by M. G Rayne
“She fucked me over! When you walked in, we were having a disagreement about the fight. I told her she has to dance to pay the money back!”
He wants her to dance at his strip club. He wants her to get naked to pay her debt. My blood runs cold, and my right hand starts to twitch like fuck. No one is seeing my pretty bird naked! Over my dead body.
I jump up from my seat, scaring the shit out of the little retch who wants my girl to go on display. “She is not dancing in your God-awful club. That isn’t fucking happening.” Both Liam and Marcus look at me like they don’t know who the hell I am. Women don’t appeal to me that way, they are only a means to an end. I love to fuck them, then send them on their way. All women are a weakness, they turn you into a lovesick fool. Nope, I fuck, then they fuck off.
“I will contact Andre then. He wanted her. I’ll see if he still wants to buy her.”
Did this fucker just say buy her!
“Buy Her?” I’ve got to have misheard that, surely he wouldn’t sell her. He needs to be very careful on what he says next because depending on his answer, I’m likely to kill his ass.
“Yeah, he runs a fight scene too. He heard about her and wanted to buy her a few months ago. My turnover has been mental for the last six years since she’s been a regular.”
“You want to sell your money maker like that? You’ve just said she’s the one who they pay to see and bet on, so why would you sell her?” Liam asks.
“Shit, yeah. I didn’t think of that, fuck!” Alexander paces.
“Why don’t you loan her out to Andre every other weekend. He has a chance to increase the money coming in and you don’t lose your money earner.” I look at Marcus who is causally leaning against the office door.
“Andre wouldn’t go for that. He’d want to either buy her or not at all. He would fuck me over just to get her there.”
The room is quiet while everyone thinks. I know the bad guys being amenable is funny. I may be an asshole but my pretty bird isn’t going anywhere. I’ve already claimed her as mine and I’m not having anyone think they have control over what’s mine. Alexander hasn’t realized it yet, but Reaper isn’t his property anymore, she’s mine!
I want to own, consume and break her. That isn’t a possibility while someone else owns her. A sadistic grin grows on my face slowly.
“I know that grin, brother, what have you decided?” Liam asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Alexander, how about we make a new deal that will benefit us both greatly?”
“How so?” He looks scared.
“You want your debt cleared with me and my brother’s! Why don’t you sell The Reaper to us?”
“What?” God this guy is slow.
“You sell her to me! I clear your debt, so you don’t owe me anything and I own her.” Yeah, I like this idea. He will sell her to me one way or another.
“But, but how? You’re wanting my best fighter!”
“Simple, really. I’ll own her, she fights for me and my brothers here. You keep your money but we get a percentage of the house. So, everybody is happy.”
“But...”
“Alexander, you will do this because if you don’t, I will take your money maker, fight scene and everything you hold dear and destroy it piece by piece as you watch. Then I’ll chop you up and feed you to the pigs.”
“So, you're saying if I sell Reaper to you, she is still able to fight here?”
“Yes.” What's taking the dipshit so long to decide?
“How big of a percentage of the fights are we talking about or is it a nightly percentage?”
“What percentage does a fighter take home from their fight?”
“Five percent from the fight and the rest goes to the house”.
I don’t care about the money, but it always helps me to secure this, there’s just something about her. She’s strong willed with an iron shell wrapped up in gorgeous packaging but there has to be more and I want it all. I want her broken and laid at my feet like a sacrifice ready to be possessed and consumed by the evil in front of her.
“If the house keeps 60% of the fights and we take 35% of the fights and the fighters keep their five, is it a deal?”
“Kane, what the fuck bro?” Liam looks pissed at my train of thought. He likes money more than he likes sex. That sort of percentage to him is an insult.
“Liam, we will talk about this later.”
“Damn fucking right we will!”
“Do we have a deal?” My blood is buzzing waiting for him to answer.
“I get 60% and you aren’t going to go back on the deal if you have her? My debt is clear? My family is safe?”
“Yes! Do we have a deal or not!”
