Heretic: The Clans Book Ten

by Knox, Elizabeth

  “You’re itching to ask me that last question of yours. I can read it clearly on your face,” He states, picking up another piece of octopus, he brings it close to my mouth and I open like an obedient little dog.

  I chew the food in my mouth, swallow and muster up the strength to ask him the one question I’m afraid to. Not because of the question, but the answer. “What do I need to do to earn my freedom?”

  Luca places his elbows on the table, inching his face closer to mine. He brings his hand up, grazes his fingertips along my cheek and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Oh, Elena. I thought you’d understand this all by now. Your freedom is your life with me, and all you have to do to be happy is love me.”

  “What if I c-can’t do that?” I stutter out, showing a small element of weakness. Fuck!

  “You’re out of questions, love. But it’s simple. You don’t love me? You die.”

  Fucking Hell. What am I going to do now?

  Chapter Nine

  Luca

  I sit on my wooden chair, glancing down at Elena’s phone, scrolling through what seems to be her entire life. And boy, what a bore it is. Her father definitely kept her on a tight leash, even though I can tell she hated every bit of it. It only makes me wonder if she’s just as mouthy with him as she is with me.

  I pick up my short glass of ţuică and take a hefty sip as I look out the large glass window in my study, which overlooks the clear water of the ocean. The seagulls call in the distance while the waves crashing down onto the beach is a sound I’m used to every day. I live on the Balearic Islands of Spain, a short distance from the Cavalleria Beaches on twenty acres of my own property. All in all, I own one of the most beautiful pieces of land in all of Spain. However, my family has a home in Madrid and another in Barcelona. That is where my family prefers to spend most of their time, on the mainland while I stick to the island. Meanwhile, I can do whatever I choose in my small fortress in the middle of nowhere.

  Out of nowhere a text comes through from someone programmed in Elena’s phone named Ivana. I narrow my eyes and tap on the screen, opening the message. I read the message and it seems normal at first asking for them to meet up soon because they have much to discuss, and then Ivana mentions how they’ll take down the clansmen . . . and there isn’t one doubt in my mind with what I’ve just read. I have no problem pretending to be my doting wife after reading the way she’s communicated with them previously. I keep up the same grammar, punctuation and say we can meet in Paris in a week if that works for them. Within a couple minutes I have a response back from Ivana saying that would work, and they’re picking the location. It’s hyperlinked in the text and after I click on it I see it’s a cafe located a block away from the Eiffel Tower.

  I’m betting the only reason she chose a location in such a public location is incase either of them decide to fuck the other one over. Plus, it’s in a heavily trafficked location and would make it easy for either of them to get lost in the crowd. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot I would’ve done the same thing.

  I put Elena’s phone safely back in the drawer of my desk and lock it. The only way it can be unlocked is if I scan my hand over it. They even have a thermal security detection so if somehow my hand was below a specific temperature, it wouldn’t open. People will cut off your hand just to get to your goods. I’d love to see a fucker try to open my shit with an ice cold hand. Bet they never think security companies put heat sensors in their software these days. I rise and head down the two sets of stairs until I’m approaching Elena’s room. It’s not really a room, but I don’t like the word cage.

  “We’re going to be meeting your friend Ivana in Paris,” I state, sliding my hands into the pockets of my trousers. I look over to her and watch her eyes go wide, seeing her nervousness swarm over her. Shit, she doesn’t even have a reason to be nervous yet.

  “She wants to discuss taking the clansmen out with you. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” I know everything I need to know, but Elena isn’t aware of that.

  “I . . .” Elena starts to speak but I put up my hand to silence her.

  “You can be quiet now, my dear. You’re going to become a double agent and stop these bitches in their tracks, is that clear? When you meet Ivana and possibly her sister at the cafe, you’re going to gather as much information as possible. I mean everything, whether it’s big or small you’re going to need to remember it and tell me. But you have to play along with these women so they believe you’re going to help them in whatever psychotic plan they’re trying to make a reality.

