by Bry Ann
“Punish her. Find a reason.”
I flick my hand for emphasis.
“You or assign someone. That’s fine. Everything is permissible. But no touching her sexually,” I add quickly. “Make sure no one tries to stick their dirty dick inside her.”
Because I will kill that person and every Goddamn person who witnesses it and doesn’t intervene.
“Yes Boss.”
He walks off. I immediately go to my room, grab a bottle of rum on the way and slam the door.
My sanctuary.
“Whatever doesn’t hurt me. I like.”
“So this room…”
“I really, really like.”
GOD DAMN IT! This small girl is killing me.
I grab the rum and drink it straight from the counter. I grab my laptop, flick it on and immediately turn on the cameras until I find the one holding Lacey. Then I take another large swig. She’s sitting there, totally clueless what I'm about to do to her, picking up pebbles from the ground, twirling them between her fingers and then gently setting them back down.
Who knows what the fuck she’s doing.
She’s gotta be bored. I want to bring her books. I want to bring her anything to occupy her beautiful mind.
I shake my head. Gioele walks into view. Says a few things to a group of men and then walks off. I see him shaking his head before he exits the screen. I want to follow him. See his disgust to affirm mine, but I have to see Lacey. She immediately drops all her rocks. Her eyes widen slightly and I see her small body start to shake. I gulp down as much rum as I can, squeezing my eyes as it goes down.
This physically hurts.
“Get up,” one of the snarls.
My men are cruel. On purpose. I have a ruthless reputation for a reason. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. There is not one weak link in my regime. No one with a heart, except perhaps Gioele.
Lacey stands on shaking legs and braces herself by placing both hands on the wall behind her. She closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them… she’s gone. I don’t know how she does it, but she completely leaves her body. It’s a sight I probably hate more than any other.
“Come here,” one of them mocks, arching a finger at her.
With all the strength in the world, she does. Approaches three large, armed men. God. I'm the devil. A take another large swig from the bottle.
One of them grabs her and shoves her to the floor outside her cell. My heart seizes. She lets out a little ‘huff’ noise when her body hits the ground. She doesn’t even have a second to recover before one kicks in her in the ribs. She closes her eyes. A tear falls, but she doesn’t let it register. She steels up again. Waiting for the inevitable next blow.
This is the best way.
This is the best way.
I have a job to do, and she’s the only way.
Thankfully, I feel the alcohol start to kick in. I take another gulp.
The men kick her again. Kick her when she’s down, quite literally. They call her vulgar names and grope her a little. Degrading her. She stays strong ‘til then. Then her mask slips. Terror replaces it.
“Please… what are you…”
That’s all she says before she shuts in and cries inside.
And I watch from my fucking room, getting drunk.
I get plastered. I stumble out of bed and fall to the floor. My brain is a slush pile of shit. Nothing makes sense. So, of course, I make a huge mistake. This is why I don’t drunk. I’m a fucking stupid drunk.
“Gioele,” I slur into the phone. He’s the only one of men I know won’t take advantage of the fact that I'm drunk. He’s older and I think, in his own way, he really cares. He’s loyal because he is actually loyal, and not because he wants to be a good criminal for the day he tries to take over. Sven. I wonder what he’s doing with his plaything. Does he get to hold her? Touch her? Comfort her? I growl.
“I want Lacey to come clean my room!” I snap.
“Boss she just…”
“Don’t fucking question me! Her. Up here. Now.”
I slam the phone shut and throw the rum bottle across the room and watch it shatter, along with every other part of me. This is the first time I’ve gotten drunk since the day I found out I was going to become the Boss. I don’t get slightly drunk either. I get plastered.
Everything around me is spinning. I feel sick and dizzy. I groan and lean my head against the wall.
I hear the door click open, softly, and then close. My heart seizes. She’s here.
“You called me.”
Her voice is quiet but gives away every horrible thing she just went through.
