Sunken Eyes (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 2)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  "Not permanently. Just for the day. To take care of you."

  "Why isn't she taking care of her own master? I can't imagine he's in the greatest condition right now."

  Elvira grunted. "He's not. But my father has asked me to take care of my husband. So, until tomorrow, this nuisance belongs to you."

  "I'm not interested," said Xander, trying to shut the door, but Elvira put her foot in the way so he couldn't.

  "You don't really have a choice. These are your president's orders and you must obey."

  "No," said Xander, kicking her foot out of the way and trying to shut his door again.

  But Elvira was persistent. She slammed her hand against the door and forcefully pushed it open, grabbing Xander's shoulder and pressing her fingers into his back.

  Xander cried out in agony and fell to his knees.

  "Get in here," she ordered the slave, who was quick to obey. "Bring her with you when you come to the meeting tomorrow. You may have a few days off from actual work, but you will not miss a meeting."

  "You can't order me around anymore. We're equals now."

  "We'll see about that." Elvira grabbed the door handle and shut Xander and the slave inside.

  When Xander tried to get back to his feet she moved to help him, but he pushed her off. "Go home. You're not wanted here." Looking at the girl, Xander could see that her eyes were swollen from crying. Not to mention her face from a brutal beating, or several.

  She gulped. "But my master says I must serve you. He made it quite clear that I'm to stay with you until tomorrow."

  "Aren't you worried about him?" Xander really didn't care about the answer, he just wanted her to leave.

  The girl was taken aback. She obviously wasn't asked many questions. "Y-yes. Of course. I love my master. But he's ordered me to -"

  "God, you're a fucking puppet. Don't you ever think for yourself?"

  "I ..." She looked unsure of how to answer. "I must follow orders. President Saevus wants me here and my master wishes to please him. I am to be of any assistance to you that I can."

  She blushed, causing Xander to raise his eyebrows. Then she was moving towards him, slipping her hands into his robe. Xander backed away.

  "What are you -"

  The girl moved with him, grabbing onto the belt holding his robe together and pulling. Shit.

  "Get your fucking hands off me!"

  "But my master says I must! He says I must assist you the same way I assist him!"

  Xander grabbed her hands to stop her, but his body was still very weak and his legs gave out as he struggled, sending them both toppling to the floor.

  "Ah! FUCK!"

  When Xander screamed, the door to his bedroom flew open and Deryn ran out. Her eyes widened in anger when she saw there was a girl on the floor beside him. Then the girl looked up and their eyes met.

  "You!" shouted the girl, her face livid. "You fucking bitch!"

  In a flash, she was on her feet and lunging for Deryn. But Deryn grabbed her and flipped her over her shoulder like Luka had taught her. When she was down, Deryn straddled her back and pinned her arms, using Xander's Guardian shackles that she must've grabbed from his coat pocket to bind the girl's wrists.

  "Untie me! Untie me and fight me for real, you bitch! Let me slit your fucking throat open like you slit his!"

  Deryn pulled Xander's belt free from his robe and tied it around the girl's yapping mouth.

  "What are you doing out here?" asked Xander, struggling to get to his feet while holding his robe closed.

  Deryn left the girl and hurried over to help him. "I'm sorry, but when I heard you scream I thought someone was attacking you."

  "She was," he said, draping an arm around her shoulders while she pulled him up. "She's Soren's personal slave. I think he told her to fuck me."

  Deryn crinkled her nose. "Gross."

  "Whatever. We still have Chace's mind control chip. We'll just have to install it," he said, glancing at the collar around her neck. "You know her?"

  "Yes. She was the slave I replaced the night I escaped. She tried to convince Soren to keep her instead, but when she called me a whore he struck and banished her. How did she end up as his personal slave?"

  "She gave information on -" Xander stopped dead. "Shit. Luka."

  "She gave information on Luka?" asked Deryn curiously.

  "No, she -"

  The front door flew open and Luka entered the apartment, not even noticing them standing there until his shoes were off.

  "Th'fuck you two looking at?" he asked while removing his coat. He started to hang it in the closet, but then he noticed the girl bound on the floor. He froze. It didn't immediately register in his head how he knew her, but the moment it did was quite evident. "You."

