Monsters in the Dark

by Winters, Pepper

  He leaned down, eyes looking deep into mine. His cologne gagged me with its cloying, syrupy stench. His blue gaze ripped me into bleeding pieces. “You will work for me. You will do what I say, when I say it. You will beat other women. You will hurt them so fucking bad their minds will shatter and you’ll wear their lives on your soul. If you don’t do what I tell you, I’ll kill them to make you obey.” He grabbed my chin; his Mediterranean accent snapped every word into violent shards. “Do you understand?”

  I understood. I understood that I would become well and truly deformed as a human being. I would be made to abuse other women in order to keep them alive.

  No.

  I wrenched my face out of his iron grip, glaring. “I’ll give you a million dollars to release me. Give me access to a phone and the money can be in your account tonight.”

  And then Q will rip your intestines from your stomach and burn you alive, you bastard.

  He stood, smoothing his black shirt and jeans. “You’re a fighter to the end. I respect that. But the next time I see you, if you speak back, you’ll regret it.”

  I had every intention of fighting back. I would make them hurt me. I would never be responsible for another woman’s spiral into madness.

  “You’re worth more than dollar signs now, girl. Better get used to taking orders.”

  He pushed the plate of food toward me before striding toward the door. “Enjoy your last meal as a free woman. Tomorrow you belong to me, and you’ll have a full day’s work ahead of you.”

  The door slammed behind him, resonating in my barren cell. The fever roared in my blood, making me weak and terrified.

  I was no longer merchandise. I was an employee.

  Chapter Nine

  Quincy

  I can’t contain him, you set me free. This isn’t a role I play, the monster is me…

  “Anything?” I demanded as Frederick hung up the phone.

  “Nothing. He says he’s been banned from their operation for months, ever since he won a knife fight and killed one of the Wolverine’s guards.”

  I stared at the ceiling, struggling with my anger. The rage bubbled in my blood, never granting peace. All I wanted to do was tear through the globe and kill anyone who stood in my way. I wanted goddamn answers. I wanted a victim I could string up and torture names from. But nothing.

  Fucking nothing in two long days.

  Two long fucking days where I turned my entire book of contacts upside down, and nothing. I harassed, I cursed, I pleaded, I threatened. Every single trafficker, every single man I’d ever accepted a bribe from and not one of them knew a fucking thing.

  Tess had vanished. No one knew anything. No one would talk.

  “Try harder, Roux. We’re running out of time.”

  Frederick scowled, tapping the phone in his hand. “I know you won’t rest until you find her, man, but you’ve been awake for forty-eight hours. You barely survived a migraine that kicked your ass, and your blood pressure is through the roof.”

  I stopped rifling through some old transaction files. I wanted to rip his fucking head off for suggesting I sleep. As if that was an option when Tess could be God knows where, dealing with fuck knows what. “I’m not wasting energy telling you to piss off, Roux.” I waved angrily. “Go and help Franco. Be useful or leave. I have shit to do.”

  I didn’t have time for anything but searching. I ran purely on vengeance and the need to kill.

  I’d never had people in this space before, but now I didn’t give a shit about having a private zone. All I cared about was finding Tess.

  If it meant I had to demolish every building I owned to do so, then so be it.

  Standing abruptly, I grabbed the stack of files from my desk and strode into the bedroom.

  For two days I hadn’t left my office. The rooms were a mess with strewn paper and scribbled notes. I had a small army of people in the lounge, overseen by Franco. The moment we looked at the security footage and saw how two black-haired men bypassed the coding on the lift, we knew it had to be a trafficker with money. They’d had the password—only someone with a substantial bank balance and knowledge of how I worked could figure it out—or buy it.

  They strolled in, bold as fucking day, and took an unconscious Tess to the basement level where another accomplice had been waiting.

  The only people who had security clearance on my private lift were head of cleaning and head of building security. Both were being interrogated right now. I didn’t fucking go to all the trouble to keep my office out of bounds for the fail safes not to protect it.