I turn and face her.
“Cl.. cl… clean it up. It all up. Up. Up.”
I stumble forward and crash to the floor. I'm gonna get myself killed. Her eyes go wide and she runs over. She crouches in front of me, eyebrows furrowed, but her face still etched in pain from her ribs.
“What did you do sir?” she whispers.
I'm too drunk to answer, reply or be mad. She runs to the bathroom, her footsteps quietly pattering on the floor. She comes back and places a cold washcloth on my face. She moves my hair out of the way. Her soft touch goes straight to my heart. No one touches me like that. I let my head fall to the floor.
“Sir? Sir?”
“I'm alive,” I grumble.
She goes quiet. Quite a bit of time passes before she decides to help me sit up. She stays curled in front of me, watching me, unsure. She's holding her ribs, trying to be subtle. I'm an asshole for not letting her go recover in peace.
“They… t… touched you,” I slur.
Her teeth clench. “Yes. You let them.”
Yeah, you’re the boss asshole. That’s what she’s really saying.
She glares at me.
“You’re mad at me…. But you don’t know. You don’t know. You don’t know.”
“You’re so drunk,” she whispers, shaking her head.
“You don’t know. I have to. I had to…”
She sighs and shuffles over to me. She touches my face. Her hands are soft and cold against my heated skin.
“I know.”
I look at her. “No…”
“Shh, sir. You’re drunk. Can you get to… to your bed?”
“I feel sick.”
I try and get to my feet, but stumble back. I hear Lacey let out a small whimper, but she does it quietly. She comes over and wraps her small arm around me, trying to help me up. We are halfway up when Lacey shrieks and drops me. She falls to the floor clutching her side.
Instantly I sober up.
Of course not literally, but seeing her in pain. Yeah, my hazy mind clears… enough. Plus, I am disciplined. When I'm not throwing myself a damn pity party I can think under the craziest of circumstances.
“Shit.”
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don’t tell anyone to hurt me.”
She starts to shake and scrambles away from me, curling up.
“I didn’t mean to drop you. It was an accident.”
I run my hand over my face. “Give me a second.”
I sprint to the bathroom, shut the door behind me and puke my guts out. God, it’s a horrible feeling. I brush my teeth and use a shit ton of mouthwash. I change into black sweats and a cotton t-shirt. I rarely wear shit this casual, but I just need out of the nasty clothes I got plastered in.
Then I walk back out. Lacey has gotten up and is plastered against the back wall. Literally, her whole body glued to the wall.
When she sees me two things happen. Her eyes run over my body, seemingly shocked by the change in clothing. Her eyes run over me too long. She’s checking me out. That makes the corner of my lips turn up. Sweet little Lacey.
Then she freezes and panic hits her. Shit. She probably thinks I changed into something easier to hurt her in. She pushes back against the wall like she’s trying to disappear into it.
I raise my hands. “I…”
REALLY need to punish her. Hell, I'm deliv
ering her back into the hands of the men who captured and tortured her in less than THREE weeks. She needs to slowly warm up to that. I’ve been somewhat, not nice, but there’s been something been something between us. She’s going to be surprised and unprepared when I hand her over. Hell, I killed the one man who had truly hurt her here, up until today. Sure my men have hurt her, but nothing severe. Not that that makes it right, but it makes what the Castelo’s are going to do seem like child’s play. I clear my throat and close my eyes, still feeling dizzy.
“You dropped me. Were you not told what you were sent up here for?”
“I was.”
She looks down at the floor realizing her sanctuary in here has vanished for the moment.
“I was told to clean,” she almost pleads with me. Not to help your drunk ass.
“But you see your boss on the floor,” drunk out of his mind, “and don’t help him up?”
I cock an eyebrow for effect.
“I tried. I'm sorry. The… pain. The pain. I fell.”
“I…” can’t do this. I really can’t. Not here. This is my sanctuary too. “I promised you peace in here so I’ll let you off, but remember. For next time.”
