This Darkest Man

by West, Sinden

  “I need to see Daniel Hellman.” My voice was weak and nervous, mouse-like and timid, while this woman was like the steel and glass that formed Daniel’s lair. I could have gone to see him at the club, but I liked the idea of seeing him where his corporate image reigned supreme, tame compared to the debauchery of Rubicon.

  “Is that right? Do you have an appointment?” She was mocking, her snootiness and condescending manner well practiced. Daniel had probably trained her himself.

  “No. I’m Matilda Larsen.” I lifted my chin, stilled my shaking and tried to act like I had a back bone. “He knows me well. Tell him I’m here to see him.” My tone could have nearly passed for haughty; it belonged to someone else.

  She met my gaze, before pressing something hidden in her desk and speaking into the minimalist head set that blended in with her dark hair. “I have a Matilda Larsen for Mr. Hellman.” She waited impatiently for the person on the other end to reply, tapping her red nails on the desk in an irritating rhythm. Finally, her request was answered and she turned her gaze to me. “You can go up. Top floor.” She pointed to the lifts and I just nodded at her in acknowledgement.

  These lifts weren’t mirrored like they were in the club, these were conservative on every level and you would never know that the man that ruled here was a debauched sex fiend. When the doors opened and led me out onto the floor where Daniel’s office was, I was confronted with another woman sitting behind a clean, minimalist desk. Although this one was older and conservative, she even graced me with a smile as I stood in front of her.

  “Ms. Larsen? Please take a seat.” She gestured toward the leather chairs. “May I offer you something to drink? Tea or Coffee?”

  She was being so kind that I thought I would cry, but of course I didn’t. “No, thank you,” I whispered.

  “Let me know if you change your mind. He’s in a meeting at the moment but as soon as he’s free, he’ll see you. It may be a long wait though.”

  “That’s fine,” I told her. I had nowhere to be anyway.

  I watched a clock tick away, second by second, but I didn’t care how long it took. The longer I had before I had to face Daniel, the better. After an hour, a group of people walked past me toward the lift, and not long after that did the kind assistant escort me down a hallway and knocked on a door.

  “Come in,” I head him call from within. The assistant opened the door for me and ushered me in before she closed it firmly behind me. The sound of the door closing made me feel trapped and I stared longingly at it before turning to see what was in front of me.

  A wall of glass showed an impressive view of the city, and before it sat Daniel, watching me from behind his desk and dressed immaculately it what was probably Armani.

  “I didn’t think that you’d be here so soon. I thought that you would make some show of defiance at least.” He sounded amused, but it didn’t fire my blood; I didn’t think that I had that capacity within me any longer. Defeat had dulled everything.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked him.

  He stared at me, long and hard before saying, “I like to serve my own justice.”

  “What now then?” My tone was quiet; I had accepted whatever fate he had chosen for me.

  He reached over and grabbed a square of paper. Taking a fountain pen he scrawled an address on it before holding it out for me to take. “I’m giving you employment. Be at this address tonight at eight.”

  I took it reluctantly, my eyes scanning over the writing. I didn’t bother to look at him again as I turned to leave.

  “Matilda, I suggest you turn up. If you don’t…your punishment will be worse.”

  I didn’t give any indication that I had heard him. Instead I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and getting out of there. The assistant gave me a polite smile as I left but I couldn’t reciprocate. I knew the name that Daniel had written on the square of paper that I held in my hand. Lucifer’s —it was a seedy strip club that was notorious for its criminal clients. I hadn’t known that Daniel owned it and a feeling of dread came over me. This would be worse than anything that had come before.

  I didn’t bother to get changed before I headed to the club. I spent my meager funds on a cab because it was an area that I didn’t want to risk walking alone into or even taking a bus too. The fact that a driver hadn’t been sent for me told me that things had definitely changed for the worst. Why had Daniel waited to drop the bombshell on me that he knew what I had done? It was an awful event that deserved punishment, why had he bothered playing with me before?

