Spark

by J Marie

  Brian threw the first punch, missing Darren by a mile as he quickly dodged out

  of the way, a wide smile on his face as he moved. He was going to enjoy this fight,

  and I had a feeling it was going to end with blood.

  They bantered back and forth for a while, Darren blocking and countering strikes

  efficiently to the point where I was honestly impressed with his speed and

  technique. Brian was good and held his own for a while, but he was sloppy

  compared to Darren. Brian was already winded and visibly tired while Darren was

  light on his feet and clearly had great control of himself and the fight.

  “What’s the point of this? So Darren can get his rocks off?”

  Clive scoffed.

  “Every now and then we all need to be reminded of what happens when you

  betray the hand that feeds you. Brian stole a shipment from Mr. Davis and sold it to

  someone else, claiming an adversary had stolen it. He’d also been selling classified

  information to our rivals. We found out, and now, Brian has to pay.”

  “So why not just kill him? Why is there a need to fight him?”

  “Mr. Davis allows all his traitors a chance at redemption. If they fight him and

  win, then they can go free without consequence. He will respect anyone who can

  best him, and if they can, he would no longer be fit to lead. But no one has ever

  beaten him.”

  “Clearly,” I replied as I watched Darren block a kick from Brian and counter with

  an elbow to his face.

  All hell really broke loose when Darren knocked Brian to the floor with a perfect

  hit to the nose. Blood poured from Brian’s face as he hit the floor, and Darren did

  not hesitate to finish him off.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a fight like this. I’d witnessed plenty of bar

  fights, finished a few myself, but something with this type of fight was far

  different. In a bar fight, you typically weren’t trying to kill the other person. Not

  really. But here, with Darren, his brutality was a clear indication of his intent to not

  only kill his opponent but also to destroy him.

  The sound of facial bones breaking under his fists was enough to make me

  cringe. More cheers echoed while over and over, Darren plunged his fists into

  Brian’s face until it was nothing but mush, blood covering Darren’s hands until not

  an inch of his skin was clean. The men were eating this up as if they loved it.

  Apparently, they hated traitors just as much as Darren did. Yet Brian was still alive.

  He laid there, motionless and barely breathing, but I could still see small

  movements from his chest even as Darren stood over him. But Darren was clearly

  not finished.

  “Knife,” he said calmly, holding out his bloody open palm.

  I felt my stomach immediately twist in two.

  “Why does he need a knife …” I asked quietly.

  “Watch,” Owen said.

  I felt myself inching backward, but the wall behind me in the form of Clive

  prevented my retreat.

  Scott handed Darren a long hunting knife, the serrated steel glinting off the

  flood lights of the ceiling, and I felt my hands ball into fists. This was not going to

  be good.

  I didn’t know why I cared, though. This man had worked for Darren, had been a

  part of the evil of his empire, so why I cared what happened to him didn’t make

  sense to me. Maybe it was just because I didn’t want to see the bloodshed. Maybe I

  wasn’t ready for the brutality of Darren’s world. But I obviously didn’t have a choice

  in that as I felt I was being tossed into the deep end of this darkness.

  Before I could even register what happened, Darren had plunged the knife into

  Brian’s chest. Brian’s screams became a clear indication that he was, in fact, still

  alive, and it only got worse as I watched Darren drag the knife further down his

  chest and across his stomach, completely slicing him open.

  Blood pooled everywhere, and a sickening dizzy feeling overcame me as I

  watched Darren carve more and more of Brian away, cutting out his intestines and

  spilling them onto the cement floor. Brian’s screams were so loud I had to cover my

  ears as I fought not to retch. What made it even worse was the obvious enjoyment

  on Darren’s face as Brian’s blood coated him.

  When the show was basically over, I felt my back hit the stone wall behind me

  and slid down, my legs no longer able to hold my weight up. I felt sick, my body

  shaking with fear as I watched Darren beat the shit out of someone and then gut

  them alive. I could fucking see Brian’s guts protruding from the gashes Darren had

  made in him. My heart was racing erratically, and my breathing was becoming

  short. I’d never witness anything so fucking gruesome in my life.

  As the cheers died down, Darren stood over his opposition, blood soaking his

  clothing and covering his hands and face. I barely recognized the monster that

  stood before me, and it terrified me further as he took the necessary steps to

  advance toward me. I inched even further into the wall in a stupid attempt to back

  away from him, but there was nowhere else to go. My hands moved to cover my

  mouth, my lips curling in on themselves while I forced myself to hold back the

  tears that threatened to fall.

  I was fucking shaking with terror.

  Darren crouched low in front of me, his eyes intense with calming rage as he

  looked at me. This was the result of betrayal. This blood-soaked demon before me.

