Broken Parts (A Dark Romance) (Parts of Me Book 3)

by J. A. Wynters

  At that they sprung up and held each other as they climbed the stairs to their rooms.

  I turned to the girl who was once again looking at her father. There was no hatred there—or anger. In fact, there was nothing at all. She was empty, the cracks had allowed all her emotions to leak right out of her. Tonight, I was going to help her heal. I was going to glue those cracks shut so that she could be whole again. Feel again.

  “Diana?”

  She turned to look at me with glassy eyes.

  “I have many ideas for the way I would like to punish your father. But do you?”

  Tears pooled at the rims of her eyes and her lower lip quivered, the stony exterior she has lived inside, cracking, healing.

  Her mouth quavered; words that had been held captive inside her heart wanting to spill out. She wobbled on uncertain feet, approaching me. She was cautious like a deer approaching a predator. I held still waiting. I didn’t want to spook her, no sudden movements to make her run.

  She stood a hairsbreadth away from me. I could feel her heat, I could see her body shivering; fear, uncertainty, and anger all swarming beneath her skin and behind her eyes.

  “No one is ever going to hurt you again.” Our eyes locked and I think that she believed me, because her body stilled and her eyes tightened. A calm settled around her as she pushed up to her tiptoes and whispered in my ear.

  I nodded, remaining still and allowed her to back away.

  “Diana?” Her head tipped upwards, she looked at me through a curtain of dirty blonde hair. “I’m sorry, I—”

  She stepped closer and her hand closed around mine, silencing me, “It’s ok. I knew one day you would come.” Her voice was hoarse and gruff like it hadn’t been used in a very long time.

  I nodded, words failing me, my apology falling to the ground. She pulled away from me, “Your past is about to burn away, go give yourself a fresh start.”

  She nodded and walked to the stairs. I want to believe that I saw a little spring of joy in her steps.

  “We’re going to the barn.” I turned around and walked towards the door while Salvatore and Romeo dragged the bleeding, whimpering mess of Pete Monroe, leaving a trail of blood on the exquisite floor.

  “Make sure they get out, then burn it down.” I looked at Leo, he nodded then made his way upstairs to hurry them up.

  The barn was an impressive structure, like a monument to the livestock that inhabited it. The white walls and red roof stood out like an unwelcome spot on the land. I hauled open the oiled door, expecting resistance. My fingers missed the heavy iron door of the garage, the simplicity of it all.

  The smell wrapped itself around me as I walked deeper into the barn. A musty odour of animal fur and the stink of new and dried-out manure. The low grunts of animals and creaking boards drifted through the dim structure. As my eyes grew adjusted to the weak light, I could make out the shapes of the wooden stalls and poles, the equipment and bales of straw and hay piled onto one another.

  The ceiling was high with decorative wooden rafters crossing the entire structure. The deeper we walked the worse the smell became.

  This would be a good place.

  The animals began to stir. They could feel our presence—a scratch against a stall, thumps, grunts—The animals were waking to witness Pete’s fall.

  When we reached the end of the barn, Salvatore and Romeo released Pete and he fell to the ground.

  “Please Gabriel, I can make this all go away.” I ignored his pleas, the time for forgiveness was over.

  “I’m not the one you should be begging for forgiveness.”

  “Please…”

  “Strip”.

  His red eyes shot to me in disbelief, “Gabriel.”

  “Now.”

  “No! I won’t, kill me if you must.”

  “Pete,” I smiled at him and squatted down so that I could grab his chin and lift his face to mine. I looked into his eyes, “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to make you suffer.”

  With that, Salvatore lashed out with a brutal kick to his lower back and he collapsed onto me. I moved away letting his face fall onto the floor with a choked gurgle.

  I grabbed a length of rope and we picked Pete’s heavy body up, pinning him then securing him against the far stall. We pulled his feet and hands apart, spread eagled. He was going to learn all about vulnerability and accountability.

  His eyes focused once more just as my knife sliced through his clothes. His head lolled for a second then snapped backwards smashing into the wall behind him, “Gabriel, what the hell are you doing?”