  And the bitch was, I knew who would’ve bribed or tortured to get the passkey, but I daren’t move until I had proof Tess was there. If I was wrong the entire company would come crashing down. The real kicker was I didn’t care about the company, but I did care about the women who hid in its protection.

  “Fuck.”

  I slapped my cheeks, trying to stay alert. It was hard fighting through the sludge. The residual brain-crushing pain of my migraine had stolen more from me than just coherent thought and vision.

  It stole time.

  For twelve hours, I was useless. Finding Tess’s hair ripped out on the bathroom floor with the syringe had been the final bullet, and I’d blacked out.

  My body had reached its limit—turns out I wasn’t invincible after all—and if it hadn’t been for Frederick, I would’ve lost the plot entirely. I vibrated with loathing; I ached with the strength of a thousand beasts to cover my hands in blood.

  I needed to make the cocksuckers pay; I’d never rest until I did. But the headache cursed me to be a useless invalid, hogtying me to a long-suffering sentence.

  I physically hit a fucking wall. And it gutted me.

  Frederick organised the team to help search. He ordered Franco to arrange his top men to leave at a moment’s notice. He made a thousand calls, sent a hundred emails, all the while I lay dead in the dark.

  My vision completely deserted me, and I was sensible enough to know I was a hindrance, not a help. But it still fucking hurt to stay out of their way, concentrating on myself rather than Tess. It was wrong, and I cursed the weakness in my blood.

  I let Tess down. I left my woman to suffer at the hands of bastards all while I huddled in a fucking corner and popped painkillers like Tic-Tacs.

  It wasn’t until Frederick snuck a sleeping tablet into a handful of codeine that I fell asleep, and the migraine lost its power over me.

  But the sleep wasn’t restful; it robbed the rest of my sanity.

  Images of blood and broken bones and Tess screaming ceaselessly for my help. Her voice stabbed my heart over and over, full of accusation for letting this happen to her.

  The moment I woke, I’d thrown myself headlong into tracking down the cunts who took her. But I hadn’t stopped to use my useless brain.

  Breathing hard, I perched on the end of the bed and fanned out the files. Now that I had no one prying down my neck, I opened the paperwork that might hold some clues to finding her.

  The records on all the girls I saved.

  Tess’s details were at the back and I cracked the folder open.

  Subject: Blonde Girl on Scooter

  Barcode reference: 302493528752445

  Age: Twenty to thirty

  Temperament: Angry and violent

  Sexual status: Not virgin

  Sexual heath: No diseases

  Ownership guidelines: Recommend strict punishment to break temper. Trim body, fit enough for extreme activities.

  History: No living relatives

  My eyes fell to the number. I’d tried to track Tess using the device when I sent her back to Australia, but it didn’t work. I always thought she removed it when she went home to Brax. I’d been pissed and proud at her for cutting it out because it meant she was safe even though I couldn’t spy on her whereabouts.

  Try it anyway. You ever know.

  My mind spooled back to letting Tess go. My sacrifice hadn’t been voluntary. I wanted to kee
p her forever, but I didn’t want to crush her. Tess was my phenomenon. The once in a lifetime dream that I never thought I’d get. And I’ve fucked it up.

  Motherfucker, screw it. I wouldn’t sit here holding my cock while the Red Wolverine had Tess. He’d left his note—deliberately to get me to hunt him. If it was a trap, I didn’t care anymore. No one was more important than Tess.

  Grabbing the spare laptop I kept in the bedside table, I called up the program associated with the tracking number and entered in the code. It was a waste of time, but I had to check.

  The connection took a while, and I placed my hand on the lid to close it. See, she did remove it.

  Then a small map appeared, followed by zooming in, faster and faster until it zeroed in on the one country I’d suspected and hoped to avoid.

  Intense anger throttled my limbs. I wanted to howl. A month she’d been back in Australia. A full fucking month and she didn’t remove it? What a moron. An idiot. Did she enjoy playing roulette with her life?