  And I never wanted to fucking see it again.

  “Do you understand now what happens to those who betray my trust?” he asked

  me, his voice calm and low.

  I nodded my head, unable to finds the words to answer him.

  “Good girl. Now, you’re going to crawl into my arms, and you’re not going to let

  go until I tell you to, understand?”

  I nodded again automatically, even though I wanted to be as far away from him

  as humanly possible.

  Darren stretched his arms out to me, waiting for me to comply with his order.

  And like the fear-stricken fool I was, I did just that. Biting my lower lip, I crouched

  forward onto my hands and knees before tentatively wrapping my arms around his

  neck and pressing myself into his blood-soaked chest. Soft panicked cries left my

  mouth as I felt the blood seep into my torn dress, coating me in Darren’s cruelty.

  He wrapped his arms around my body protectively, pressing me tightly against

  him while he lifted us from the floor. I couldn’t have clutched him tighter. I didn’t

  understand it, but the tighter I held onto him, the more he would know I wanted

  him to shield me from what I just saw. Even though I knew he was the one

  responsible, the one who caused the anxiety flowing through my limbs, he was also

  the one who could easily take it all away. In one singular moment, he could

  effortlessly switch from my tormentor to my savior, and right now, I desperately

  wanted my savior, and I needed him to know that.

  “Wrap your legs around me.”

  I didn’t think I even had the strength to lift my knees, but I somehow managed

  to lock them around his waist and tighten my grip around his neck, my chin

  pressing into his meaty, bloody shoulder. He didn’t say a word as he carried my

  trembling body up the stairs
, abandoning the gruesome and bloody scene behind

  us. I closed my eyes to avoid having to see it again.

  For the first time ever, I’d actually witnessed Darren murder someone. I knew he

  had killed others, heard about it and listened to it, but I’d never actually seen him

  do it, and it was fucking horrifying. The joy displayed on his face as he took that life

  was sickening and disturbing, the blood dripping from his face a clear reminder of

  what he was capable of.

  The conversation we’d had in the car when we first came back to the estate

  flashed in my head. How he planned to have me match him in every way. Could I

  become a killer like him? Find enjoyment in the destruction of others the way he

  did? I might have a strong vendetta for vengeance, but death was necessary in it

  and not something to be pleasurable. Would I find pleasure in murdering those who

  worked for Darren? Anyone who did business with him was an enemy, and I could

  not afford to be prejudice against anyone. They would all have to go, and I didn’t

  have the time or the room for remorse in that plan. I would have to be just as brutal

  as the man holding me was. And the fear of what I would become after all of this

  was over was more terrifying than anything else was.

  And I had already begun to see those changes, hadn’t I? I’d already successfully

  manipulated the death of one and attempted two more without a shred of remorse,

  but it was entirely different when I finally witnessed the result of such actions.

  Especially when they were as gruesomely displayed as that.

  Darren clearly meant tonight’s display as a punishment. It was a warning for

  what was to come should I ever betray Darren, but I doubted he would ever subject

  me to such a beating again. In fact, it was probably a good thing he had shown me

  such violence. I needed to get used to it; I needed to be able to look past the blood

  and gore and see the real goal: annihilation.

  But holy fuck, it was going to be a long, hard road before I would be able to

  handle that kind of shit. I didn’t doubt I could put a bullet in someone’s head but to

  carve them up was something entirely different. The only thing that worried me the

  most was that next time I was caught in the idea of betrayal, I might recognize

  Darren’s opponent standing in the ring … because it could be someone I love.

  I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t afford to be so careless again. I couldn’t give

  voice to those thoughts ever again. To breathe them would be my ruin.

  I suddenly felt water hit my back, warm water spraying on my bare skin and torn

  clothing, and it made me jolt. Where were we?

  “Shhh,” Darren cooed, stroking my hair back as he held us under a showerhead.

  “How did we …?” I asked, letting the question linger as I tried to remember how

  we had gotten here. I’d been so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even realize where

  Darren had taken us.

  Setting me on my feet, the sticky blood between us pulling at my clothes and

  skin, Darren removed my ruined dress as well as his own clothes and moved us

  deeper under the spray of the shower. I didn’t recognize the shower stall, so we

  weren’t in his room or mine. I had no idea where we were or why we weren’t in

  either of our own showers, but the thought didn’t linger long as I watched the blood

  begin to slide down Darren’s chest and circle around the drain. I felt compelled to

  help clean him.

  Moving my hands to his shoulders, I became determined to help push the

  crimson away from his skin, pressing it down with the water to make more and

  more of it disappear. I wanted it gone, and I wanted him clean because then I could

  pretend he was a little less evil.