  I ignored him. My knife sliced through his old, faded singlet. It fell open limp and pathetic, much like its owner. His fat, hairy stomach spilt over the elastic of his boxers.

  “Do you regret what you did?” I stepped back and looked at him.

  “I was building an empire, setting my family up for the future.”

  I bit my lower lip and tried again, agitation building inside me, “Do you regret what you did?”

  “She coped ok, recovered. You saw her.”

  “Do. You. Regret. What. You. Did?” My jaw clinched as my hand tightened against the knife. I sucked in a breath remembering that killing him would not be punishment enough.

  “I was doing it for my family, it was what needed to be done…” his voice fell away as tears brimmed his eyes. But I knew just then that his tears were not for Diana or for her stolen years, her youth and innocence. The tears were for him and him alone, for his growing fear and uncertainty, for watching his black empire crumble. He had no regrets, and I had no shred of sympathy left for this pathetic man.

  I turned to Salvatore, “Go find a calf, it’s feeding time.”

  Salvatore remained deadpanned as he turned around and looked through stalls. On the contrary, Pete struggled against his restraints, “What the fuck are you doing Gabriel? Stop this now.”

  I ignored him and grabbed the elastic of his boxers slicing through the fabric, easily ripping it from him. It fell to below his knees revealing a small shriveled cock peppered in white hair.

  “Gabriel, ok. Yes, I regret what I did. I’m sorry, ok? Gabriel!” His voice strained, and his body wobbled as he tried to fight the rope.

  From behind us the thunder of hooves grew as a young calf ran through the barn, suddenly free. His movements began to wake the rest of the animals, but I wasn’t worried about them. They were sealed tight—for now.

  The calf approached us, obviously used to people. I guess he recognised Pete’s smell. It ran around in circles. Pete shuddered each time the calf neared him, rubbing it’s head on his naked body. Through the windows the night lit up as orange flames consumed the family home. Light danced on Pete’s ashen features as he watched his world collapse around him.

  The calf sniffed at Pete who screamed and begged, but now it was all too late. I didn’t need to watch the show. I knew what was coming. We all did.

  “I had other ideas for you, but when Diana suggested this, I cannot think of anything better that filth like you deserve. You know, you might even enjoy it—if he doesn’t suck it off that is.”

  “Gabriel! Gabriel come back here! Gabriele, you sick fuck, this isn’t funny.”

  The calf approached and smelled the man who was struggling against his restraints, screaming and begging.

  “If you ever harm your daughter or anyone ever again, you will not get off so lightly.” He wasn’t listening, eyeing the calf as it sniffed his body, “Your debt is now paid.”

  I turned my back to Pete, Salvatore and Romeo flanking me. His screams followed us down the barn now alive with frothing animals, kicking and mooing.

  “No. Get away! No, no, no. No!” Pete squealed, his screams pierced the night that glowed warmly with the inferno now encasing the entire family residence.

  Leo escorted the family into a car, and we watched as they drove off. I wasn’t worried. No one would ever say what happened here. From behind us came the screams of the tortured man. I w
asn’t sure if the sudden warmth that filled me was the burning house or the satisfaction.

  I turned to Romeo, “Wait thirty minutes then let a few other animals loose.”

  “When do I cut him down?”

  “Don’t.”

  He nodded and looked at his watch. Romeo was a good soldier.

  The first of my visits was over, but the night was not nearly done.

  I only managed three more visits before dawn. But I was satisfied, knowing out there that these men were getting what they deserved.

  In a single night I had washed away their sins and ended their worlds, just as they had done for their children.

  Truth was, that night broke me too, something irreparable in my wiring. Because, I enjoyed watching it all burn, watching them break, watching them suffer. Only a monster would feel those things.

  Sometimes it still didn’t feel like what they got was enough, it never would be—not really. But knowing those men were sodomised and brutalised, stripped of their masculinity, and made to suffer in a way that would break something vital inside of them was a start.

