by Melissa Jane
In any other situation, it would have been called a romantic getaway. But in reality, Romeo remained with me for protection while Sol, Charles and Laura went on the hunt for Dominic, and the last we’d heard, his credit card had been used in a town three hours away. For now, we were safe.
Water lapped against the boat and I smiled. My heart had never been so happy, and I wanted to stay this way for the rest of our lives. For however long that was.
I nestled against him, feeling his beating heart on my cheek. “I love you, Romeo.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve always loved you, Lucy.”
I played with a loose thread on his shorts. Shorts that revealed his finely sculpted, bronzed legs. “When all this is over, what will happen with us?”
“I’m going to marry you,” he answered with ease.
I sat up so I could see his face. “You wanna marry me?”
Romeo laughed lightly. “Lucy, I’ve wanted to marry you since seventh grade.”
I burst out laughing because I caught a glimpse of the babyface boy who’d held my heart so many years ago. And now, he was a strikingly handsome man, but still owned my heart.
I smiled sweetly. “Can we get a dog?”
Romeo leaned forward and kissed me tenderly and I fell head over heels all over again. “Lucy, I’ll buy you a whole damn animal shelter.”
~~~
I watched Romeo at work in the kitchen while he prepared dinner. Or more specifically, I watched the veins in his arms move every time he cut through a vegetable. I was mesmerized by it, turned on even.
Night-time had fallen, and soft Spanish music played in the background. “This place is so beautiful. I don’t wanna leave.”
Romeo glanced up and smiled warmly. “You don’t have to.” He watched me a little longer, his thoughts traveling somewhere. “Mom is going to flip when she sees you. I don’t think she’ll believe, even with you standing in front of her.”
I returned the smile, my heart swelling. “I wouldn’t blame her.”
A cool breeze blew in from the lake, moving the sheer curtains like dancing ghosts. I shivered and Romeo noticed. “I have a jacket in the wardrobe upstairs, babe. Grab it before you catch a cold. I’m thinking dinner under the stars tonight.”
“Like old times?”
He smiled. “Just like old times.”
Sliding off my chair, I rounded the counter and slipped my hands around Romeo’s torso, feeling his rippling muscles under my touch. It made me weak at the knees every single time. When my hands slipped down to the bulge in his pants, he chuckled.
“You’re insatiable, woman.”
“I can’t help it. It’s what you do to me,” I said, gently smacking his hard ass before heading up the stairs. I was still smiling, finally loving life when I reached the bedroom. Switching on the lamp, I searched the closet for Romeo’s jacket. When I found it, I slipped in on, smelling his familiar delicious scent. It was comforting and while he didn’t know it yet, the jacket was now mine even if it were too big. Switching off the lamp, my eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness.
I froze, a dark, ominous figure standing only a few yards away down the hall where I’d been only moments earlier. I blinked hard but it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. It was real and it was still there, watching and waiting. I saw the glisten of metal before I heard the sound. The terrifying sound of a knife carving its way slowly up the wall.
I started shaking uncontrollably, my heart thudding, willing myself to move. I couldn’t. It was like the floor came to life, circling my legs and holding me in place. He stepped closer, slow and predator-like until his malevolent face took form. I went to scream but he stopped me, raising a Glock to his lips. “Shh,” he warned, hushing me.
He stepped closer again, forcing me into the bedroom. Now both inside, he switched on the lamp and quietly closed the door.
Except for a few scratches across his cheek and forehead, Dominic hadn’t changed.
“You don’t look pleased to see me, little Lucy,” he taunted, elated he’d found me to wreak his terror once more. “What’s wrong? You’re suddenly not looking so well.” Dominic laughed, reaching out to caress my face. When I flinched away, he seemed amused by my fear. “You’re always so vulnerable to me, so… alluringly vulnerable.”
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?”
“Us,” he repeated the word in disdain. “Yes, there is the slight issue of ‘us.’”
I felt suddenly faint, unable to get my panic under control. Dominic tilted his head to the side and watched me curiously. “You’re in love.”
“You leave him out of this. Your issue is with me, not Romeo.”
“Wrong, Lucy. He’s touched what’s mine. He’s taken what belonged to me. So yeah, my issue is very much with him as it is with you for becoming the whore that stands fucking half-naked in front of me now.” Dominic paused, nostrils flaring, torn whether he should kill me now or make me suffer first. “Get on the bed,” he finally instructed, gesturing with the hunting knife.
“No,” I replied, defiant. “I’m not your prisoner anymore, Dominic. You have no control over me.”
“You can keep telling yourself that, little Lucy,” he taunted, stepping forward, causing me to back against the wall. Using the blade’s tip, Dominic traced a slow line over my face, it’s sharpness just waiting, begging to draw blood. “But looks like I still do control you.” He slowly pulled the oversized jacket open and looked at how my breast thudded from my pounding heart. “I’m the reason for this.” Dominic moved to within an inch of me, smiling at my shaky breath. “And, I’m the reason for that, too.”
His lips fell on mine, gently at first and becoming rough, forcing me to reciprocate. I pulled away, desperate to rid his taste off me. The knife’s blade rested against my throat, his warning loud and clear.