  These thoughts played heavily on my mind as I walked in the door. The place wasn’t that busy, a few girls twisted around poles in the dim light, unenthusiastic and looking like they were thinking about chores they needed to do tomorrow. A few drunks sat around, watching them but they certainly didn’t look dangerous or infamous. I walked over to the bar that was manned by a woman who looked just as bored as the strippers.

  She raised an eyebrow when she saw me, telling me that I didn’t belong here.

  “Um, hi. I was told to come here. My name is Matilda Larsen.” I fidgeted with the strap of my bag. This woman looked weathered as if she had seen everything there was to see that was seedy and little would surprise her anymore.

  She gave a nod and pointed a long, talon-like fingernail. “Go through those doors, the office is the last door on the right. Make sure that you knock first.”

  “Thanks.” I turned and walked past drunks to get to the double doors. When I pushed them open I saw that they led to a dark hallway that was lit by a single, naked bulb. The door that the bartender had directed me to had a name plate that said ‘Manager’ in tarnished bronze. I sucked in a breath and gave a knock on the peeling paint of the door. There was no going back now, because there was nothing to go back to.

  “Yeah?” came the gruff call from inside.

  My hand was shaking as I turned the doorknob and pushed it open. This man was just like the club — old, dirty and sleazy. He rubbed a hand over his unshaven face as his bloodshot eyes took me in as if I were a meal about to be eaten.

  “I’m Matilda Larsen.” I gripped the strap of my bag harder. I didn’t want to risk accidentally touching anything in this filthy place, but something told me that soon that would be unavoidable.

  His mouth split into a smile, revealing nicotine stained teeth. “Mat-il-da. You’ve got some friends in high places.”

  More like enemies…

  He got to his feet. “C’mon. You’re upstairs. Follow me.” He took me back out to the corridor and up a narrow staircase that was so dark that it was easy to miss a step. I stumbled once, and the man put a steadying hand on my elbow. “Careful now. We don’t want you broken before we even get a chance to start.” He winked at me, and I shrugged off his hand. His response was to smile like I was entertainment.

  At the top of the stairs was another dingy corridor, and finally we were in what looked like some kind of reception room. A girl with her hair in a high blonde ponytail looked up as we entered. She looked hard, her lips too thin for the scarlet lipstick she wore.

  “Special delivery,” cackled the man. “Make sure you follow instructions and don’t fuck up,” he said to this girl.

  She gave him a withering glare. “Just take your fat ass downstairs where it belongs.” She walked over to me and it was hard not to shrink from her gaze, there was no kindness there. She picked up a strand of my hair and inspected it, her mouth twisting in disapproval. “Are you sure I can’t do something with her hair, or at least put make-up on her? She needs it.”

  “Nope. Just do what you’re told.”

  “Fine,” she huffed, turning her eyes to me again. “Hurry up. Follow me.” She turned and started down the hallway while I hurried to follow.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. I had been determined to stay quiet and just face my punishment with whatever dignity that I could muster. But now I was starting to get scared.

  She didn’
t bother to turn and look at me. “You’re going in the cage.”

  “The what?”

  “The cage,” she said in a bored voice. “It’s an auction. They inspect you and get to bid on you.”

  “Bid on me?” My voice was nearly soulless.

  “Yeah. But it’s so stupid that I’m not allowed to pretty you up and make you more attractive. After all, you have to go through being treated like that and to only get a percentage of a very small auction price. It seems like a waste of time to me.” Her ponytail swished behind her as she walked.

  “Hold on. I get paid.”

  She stopped and turned, frowning. “Of course. Are you stupid or something? The longer you get kept, the more you earn. The auction determines the weekly fee, and the winner gets to keep you as long as they want. Some girls get returned after the week’s up, or earlier if they’re a disappointment. Although I know one girl who got kept for six months.” The girl let out a whistle. “She was rolling in dough, lucky bitch.”