  The girl's eyes widened.

  Luka whipped his head towards Xander. "What's she doing here?"

  "The president sent her to take care of me."

  "I guess that explains why I saw the Tash car outside. Fucking little ..." Luka dropped his coat, stormed over to the girl and lifted her up just enough to slap her hard across the face.

  Deryn gasped.

  "Luka!" shouted Xander. "What the fuck are you doing?"

  "This is the bitch - the fucking bitch who turned in Anna!"

  "I know, but you can't slap a woman like that!"

  "She's not a woman! She's a selfish fucking monster! Someone innocent is dead because she fell in love with a rapist!"

  The girl's face fell into a horrible scowl as she attempted to yell through her gag.

  Luka removed the belt and Xander quickly snatched it back, retying it around his waist.

  "He's not a rapist, you fucking bastard!" she screamed, angry tears flooding her eyes. "He's good and kind and he loves me!"

  Xander and Luka both laughed, but Deryn threw a hand over her face to hide her disgust. She couldn't even look at this pathetic girl. Thank god she'd never been brainwashed like that.

  "You're all sick!" the slave continued to shout. "How could you betray him like this? By harboring her! The filthy whore who doesn't deserve to be breathing!"

  Xander lunged forward, but Deryn grabbed his arm and held him back.

  "You better hold your tongue, bitch!" he shouted.

  The girl laughed.

  The front door opened again and they all turned and watched Bronson enter. "What's with all the shouting?" he asked while kicking off his shoes.

  They all turned back to the girl and Bronson followed their heads. His mouth fell open.

  The girl blinked. "Bronson?"

  "Fiona? W-what are you doing here?" he asked. "Why is she tied up?"

  Bronson hurried forward and reached for her binds, but Luka stepped in his way and aimed his Element. "Don't you dare release her!"

  "But ... what's going on?" asked Bronson, looking at Xander and Deryn. "Why would you bring her here just to tie her up?"

  They all cocked their heads and blinked.

  "Bronson, what are you talking about?" asked Deryn. "She's just a slave sent here to take care of Xander."

  "You mean you didn't find her and bring her here?"

  More vacant blinking.

  "How th'fuck do you know her?" asked Luka, keeping his Element steadily aimed.

  Bronson looked Luka in the eye and said, "She's Quigley's sister. His fucking little sister! And you have binds on her! Why?"

  "Shit," whispered Xander while Deryn clutched his arm tighter.

  Luka finally lowered his Element, his face falling into a frown. "Well, you might want to tell him to prepare himself, because this girl is fucking gone."

  "What do you mean?" asked Bronson, tears filling his eyes as he tried to look past Luka to Fiona.

  "Bronson." Deryn stepped forward. "She's the personal slave of the Guardian whose throat I cut to escape, and she's a little bitter about it."

  "Bitter?" he repeated, knitting his brow. "But he's a sick bastard. He bought all of those pills to -"

  "No!" Fiona cried ou
t. Her eyes clenched shut and she burst into tears. "It wasn't for her! He would never run away with her! He would never leave me!"

  "Oh?" said Xander. "And is that what you told his wife when you showed her where it was hidden along with the rest of his supplies?"

  Fiona's eyes opened and she stared daggers at him. "He loves me," she said through gritted teeth.

  "Fiona, what's happened to you?" asked Bronson, wiping his wet eyes.

  Before she could answer, the door opened again and Quigley walked in. They all whipped their heads towards him, Bronson and Luka moving to block Fiona from view.

  Quigley looked at all of them curiously. "What are you all -"

  "Mason?" said Fiona.

  Shit. No one had thought to gag her again.

  "Mason! Mason, help me!"

  Quigley went very still as he listened to the voice. The moment it clicked in his head was very clear. "What the fuck?" he asked, running forward and pushing Bronson and Luka out of the way. "Fiona!"

  "Mason!" she cried. "Mason, please! Untie me!"

  Quigley reached his hands out, but Luka raised his Element and aimed it at his neck. "Don't," he said sternly.