“Kiss me,” Dominic said, eyes hooded. “Or I’ll slit your throat and watch you bleed out.”
I had no choice and he knew it. Blinking a fresh wave of tears, I gave in to his demand. When he kissed me again, I accepted, allowing his tongue to meet mine, all the while the knife remained a threatening reminder he could take my life at any second. He kissed with a ferocity I hadn’t missed. Domineering and controlling. When he pulled away, Dominic was no longer masked with lust. There was a bitterness about him. An anger he wanted to unleash.
“Get on the bed,” he ordered, coldly. Reluctant, I followed his instruction, sitting on the edge of the mattress. He stood before me and I stared at his belt buckle, too frightened to see what was in his eyes. “Lie back,” he said, and I did. Using his knee, Dominic kicked my legs open. Hooking his Glock under the shirt’s hem, he lifted it up my belly, exposing me to his prying eyes. He stared, jaw tense, the vein in his neck pulsating.
“You’re a used toy, Lucy,” Dominic finally said, cold and detached. “You’ve lost your value.”
He wore a look I’d never seen before and it was truly terrifying, a look which told me he wouldn’t be leaving until he got his end. I glanced at the door, hoping Romeo was safe, wishing I’d said I loved him once more before I’d walked up those stairs.
We became lost in each other over the last few days, we failed to recognize that danger still existed.
“Don’t you call out, Lucy,” he warned, positioning the Glock between my legs, the cold tip making me flinch. “There’s going to be no savior tonight. It’s just you and me.”
I cried silently, feeling a deep pain in my heart, praying Romeo didn’t come looking for me.
Dominic expertly unhooked his belt and lowered the zipper of his jeans all while keeping me in check with his Glock.
“You had a life with me, Lucy. Now you’ve let another man inside you, fucking that cunt of yours. I saved you from becoming a whore like the others.”
There were many thoughts going through his delusional mind, but none more so than making me hurt.
Dominic crawled between my legs, opening them further. Thro
wing the knife to the end of the bed, he pulled my hair until I whimpered for him to stop.
“Tell me what he did to you,” he ordered, his hot breath on my face as I tried to avoid his kiss. “Tell me how it felt finally having him inside you. You think I didn’t see it even when we were kids? You think I didn’t how much you loved him and how much you detested me?” He pulled my hair once more, kissing away my pleas. “Why is that, Lucy,” he mocked, pressing his cock at my opening. “Why is it you never felt like giving into me?”
“Because I hate you,” I seethed. “I’ve always hated you.”
“Not always, Lucy. That’s a lie,” he replied, bitterly. “When I saved you from the streets, you didn’t hate me then. I kept you pure and whole.” Dominic’s hand wrapped around my throat, fingers squeezing enough as a warning. “And now you’re a filthy—”
“Lucy.”
I startled hearing his voice and then I started to panic. Romeo was looking for me.
I fought Dominic, scratching and clawing as I struggled to get away. “Don’t come in,” I screamed in both terror and desperation. “Romeo. Don’t open the—” Dominic’s hand wrapped around my mouth muffling my pleas.
He smiled wickedly. “It’s game time.”
I squealed but it was too soft to be heard. Thrashing my legs, I couldn’t overthrow him.
“Lucy?” Romeo called again, this time too close.
The door handle twisted slowly, and it was like someone taking to my heart with a hammer, every millimeter it turned was another blow.
Everything from then on, happened within a breath.
The door swung open and the smile on my beautiful Romeo’s face dropped when he saw Dominic on top of me, his nostrils flaring in rage before he turned to me.
A raw apology passing between us, a deep sorrow that we were both caught so unawares.
A heartache knowing we’d lost.
There was no time to escape. No time to say I love you.
Dominic smiled gleefully. “Congratulations, Lucy. You’ve just killed your boyfriend.”
Dominic raised his Glock, arm perfectly straight, and pulled the trigger.
There was no saving Romeo this time.
There was no bulletproof vest that would allow him to see another day. And as Dominic fired, three bullets piercing through Romeo’s bare chest, I screamed. It tore through me like a giant shard of glass, deep and guttural, my face saturated with tears of bitter hate and lost love.
Romeo hit the wall, momentarily stunned, all strength he possessed, wiped clean out of him.
With Dominic focused on his kill, I pulled myself free, crawling desperately to Romeo who was sinking to the floor leaving a blood trail on the wall.
I reached out but couldn’t touch him. I called his name but got no response.
“No, no, no, no, no!” I turned to Dominic whose smile reminded me of a game hunter who’d claimed his prize. “What have you done?” I barely managed through cries so raw. “What have you done?” I fell to the floor by Romeo’s side, heaving with sobs. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I’m so sorry.”
He blinked and I kissed his mouth gently, knowing it would be the last time. Trembling uncontrollably, I placed my hands over the bullet wounds, blood seeping between my fingers. “Don’t die, Romeo. Please don’t die,” I begged, choking for air.
I turned to the bed and reached for the knife before Dominic could react. Waving it in front, I screamed when he started toward me. “Stay away from us. You stay away!” Collapsing with my back against the wall next to Romeo, watching him take his last staggered breaths, I held his hand wishing we could go back to the Neverland treehouse where we could stare at the stars above all night.