  I had been talking for so long that the sun had moved along the horizon. The memories made my stomach churn and my heart beat in a frenzy. I could feel the searing heat of the fire against my skin and Diana’s cold, skeletal hands as they wrapped around my own.

  I wondered if she ever managed to find peace.

  Mia studied me with a mournful expression, the gold flecks in her eyes glinting in her unshed tears. “Gabriel.” She shifted closer towards me and allowed me to gather her into my arms. Her soft lips laying a gentle kiss against my neck.

  “I would have done the same thing.” It was all she said, bringing the matter to a close.

  I wanted to have her then on that picnic rug. I wanted her knees to burn with the friction of my body against hers, I wanted the cool winter air to pebble her nipples and her breasts to fall into my hands. I wanted to be buried deep inside her and let the sun bathe our naked bodies with the little heat it held. But somehow, she felt fragile and delicate, and maybe I was too. Which is why I needed her so badly, which is also why I held her and released her and signalled for Max to come back.

  I packed up the picnic basket that was mostly untouched. I guess talking about maiming people who hurt kids isn’t conducive to an appetite.

  “Did you get all of them?”

  “Every last one.”

  She nodded, her eyes focused somewhere far away.

  “Mia? Are you ok?”

  She nodded again and bit her quivering lower lip. “Mia?”

  “I’m fine.” She gave me a weak smile.

  Before I could say anything more, Max arrived with the horses and helped pack up the rest of the picnic gear. He led us back to the trail and we rode back in silence.

  Max dropped us off by the golf cart, and I drove us back to the cabin. We grabbed our stuff and hopped onto the bike.

  I could feel Mia. Her silence wasn’t empty. It was full of words and thoughts and desires she didn’t share with me, and I didn’t know how to ask her to. So I remained silent too.

  The bike vibrated and screamed beneath us, crushing the silence into melodic metal that sang as it pistoned and worked to move us back to Hill Street.

  I parked it underground in my private garage and took the elevator to the lobby.

  “I have to see Salvatore.”

  Mia nodded at me. She still felt far away.

  “Mia? Where are you?”

  “Go, I’m fine. I’ll wait upstairs.” I watched as the elevator door shut behind her and she vanished. I exhaled a breath I didn’t realise I had been holding. Why the hell was I suddenly walking on eggshells around her?

  I drew the door back and stepped into Sin. It was crowded, too crowded. I pushed my way through drunk young men and topless waitresses and stepped into the office. Salvatore looked up and I swore I could see relief wash across it.

  “Happy to see me?”

  “Welcome back.”

  “It was one night.” One night that felt both like an eternity and like a split second, “Anything new?”

  He looked at the floor and shook his head. “Nothing.”

  I sighed, the weight of his words bearing down on me. “I guess we’re out of options, time to sit down with Lupe.”

  “I’ll arrange it.”

  “Good.”

  Part XXI

  True to her nature, Alice stayed buried in her deep tunnel. It had been almost six months before she crawled out to attend Simone’s funeral and another week till the phone rang, “Hi kiddo.”

  I paused at the sound of Alice’s voice, I can’t say it was expected or welcome, “Hi Alice, it's been awhile.”

  “So good to hear your voice,” she sounded melancholy. I had nothing to say. “I'm clean.” She went on.

  “That's good.” I pinched the bridge of my nose wondering what she wanted.

  “I'd like to see you…if you wouldn't mind.”

  “Not sure that’s such a good idea Alice.”

  “Please Kiddo.”

  “Alice—”

  “I just want to talk.”

  “When?”

  “In about an hour? In the usual spot.” I hated that she referred to that bench as the ‘usual spot’. The usual spot for what? For nights spent freezing while she was passed out on the floor beneath me, gagging or convulsing? The usual spot where men had their hands or dicks in her for chump change? The usual spot she’s dragged me when we were kicked out of another place to live.

  I exhaled trying to expel all my anger. It didn’t work. I looked at my watch and slammed my eyes shut.

  “Kiddo?”

  “Ok, I guess I can do that. I'll bring some coffee.”