  “Who are you to say what I’m going to do?” Elena barks back at me, raising her eyebrows, trying to assert some sort of dominance. Oh, how she doesn’t realize what I’m fully capable of. I’m about to show her, though.

  I dig the key to her cage out of my pocket, insert it into the keyhole and twist and then place my hand on the scanner. Once the door clicks open I charge up to this defiant beast of a woman, wrap my hand around her throat and force her shoulder blades roughly into the iron bars. Glaring at her, I get the first good look at her hazel eyes. The way they start off as a muted green and then dive straight into a deep amber around her irises. So beautiful, but her deceitful ways ruin it a bit for me. “I’m going to speak, and you’re going to shut your fucking mouth until I let you know you can say anything,”

  Elena opens her mouth, starting to defy me yet again so I take my free hand and shove it over her mouth so her luscious lips are forced shut. She doesn’t know this yet, but I’m a man capable of anything. I’m still being nice to her in a way, not letting her see the darkest of my true colors. “Do you know what their fucking father did to us? I bet you don’t. I bet you don’t have the slightest idea of the betrayal he wanted all the other clan leaders to back him up on. You’re younger than Mariana and considering your father is a priest, I’m going to say you haven’t been privy to what happened to the queen. Allow me to fill you in. Her parents were slaughtered like pigs and she was kidnapped. During this time everyone searched far and wide for her, the only remaining heir to the Vasile line, and the Bădescu’s father . . . he wanted everyone else to stop looking for Mariana and vote for him to be the king of the Clans. He wanted all the power. With one action the man showed us who he truly was and we voted to exile him as one of the main families, and inducted another family with loyalty to the Vasile bloodline.”

  I remove my hand from Elena’s mouth and take a step back, seeing my hands visibly shaking from the rage coursing through my veins. “Who gives a fuck about Mariana? She’s just a woman who was born into everything glamorous in this world. Surely, something would’ve been taken from her.”

  I don’t know how to process Elena’s words . . . not at first, not until the audacity of what she’s said hits me. I look at her in the only dress I’ve given her, the one thing she chooses to wear to offer some semblance of comfort and place my hands at the top of her chest, ripping the material with as much force as I can. I tear at the cloth in the most irate, outraged way. Although, the woman shouldn’t have provoked me like this.

  I’m not satisfied until I see Elena’s eyes go wide and her hands instinctively trying to cover her naked flesh. Her breasts are bountiful, round and her areolas are a soft rosy color. I want nothing more than to suck them in my mouth while I plummet my cock deep into her core— but she doesn’t deserve that sort of pleasure. The treatment she’s warranted is to feel violated, exposed and scared just like Mariana did when she was with Jonas. I bring my lips a mere millimeter away from her ear and whisper my words to her. “I know you’re new at this, love . . . but you will learn your place in my house,” I grab her shoulders and shove her down forcefully to her knees, until my crotch is right in her face. She looks to my obviously hardened cock and then peers up through her thick lashes to meet my eyes.

  I won’t shove my cock down her throat— at least, not yet. Tangling my fingers in her hair I grab onto her and force her face against my cock, brushing her t
anned skin against my trousers and close my eyes, envisioning someone else’s face near my dick. Too bad I won’t ever have her. Stepping back, I release Elena’s hair and look down at her, “You see, Elena, you will always be below me. Until you understand that I don’t have much else to say,” I state, turning and walk out of her cage. I shut the gate, lock it and head up the two flights of stairs until I’m back in my office, safely behind a closed door.

  There’s only one other person on the planet who knows this, but Elena fucked with me in a way she shouldn’t have. She made a dig at Mariana, the woman I’ve loved since I was a child. The woman I’ve yet to find anyone able to fill her shoes in my heart.

  Mariana Vasile . . . married to a man who should’ve been me.

