyes widened before he took a step back. “You have never spoken to me like that before, Vlad.” Was that an ache in his father’s voice? He almost felt bad. Almost. Then, his father’s expression changed. “Is it that girl, Dahlia? Is she making you too soft? I already told you how to deal with her.”

  “Dahlia is mine,” Vlad said, annoyed now.

  Everything about her belongs to me.

  The memory of his father urging him to touch her still played in his mind like it was on repeat. His father had gone out of his way to torment her. He knew Dahlia didn’t arouse lust in his father, since his father was too hung up on another woman from the past.

  Another memory flashed through his mind of having Dahlia in his mouth. He hadn’t been planning on doing that, but she’d been so red and bruised there. He had wanted to make all of her hurts go away. He had tried so hard to be in control that day, even though she had moaned against him and gripped his hair… His thoughts drifted back to that scene, he’d been just moments away from taking her on the couch, and she hadn’t stopped him.

  Vlad returned his attention to his father.

  “This business is mine. This empire is mine. New York is mine, Father. If you go against me, it won’t be my voice talking to you, it’ll be my gun. I’m your only heir, remember that. You don’t want to cross me nor lose me.”

  Without waiting for a response, he turned around, but not before catching a choked gasp from his father. Vlad waited for his father to shoot him in the back for the disrespect he’d shown in his own home. He was almost by the entrance now, exiting, but the shot never came.

  His father had let him walk out alive.

  14

  Chapter 14

  I stared outside, over my bedroom balcony, into the empty darkness.

  Days had turned into nights.

  I hadn’t seen Vlad in days after the last time I’d spoken to him. My mind wandered to our last conversation from the fireplace. Maybe I had overstepped.

  I thought hard. Was it fair though?

  He had asked me sensitive questions about my foster homes, and I had tried answering them without getting offended.

  So many questions flitted through my head, searching desperately for the answers.

  Vlad was like was a puzzle.

  He’d avoided me like the plague ever since. I’d seen him sitting by the fireplace occasionally drinking scotch, but I didn’t know if I was invited anymore. I generally avoided that area now. I didn’t belong there. I didn’t think he wanted me around him either.

  I sucked in my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest. I closed my eyes momentarily, slowly inhaling and exhaling, trying to calm my scattered thoughts. I shifted my focus elsewhere. It was still chilly, and there was still snow on the ground, but it wasn’t as bitterly cold as it had been.

  I wrapped my white nightgown’s robe tighter around me. The lamp posts on the path to the mansion were on, dimmed yet casting a yellow glow. I’d come out to see the starry night sky before going to bed. I had never seen so many stars in New York before, but away from the lights and with the large dark ground around the mansion, the stars here were more visible.

  It almost seemed like the middle of nowhere, with large trees surrounding the place. It was exclusive. Only the wealthy and privileged could afford to live like this. I stuck out my lip wondering if I would ever be able to escape from here. It wasn’t home to me. It never could be. It wasn’t the suburban environment I had grown up in and was comfortable with.

  There was no sweat, dirt, or traffic here, and I missed it. It seemed like a completely different world here.

  I observed the security, Vlad’s men, and the heavily secured gate, but I didn’t know how to get past them without them gunning me down. I needed him to take me elsewhere, outside of these gilded cages.

  Get closer to Vlad.

  Natalie’s advice echoed in my mind.

  That seemed the best option, but my salvation, my peace, my freedom would come with my defeat if I slept with the beast. Tears brimmed in my eyes and I exhaled heavily, white puffs forming in the cold night air.

  Just then, I felt a presence behind me and I froze.

  My shoulders stiffened, my eyes narrowed, and my instincts put me on high alert now.

  I didn’t know when the door had opened. The balcony was too far from the bedroom’s entrance. I hadn’t heard any noises. Whoever it was must have come quietly, like a thief in the night.

  For a moment, I thought it might be Vlad.

  Had he come seeking me out?

  But then I remembered he was still annoyed with me from the last time we’d spoken.

  I caught a whiff of cigarettes and something stronger, maybe… weed.

  I was just about to turn around, but then strong arms clamped around my waist, caging me in, pressing my back into the man who stood behind me.

  “I found you alone,” the voice said.

  My eyes widened.

  That voice was so cold.

  It sounded a lot like Leo.

  I had no idea what he was doing in my room. He didn’t belong here. I turned my eyes to the side and black, empty eyes stared at me.

  “Did you think I was going to forget that Don fucked me up because of you?”

  His smile was sneering and cruel as he gazed down at me.

  My heart thudded so fast against my chest, threatening to burst out.

  This was bad. So bad.

  Leo’s hands snaked around my waist. One pinned my arms that hung limp by my side, and the other crawled upward to my chest. He pulled down the robe roughly over the shoulder, and hid hand slithered downward toward my thighs, pulling my nightgown up. I shifted, trying to move away, but his arms tightened around me further, locking me in.

  His touch reminded me of that time he touched me in the car. It made me recoil and sick to my stomach. I really wished this bastard would crawl back into which ever hole he came out of and just die.

  Just then, he touched my slit, over my folds, and shoved a cold finger inside.