  I wanted to kill her for being so stupid. She gave them the perfect way to find her!

  When I get my hands on her, by God I’ll make her pay.

  If she’d been standing in front of me, I would’ve cut it out myself and wrung her neck for being so stupid.

  At least I now had proof.

  The Red Wolverine had her—it was undeniable.

  I wanted to ruin him. I wanted to take away his business, his money, his very flesh and blood. And only when he had absolutely nothing would I torture him until he begged me to kill him.

  That’s how much I hated Gerald’s guts.

  Tess was in Russia.

  “Frederick, get your ass in here!”

  Footsteps charged down the corridor, soft on the carpet. “What is it? What’d you find?”

  I threw the laptop to the side. “I’ve confirmed he has her in Russia. We’re leaving.” I brushed past him, but he stopped me.

  “But we asked the contacts we have in his team. They said they haven’t seen a girl matching Tess’s description. If we barge in and start shooting, you’re ruined, Q. The rest of your contacts will come after you. Think clearly for a moment. Are you sure he’s got her?”

  I bared my teeth and rushed back to the bed. Grabbing the laptop with the flickering red dot in Moscow, I shoved the machine into his arms. “Enough fucking proof for you?”

  Leaving him to worry that my company was about to dissemble and fall into ruin, I careened into the lounge to find Franco.

  I moved like a fucking whirlwind of male fury.

  His dark brown hair hung over his forehead and lack of sleep made his eyes raw and brutal. He looked up as I crooked a finger for him to come to me. When he was away from the other staff, I muttered, “Call up nine of your top mercenaries. Meet me at the airport in an hour. We’re going in. I don’t care if we have to kill every last bastard if it means we find her.”

  No element of surprise or pause; Franco knew when to just obey orders. His eyes glinted with pleasure. “Yes, sir. I’ll see you at the airport.”

  Frederick, with his old fashioned style and friendly personality was the polar opposite to me—he lived a tame life, married the sweet girl, lived in a presentable house—while Franco, the man I hired because I saw how efficiently he killed, indulged in the same hobbies I did, just on a more acceptable scale. Franco and I never talked about our similarities, but we knew. It was easy to spot the monster in others. He may look like a gentleman: moving sedately, speaking eloquently, but beneath the sleek façade lurked a killer with a temper. Franco had no remorse for dealing out vengeance to those who deserved it.

  And that made him fucking perfect.

  I may be going to Moscow, to the den of the Red Wolverine, but I went with armed men whom I trusted with my life.

  My cell phone rang in my pocket. I grabbed it with one hand, nodding at Franco to go and fulfil his orders.

  “Mercer,” I snapped.

  Frederick came back into the lounge and gave me the thumbs-up sign. The tightness in my chest unwound a little. His approval for smashing the reputation of Moineau Holdings meant more than I wanted to admit. Who knew what we would be able to salvage from the rubble once this was all over.

  Once it got out that I accepted women as bribes, my true contacts would dry up. And when the knowledge that I let those women go and I was on the war path for the fucktards who sold them to me landed on evil ears, I was painting a massive bull’s-eye on my back.

  “Frederick just told me you’re heading to Russia. I must advise you that our intel won’t back you up if anything goes wrong. Think carefully, Quincy. We can’t help you if you leave our protection.”

  The chief of police, also a close confidant, lectured me. The same man who encouraged me to see how deep my emotions went for Tess. The same man who told me he wouldn’t arrest me if I decided to keep Tess indefinitely.

  I didn’t like that he gave me double standards—I didn’t deserve it.

  I swallowed back the curses I wanted to throw. His heart was in a good place. “I won’t do anything stupid, Dubois.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t believe that for a second. But I had to call and say my piece. Just…just promise me you won’t put your life on the line for one woman.”

  My finger twitched on the hang up button. “She’s more than just one woman, Dubois.” She’s my life.

