Love Hurts: The Killing of Rose

by Holly Hood

  “It has been a long time since I seen my son.”

  Delaney nodded, afraid to say anything more. She settled on listening.

  “He and I are more alike than he thinks. But he likes to think he took after his mother more than his old man.” Amarus crossed the room again, a small smirk settling on his lips.

  “I wouldn’t know. I know nothing about who he really is. He lied to me the entire relationship.” Delaney lifted her head, her eyes pleading with Amarus. “Will you please just let me go? I want nothing to do with any of this, or your son. I just want to go home.”

  Amarus walked across the room, securing her chin with his fingertips. He stared into her eyes, sending shockwaves of fear through her entire body just from his simple touch. She tried to pull away but it was no use. “But he wants you. And if you know my son, you know people like us get what we want. You wouldn’t want to mess with fate would you, Delaney?”

  “No.” She spit out. She didn’t know why she even agreed with the likes of this man.

  “Do me a favor?”

  She slowly nodded her head.

  “Convince him to listen to his old man. Let him see that his old man isn’t so bad. If you do this for me, I promise you I will spare you.” He pulled his hand away, turning on his heel.

  Delaney felt the feeling die away. She stared at Amarus in uncertainty. Wondering just what he had done to her. But it was too late to debate on it any longer. The door came open letting in the very two people she didn’t want to see.

  Sam’s eyes instantly fell on Delaney before he forced himself to look at his father.

  “Well, hello. It’s been some time now. What would you say? Ten years?” Amarus asked, his once delicate state had vanished and was replaced with a confidence unlike any other.

  Neither son was eager to speak to him. He knew it all too well. It would take a couple hours for Frankie to warm right back up. But Sam on the other hand, it would take maybe a lifetime. But that didn’t matter. He didn’t need compliance from the bottom of their hearts. He could force conformity on anyone given the right conditions. Everyone had a breaking point. And Amarus was great at finding them.

  “Well since nobody is too eager for introductions, we will all rest and reconvene in the morning.” He headed for the door. “Bright and early, I’ll have June make breakfast. Do you two still like scrambled eggs and ketchup?”

  Sam gritted his teeth in anger. “I have no plans of making this drag out any longer then it has to. Tell us what you want.”

  Amarus jerked his head to the door, where his goons stood, waiting for anyone to try and slip away. “Ah. Now he talks. Breakfast in the morning, I’ll explain everything.”

  Frankie stepped forward. He sensed the resentment between the two of them. And he was trying to prevent Sam from getting a limb lopped off. “I think maybe we should talk now. Or else things could get a lot uglier than they already are. We all know Sam isn’t willing to stick around the old house.”

  Amarus retracted his venomous glower. He gestured toward Delaney. His men quickly untied her and lead her from the room. Sam reluctantly looked at her, her eyes were frightened.

  It’s going to be okay. He mouthed as she passed by him. He had to do something for her after the hell he put her through. It wasn’t like he fell out of love just because she hated who he was. He still cared deeply for Delaney. And he wasn’t going to allow her to be destroyed by his father. He wanted something from them.

  Amarus pulled the chair away from the flames. He took a seat before his two sons. Crossing his legs and leaning back in the chair. They kept their eyes on his every move like the soldiers he trained them to be. Always be aware he would always tell them.

  “I’ve been looking for you both for quite some time now.” He started. “I need your help.”

  Frankie eyed Sam.

  “Obviously saying no is not an option. When has it ever been one?” Sam muttered, waiting for his dad to lay some pathetic scheme on the two of them. He heard it all before.

  Amarus held back the urge to scream at his first born. To knock some sense back in his pathetic mind. He might not have been in contact with him for years, but he was no stranger to Sam’s ways. He was weak like his mother. Afraid to take what was his. He tried for the longest time to show Sam the ways of the incubus. But he always dug his heels into the ground and refused to come along for the ride.

  “Does the name Alcina ring a bell to either of you?” Amarus asked, his eyes darting between his two boys. Frankie crossed his arms taking an agitated posture.

  “Adrienne’s daughter, that’s girl’s a real bitch,” Frankie said with a chuckle. Alcina had almost castrated him years ago. He stayed far away from girls like her. She was as deadly as they came when it came to men. A daughter of an incubus and a succubus she held more power than most.

  Amarus looked between his two sons. Knowing Alcina was a stickler for blue eyes. “I need you to become friendly with Alcina. Get her on our side.”

  “What for?” Sam asked without delay. He knew his dad was gunning for him to do his dirty work, “And why not Frankie. He likes this kind of thing.”

  “Alcina’s father has found a man to marry her.” Amarus pinched the bridge of his nose. “That can’t happen.”

  Sam looked at his father in uncertainty. “Why does it matter who she marries?”

