But according to him, this man is obsessed with blondes, so shouldn’t he use me in his plan so we can end it all? I have firsthand knowledge of how Arson handles all his enemies, so it’s highly doubtful this man will do anything to me.
Although I do find this whole plan stupid and farfetched, but hey… boys and their toys, right?
Besides, I still feel like there is something Arson is not telling me, a secret he doesn't want to uncover, even if he says otherwise.
At least I know now what belosnejka means. It’s Snow White in Russian.
“He will come soon.” He slides his hand to my bicep, squeezing it lightly. Not enough to bring pain but enough to have my full attention. “I mean it, Callista. He is insane, do not do anything rash.” Pleasure spreads through me at the sound of my name on his lips, warmth filling my every bone at him knowing the truth, and I nod, patting his chest.
“I won’t. Besides, I’ll be with you all the time, right?” He relaxes a bit, and we go farther into the room, a man in a suit noticing us from a distance and waving at Arson wildly before murmuring something in the ear of his wife—I assume, since she has her arm wrapped around him.
They start to move into our direction, and Arson says, “That’s the hosts. Smile and act like we want to invest in this thing.”
“I’ll be damned if it’s not Arson Scott,” the man exclaims with a glint in his eyes. “I’m always honored when one of the Scotts attends my parties. Is Lachlan coming?”
I finally have an explanation about him, building an image in my head of the man who means a lot to Arson.
Still though, based on what I know, I don’t much want to be in his company… like ever, or his other “friends.”
One serial killer in my life is enough, thank you very much.
“Hi, Dan. No, he’s not.” The men shake hands. “I heard about the brilliant engineer you hired to reconstruct the old burned building and couldn’t resist.”
Dan puffs his chest, pride lacing his tone when he replies, “Indeed. He designs one of the best fire alarms, and this building will be done for a great cause.”
Since Arson tenses once again beside me, I ask, “What’s the cause?”
Dan's gaze turns to me; he frowns a little before elaborating. “He wants it to be an orphanage for children. For those who were unlucky to end up on the streets.” Then his brow rises. “And you are?”
“My woman, Callista,” Arson replies, wrapping his hand around my waist that leaves no doubt who I belong to. “Congratulations on the plans.”
Dan grins, taking a large sip from his drink. “Caspian and his dream changed my perspective on life.” I blink at this, because the man really means what he says. Maybe Arson is right, and this Caspian is a skillful manipulator who seeks to destroy more lives.
But then the meaning of his words registers in my head and I freeze, too afraid to breathe.
Orphanage?
He wants to blow up the thing with all the kids inside? Is this why Arson is acting crazy and wants to stop him before he causes more damage?
The music stops abruptly, and Dan apologizes. “I have to go. But let’s catch up after the speech? There is a thing I’d love to discuss with you regarding northern buildings.” The man rushes off toward the musicians on the stage, grabbing a champagne glass from a waiter on the way.
Everyone gathers in the middle of the room, voices quiet down as he taps a spoon against the glass to get everyone’s attention. “Thank you everyone for coming.” He leans closer to the microphone and says, “I didn’t expect so many of your asses to show up to invest in my new project. Flattered.” Laughter echoes between the guests as Dan straightens, pointing with his hand to the side. “But the guest star of this evening finally has arrived. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Caspian Kane, a man whose dream I believe in, and soon we will have a fireproof building that will give hundreds of children a new home.” Loud applause erupts around the people as I watch a dark-haired man wearing a black suit go up on the stage, sophistication and luxury radiating from him. He is taller than Dan, and the minute he stands in the middle of the stage, it belongs to him.
“Thank you.” His deep voice bounces off the walls and then he grins at everyone. “Never expected to have so many people gather because of me.” But then our gazes clash, his deep brown eyes connecting with mine, and in them I see a boy I grew up with.
A boy who promised me escape.
A boy who protected me from evil as much as he could.
My breath hitches, and he stills, disbelief flashing across his face while he rests his hand on the microphone stand, gluing his stare on me and never saying anything.
How is it possible? What is he doing here? How could he be the same Caspian who betrayed Arson all those years ago if he was so good to me?
But through all the shock, I manage to whisper, “Caspian.”
And the man… the man I trust most in the world, who came to kill my old friend, hears it.
If I haven’t lived in chaos before… I’m about to.
Arson
I found her.
The original blonde who Caspian tries to find over and over again, who is his main obsession. The woman who he will do everything in his power to possess.
The woman who means so much to him that watching her with someone else is worse than death to the likes of him.
And the connection was probably formed when he lost his mother and transferred all his emotions and protection to the first woman who inspired these emotions in him.
The source of his greatest pain and pleasure all wrapped up in one woman who forever holds his heart, if the information in his file is anything to go by.
My Callista.
And this truth and discovery?
Changes everything.