  “That would be nice.” I scoffed at the word. Nice. It felt so bland, such a meagre word to describe our relationship. It was anything but nice. It was barely anything at all. “See you soon.” She said.

  The line went dead.

  I stepped out of the office and found Mia sitting on the couch, her nose in another book. I made a mental note to have some more brought up for her, “I have to go.”

  “Where?”

  I raked a hand through my hair, my face soured with my words, “Alice wants to meet up, she's back.”

  Mia put her book down and frowned, “What does she want?”

  “She didn't say, but I have to go.”

  “Have to?”

  “Need to.” I shrugged, still uncertain why that woman had such a fierce hold on me when she was so willing to let me go so often in life.

  Mia stood up and studied my face, “Do you want me to come with you?”

  My smile was fleeting, “No, I need to do this one by myself. Romeo is going to stay downstairs. Make sure you don't go anywhere without him.” I gave her a long, dark look. She squirmed under it and rolled her eyes at me.

  “I'll be back soon.”

  “I guess I’ll just be here…waiting.”

  I closed the distance between us and grabbed her waist slamming it into my body. I captured her mouth in a long, languishing kiss that promised her it was going to be worth the wait.

  I released her breathless and wanting and stepped into the elevator.

  I crossed the lobby and climbed on my bike, my skin crawling with apprehension. What did Alice want? I parked at the edge of the park, where nature tried to reclaim what was hers and humanity forced her inside a cage surrounded by concrete.

  I spotted the coffee cart and ordered two coffees, remembering that Alice didn’t drink any sugar. I watched the naked trees, the branches swinging aimlessly in the cool breeze. I pulled my jacket tighter around me. A bearded man called my name and handed me the two take away cups. I spotted the doughnuts then and grabbed one—just in case. She may be clean, but she might also be broke.

  I stepped into the park, onto the evergreen grass, my body twisting in knots. As much as I hated this place it has always felt like it was a part of me. Or maybe I was an extens
ion of it—a branch that kept losing its leaves then sprouting new ones, at the mercy of the changing seasons. Or maybe, it was just because nothing good ever happened here. Not really.

  I spotted Alice on the bench, her restless fingers fidgeting, locking and unlocking, touching invisible things. She kept looking around but she didn’t seem scared, more nervous or excited. It was odd. I swallowed my doubts and crept closer, trying to prolong the distance. Alice put on weight again, and her skin looked healthier. Even from this far away, it looked like she was wearing a new shirt—or a clean one at least.

  I sucked in a deep breath and crossed the path, “Hi Alice.”

  “Hey kiddo.” She smiled up at me as she pulled a cigarette from a box. She lit up, sucking on the thin stick—the end burning orange—then blew out a long trail of white smoke that hung in the air between us, like all the things that we pretend neither of us saw and then got whisked away by a sudden gust. My lips pressed together in a thin line, and I collapsed into the bench next to her. Disappointments sitting between us like an uninvited guest.

  I handed her the coffee and a doughnut. She grabbed both, “Thanks.”

  “What do you want Alice?”

  “Straight to business, hey?”

  “I don't have much time.”

  “For me, you mean?” I pretended I didn't hear her and looked towards my bike, wishing I was heading back to Mia. “Don't be like that kiddo.” She patted my thigh and I tried not to shudder. I didn't feel the same.

  “I’ve missed you.” She flashed me a wane smile.

  I scoffed at her, “Missed me?’

  “Sure, sure.” She took another drag.

  “Fuck you Alice. Missed me? Is that cause you sobered up for five minutes? We both know, a month from now, a year from now, that you're gonna go back on the heroin…or cocaine, or whatever the fuck you find that gives you the highest high or the most surreal escape. You’re going to forget about me all over again. But guess what Alice? I’m not a kid anymore, and you can’t just drop me off with another Tony or some other fucker that’ll stick his fingers up your twat for fifty bucks. If you want money, just ask. But don’t just drop back into my life and feed me this shit.” My face felt hot and my hands shook. I tucked them into my pockets, digging my nails into my palms. The pain helped to draw my emotions.