  "I ... I don't ..." He turned and looked at his friend. "Bronson?"

  Bronson sighed and looked ashamedly towards the floor. "Sorry, mate. But this isn't Fiona."

  "Yes I am, you fucking pansy!"

  Bronson smiled halfheartedly. "At least you still have that mouth of yours."

  "As I recall, you used to get a lot of joy out of my mouth before you flipped your switch on me!"

  Bronson chuckled. Noticing Luka watching him with raised eyebrows, he said, "She was my last girlfriend before I switched teams. Always been a bit bitter about it."

  "Yeah, because you cheated on me with a man!"

  "Hey, you're the one who said you wanted to bring another person into the bedroom to liven things up. It's not my fault you chose a man instead of a -"

  "I thought we agreed never to talk about this in front of me!" shouted Quigley, who had turned bright crimson. "What do you mean this isn't Fiona, Bronson? It certainly seems like her."

  "Because it is me, Mason" she insisted. "He's just been blinded by this traitorous Guardian he keeps eyeing!" She motioned her head towards Luka.

  "I'm not the one who's been blinded, Fiona," said Bronson, crossing his arms. "You're the one who's fallen in love with her slave owning rapist."

  Quigley went white.

  Fiona laughed. "He's not my rapist, Bronson. And you know why? Because you can't rape the willing!"

  "This is sickening," Xander whispered to Deryn. Noticing he was getting a bit wobbly on his feet, she repositioned one of the armchairs and sat him in it.

  "Whose slave is she?" Quigley asked weakly, reaching out and touching a bruise on her cheek. She flinched.

  "The man who Deryn slit right here," said Luka, dragging his finger across his throat. He winked at Fiona.

  She went crazy trying to get to him. "You bastard! You fucking bastard! He is ten times the man you'll ever be! He's strong! He's powerful! And he loves me! Not her!" She motioned her head towards Deryn, who was sitting on the edge of Xander's chair with his arm wrapped around her waist. When she tensed, he tightened his grip.

  "Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," said Luka. He leaned forward and patted her on the cheek.

  Fiona's nostrils flared and she spit on him.

  Luka jumped. "Fucking bitch!"

  He tried to lunge forward but Bronson held him back.

  "Don't you hurt her, Luka! I promise this is not the girl I grew up with! She's been brainwashed! She's -"

  "I HAVE NOT!" she screamed. Then her eyes fell back on Deryn. They narrowed. "Mark my words, I will kill you for what you did to him, you fucking -"

  "Okay. Quiet time for you," said Bronson, pulling off one of his socks and stuffing it in her mouth. While she gagged, he tossed her over his shoulder and dropped her in Luka's bedroom, shutting her inside.

  The moment she was gone, Quigley started crying.

  Luka looked torn for a second while Bronson comforted his friend.

  Deryn stood up and walked over to them. "Quigley, she's just confused. When Outsiders are first made slaves they're tortured horribly. But Soren doesn't torture his slaves. She must have mistaken that for ..." She gulped, "... for love. It's fixable. It's -"

  "She's not just confused, Deryn!" Quigley paused and took a breath. "She's fucked. Her mind is literally fucked!"

  "You don't know that," said Xander, rising carefully from his chair. "Soren's at the top of my hit list. When he's gone, she might get over it quicker than you think. And now that Luka and I know who she is, we can keep an eye on -"

  "Keep an eye?" snapped Quigley, cocking his head. "You're not sending her back there?"

  Xander and Luka looked at each other and sighed. "We don't have a choice," said Xander. "She was only given to me for the night. I have to return her tomorrow."

  "Return her? She's my sister, not a fucking object, Ruby!"

  "Her owner would disagree."

  Quigley's teeth clenched. He stormed forward and punched Xander hard in the jaw before continuing towards the balcony, fumbling in his pockets until he came out with his pack of cigarettes.

  Deryn hurried to Xander's aid while Bronson followed Quigley out.

  "That came out worse than I meant it to," said Xander, rubbing his jaw.

  Deryn sighed and gave it a kiss. "I know. And I'm sure Quigley will realize that too, once he's had a moment to cool off."

