Monster's Claim

by Winter Sloane

  “How long has he been hurting you?”

  Heated anger she understood. She had learned to handle that on nights Skip came home in a foul mood. The quiet rage in Matthias’s voice, all ice, she didn’t know what to do about. Truthfully, it scared her. A kind of predatory stillness came over him. So intense.

  She opened the water bottle and took one sip, then several, not realizing how parched her throat was. When she set it down, Matthias still hadn’t said a word. She couldn’t believe they were having a conversation about her past relationship, or maybe he’d already started his version of an interrogation.

  It didn’t matter. Lara needed to get this off her chest anyway.

  “I was stupid, okay? Skip seemed charming at first, kept telling me I should feel lucky because he settled for someone like me.” Saying the words out loud made her want to punch herself for letting a manipulative guy like Skip string her around for the past few months.

  “You’re a smart woman. You know that’s not true.”

  She reached for one energy bar, tore it open, and took a bite. Feeling ravenous, she finished it in a couple of bites. “He convinced me I wasn’t good enough. Skip had this way about him. He got under my skin. When you’re alone in a city like this, it gets lonely sometimes, and I—”

  “You settled.”

  Guilt hammered home. Matthias was right. Her mother didn’t raise her to be weak. Growing up, she’d admired her tough mama, who single-handedly raised her while juggling two jobs. She made one mistake with Skip and swore she’d never do it again.

  Being chained in a killer’s, a professional torturer’s, private dungeon meant her future wasn’t going anywhere. In a blink of an eye, Matthias could snuff her life out if he wanted. She balled the wrapper and set it down. The food and drink didn’t seem to be tampered with, and she needed all her strength to be able to mount some kind of escape plan.

  It wasn’t game over for her yet, not when Matthias seemed to be sympathetic with her. For the moment, at least.

  “I’ll tell you everything. All I know about Skip, from the day we first met,” she said.

  “I’ll know right away if you lie.”

  She nodded, trying to control her breathing. “I’m smart enough to know you’ve done this plenty of times.”

  “Go on.”

  Lara told him, although there was nothing much to say. Matthias didn’t say much, although he occasionally stopped her once or twice to ask a question. Some of his questions didn’t have anything to do with Skip, and threw her off-guard.

  That’s the usual time you get off from work? You don’t usually cook? Any pets?

  “We broke up two weeks ago,” she finally said. “My phone’s in my purse, if you want to see any messages we’ve exchanged. I haven’t deleted anything. I planned to, erase all traces of him after my haircut, but, you know. You took me.”

  Matthias disappeared from her line of sight and returned later, with her cell phone in hand.

  “Code?” he asked.

  She gave it to him. God. It was nerve-wracking. While they were talking, Lara forgot where she was. Why had it been so easy talking to him about Skip? Another waitress at the diner once asked her about the bruises she didn’t conceal properly with make-up. Lara had locked up completely and told her to mind her own business.

  With Matthias, he fooled her into thinking he was a friend she’d known forever.

  Sweat coated the back of her shirt. No wonder he didn’t need to use any of the tools on the wall. He was that good, that dangerous. She rubbed her sweat-slicked palms as he peered into her phone. Moments later, he tucked it inside his pocket.

  Lara breathed in and out, summoning the courage to ask him, “What’s going to happen to me now?”

  “It depends. If you continue being a good girl, I’ll let you move around more freely. If you’re bad, well. You don’t want to know.”

  She truly didn’t. Lara leveled her gaze with his. “I’ll be good.”

  Matthias went on one knee and to her shock, pulled out a little key from his jeans’ pocket. Silver flashed, followed by a click. A moment later, the metal on her ankle loosened. He really did it, she thought, feeling numb. Every muscle in her body became paralyzed. Something vibrated, and Matthias pulled out a cellphone from the back pocket of his pants. Not hers, but his.

  The moment he turned his back on her, function returned to Lara’s body. Using the wall for balance, she forced herself to stand up.

  Run!

  The single word blazed in her head. She rose on wobbly legs. His broad back stared back at her. The single bulb in the basement illuminated the stairs to the left. Lara didn’t hesitate. She bolted past him, expecting his big hand to land on her shoulder any second.