  Frankie stepped forward. “Alcina is the daughter of Abaddon. Abaddon is the all knowing, all doing, powerful incubus. My guess is daddyo wants to get his seed in her before someone else contaminates the gene pool.”

  Amarus stood. “Well sure there’s always that. But I want to make it so nobody has the chance.”

  Frankie gave his dad a disgusted look. “I know you’re holding up pretty well for your age. But isn’t she a little young for you?”

  Sam studied his dad as he stood a bit unsteady. His eyes grew in astonishment. “He’s been cursed.” He looked around the old parlor. “That’s why you and this place look like shit. You can’t leave here. And you’re looking for a way out.”

  His boys never ceased to amaze him. He had been cursed. And he couldn’t leave his home. But he wasn’t willing to divulge the reasons. He just wanted out of the curse. And the only way out was through one of Abaddon’s young, his only daughter.

  Frankie scratched his head puzzled. “Why wouldn’t you just use one of these big brutes to do your dirty work?”

  Amarus raised an eyebrow. “Because nobody is that stupid, and nobody has what it takes like Samuel.” Amarus eye’s landed on Sam. “Alcina took a liking to you when you were younger. I can’t imagine she would turn you away now, look at you.” Amarus stared at Sam’s well-developed frame, his tan skin and crystal blue eyes just like his mother’s. The two of them had created perfection—twice. Actually they had done it three times. But the only difference was he didn’t have much use for that daughter of his.

  Frankie cleared his throat. “So why am I here?”

  “It’s time we start working as a family. Your brother needs someone to have his back. I couldn’t think of a better person for the job.” Amarus turned his back on his boys, pulling out an old dusty book from high on a shelf. “And if either one of you want to cross me, well, I have two very good ways to bring you to your knees.”

  Frankie scoffed. He wasn’t falling for the old black mail scheme. If his father wanted to kill Dylan so be it. She gave him a headache anyways.

  “And Frankie I would smother that ego. We all know you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care for that girl out there in my hallway. She’s quite the screamer.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up, Pops,” Frankie said, watching his dad go through the old book in his clutch. “We all know there are plenty of woman to go around.”

  “Not one like her. Not one like that. She intrigues you. She entices you. And I bet you can’t quite put a finger on why.” Amarus didn’t take his eyes away from the book. But he knew without a second glance that he gained Frankie’s attention.
“I already know where your brother’s heart is. He would die before anything happened to Delaney.”

  Sam stayed calm. He noticed Frankie seemed a bit rattled. This was strange for him.

  “Do you expect me to walk out of here without her?” Sam questioned. “There is no guarantee once I do my part you will even let her leave here. She comes with me or there is no deal.”

  Amarus snapped the book shut. He knew Sam was the only one able to obtain her. He handed over a picture of the doe eyed beauty, Alcina. “Of course, I am a man of my word. But I understand your trepidation. So I will allow you to take the girls with you. They’ve already been made clear of the rules. But in case they need a little reminder, let them know that I have eyes far and wide.”

  “Yeah, so many eyes it took him over a decade to find the two of us,” Frankie said under his breath to Sam.

  Sam slid the photo in his back pocket. “I assume you will give me her location?”

  Amarus nodded. “Use that Petrakis magnetism. Reel her in.”

  Frankie patted Sam on the back. “Yeah, so he can rip her insides out. How sweet. Better you then me.”

  Good deed

  It was a silent ride, a never ending silent ride home.

  Will it ever end? Delaney thought from the back seat. She stared at the back of Frankie’s head as the car barreled along down the highway.

  Dylan the girl that somehow fell into this mess sat beside her. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other. One might think they would, they both were young girls pulled into a gigantic mess. But she stayed silent. Arms crossed and head buried against the door fast asleep. Delaney wondered where Frankie even found her. She thought quite possibly she seen her on campus before. But she wasn’t sure. If she was who she thought she was the girl was a whole lot of trouble.

  Drifting back from her endless thinking she noticed Frankie was looking at her. She nervously drug a hand through her hair, prepared to hear someone say anything. Her eyes stayed on his, pleading with him to speak, to clear up some of the uncertainty.

  “So he left you on the side of the road.” Frankie smirked. That was the big reveal? Delaney sighed.

  Sam looked at her from the mirror, her eyes full of resentment toward Frankie and himself.

  “Why must you always try and rile people up?” Sam said, shooting Frankie an irritated scowl.

  “I couldn’t take the silence anymore,” he said shrugging it off as if he said nothing out of line.

  Delaney sat up a little. “I was quite shocked myself. I never thought he would do something like that.” She looked out the window at the blur of passing cars. Frankie smirked. His brother the kind caring gentleman now was nothing more than a monster to her.

  “I did what was best for you,” Sam replied. He clinched the steering wheel. If no one was going to drop the subject he was going to clear his name. Explain the situation so maybe just maybe Delaney could let it go finally.