I want to bash my head into a fucking wall.
She sighs and her body slumps.
“Thank you sir. Thank you.”
I can feel the relief coming off her in waves.
“Go Lacey. Get out of here.”
She doesn’t hesitate. She runs out, clutching her side. I growl and slam my hand into the wall when she’s gone. I go to my computer and open the cameras again. Lacey gets to her cell impossibly fast. A guard closes it behind her. She never even thinks to betray me. She’s so good. So behaved and it’s gonna kill her.
Once she’s in her cell and the guard walks to the dark corner he watches her from, she curls herself into a ball and cries. True deep belly sobs. I’ve never seen her cry like this. I slam my computer shut, throw my clothes off and climb into bed. I can’t watch this shit anymore. I just… can’t.
Not today anyway.
Chapter 17:
Sven:
A Week and a Half Later:
“Here.”
I toss a Kindle at her.
“This should help with the boredom.”
“I don’t like to read.”
I glare at her. “Jesus, you are hard to please.”
“Yeah, sorry I'm not a more excited kidnapping victim asshole!”
“That would make my life a lot easier.” She glares at me. “Give me the Kindle. What do you want instead?”
“No!” She clutches the Kindle to her chest. “I want to keep the Kindle. Maybe I can get into reading. As for things I like… um, I…” I see hesitation cross her face.
I roll my eyes. “Just say it.”
“Well, um, I’d like to… work out. I miss the sun and moving and…”
I smirk. “And you are feeling good now that you are eating three healthy meals every day.”
I glance at her nearly finished plate of egg whites, spinach, mushrooms and tomato with two slices of ezekiel toast and grass-fed butter. I look back at her and smirk to hide my pride in the situation. Color has come back in her cheeks, all the right parts of her have filled out, her bones aren’t protruding as much. She looks mouthwatering good and I haven’t touched her since that night in the tub. I’ve been busy with boss and Rose has been busy testing useless escape attempts.
She never fails to impress/amuse me. I think she’s finally starting to realize I'm not going to hurt her. I don’t know if that scares her or relieves her. I don’t think she even knows. She feels better now that I proved to her she left her job appropriately. I told everyone she gave me her two weeks’ notice. She’s got no one missing her. In a weird way, I think that makes this easier for her, even though she’s still scared and trying to escape. Small details.
“I mean, well, like,” she turns away, “yeah I have more energy. I want to walk. Run. Do something.”
“I’ll get you DVD’s.”
“I need sunshine!”
“Jesus. Fine. I’ll set it up.”
Her eyes go wide, then narrow. “Really?”
Oh, she knows me so well.
“Well, little Rose. I miss the feel of your skin.”
She bites the corner of her cheek. “Well, books combined with sunshine might help my libido.”
I walk over and trace my fingers down her arm, watching the goosebumps appear. I love that I affect her body whether or not she likes it. Although, I’ve come to realize I’d prefer she did.
“What kind of books are you reading little Rose?”
She shrugs.
“Let’s say we run a test. Play a little now. And then again after you get sun. I’ll compare and contrast.”
She snorts. “Yeah. No. I get sun first then you get… you get… um…”
Her cheeks turn bright pink. “Your pussy?”
I cock an eyebrow as she goes from pink to red.
“Um, I mean if it gets me sun.”
“Woman,” I grumble. “Can you stop acting like you don’t love when I touch you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your touch. It’s your soul I have a problem with.”
I freeze.
“Do you need workout clothes too?”
My voice is cold. She shakes her head, trying to process the abrupt change in subject.
“Yes please. I wear a size…”
“Small. I know. First, it’s obvious. Two, who do you think got the clothes you have here?”
“Oh right.”