  “Is this legal?”

  The girl rolled her eyes at me. “You signed a contract didn’t you? It’s just like selling sex any other way.”

  My heart started to thump harder as she opened a door. This led to a large space with couches and a bar with neon lights. There were several stages, but what caught my eyes was the cage with iron bars that sat in the center of the room. The girl locked in there would be in view from any position in the bar.

  “Normally, the girls go on stage and show themselves off, but I’m supposed to just lock you in the cage before everyone gets here.” She looked at me with almost sympathy. “Sorry, you’re probably going to get a little stiff in there.” She twirled a finger. “Take your clothes off.”

  “What? Here?”

  She laughed. “No one’s in here. It’s just us. Anyway, everyone is going to see you soon enough.” She must have read the look on my face as something else. “Don’t worry. Your stuff won’t get stolen. It gets locked away. Promise.”

  I stared at her, stricken while she tapped her foot impatiently. Then, slowly, I began to undress, holding my garments in front of me in a useless attempt at modesty. The girl just laughed and pulled them from my grip. “Don’t worry, soon you won’t even care that you’re naked.” She carelessly dropped my clothes at her feet before pulling what looked like a scarf out of her pocket. “Blindfold for you. Special order.”

  I nearly fainted in relief and turned so she could tie it and black everyone out. If only she could black out my mind as well. I let her guide me into the cage, and to my surprise the floor was made of a spongy substance which cushioned my knees. Each wrist was pulled up and shackled high above my head so my upper body was forced upward with my shoulders back and breasts on display. There was absolutely no hiding when I was in this position.

  “Won’t be long now,” the girl called to me and I heard the metal clang of the door closing. I jumped at that, and struggled uselessly at my restraints. How on earth had I ended up like this? In the back of my mind I was still that wealthy little girl in frothy dresses; but the reality was that I was naked, bound, and about to be sold off to the highest bidder.

  And what had I done to deserve this? I had inflicted cruelty on a young man who had a crush on me and he had ended up taking his own life. There was no worse crime than to destroy another human being, and I was one hundred percent guilty.

  Jeremy Riordan was at college with me. He was terribly shy, even worse than me. He was gawky, round shouldered and too tall for such bad posture. He also had a crush on me that Josh labelled as pathetic and sneered at. I didn’t care about the crush, or his feelings. I was too wrapped up in a world where Josh was a god and I would do anything to please him.

  Erin had started to warn me about his cruelty, but I didn’t listen. I was just so flattered that someone like him would be interested in me. Josh liked to pay games, he liked to fuck with people and he particularly liked to humiliate them.

  The first time he told me his plan, I said no. But he was a smooth talker, and eventually he had me convinced that it was just a harmless prank that even Jeremy would laugh at. I was so stupid. It involved Jeremy naked and a webcam recording everything and showing it to everyone. The idea was unoriginal and juvenile. It was also deadly. Jeremy’s body was found floating in the river a day later.

  There was never any form of comeuppance for us. No disciplinary action; no charges laid. After the obligatory candlelight vigil, it was like Jeremy Riordan had never existed; it was as if no one even cared.

  But I knew now that Daniel Hellman cared

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I blinked back tears underneath the blindfold. Not for my current predicament, but for being such a stupid bitch who blindly followed her boyfriend down a horrific path, her mind on nothing but pleasing such a loathsome man.

  A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped, my shackles jangling against the bars of the cage.

  “Sorry. I forgot the ear plugs.” The girl sounded bored, as if this were an everyday occurrence. I stayed still as she pushed something soft into each of my ears and silence took over. The normal comfort of being blindfolded and not having to face the world seeped away; the combination of darkness along with silence sparked a fear within me. The vulnerability I felt along with the knowledge that I was about to be auctioned off like a piece of meat had every muscle in my body tense, as if there were something I could do about it. I could have called out and screamed for the girl to let me go, and she probably would have, after all, in her mind I was willing like all the other girls.