  Nothing. Panting, she sprinted past that hook, finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Bright light streamed from the partially opened door upstairs. Freedom. Her stomach clenched.

  Why wasn’t he chasing after her? He was bigger, no doubt ten times more physically fit. Hell, Matthias looked like he could crush a normal man on the street without effort.

  Don’t think, she told herself. Just go. Escape from this hell.

  Lara started up the stairs, but something nagged at the back of her mind. She knew she shouldn’t, but she looked over her shoulder, at Matthias.

  He held his cellphone, black gaze pinned on her fleeing figure, cruel mouth a thin line. She expected to see rage in those usually empty black eyes but not this time. Bottomless wounds, so deep she could drown in them. Pain flashed through his features. Realization dawned on her as she stared at those scars.

  He’s been hurt before, too.

  Lara faltered, her foot missing a step. She let out a cry, and suddenly, she was falling backwards, arms flailing. Agony shot up her leg, her ankle.

  Oh God. She was going to die, falling, trying to reach for the light.

  “I got you.”

  Did she imagine him saying those words?

  Chapter Six

  “A couple of days in bed and she’ll be right as rain. Just a bruised bone,” Dr. Kelly said.

  Matthias had panicked when Lara blacked out in his arms, so he called the only person he trusted. It turned out Ryker was on a date with his wife. Sky would keep this matter quiet, so he wasn’t worried.

  The doc was someone the Familia used often, someone Ryker trusted. Ryker assured him that Dr. Kelly would keep his mouth shut about this incident, even from Marco. That was all Matthias needed to know.

  Matthias ignored the pointed look Ryker flashed his direction. He wasn’t ready to give Ryker an answer. As soon as Ryker escorted the doctor out, he reached for Lara’s hand, curling his fingers around it. So soft and warm, clean of scars and any other imperfections. When she’d told him about Skip’s abuse, he kept envisioning a pattern of ugly bruises on that creamy skin. The thought drove him up the wall.

  The moment Matthias heard Lara’s confession, Skip just made himself a walking dead man. He’d take extra care, keeping the poor fucker alive, just to wring extra screams from his body. Matthias wouldn’t forget the fear that consumed his entire body when Lara fell. If he hadn’t been there, Lara wouldn’t be lying on his bed; he’d just have a corpse to bury.

  Matthias knew she’d bolt after he unchained her, had expected it. Let her. If he really wanted to keep her, she wouldn’t even reach the stairs, but hearing the reason why she cut her hair and her relationship with Skip, he didn’t want to add another scar on her already broken heart.

  This woman was dangerous in so many ways. Weak didn’t exist in his dictionary. Until her. Matthias never felt a shred of guilt or remorse, didn’t ask questions each time the Familia needed someone to talk. Minutes was all he needed to make them sing.

  Lara hadn’t lied to him once. Matthias had been doing this long enough to develop certain instincts to pick out the liars. She volunteered to tell him all she knew about Skip, and she knew absolutely nothing.

  Matthias let her go, only to realize there woul
d be no escape for her. She’d already seen him. The Familia would never let her walk out of this. Matthias had a solution for that. He studied Lara’s sleeping figure. After she fell, he’d stripped her out of her clothes, save her underwear. He liked seeing his shirt on her and would probably not wash it afterwards for a few days so her scent lingered.

  A knock on the door made him snarl, but it was only Sky, with a tray of food and water. He relaxed, letting go of Lara’s hand to take the tray from her. She batted his hand away and set the tray on the table next to his bed.

  “I’m pregnant, not lame,” she complained. That got a smile out of him.

  “How is she?” Sky asked.

  “Bruised bone, nothing serious.”

  “We have different definitions of nothing serious. Matthias, what the fuck?” Ryker demanded by the door.

  Before he could say something he probably would regret, Sky interrupted them. “Out, have this conversation in the living room. This poor girl needs rest.”

  At that tone, they headed outside. It would be good, he realized, if Lara woke up to Sky’s friendly face, not his fucked-up one. They headed to the dining room.