“YES!” he shouts as relief shows on his face. I knew he would take the deal. He knows I would have followed through on my own threat. We aren’t called The Damned for no reason, none of us have souls.
“She's yours! I accept she belongs to you. I want her to fight on Saturdays like she always has?”
“Deal! You have until Friday to tell her and deliver her to me!”
With a handshake the deal is done. This is perfect. I can have what I want and slowly clip her beautiful feathers so she can never leave me. I have just found myself a very interesting toy to play with. The thought makes my dick hard.
Chapter Four
Reika
Someone needs to hit daylight with a brightness tax. Jesus, why is it so bright this goddamn early? I feel worse than I did last night. Rolling over to grab my phone “Shit!” Fuck, I forgot about my broken ribs. I didn’t shower or ice them before I fell asleep last night. Grabbing my phone, I find a text from Tom asking me to meet him downstairs. I stand up and make my way to the shower to get all the blood, grime and stink off me from last night. Flicking the light switch, I get a good look at myself in the mirror. My reflection confirms I look like hell. I have a slight bruise on the underside of my jaw. I lift my top so I can have a look at my ribs. I'm met with bright purple and blue splotches on both sides. Coffee and painkillers are needed. I switch on the shower and turn the temperature up, then head back to the kitchen to make a drink, giving the shower time to warm up. As I flick the kettle on, my phone starts to ring. Whoever is calling better be dying or trying to tell me we are having a zombie apocalypse. I look at the caller ID. Great, it's Mel. I’ve not got enough brain function for this. I click to answer and wait to see how cheery her mood is.
“Ry! You there?” Not so cheery. I might make it through a whole conversation.
“Someone best be dying, Mel. I’ve just woken up.”
“Really, dude? It’s 2:30.”
I turn to grab a cup and add two sugars, coffee and grab the milk from the fridge.
“Is there a point to you calling? I’m just about to grab a shower.”
“Such a grinch when you wake up, Ry. Will you come to the den with me tonight? That guy I’m dating wants to meet up but some of his friends are going to be there. Please, you’ll be doing me a solid.”
I add water to the cup and a dash of milk, just the way I like it. I would drink black coffee if I could, but that would be like getting an adrenaline shot just for the shits and giggles of it.
“What time? Honestly, I could use a drink after last night.”
“Is eight good for you? I can swing by and pick you up if you want?”
“Sweet. See you tonight.”
“Ry!”
“What?”
“Can you please be on your best behaviour tonight? I really like him. I don’t want you to run him off like you did James!”
“I didn’t run James off. I just explained to him the consequences of hurting my friend. Not my problem if he lost his balls somewhere.”
“Ry, you told him if he hurt me you would tie his ass up, remove his balls and feed them to him. Then remove his fingers and toes. Plus, when you got bored you would give him to the gators as a present.”
“Yeah and I was only telling him the truth. Not my problem he
was a scared little bitch.”
“Mel, anyone would do the same thing for their sister from another mister and honestly, if they run because of that they aren’t worth your time. Period!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just please behave. Got to go. I’ll see you at eight.”
Having the quickest shower ever, I’m out and pull on my grey joggers with a white t-shirt. I throw my long hair up into a bun, slip my shoes on and head my way to Tom's office with a new coffee in hand.
“Dayyyyyyum! Ry, when are you gonna let me take your fine ass out?”
“Not in this lifetime, Mark. You need to find yourself a good girl. I'll suck your soul from your body and dance in the rain with it.”
“I’m not afraid to lose my soul, Ry.”
“You should be, not having a soul isn’t all it's cracked up to be! Catch you later, Mark”.
Walking through Tom's office door I’m met with a Starbucks coffee instead of the cheap shit I normally drink.
“Have I ever told you how much I love you, dude?”
“HAHAHA! All the time. Especially when I give you decent coffee.”
Sitting my ass down, my ribs twinge bringing a growl to my lips. “Before you ask, I was fighting last night. The big bastard broke some ribs.” After wiggling a bit, I get myself in the perfect position to ease the pain and get a better view of Tom, who is sitting across from me in the chair.