  Silence reigned before the police chief sighed. “In that case, you have our backing. If and when the newspapers get wind of what you’ve done, I’ll try and issue a gag order to the best of my ability.”

  “Merci.” I hung up before he could sprout some other bullshit wisdom. I didn’t need wisdom at a time like this. I needed a semi-automatic and a rocket launcher.

  Pressing the number on speed-dial, I called Hans, who lived on standby to fly my G650 private jet. He answered on the first ring.

  “Arrange a flight plan to Moscow. Leaving in sixty minutes. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up, watching the commotion in the room. Soon this would all be over, and Tess would be safely back with me. That moment seemed too distant to contemplate. I couldn’t imagine ever feeling human again until I had her back in my bed.

  My phone rang. I answered it on autopilot. “Quoi?” What?

  “Master, please give me some news. Any news! Have you found her yet?” Suzette’s sweet voice came down the phone, high with panic. I regretted telling her yesterday. She’d caught me off guard, complaining I hadn’t given her instructions for dinner, asking if Tess and I were returning home that night.

  I snapped and told her of course I wouldn’t be fucking coming home that night or any night, not while Tess was stolen and in danger. That just opened a huge barrel of fucking problems.

  “You have to let me work, Suzette. I’ll call you the moment I’ve got her.”

  A sniff came down the line followed by a hard-edged promise. “You find her, and you make those bastards pay. She belongs with us. Find her quickly.”

  I couldn’t speak; my throat snapped closed.

  Tess touched all our lives, and we’d all be ruined if she never returned.

  There was nothing I could say. Nothing I wanted to say. I just grunted and hung up.

  * * *

  Half an hour later, we pulled up at the private wing of the airport. I went to open the car door but paused. Turning to Frederick, I said, “You’ve done more than enough, Roux. Go home to Angelique.” I slapped him on the shoulder in gratitude. In all honesty, I didn’t know what I would’ve done if he hadn’t been there that first afternoon. My migraine rendered me incapacitated while he orchestrated a worldwide manhunt.

  “I’m coming. No questions or arguments.” He smiled. “I told you; I want to meet the woman who wrapped you around her little finger.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t expect you to give any more than you already have.”

  He nodded, glancing out the window. “I know. But you’d do the same for me. I keep putti
ng myself in your shoes, and it’s a fucking painful place to be, Q. I love Angelique, we’ve been together for ten years, and the thought of suddenly being without her…it’s excruciating.”

  I shifted uncomfortably. “That’s why you should go home to her. I don’t want to be the reason why you don’t return.”

  His forehead furrowed as his temper filled the car. “I’m coming. Shut up.”

  There was nothing else I could do. I’d tried to protect him—this wasn’t his battle, but I wasn’t going to waste time or resources by arguing. I shrugged and exited the car.

  Franco stood by the plane steps, giving me a hard grin. “Don’t worry. She was strong enough to stand up to you. She’s strong enough to stand up to whoever took her.”

  A proud smile tainted my sorrow-tugged mouth. “She’s the strongest woman I know.” Memories of whipping her, fucking her, heated my blood. Throughout everything I did to her, she never broke. I had to hold faith that she’d remain strong.

  I nodded to Franco and entered the plush interior of the Jetstream. Down the back, nine men had already buckled up ready to go—an army of cloned power, ruthlessness, and severity. Black suits, black ties, and white shirts, I had an entire cast of James fucking Bond at my disposal.

  As I sat down, a single thought popped into my head. I’m not frightened she won’t fight, I’m worried she’ll fight too hard. If the Red Wolverine had her she wouldn’t stay in a singular piece for long, especially if this was revenge against me.

  My hands wrapped around the armrests as the monster inside me went wild with the need to kill.

  “We’ll find her in time, boss.” Franco patted my shoulder as he headed down the aisle to his colleagues.

  The pessimistic part of me—or was it the realistic part—wasn’t so sure. I knew what Gerald was capable of. I’d rescued enough slaves from his stables to hear countless stories of torture and rape.