  “Matthias,” Ryker said, sounding impatient. “Marco needs answers soon. He’s had our men scour the entire city for Skip.”

  Matthias pulled out Lara’s phone from his pocket and slid it across the dining table. “She’s a dead lead. Knows nothing, had no clue Skip worked as a bookie for us.”

  Ryker frowned. “I didn’t see any of your handiwork on her.”

  “There wasn't a need to.”

  Tension mounted in the room.

  “Matthias, it's not like you to be sloppy just because she’s a woman.”

  He growled, clenched his fists, and slowly counted to ten in his head. It didn’t help. Matthias still wanted to punch the living daylights out of Ryker. Ryker wouldn’t be an easy opponent either.

  “You’re lucky your wife came with you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be walking out of here with that pretty face,” Matthias finally said with a sneer.

  Ryker glowered at him. The old Ryker he knew would resort to violence first and ask questions later. It looked like being married to Sky had done something remarkable, because Ryker blew out a breath and only loosened his tie.

  “Explain this situation to me then.”

  Matthias didn’t like to drag out Ryker’s past in the spotlight, knowing Ryker was touchy about it, but he had to make his point. “Years ago, you killed River, your own brother, as vengeance for what he and his friends did to Sky. Sky was only a stranger to you then. This situation is no different. The moment I took Lara, I knew.”

  Ryker flared his nostrils then let out a breath. “You’re fucking serious about her? You’ve only had her for a day.”

  “It’s enough.”

  Ryker considered him for a long moment. Seeing as Ryker looked more relaxed now, Matthias grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed Ryker one.

  “What if she runs again?” Ryker finally asked.

  “She won’t.”

  “You’re so sure of that?”

  “She’s moved away from terror, to having doubts. Leave her to me.”

  Ryker gave him a skeptical look, then shook his head. “I’ll get one of our tech guys to look at the messages she exchanged with Skip, see if there’s any valuable information we can use.”

  “If you find him, bring him here.”

  Ryker narrowed his brows. “That sounds fucking personal.”

  “He hurt her. Made the Familia family look bad. Is there anything left to say?”

  Ryker nodded. “Marco would probably put him in your care anyway.”

  “We’ll spend lots of quality time together,” he said, rubbing his hands at the prospect of Skip all hooked to his ceiling, begging for mercy that would never come. Matthias would make sure Skip would pay for all the hurt and distress he caused his woman.

  ****

  Sunlight hit Lara’s face. She groaned, wondering if everything had been a terrible nightmare. That horrible basement with that silver hook and Matthias—Lara conjured all of that up. She dared to open her eyes, only to wake up in an unfamiliar bed. Someone else’s room.

  She wasn’t in her clothes either, but someone’s big and comfortable shirt. A man’s shirt, she realized. Her aching ankle made her suck in a breath.

  Lara remembered falling, the fear that rippled across her entire body because she wasn’t ready to die. She recalled Matthias’s strong arms catching her, pulling her into a fierce embrace. His warm breath against her. Relief filing her entire body before she shut down. I got you.

  She shivered, lifting the sheet over her body to see her right ankle, all bandaged up neatly.

  “It’s not broken, just bruised according to the doctor. He recommended bed rest for a few days,” said a woman’s voice.

  Lara put the sheet down and found the source of the voice. A pretty pregnant blonde sat on the armchair between the bed and window. She set down the book she was reading to smile at Lara. That smile seemed genuine, sympathetic.

  Her tongue worked. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Sky. I’m sort of Matthias’s adoptive sister.”

  She sucked in a breath and slowly sat up. “You’re also part of the Severin Family?”

  “I don’t mean you any harm,” Sky said quickly.

  “Don’t ever want to go back there,” she whispered, clutching the sheets. “Down there.”

  Sky must’ve understood Lara meant the basement. Sky rose from her chair, walked to the bed, and patted her arm.

  “You don’t need to. Ever again.” The steel and vehemence in Sky’s voice took her by surprise.