  “Ok. So let me get this straight… leaving me hours from home with no shoes on was what was best?” Delaney asked.

  Sam opened his mouth prepared to reply but had no words. Frankie chuckled. He took it upon himself to answer. “He doesn’t always think things out. He’s an impulsive guy.”

  Delaney wasn’t buying it. “You tell me something like that. And you just think running away changes things?”

  “What should I have done?” Sam asked. “How do I stick around after something like that? I have no reason to be here anymore if I don’t have you.”

  Delaney was the speechless one now.

  “Do you honestly think the person you knew would want to hurt anybody?”

  Delaney’s eyes softened. She dropped her gaze to her legs. It hurt to feel those familiar pangs for him. She was supposed to be angry.

  “You’re not going to say anything to that,” Frankie asked, “The guys pouring his heart out to you.”

  “Why do you always have something to say?” She sighed. “Normally I wouldn’t say anything to you but you’re really starting to get on my nerves, Frankie.”

  Frankie clutched his chest, giving his brother an amused grin. “I’m stuck in a car with the three of you. I have a hard time keeping quiet in such dire situations. Forgive me.” Frankie dropped his head against the headrest falling silent. He didn’t like this bitchy side of Delaney. He liked when she was sweet and willing to take his verbal abuse.

  “Only a few more miles and then we all can go our separate ways,” Delaney said more to herself then to the two of them. But as soon as they both let out grunts of confusion she knew they had heard. “You really don’t think I am staying anywhere near the two of you when we get back do you?”

  Frankie studied her carefully. Hoping she was joking around with him.

  “If you’re not afraid to die, then sure, go wherever you want,” Frankie said.

  Sam shot her a look in the mirror. “Everything they told you wasn’t bullshit. They will come after you if you try anything stupid.”

  “I don’t want to go back to your house. I want to go home and forget any of this ever happened. This life, whatever you want to call it. This has nothing to do with me,” Delaney argued. Maybe if she was more concerned with Vance’s position she would have some heart for him. But nothing had changed. She still was angry with him for Rose, and for the girl in his car. He didn’t care about her feelings, so why should she care about his she thought. He wasn’t the same person she fell in love with anymore. She was still the same girl, but he was something beyond her wildest imagination.

  She had been tossed around like a rag doll. Treated like some dog and now she was suppose to just accept it. That was never going to work for her.

  Sam pulled into the parking lot of an old gas station. He hopped out of the car. Frankie did the same. She watched the two of them disappear inside the store, her mind drifting to the idea of taking off in the car. She leaned forward.

  “Like they would leave their keys,” Dylan said groggily, sitting up. She yawned, running her hand through her disheveled hair. “I’m so tired.”

  Delaney gave her a quick glance before returning her eyes to the driver’s seat, her chances of running slipping further and further away. “How could you be tired in a time like this?”

  Dylan surveyed the gas station, locating Frankie and Sam. The two of them picking over food and paying for gas. “We’d never get away.”

  Delaney’s head jerked to her. “You were thinking of running to?”

  Dylan nodded. “I got Frankie into this mess. He is probably going to kill me.”

  “No, I don’t think so. He could have left you. Well that’s what those men were saying.” Delaney shrugged. “I’m Delaney.” They shook hands, both of them feeling equally miserable and equally stuck in the situation.

  “Dylan. I think I’ve seen you on campus.” She faintly smiled, biting down on her thumbnail nervously. “You’re the girl that sits on the bench reading most days.”

  Delaney nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  ***

  A girl wearing a black wrap around her head to guard herself from the rain dodged the puddles on the street as she hurried into the corner bakery. She removed the black wrap, her long black hair falling around her shoulders. Every many in a miles radius immediately became attuned to her presence.

  She shook her dainty fingers, freeing them of the rainwater.

  “One cinnamon scone,” her voice was like velvet, the man behind the counter, tall and handsome in his own right quick to fulfill her order as best as he could, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

  She didn’t pay any mind to all the eyes glued to her every move, or the envious girlfriends or wives glaring bitterly at her.

  “Thank you.” She smiled sweetly, her red lips revealing her dazzling smile. She handed the guy a twenty. He waved his hand, refusing to take her money. She smiled even bigger taking a seat by the window so she could enjoy the gray atmosphere and watch the storm, alone, like she was used to on most days.
>
  “Elcina?”

  She searched the café for the owner of the masculine tone, her eyes landing on Sam. She wasn’t sure how she knew him. She placed her scone on her plate.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t remember me,” he said pulling up a seat without her consent. She crossed her legs, backing away from this mysterious guy. His perfect features, crystal blue eyes that sunk into her soul so easily. He wasn’t just ordinary.

  “I don’t remember you. Hate to burst your bubble.” Her voice was like smooth silk when she took on that serious tone, when her heart was pumping just enough to make her eyes a little more alive.