  "Well, this is a fucking disaster," said Luka, staring at his closed bedroom door. She had managed to get the sock out and was screaming wildly. "Seriously, out of all the slaves in the city, what are the chances?"

  "One in a million," said Deryn as she helped Xander back into his armchair.

  Luka huffed. "I hate that bitch. And I hate our small world."

  Deryn looked over at the door and sighed. She couldn't agree more.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "So you've kissed Bronson, Bronson's kissed Fiona, and Fiona's kissed Sorey. So, by association, you've also kissed Sorey," Xander concluded with a smirk as he and Luka sat in the basement, waiting for Deryn to finish her laps up and down the five flights of stairs.

  "It doesn't work like that!" snapped Luka. "Sorey came long after Bronson, so there's been no damn crossover."

  "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

  "You're lucky I'm too much of a gentleman to mention your direct link to Soren."

  Xander responded to that comment by smacking Luka hard on the back of the head. As far as he was concerned, anything that happened between Deryn and Soren didn't count.

  It had been two days since the disaster encounter with Fiona Quigley and one day since Xander had returned her to Soren with Chace's mind control chip installed in her collar. He basically used it to blank her memory of the events that transpired in his apartment. If Soren asked all she would tell him was that Xander had locked her in Luka's bedroom for the night. Quigley was pretty angry about it, feeling they should have at least made her fend off Soren's future advances, but Xander refused. If she went back to him acting different in any way then Soren might get suspicious and discover the chip.

  Quigley wasn't presently speaking to him.

  Deryn's footsteps could be heard in the distance, growing louder until she was running into the basement, stopping in front of the punching bag Luka had gotten her as a late Christmas present - along with all her other training equipment - and going at it for a good minute before dropping and doing ten push-ups. Then she jumped up again and sprinted for the stairs, slowing for a brief moment to give Xander a kiss.

  "Work it, baby!" he called after her. He smiled proudly at Luka. "Mine."

  Luka rolled his eyes. "Your love disgusts me."

  "This coming from someone going on a date with a man tonight." Xander smirked.

  "It's not a date!"

  "The two of you are going out an
d no one else is invited. Date."

  "We're just hanging out."

  "Will you be dining together?"

  A pause. "Yes."

  "Date."

  Luka snapped his head and stared at him sharply.

  Xander chuckled. "You've already admitted that you like him so I don't know why you're so defensive."

  "You know why. If my father ever found out about this -"

  "He's not going to find out. You and Bronson doing things together is hardly abnormal, and in my current condition no one expects me to be there with you. It's the perfect time to go out, just the two of you, so stop whining and just take it already."

  The corner of Luka's mouth twitched. "You've been surprisingly understanding about all of this."

  Xander shrugged. "As long as it's not my girl I don't care who you date or fuck, or whatever else you do when you're alone. I don't like many people, but I like you and I like Bronson, so maybe that means you're a good match."

  Deryn came barreling down the stairs right then, exhausted but determined as she went to town on the punching bag. After her ten pushups, she dragged herself over to Xander and collapsed in his lap.

  "I am in terrible shape."

  "Yeah, five years of slavery will do that to you," he said, leaning down as best he could to kiss her. She met him well more than halfway.

  "But you're already improving," said Luka encouragingly. "And Xander said you flipped that female Quigley bitch pretty damn well the other night. Really sorry I missed it."

  "Remember, Luka, she has been brainwashed," said Deryn.

  "Brainwashed or not, she lost my pity the moment her actions caused another person's death," snapped Luka. "She was selfish, Deryn. Maybe she was brainwashed to feel something for Sorey, but she chose to sacrifice an innocent old woman to be with him. That's bad character, not brainwashing."

  Deryn sighed, unable to argue. "Alright, boys," she said, sitting up. "Shirts off."

  Both of them raised their eyebrows. "Are we finally having that three-way?" asked Luka.

  Xander glared at him. "Just because you've turned to men doesn't mean I -"

  "No, you idiots. I grabbed the salve on my last run upstairs and you both need it reapplied."

  "I only got three lashes," said Luka.