  Lara looked at the arm that touched her and blinked, seeing the white, uninterrupted lines stark against Sky’s smooth skin. She couldn’t contain her shock. Lara widened her eyes.

  Scars.

  She hadn’t realized she said the words out loud, until Sky said, “We do have that in common. Maybe that’s why Matthias can’t say no to me.”

  “Did—” Lara began, then hesitated, unsure if she wanted to ask that dreadful question. Did someone in the Severin Family inflict on those on her?

  “Squirt, go away. I need to talk to Lara alone,” said a new voice by the door. Matthias.

  Sky scrunched up her face at him. “Don’t call me that. I’m not a kid anymore, Matthias.”

  Somehow, seeing Sky interact with Matthias felt a little surreal, peeling away her initial impression of Matthias as some kind of loner. Lara spotted another man by Matthias’s shoulder, also massive, inked, and he didn’t look all too happy with her.

  “Wife,” the other man called. “We’re leaving.”

  “Wait a moment. Matthias,” Sky said, rising to her feet.

  Watching the tiny pregnant woman waddle up to such a big man like Matthias and poking a threatening finger into his chest, Lara had to admit, was a little amusing.

  Matthias blinked down at her. “What?”

  “Don’t bring her back downstairs. She didn’t like it,” Sky stated. “Hell, no woman would.”

  Matthias huffed. Their gazes met. Lara didn’t know what she felt about him. His actions confused the hell out of her. Why would he unlock her ankle cuff? He could have let her fall, but he caught her. Sky also mentioned a doctor. The bandage on her ankle looked professionally tended to.

  And that kiss they shared. She didn’t know why she couldn’t erase that image from her head, or how easily he made her forget where she was. If he went any further, she wouldn’t stop him, might encourage him even. Dangerous man.

  Nothing made sense. Wouldn’t a hobbled captive be easier to manage? Why would Matthias bring her out of the basement and to this bedroom?

  Lara remembered seeing the hurt in Matthias’s black eyes as she clambered up those stairs. That glimpse of weakness, of vulnerability caused her to fall.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Matthias finally said.

  His answer seemed to satisfy Sky. />
  “Don’t leave,” Lara blurted without thinking.

  Sky paused. “Lara, you might not see it now, but he’s a good man. Do you understand why Matthias can’t let you go yet?”

  “I think so. You want to find Skip,” she said. Lara had been down there, knew their faces. It was childish to think they’d ever let her go.

  “I’ll come visit again. Treat her right,” Sky told Matthias. Her footsteps, along with her husband’s, faded away, leaving her alone with her captor.

  Chapter Seven

  “How are you feeling?” Matthias asked, concerned. Sitting by the bedside might be too intimate, too much for Lara right now, so he chose to stand. She probably had questions for him. Might as well have it all out.

  “I—I don’t know. Why did you unlock me?” she demanded. “Is this some sort of game to you?”

  “No more games between us. Just honesty.”

  Besides, he got all the answers he needed from her. Lara had no valuable information, and had merely happened to possess the bad luck to be Skip’s ex-girlfriend. No one important, Marco would say, but he wasn’t Marco.

  Lara was everything to him. Matthias would defy the Familia for her. They owed him, especially Marco. He’d never asked for anything for himself until now. Lara would be the one payment he’d demand for all his years of faithful service.

  “Then why?” she demanded, crossing her arms.

  They both knew she wasn’t going anywhere, not with that bandaged ankle. Even if she did try to run, he’d easily catch her, but Lara didn’t look like she wanted to leave. She wanted answers? He’d give them to her.

  “I thought I could let you go. Turns out I can’t.”

  “When you say stuff like that, you do know it scares me, right?”

  “No lies, remember?” Matthias walked over to the tray next to her, handing her another water bottle. “Drink first.”

  She grabbed the bottle and took a couple of sips.

  “You hungry?” Matthias asked mildly, lifting the tray and settling in over her lap. “It’s carbonara from Paolo’s.”

  Her stomach rumbled. Lara’s cheeks and neck turned pink. Fucking cute, Matthias thought. Lara stared at the plate for a few seconds, but it seemed hunger won over everything else.