Callista
I’m still looking at Caspian’s face when he leans forward and announces, his voice strained, “Thank you for coming. I hope together we can bring the children home without them being afraid of fire.” He swallows harshly. “Fire that’s so cruel to us, to mere mortals.” Whistles follow this while Arson drags me to the side, to the spacious hallway leading onto the terrace through an open door. And the minute I’m outside, I breathe in the frigid air, the coldness sinking into every nerve in my body, yet it can’t calm the inferno building inside me.
Caspian is alive.
Caspian is here.
Caspian….
I press my hand against my chest, walking to the balcony railing and resting my other hand on it, swaying a little over it while welcoming the wind slapping my cheeks and blowing my hair in different directions.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, shivering slightly. “Oh my God!”
Arson doesn’t let me wallow in my misery though, as he spins me around to face him. “Who is he to you?” Fury and possessiveness coat his voice while his body vibrates with anger. “Answer me, Callista.”
The shock rocks my entire body, as I don’t know what to say, because all my answers will be meaningless to him.
I’ve just seen my oldest friend, when Arson came here to finish him once and for all.
Clearing my throat, I open my mouth to say something but wince, wrapping my hand around my throat, which hurts a little for some reason.
Or maybe I’m too afraid to utter the words, and my body is helping me out by blocking my speech all together?
Like avoidance ever solved anything.
Arson frowns, and then his thumb lightly caresses my neck before he curses inwardly. “I’ll get you water. Don’t go anywhere, do you understand?”
I nod as he removes the gray suit jacket he’s wearing and throws it over my shoulders, his scent and warmth instantly surrounding me, allowing me to breathe easier. And then he disappears into the hallway while I perch on the railing, hectically thinking how I can explain it all to him.
How I can explain it all to myself.
The cruel boy from his past who trapped him in a nightmare, he…
&nb
sp; He what?
Just protected me as a kid and then told me the truth before running away on his merry way, creating a name for himself, living with not a care in the world?
Anger replaces my confusion and compassion for the boy I once knew, and my hands fist, hating this situation all at once as I suddenly understand I won’t be able to help Arson in his plan.
I gaze at the snow slowly falling on the garden, enveloping it in a white haze while the roof of the balcony protects me from it, yet it doesn’t hide the beauty of it.
The minute the snowflakes touch the ground or a plant though, they melt, transforming into water, and isn’t that the perfect representation of people?
We adapt to the most difficult circumstances when we want to survive and even change our forms all together.
Did the same happen to Caspian when he joined our cult? The cruel boy who lit the whorehouse on fire found peace and wanted something better in life?
Maybe Arson is wrong about him now; maybe he doesn’t want to be a monster, just atone for his past mistake.
A shadow falls over the balcony, blocking the ballroom’s light, and I turn to the side to see Caspian standing in the doorway, his focus on me as he says, “Callista.” He walks in my direction, each of his steps grating on my nerves as if he is the darkest of dooms coming to me, ready to swallow me whole. “It’s really you.” He exhales and extends his hand to me, but I take a step back, although it doesn’t do me any good with the railing digging into my skin.
He doesn’t miss it and stops, hooking his thumbs on his pockets. “I can’t believe you’re here.” His gaze roams over me. “I thought about you every single day.”
His words said with wonder and happiness snap me out of my haze, and a hollow laugh slips past my lips. “Did you? I thought you forgot me, just like that”—I snap my fingers—“considering you never came back.”
“You are no longer in ‘heaven.’”
“No thanks to you.” Something crosses his face at this, but he quickly brings his face back to a neutral expression. “You built yourself quite a life,” I say, deciding to be rational in this and not act like a woman scorned. “You’re famous and rich.”
He ignores this. “I worked hard to get you out. But I didn’t have enough resources to put an end to his reign. I would have after this.” He motions with his head toward the ballroom. “With the money and influence I will have after this deal… it'll be everything.”
“You promised to bring help,” I say, not understanding why his life has anything to do with it. “So he wouldn't get to the kids.”
“And then what?” he asks, threading his fingers in his hair. “Where would the women go? To another so-called shelter that would help them but in truth only force the kids into another hell?” For the first time, I hear anger in his voice. “It wouldn’t have changed anything for them.” My brows furrow at this, because it makes no sense to me. What was his plan, then? Waiting until he had money to what… help them all? “I had to build the building for them.”
My heart stops for a second and then starts to gallop inside my chest, while I clear my throat. “This new project… is for them?” The place Arson thinks he wants to use to kill them all?
“Of course. That’s where everyone would have gone after the rescue. Their suffering would have finally ended.” He looks above my head for a second. “No more danger from the men who could feast on their flesh with not a care in the world. Isn’t that true happiness?” He shifts his attention back to me. “I knew you’d find ways to protect them before he got his hands on them. I even sent one of my guards there to protect you. Adam.” That explains his odd behavior, not that it makes any of it okay. “He hasn’t been in contact with me for almost four months.” Before I can even blink, he wraps his strong arms around me, breathing in my scent while he hugs me so close I can barely breathe. “Here you are. It means you found your way to me.” I push at his chest, but he doesn’t listen to me. Instead, his hold on me tightens while he continues to murmur, “My golden angel who found me in the darkness.” He leans back, cupping my cheek. “You are so beautiful, like the most expensive of paintings.”