I turn to walk out. I'm done with this depressing ass conversation. Boss and I have things to discuss. I’ve had her a week and a half and, well, I'm not quite sure where to go from here. My plan with boss is playing out perfectly, but with her... Well, I have no clue what the fuck I'm doing. The plan of getting her here was easy, but now that I have her I have no clue what to do with the woman. What lines to cross and what lines not to cross.
“Sven?”
“What Rose?” I frown and don’t even look at her.
“Thank you for not hurting me. Or letting anyone hurt me.”
I turn back to her, shocked she even noticed. “It was never the plan to hurt you Rose.”
“What is the plan Sven? Why am I here?”
“I’ve told you so many times.”
She stares at me blank-faced and blinks a few times, waiting for me to tell her again. Does she forget this shit? Or does she just like to make me say it?
“Because you’re mine, Rose.”
I pin her to the spot with my stare as I say it.
“If you ever want me to be yours, Sven so much will have to change. Taking me doesn’t make me yours. So you have my body. What good is that without a mind and heart to go with it? Think about that as you plan a magnitude of deaths with your boss.”
I turn on my heel and slam the door behind her, locking it. This woman is going to make me lose my temper one day and that is very hard to do! Who the hell does she think she is? I growl as I walk into the area boss and I planned to meet.
Boss looks like shit. Maybe not on the outside, but it’s in his eyes. It’s a true shame I want us to have the Castello’s under us before I take him down. Now would be a prime time to take over. As much as we all like to think we are not human, we are, and Bosses humanity is showing. Something is bothering him.
I walk in casually and take my seat. Gioele is here along with Frances, our new Capo. We all get comfortable. Then the door swings open. Shoved inside is that prisoner girl, looking like she’s seen a hell of a time. They shove her to the ground, drag her to the wall and chain her there. She’s pretty much a rag doll. I don’t think anything of it until I look at Boss. Then I see it. I see exactly what the fuck I’ve been looking for. My eyes light up and my body comes alive.
I’ve found it.
Bosses weakness.
It was quick, but when Lacey was dragged in, a flicker of immense pain crossed
his eyes. I knew there was something there the first time I saw the two of them, but I brushed it aside. I won’t do that twice.
Boss has feelings for this prisoner.
He’ll go through with the plans to destroy the Castellos, but it will ruin his girl in the process. He’ll be at his weakest when that happens. Hell, he’s the weakest I’ve seen him right now. I can’t imagine what he’ll be like in two weeks.
Then I attack.
My plan gets modified, because, well, why wouldn’t I move it up? I now have a dirty blonde haired girl that has Bosses heart wrapped around her finger.
Oh, this just got fun.
I’ll get the girl.
The job.
The power.
The money.
… and all I have to do is take down one small girl to do it.
I never imagined it would be this easy. I smirk as I turn to the group of men. I'm much more interested in what they all have to say now.
GAME. ON.
Chapter 18:
Rose:
I basically told him there is a small way I’d give him a chance and he all but told me to fuck off.
Well, fuck him. Yeah. I said it. I hate him. I know I'm not getting out of this house. I’ve seen the security, the guards, the cameras, the alarms, I’m not smart enough to get passed all that and live, but there’s gotta be a way to get out of this room. I just have to think. There’s something I want to do. I miss my work so much. My girls. But I know for a fact there is another girl here. I haven’t stopped thinking about her sad grey eyes, even though I’ve been distracted.
I go to the door and study the lock. A smile spreads across my lips when I realize this is a basic lock. There is nothing special about it. My heart literally starts galloping. I scour the room. Literally, search every crack and crevice until I find what I am looking for.
A paperclip.
I squeal out loud when it’s between my fingers. I uncoil it and stick it in the lock, praying to any God I can that this works. I need something. I need a bone here or I’ll lose it.
Thump. Thump. Thump. My heart is alive in my chest as I fight to turn the lock. Then… Click! The door handle becomes loose. I glance around, subconsciously checking for someone. When I affirm no one’s there, I jumped up and down. Victory dance. Win.