  Freeing my cock from my trousers, I run my hand along the head of my cock, oozing with precum. I don’t suppose it would hurt to ease my pent up frustration . . . better to do it here than bring an ounce of satisfaction to the bitch downstairs who needs to learn her lesson.

  Chapter Ten

  Elena

  I don’t have a clock in my room, or any way to tell what day it is so I counted every time the sun went up and came down. This morning Migual told me the water was turned back on so I could take a shower, and gave me a new outfit. A taupe colored dress with matching pumps and a brand new purse. He informed me this wasn’t a gift from Luca, but what I needed to persuade Ivana and Galina that nothing is going awry. They expect me to look a certain way, so I simply need to play the part.

  Over the last week I wasn’t allowed out of my cage. Migual brought me breakfast, lunch and dinner and I ate in silence, barely seeing a soul. Luca’s made my stay here even more lonesome and saddening. Honestly, it’s made me realize how lucky I was to even get some sort of human interaction.

  I’m currently in the back of some van which looks like it came straight out of a federal agency movie. You know the type, where the government is running surveillance on some bad guys from the back of a van decked out with computers, headphones and monitors running video. I’m sitting beside the man who’s made it easy to avoid me over the course of the last week, listening to him as he barks orders out like he’s my boss.

  All of a sudden a pricking sensation jolts me and I spot a syringe with a needle in Luca’s hand. “What in the world was that?” I ask, knowing very well he just injected something in me.

  “A GPS tracker, so don’t be a stupid little brat and think you can get out of this. If you even try, it won’t be pretty. And I think I’ve shown you how cruel I can be, but don’t cause me to make it worse for you.”

  Normally I’d reply, but I don’t have the energy to keep doing this with him. To say it’s exhausting would be a vast understatement. I thought that by being crass and confrontational with Luca it might demand me some sort of respect— but in all reality the opposite has happened. Instead of respect, I’m just getting . . . ignored.

  Luca grumbles something I can’t make out under his breath and digs his hand into the front pocket of his suit jacket, pulls out my phone and hands it to me. “I’ve taken the liberty of pretending to be you. Get caught up on what I’ve said to them while you’re on your way to the location. Ivana said she’d pick the place just before you met, but to be in this general location. And for the love of God, don’t fuck this up. Too many lives depend on you. Innocent lives.”

  He opens the back door and I walk out onto the street, slinging my purse over my shoulder and trek onward. I was able to get a good glance at the address, seeing it’s just down the block and read part of the way through the messages exchanged between Luca and Ivana before the screen locks. I type in my passcode, but it doesn’t work. Dammit. Luca changed it.

  Placing my cell back in my purse I continue down the cobblestone street and revel in the sun, missing the way the warmth shined down on me. I spot Ivana from a little ways off, in a deep green dress with a cream colored blazer jacket. She has huge, extravagant sunglasses on and there’s a croissant and coffee sitting before her. “Bonjour, my friend.” I say with a smile as I give her a half hug.

  I take the seat beside her, seeing that another coffee type drink is sitting across from her and a waiter wearing a white shirt with black pants and a bowtie comes walking up. “Bonjour, madame. Would you care for a coffee or treat today?” The man asks in a thick French accent. There are many times when you travel across Europe and discover the people working in the cafes, restaurants, or diners, are also tourists. It’s such a rarity to have someone who is from the country you’re visiting wait on you.

  “Yes, a hazelnut latte and croissant would be delightful. Merci.” One of the great things about my father sending me away is the pure fact I speak multiple languages, including French. There wasn’t much fun to be had, so I ensured I was well versed in a variety of languages.

  A quick movement to the left causes me to land my eyes on Galina. Her hair blows back in the slight wind and she comes up to where her sister and I are seated, returning to the empty seat with the coffee. A moment later the waiter comes back and sets my coffee and croissant in front of me. I dig in my purse and hand him some Euro to pay him now, in case I have to split pretty quickly.

  “Paying already?” Galina states. Obviously I’ve caused her red flags to go off.