Finally freeing myself from him, I push him back, and he stumbles a bit, finding his balance quickly, surprise flashing on his face. “Don’t touch me. Are you insane?” I fist the lapels of Arson’s jacket, enveloping myself deeper in it and finding strength in this. “I lived in hell because of you.” He had all the means to end this madness that subjected me to years and years of sorrow and punishment.
Instead, he chose to wait for what… in his mind, to provide a better home for the women and their kids?
Or because he planned to kill all the kids anyway, so what need was there to hurry?
“We all make sacrifices for the greater good, Callista,” he says with pleading in his voice. “For the better and brighter future of us all. If you think about it, you’ll understand.” He once again extends his hand toward me, his fingers lightly grazing my cheek as he whispers, “We are together now. Someone must have found the way. Isn’t that what counts the most? Your Caspian is back with you.”
For years, I’ve imagined a reunion with him. I always thought he’d come back with his friend and the police, end Pastor, and take us all away where we could live and enjoy freedom.
Freedom—it’s such an interesting word, isn’t it?
We all crave it so much, not understanding that we can’t truly be free anyway; we’re always cuffed to something or someone.
Caspian became my hope, a man who had the power to save me and give me my life back. Unlike everyone else who kept on using and abusing me.
Yet it wasn’t he who became my true hope. It’s the blue-haired man who cares nothing about rules or desires, taking what he wants.
And as such, he finally freed me.
Isn't it ironic that I believed in goodness only to discover true evilness lurked behind it?
“I missed my friend,” I say, and his eyes narrow at this, his fingers stilling over my cheek. “My friend who stood by me through my childhood. And that boy? He would have never let me stay there to face all the demons alone.” I shake my head and slap his hand away, detesting his touch as revulsion rushes through me. “You are not my Caspian.” Either I’ve never noticed it, or freedom has the ability to change people.
One way or the other, Caspian doesn’t get to act like nothing happened. Besides, we can’t do that anyway, right?
Because my man hates his guts, and nothing short of Caspian’s death will be satisfying enough for him.
Oddly enough, the thought no longer unsettles me.
“You are becoming like your mother. Or should I say our mothers?” My head snaps at him as a smirk settles on his face while his brown orbs darken with an emotion he hides well. “Not seeing goodness when it’s in front of you and instead believe in fantasies that do not exist.” He takes out a lighter, flipping it between his fingers so fast it almost becomes a blur. “Illusions rule you, so the outside world ceases to exist.” He flicks the lighter, the fire flashing brightly while familiar fear starts in the pit of my stomach. Despite making love with Arson among the candles, I’m still afraid of it.
Of the pain and destruction it brings.
One minute, Caspian is standing in front of me, and the next, he is thrown to the side, tumbling on the floor while the lighter clacks against the stone, bouncing two times before ending up in the far right corner.
Arson palms my face, examining it from side to side before running his hands over my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
Yes.
After all, my captor is here, and nothing will happen to me now.
I nod, and his gaze darkness before he spins around to face Caspian, who tries to sit up. “Don’t ever touch her again.” By how his body vibrates and his voice lowers, I know he is reining in the desire to bring more harm to his enemy.
Caspian watches him with disbelief and quickly gets up, rubbing his lower lip that has droplets
of blood on it. I half expect him to lunge or swing his fist at Arson, but he doesn’t do it. “And who are you?” he asks, scanning my man from head to toe, and it dawns on me that he doesn’t recognize him.
Of course they were small boys and all, but still… not even seeing the resemblance?
“She is mine.”
Caspian laughs, the information hilarious to him it seems as he settles his gaze on me. “Like mother like daughter, right? Always choosing abusive men over the right ones.”
I gasp at this, and Caspian opens his mouth to add some more insults I’m sure, but Arson doesn’t let him do that.
He punches him right in the face, sending him flying back on the ground, his head hitting the marble, and that snags the attention of Dan passing by, who bellows, “Caspian!” And he runs toward his star. “What’s going on here?”
“You star guest insulted my woman.”
Dan becomes all red, huffing and puffing, trying to help Caspian get up, all while muttering, “This is not how civilized people behave. What if you broke something?”
“Then you can send me the medical bill for it.” Arson laces his fingers with mine, pulling me toward the door. “Choose your projects wisely, Dan. You wouldn’t want to lose my and Lachlan’s support, would you?” Dan’s eyes widen, but we don’t hear what he has to say as my man drags me through the hallways taking us outside, probably so we can get the hell out of here.
Even though Arson stays calm through the entire drive home, I know a storm is brewing in his veins that he is ready to unleash on me at any moment.
And the worst part?
I’m not sure anything or anyone will be able to stop him once he knows the full truth.
Chapter Nineteen
“They say when the student is ready, the master will come.
And it’s true.
When I was ready… he came.”
Arson
Arson, 14 years old
Arson’s Captive Page 32