  His other hand still groped me.

  I winced. I was dry. So dry.

  I would never be aroused for this piece of shit.

  I could scream and hope someone would hear me, maybe even Vlad. Surely, he didn’t know that Leo was in here. He’d disobeyed Vlad again. He was here for revenge. Vlad had removed the guards outside my door a long time ago. Now, anyone was free to enter and leave my room. It could lock from the outside but not the inside.

  “Why aren’t you yelling, bitch? You like it, that’s why, admit it.” Leo’s voice was gruff in my ear, his breath was hot on my neck, making me shiver. His arms were too tight on me, hurting me, bruising me.

  I was done playing a nice girl, and I wasn’t going to scream for this tool. I was sure he would get off on that. Most, if not all rapists did. They liked it when you screamed and yelled.

  I would know.

  15

  Chapter 15

  Sixteen years old, ten years ago

  I lay still as he hovered above me.

  I gazed up at him with tearful eyes, wanting him to stop. My clothes were already shredded on the floor. My body had marks on it, that were now turning purple. My hands were pinned against the bed.

  There was nowhere for me to go.

  “Scream, my slut,” the voice ordered.

  I stayed mute.

  “I like it when they scream when I’m fucking them,” he said as he forced himself inside me hard. I winced, but I pressed my lips together in a small act of defiance. It was all I could do.

  I would never scream for him. I only gave him my silence, but I would never give him my surrender.

  16

  Chapter 16

  Present

  The memory ended, jostling me into what was happening now. It was déjà vu.

  “Get the hell off me,” I growled, jabbing my elbows hard in Leo’s stomach. He grunted, and his hold loosened.

  I took the chance to spun
around quickly and shove him away from me. My claws raised in a defensive stance. The anger blazing in my eyes ignited my temper and my need to fight. I wasn’t going to be the prey anymore.

  He was.

  Leo only sneered in return, turning what some might call a handsome face into something evil.

  I shook my head at him, revolted by him. “You feel the need to use force because you know I would never sleep with you.”

  Leo scowled at me and grabbed for my arm again, I dodged and kicked him in the knee, knocking him off his feet. He fell on the white balcony floor landing with a grunt.

  He looked at me from the floor, angrily, like he wanted to kill me. Then, he shot to his feet and grabbed at my night robe, pulling me to him. I slammed into his chest, and he twisted my hair behind me leaving me no choice but to stare up at him, my hands clutching my head.

  “Little bitch has a fight in her?” he snarled at me.

  I only smiled at him in return, which caught him off guard.

  Then, I slammed my forehead against his, likely making us both see stars. I felt something trickle down my face but took pleasure in the fact that Leo probably looked worse than me.

  “Look, who’s screaming now, bitch,” I said to him.

  Leo threw a bunch of curses at me before he lunged for me again. I rocked one onto his face, my body in a stance ready to fight and defend myself.

  Leo responded by punching me in the shoulder, making me groan.

  I stared at him with more hatred than I’d experienced in a long time. His back was facing the balcony, and I stood before him, hair all tangled, and blood trickling down my face.

  “You will die,” I hissed with venom in my voice.

  Leo looked at me in confusion, then he lunged for me. I side kicked him with all my force and before I knew it, he’d flipped backward over the balcony, letting loose a scream of terror.

  My eyes widened as I moved forward slowly, and I looked down at floor four stories below the balcony.

  He looked like a scarlet mess silhouetted against the snow, yet I didn’t feel any remorse for my actions. Leo’s legs were bent at an unnatural angle, but he was still breathing. He was alive. Maybe his spine was broken. Blood poured from his head, seeping into the ground around him. The dark stain soaking into his dark gray shirt. The pool of blood Leo lay in was quickly darkening, taking on a brownish hue. His chest was moving up and down in slow rhythms, showing he was still breathing.

  With shaking hands, I tucked my tangled hair behind my ears. I didn’t know how long I was standing there, staring at Leo groaning on the ground far below me, it must have been only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Adrenaline started coursing through my veins as panic set in. I tried calming my breathing, keeping a cool head like I’d been taught, but it was fast getting out of my control.

  I’d just kicked Vlad’s right-hand man off a balcony.

  Just then my back stiffened when I felt another movement in the room.

  I glanced backward.

  Shit, what was he doing here?

  He couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  Vlad’s one hand was shoved inside his silk, black pant pocket, and the other grazed through his beard that was slowly growing. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. His steel eyes were narrowed in on me, and his jaw was tense. He looked pissed and like he was going to shoot me.

  “I-I-….” I stammered. “Leo attacked me!”.

  Vlad remained still and silent as he stared at me.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked him, overwhelmed.

  Had he seen me fight?

  He wasn’t supposed to know that.

  No one was.

  If Leo had died, I could have said he fell off the balcony, but he had survived the fall and if Vlad had seen what I did, he would ask me too many questions that I couldn’t answer.

  Then he spoke at last in his deep, edgy voice, “Long enough.”

  My heart dropped like a stone.