  But I needed redemption. I needed to pay for what Josh and I did to Jeremy. The internal pain and guilt that I felt wasn’t enough. I needed pain on the outside too, and perhaps my new ‘owner’ would be a cruel man who would flay the guilt from me and leave scars so that I could show the outside world how sorry I really was.

  After a while, I could hear muffled noises, and an occasional hand would reach into the cage and touch me. A nipple would be tweaked; my ass squeezed, and once a finger even slipped up inside me. I tried to stay still and not react, but my body didn’t do what it was told and I just prayed that the person who slipped that finger inside of me did not find me wet, because that would make this punishment a farce.

  I tried to listen to find out what was going on. Had the auction started? Did anyone actually want me? My muscles were screaming at me as each minute passed and my position became more and more uncomfortable. Worse was knowing that god knew how many people prowled around me, staring and judging.

  Then there was more touching, and one aching arm fell free, then the other. I fell to my hands and knees, groaning in pain and feeling even more like an animal. The first thing I did when I could finally move again was to remove the ear plugs and throw them away from me. Blindness I could cope with, but not hearing was pure torture. Pulling at my blindfold, I blinked against the dim light of the club, surprised to find it empty.

  Except for one person of course.

  Daniel sat in a chair, staring at me. I stayed in the cage, creeping to the back like a scared animal even though the door was wide open.

  He rubbed a hand over his face like he was tired. “Why did you do it to Jeremy?” he asked quietly. ”It seems to go against everything that I know about you.”

  I sucked in a breath. “I was stupid,” I managed to say. “I thought I was in love and I wasn’t brave enough to say no to anything.”

  “You did in the club though, when he wanted you to sleep with another man. You found a backbone then.” The bitter tone in his voice almost ripped through me.

  “Erin had been on at me for a while, telling me how bad he was. That was the first time I could really face what kind of person he was. After Jeremy died, he kept telling me that it wasn’t our fault, that Jeremy had mental health problems…god, I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his intense gaze.

  “He did. Your boyfriend was right. That kid spent his childhood being beat up and bullied by
the man that we both unfortunately got to call father. Only, the beatings made me stronger and I was lucky enough that Mom moved us away from him. But Jeremy’s mother, who was my father’s mistress, stayed and took over my Mom’s place, and Jeremy just got weaker and depressed. I tracked him down after Dad died, paid for his schooling, tried to make his life better, and it would have been, if not for you.” There was no emotion to his monologue, but all the same it had my eyes pricking with tears and my guilt compounding.

  “I’m sorry, Daniel. I really am. There’s no excuse for how I behaved. I would do anything to make this right.” My tone was pleading and I sounded as sick as I felt.

  He straightened at my words. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear from you. I have a lot of making up to do as well, I could have been a better brother to him but I was too consumed with making money. That’s why it’s so important that all of us pay.”

  The look in his eyes was scaring me. “What do you have planned?” I whispered.

  He mouth turned up in a smile, and it wasn’t pleasant. “Don’t worry; I’m not going to sell your body. I won the auction, although it might interest you to know that we did have a few interested parties.”

  I clutched onto the bar of the cage for support. “What then?”

  That awful smile was still on his face. “You’re going to help me ruin Joshua’s life.”

  “Can’t you do that yourself? You’ve done a good enough job of ruining mine,” I asked bitterly.

  He nodded. “I have, haven’t I? I’ve actually put a lot of work into building up Josh. He’s got a great job, great apartment, he’s making connections, and I’ve even allowed him to come to Rubicon. His life is working out perfectly, except for one thing. He’s missing the woman that he loves.”

  I shook my head at him. “Josh doesn’t love me. He just wants to own me.”

  “It’s the same thing. Love and ownership. They’re interchangeable. Someone like Josh could have a dozen pretty girls lining up at his door, but he wants you. He’s put a lot of effort into changing you into someone he thinks is worthy of marrying, he thinks you owe him.”