  I nod, “Yes. I naturally assumed the two of you wouldn’t want to be seen with me for long. We are trying to keep our plan under wraps, are we not?”

  “We are,” Ivana interjects, giving her sister a worrisome glance.

  Galina straightens her spine a bit more, shifts her face closer toward me and starts to speak, “My sister won’t admit it, although she’s concerned. Our men haven’t been able to track you for weeks, Elena. You can imagine how that might make us cautious.”

  “Yes, I imagine it’s been difficult for your men to keep an eye on me.”

  “They don’t even know where you’ve been.” Galina admits, keeping her eyes trained on mine.

  I scoff, “Well, I’ve been playing whatever card I can get. Allow me to fill you in. I had the pleasure of ending Isaac’s life, however I saw an opportunity with his brother, Luca.” I don’t know why I’m lying to these women. I could spit the truth out and see if they’d help rid me of the mess I’ve fallen into, but there’s a small part of me that remembers what Luca said to me about their father . . . and I’m a firm believer that the apple never falls too far from the tree. Plus, it wouldn’t be smart of me to show them my hand.

  “Why in the world would you do anything with the people we’re trying to take down?” Ivana asks, seeming even more nervous than before.

  “Because Luca is dark, Ivana. He’s filled with anger, hates the Clans as much as we do. Was it not smart that I coaxed him along with me, making him develop an infatuation with me?”

  “If what you’re saying is true, he’ll be an invaluable ally in our plan.” Galina speaks up, smiling from ear to ear.

  I plaster on the fakest smile I can muster up, “Exactly, my friends. We’re going to take them down, that I promise you.” Picking up my latte, I take a sip of the hazelnut filled deliciousness and have a couple bites of my croissant.

  Ivana glares at her sister yet again, “How can you be so sure what she says is the truth?” I almost expect them to bicker about this in private, but Ivana has no problem showing me she doesn’t have much faith in me.

  Galina and Ivana stare off for a moment before Galina blows me away, “Because, my dear sister, I trust Elena. If she was double crossing us she wouldn’t have ever met with us today. She would’ve chickened out because that’s the type of weak people who show loyalty to the Clans. Elena here is strong, like us. That being said, do me a favor and don’t disappoint me, Elena.”

  Fuck, even if I wanted to have the sisters help me now . . . it would never happen. If I ever breathe a word of it I’ll be killed by Galina no doubt, because in her eyes I would’ve killed the trust.

  “So, moving onto other issues. Have you heard anything about the charity ga
la next month?” Galina asks me.

  I realize quickly this is the event the sisters want to target. I want to scoff, but I don’t. Of course I’ve heard about the charity gala. It’s a Clan tradition. The heads of every Clan family attend and it would make for the perfect opportunity to strike.

  “Yes, it’s a Clan tradition.”

  “Exactly, one that we tend to shake up for them— quite literally.” Galina chuckles at her morbid joke and I smirk along with her.

  “Perfect. What’s the plan?”

  Galina takes her hand and places it over mine, giving me a squeeze. “I adore your enthusiasm, sweetheart, but everything is learned in time. I’ll have my sister text you another location and time soon. For now, my sister and I have business to attend to here in Paris and,” Galina glances down at the watch on her wrist, “We’re going to be late so we must run along. We’ll catch up soon,”

  Ivana rises first and Galina follows suit, heading down the other side of the cobblestone street. I glance around and look for the surveillance van but don’t see it. My heart pounds heavily in my chest and everything feels as if it’s moving in slow motion around me. It was black, had tinted windows and a French license plate. I know it was parked just down the block, and when I sat down I could spot it from my chair but now I can’t. Fuck!

  I rise, walk in the direction the sisters did and head down an alleyway. For a brief moment I pick up my pace and start to run. I run for a couple of minutes until I stop, place my hands on my knees and take in deep, heavy breaths while my chest heaves. It’s not everyday you have to run in four-and-a-half inch heels.