Dominic’s smile was now empty. “You see, little Lucy. I do control everything.”
I shook my head, seething with anger and mourning for Romeo, knowing he wouldn’t survive his injuries. “No, you don’t.” Still holding Romeo’s hand, I turned my wrist face up and placed the knife’s blade along my veins.
Living under Dominic’s violence had taught me not to fear death. I’d often willed it. But the only thing it gave me was the strength to keep going and now he was dying next to me. I lived eight years without Romeo, hoping one day he’d find me. But now, life wasn’t worth living if he was gone. “Not this time, you don’t,” I said defiantly, pressing down hard and slicing through thin skin until it formed a beautiful line of blood. It cascaded out, coating our hands as a reminder we were in this together. I turned to Dominic. “You don’t have that power over me anymore.”
Never one to lose, Dominic sneered before aligning the gun to my chest. “I will always have power over you, Lucy. Even in choosing how you die.”
“You sit there all high and mighty, taking away everything I’ve ever loved, but you mean nothing to me, Dominic. You never have. And you never will.”
Snarling at the words he knew to be true, yet loathed, Dominic, with a strange bittersweet hurt in his eyes, pulled the trigger.
I jolted violently against the wall, a searing heat spreading through my chest. My vision blurred as Dominic lowered his gun, a single tear running down his cheek.
In a strange way, the man who destroyed my life, did so because he loved me. His obsession ruled his mind and controlled his actions to the point he became a madman. So consumed in hurting me just to get any form of response he so desperately sought from me. And now, his obsession had come to an end, finally giving both him and me some peace.
Rolling my head, I turned to see Romeo’s handsome face staring at me. I sobbed, wishing we’d met in some other place at some other time, but not wanting to lose the memories I held so dear.
“I love you,” I said, fighting for air.
He smiled, small and knowing, a smile loaded with a lifetime of love before his eyes turned blank and the smile faded from his beautiful lips.
As my world darkened around me, I rested my head on his shoulder and heaved my last goodbye. “I’ll see you in Neverland, my love.”
Epilogue
NOW
Once upon a time, a monster was born. Born with only one purpose, one obsession, one motive. To love Lucy Sommers. And if she didn’t love him back, he’d steal her miserable soul from the world which hated her.
As he rolled the exquisite diamond earrings in his hand, the glimmer and beauty reminded him of how intoxicating she was on the stage. The way she moved for him, a sensual creature who’d never known a man. Pure. Innocent. His.
Until she wasn’t. Until he was forced to put a bullet through her pale skin, watching her breasts coat in blood.
He missed the way Lucy tasted, her pussy and her tears. The sweet scent of her long hair and perfume. He missed her fear, the screams and pleas for mercy. The way she clawed and fought hoping to live just one more day. The satisfaction when she fell to her knees, raw and defeated. He missed it all. His beautiful diamond.
But Lucy Sommers wasn’t the only poor soul he wreaked hell upon. No, there was one broken and vengeful soul he unwittingly let get away. And now he stood, blocking the door, yet another sawed-off shotgun in his capable hillbilly hands.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” Jonny asked, a toothpick between his snarling lips.
The monster couldn’t help but laugh, realizing the error he’d made, realizing there would be no more chapters in his sadistic life. The knife, hooked to the man’s belt, dripping with blood, told him he was now all alone.
“What do you want?” the monster asked, callous and cold.
Jonny’s eyes narrowed, his finger itching on the trigger.
“To let Nicole, Romeo and Lucy rest in peace knowing you’re dead.”
The monster scoffed. “You don’t know anything.”
Smiling, a delighted Jonny, pulled a letter from his plaid pocket and read it aloud.
Dear Jonny,
If you receive this letter and you don’t hear from me again, know this…”
The monster listened to Lucy’s
cruel words. The hate, the spite, as she blamed him for everything. He closed his fists tightly around the diamond earrings until they bit into his flesh, thankful after all that he’d put the bullet through her pale skin.
“What can I say?” the monster smirked. “I enjoyed every second of it.”
Jonny too smiled, but his was for a very different reason. “I thought you’d say that.”
The sound of the shotgun would be heard throughout the quiet neighborhood, not one soul realizing the monster had been successfully hunted. Thrown backward off the desk he’d sat perched upon, he watched as the diamond earrings fell like snow, slowly, glimmering under the light above, ripped apart from him the same way Lucy had been. He hit the floor first, one earring coming to rest before his eyes, slowly followed by the other.
On a fateful night, a ghost from the past revealed himself, but this time, the ghost wasn’t a monster. Just a wronged man seeking justice for those so cruelly taken from the world.
Jonny Baker had sought his revenge.
And as Dominic Salvatore bled out and gasped for air caused from a bullet to the lung, he was finally given the slow death that was promised.
As the door closed behind Jonny, leaving the monster all alone, there was one thing that played on his mind while he took his last, shaky breaths.
Lucy Sommers. His greatest love. His beautiful diamond.
The broken girl he swore he’d find again.
THE END
Read on for a taste of MONSTERS which is available now!