  “You were here the whole time and you didn’t intervene when he attacked me?” I accused him, attempting to change the direction of the conversation. “He was trying to… to.” I let my breath hitch as I stumbled over my words, my hand quivering in the air in front of my lips.

  Vlad tilted his head studying me. “You seemed to be doing fine on your own.”

  Fuck. I am so screwed.

  Then, he moved closer to me, much like a lion stalking a deer. His moves were calculating as if he was more aware and cautious of me. Did he think I would attack him too?

  I no longer felt like a lioness, the animal in me was gone. The adrenaline rush and energy I had felt fighting Leo had been extinguished like a candle in the dark, replaced only by fear when confronted by Vlad. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  Was he going to kill me for hurting Leo?

  “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

  His voice was dangerously low as he spoke.

  Fuck. He’d seen me.

  Was I a problem in his eyes now?

  The way he was looking at me practically had my knees knocking together.

  I licked my lips and said, “I jumped between foster homes as a child for a reason Vlad. I learned how to protect myself.” From men. I hope he understood what I meant.

  His steel eyes studied me cautiously, then they narrowed. He stood in front of me, like a predator in the dark.

  His eyes fell on my bleeding and bruised forehead. Trouble had seemed to find me, yet again. I touched the cut on my forehead, wiping the blood away with the sleeve of my robe. The white now became stained with red. I didn’t want to consider what I must look like. Vlad didn’t reach out to caress the bruises like he had before. A small part of me was craving his kindness, his protection, but my common sense knew I was far beyond his empathy now.

  My robe was still hanging down from when Leo had pulled it, and Vlad’s eyes zeroed in on my exposed chest. I felt so vulnerable under his interrogative gaze. My long black hair was clinging to my flushed skin. Then, his eyes dropped down to my feet.

  My feet that were in pink Mickey Mouse slippers.

  An overwhelming, embarrassed groan threatened to leave my mouth.

  Vlad’s eyes were back on my face. His lip didn’t even turn up in his teasing smiles. It didn’t even turn up at all. Then, he turned his gaze away from me and dropped his eyes at Leo.

  I followed the movement and my back tensed up.

  Leo was still breathing, although I didn’t know for how long. He was probably paralyzed, and he was in agony judging from the grunts and moans that came out of his mouth.

  Vlad reached behind his back and pulled out a sleek, black gun.

  I took a step back from him, scared witless he was going to shoot me. Defending myself against Leo when was one thing, but wrestling the most feared man in New York for his loaded gun?...

  I didn’t like my chances.

  He’s going to kill me.

  He raised his gun at me, and I could only stare.

  I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat.

  Vlad clocked the gun at me, and it made me jump, an involuntary whimper leaving my mouth. I closed my eyes and started counting my last breaths.

  I counted to three before I heard the shot go off.

  My eyes sprung open to see Vlad’s gun trained in Leo’s direction.

  He shot Leo.

  My startled eyes could only stare.

  He had killed his own men?

  Why wasn’t he shooting me instead?

  My scared eyes took in Leo’s form. Surely, he was dead now? His mid-section was bleeding. At first, I thought that Vlad had shot him in the stomach, but then my eyes narrowed in on his thighs.

  Leo was shot between his thighs, in his manhood.

  Now that made me wince. That was terrible.

  His testicles likely blown away, but he was still breathing. Then, I caught something in Vlad’s eyes that shocked me to my core. A gleam, a sinister gl
int, played in his smokey, empty eyes now. It was something I could never forget.

  Enjoyment.

  This was nothing like mercy. It seemed more like a punishment, and he was relishing the torturous act.

  This isn’t the Vlad I thought I knew.

  It was a stern reminder that he was a deadly killer.

  Then, after a few moments of Leo’s hoarse screaming, Vlad shot him again, a clean shot through the heart that silenced him. Even I was beginning to feel bad for the guy.

  My eyes automatically jerked toward Vlad, waiting for an explanation.

  “See what happens when you fall from a balcony,” he said, nodding toward Leo. “You think about that when you try to plot your escape.”

  He grazed his gun in his hand like he was caressing it. It made me blush that his fingers might do that to me one day. He was no longer aiming at me, but not putting it away again either.

  He was warning me.

  I swallowed slowly, fearing him. Danger oozed out of him like no one else.

  Just then there was a loud noise in the background. I turned at the sound, alarmed. Five of Vlad’s men stormed through my bedroom door and stared at Vlad for orders. They all were ready to shoot.

  Vlad turned toward them. “Get rid of the body.”

  His voice was clear and commanding as he spoke, leaving no room for questions to be asked. Although Gabriele looked like he wanted to, but even he nodded and backed off. The rest of the men followed suite and left as quickly as they had come.

  Gabriele lingered in the doorway, staring suspiciously at me before looking at Vlad.

  Then, he left too, leaving us alone.

  Vlad stepped away from the balcony and headed toward the entrance.

  For a moment, I thought he was leaving, but then he stopped in the middle of my bedroom and stared at me again. I think he wanted to me to follow him. The balcony was getting too cold now.

  I pulled my robe back over my exposed shoulder, covering myself. Then, I moved with hesitant footsteps toward him and stood a few feet away from him.