“Bastard? Ry, that sounds to me like you were fighting a guy last night. Please tell me it's bullshit?”
“Yep, yep and nope.” Here we go again. Tom hates it when I fight. He says I shouldn’t have to. He knows the reasons why I do but doesn’t like it.
“Fuck’s sake, Ry! Why the hell are you fighting guys? You could get seriously hurt.”
I can’t look him in the eyes. I know he’s begging me to stop. It's both an obsession and addiction to feel my flesh split when someone lands a punch, but the best thing of all is the numbness that comes with it. I feel like I belong, and I’m in control.
“If you need money, I’ll give you it. Please, I’m begging. Don’t fight anymore.”
“Tom, I love you like a brother. Thank you for the offer but you know it's not about money for me. It never has been.”
“You still blame yourself for what happened, Reika! You were a child. How could you have stopped it?” He’s pissed. All I ever asked of him and Mel was to never talk about what happened when I was younger.
“Don’t!” I warn.
“Fuck you, Ry. You’re not a robot. You can feel pain, heartache, loss. It’s not healthy to close yourself off from the world and keep yourself on a destructive path. I can’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself.”
He’s really starting to piss me off. I don’t need a lecture. I'm happy with how my life is. Why can’t people just leave me be?
“My Past is my past, and it will stay that way. You wanted to talk, here I am. If you’re going to drag this other shit up, I’m out!” Standing up I turn to the office door to get out of here before we both say things that we regret. My fingers barely touch the handle when I hear, “Running again? I thought the Great REAPER never ran from anything! You’re still that scared little girl who can’t face her problems!” My anger is building, chest heaving. I try to reign it in. Why won’t he shut up? He sees what I am capable of when I lose my shit. 10….9….8…...7……6 “You’re lost, Reika. You never gave yourself closure!!!!!!!”
White hot rage flashes through my head. I spin fast and stalk across his office toward him. Looking at me with wide eyes he knows that he went too far. Throwing my arm forward I grab around his throat and sweep my leg to knock his legs out. I have murder clearly written across my face. I’m unhinged.
“R……R……..Ry, I’m sorry!”
I scoff, “Sorry! You’re fucking sorry!!!”
“Closure,” I seethe. “How the fuck would I get closure from seeing my family brutally murdered!!!” The edges of my vision begin dimming. I know that I am being dragged back to that horrific day, but there is nothing I can do to stop it. I fight to pull air into my lungs as Tom’s office fades. Slowly it’s replaced with the walls of the past.
I’m sitting on my bedroom floor reading; mommy will be in soon to tuck me into bed. The door flies open. “Mommy, what’s the matter?”
“Baby, I need you to come with me and stay as quiet as a mouse. Can you do that for me?”
Dragging me across the hallway toward the dining room, my mum spins to face me. “What do you need me to do?”
“Stay as quiet as a mouse!”
“Mommy, you’re scaring me.” She’s taken the hatch off the air vent and motions for me to get in. A crash comes from near the front of the house.
“Climb in, baby. Remember to stay quiet, Reika. Promise me. No matter what you hear, do not come out.” I am just about to say I promise when she clicks the hatch back into place and runs out of the room. Silent tears trace their way down my cheeks. I can’t make a sound, I promised mommy I wouldn’t. I must be as quiet as a mouse. Screaming starts. I hear my mommy asking for someone to leave them alone. A man comes into the room I am hiding in. I stay super still. I don’t want him to find me. Another man walks in, dragging my daddy with him. He has got blood all over his face and can’t stand. Another man comes in and takes a chair from the table and puts it in the middle of the room. The man holding my daddy sits him in it and starts putting something around his arms.
“No, no. Please leave them alone. They have nothing to do with this. It's me you want.” I’m shaking. I put my hand over my mouth to stop my breathing from being heard. I hear screaming getting closer to the dining room. Another man comes in, dragging my mommy by her hair.
“I found her trying to call for help.” Daddy starts moving around to get to Mommy. One of the men hit him on the back of his head. Someone whispers something in my daddy’s ear and he starts thrashing more and more. I’m trying so hard to stay quiet but I’m so scared. The man holding mommy throws her to the floor. She starts to crawl away; the man grabs her leg and pulls her back. He starts pulling at her clothes. The man climbs on top of her and I hear something clinking, my eyes are blurry, but I can see what is happening. Mommy is screaming, the man is making strange noises. I remember I found Mommy and Daddy once and they made strange noises. Mommy told me it was ok. Her and Daddy were playing a game. The noises are getting louder and Daddy is screaming. She is so quiet, she’s as quiet as a mouse but not moving. Another man comes, I cover my ears. I don’t know how long I’ve been in the vent but my body hurts. The men are laughing. The man stands up and pulls her up into his arms and puts something shiny to her neck. Daddy screams and the man holding Mommy laughs.
Blood, all I can see is blood covering my mommy’s face and clothes. The man lets her go and she falls. Daddy screams and tries to get to her. She hits the floor and doesn’t move. There is blood all over her. One of the men laughs and pulls something out of his pants and points it at Daddy. There's a loud bang and Daddy doesn’t move. The men all laugh and go somewhere. I stay where I am. What if the men come back? I made a promise. I look out of the vent as much as I can and see Mommy’s eyes. She's looking at me but the brightness that used to be there is gone.
I don’t know how long I stay in the vent; my chest and legs hurt. I open the vent, then crawl out.
“Mommy, I’m sorry. I stayed quiet, but I hurt in there. Are you okay?” Nothing. “Mommy!” I touch her cheek and she’s ice cold. I can’t hear her breathe and she doesn’t move. “Mommy, Mommy wake up please, the bad men have gone! Mommy please, Mommy please, wake up...Mommy?” Nothing. She doesn’t wake up. I lie down and hug her. I know something is wrong. “Mommy. Mommy, please don’t leave me.” I hug her until my body is so cold, that’s when someone grabs me and starts carrying me away. “Noooooo!!!! Mommy, I can’t leave Mommy, nooooooo!”
Endless darkness. I can still hear the screams of the little girl, begging to stay with her parents. I hate when a flashback comes on as quickly as tha
t one just did. My breathing techniques normally work. I've not had an episode like that in years. The fog is slowly lifting, my senses are slowly coming back. I can hear movement somewhere in the room, but it sounds muffled.
The brightness from the room is clearing the fog behind my eyes. “Ry… Reika, can you hear me?” Tom, he must be in the room with me. The darkness lifts and everything comes rushing back like a movie on rewind. Adjusting my eyes so I can see in the room after being in my memories, I realize Tom is beside me gently trying to shake me out of it. I feel ice cold, like there isn’t any warmth in my body at all. I’m so heavy, I slowly move to my knees and get my feet underneath me to stand. Closing my eyes to make sure everything stays where it's meant to be, I open them and look into a set of tortured blue eyes that are begging me to forgive him for what he said.
“Are you ok? Do you want some water or food?”
My stomach rolls at the idea of trying to eat or drink anything now. I look around wondering how long I have been lost to the memories this time. “How long was I under?” I ask quietly, still trying to get my brain to function properly.
“About twenty minutes. Ry, will you sit before you fall down?”
Years of work to build me into the person I am just shattered like they weren’t even there at all. I’ve been in control of my life since the day I started taking self-defence classes and learning everything I could to keep me in control of my world. The little girl from my memories is fading into nothing. That little girl who had dreams about sunshine and rainbows. About growing up, finding love and marriage, happiness, a perfect life, learned a hard lesson. It's not always sunshine and rainbows. I made a promise. I would never be that broken again. I’ve built myself up over the years to be stronger, better, more deadly than anything I’ve ever faced. To be in control and know how my life will work. To be prepared for the unexpected.
Shaking off the cold feeling and putting my emotions back into the box they have long been hidden in, I start to feel more like myself.
“Ry?”