  “Jaden, stop,” Darren said, but I barely registered the words as I moved to grab a

  bar of soap.

  “I said stop it,” he snapped, grabbing my wrists to prevent me from washing

  him.

  “Let go,” I pleaded, attempting to pull away and getting nowhere.

  “Look at me,” he growled, and my eyes instantly snapped up to his. “You’re

  trying to wash away your fear. I assure you, it’s not going anywhere. This is me,

  Jaden. This is who I am. My skin is stained with more blood than you could ever

  hope to wash away. It’s a part of me, and no amount of soap is going to change

  that.”

  I looked away, my eyes falling to the floor to watch little streams of red and pink

  flow between us, swirling around the drain. And then I remembered that very same

  blood covered me.

  Ignoring his words, I moved under the center of the spray, tilting my head back,

  so the water fell over my face and coated my hair. But then I was abruptly yanked

  away from it.

  “It coats you, too,” he said into my ear, his lips teasing my skin as he spoke to

  me. “There’s no running from that. One day, you’ll be inside that ring destroying

  my enemies, and I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy it just as much as I do.”

  I tried to jerk myself away from him, seething anger from his words. Because he

  was right; I probably would enjoy it but not in the same way he did. He would enjoy

  the bloodshed, whereas I would only enjoy the fact one less person would be on his

  side. Yes, I would have to kill, but that did not mean I had to maim and mutilate to

  accomplish anything. I would not become a heartless monster like him. I was better

  than that, goddammit.

  “I will not become like you.”

  Darren’s face turned sinister, his lips forming into a dark smile as his eyes

  narrowed in on me. “You’re already closer than you think.”

  I jerked again. “You’re wrong. I’m not like you because I’m better than you are. I

  see right past your manipulative bullshit. You’ll shower me with hearts and flowers

  and then bathe me in blood. I will not let you ruin me.”

  A soft chuckle left Darren’s throat, and it had me seething with anger and fear. I

  wanted to shrink away and punch him in the face at the same time. How could he

  make me feel this way so systematically?

  “Oh, my sweet little Jaden. You have no idea how much I plan to ruin you.”

  Before I knew what was happening, my back hit the wall of the shower, my hips

  suddenly lifted, only to be impaled right onto Darren’s rigid cock. I cried out from

  pain and pleasure, my walls sealing around him in anguished welcome. My nails

  dug into his shoulders as he pumped into me, his hands digging into my hair to pull

  my head back and expose my neck. His teeth found my sensitive flesh, biting and

  sucking until I was moaning for more.

  “And I’ve got news for you, princess. You will not be leaving this room until

  you’re good and ruined to my satisfaction.”

  A harsh gasp tore from my throat as Darren gripped my neck and held tight, too

  tightly as he thrust even harder into me. The reality of what he was planning had

  me panicking inside, and as my oxygen supply faded, so did my grip on his

  shoulders. I tried to push away from him, but with my back against the wall and the

  wall of a man fucking me in front of me, I had nowhere to go. I fought against him,

  gasping for air when none would come while he fucked me ruthlessly. He was going

  to choke me out for real this tim
e, and there wasn’t shit I could do about it.

  “Darren … please,” I groaned, and just when I thought I was about to pass out,

  he released my throat. The first gasp of air I took had nothing on the orgasm that

  swiftly followed. It was the most unreal thing I had ever experienced, my entire

  body melting with pleasure so strong it flowed through every vein, creating a moan

  from my lips even I didn’t recognize. I could feel Darren’s cum coating my walls as

  he finished, his satisfied grunts confirming as much. I felt myself go limp in his

  arms, my chin resting on his shoulder while my arms hung lifelessly down his back.

  And then it was lights out.

  51

  LASTRESORT

  Jaden went limp in my arms just like I wanted her to. I didn’t feel like dealing

  with her struggle right then. After rinsing her and myself off, I pulled us from

  the shower and quickly toweled her dry just enough to collect the stray droplets of

  water from her skin. After laying her down on the bed in my little basement

  dungeon, I grabbed my phone and activated the electromagnetic coil I had installed

  in the metal bedframe, the magnetic field strong enough to keep Jaden’s cuffed

  wrists attached to the metal headboard. When she woke up, she was not going to be

  happy.

  I decided to allow her body some time to rest and changed into a pair of black

  sweat pants and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Jaden was going to need the

  rest after the shit I was about to put her through.

  I was done with this idea that she was going to beat me. That she was going to

  bring down my empire and escape me. The thought alone had me laughing inside at

  her adorable naivety. She had no idea the depths of my world and how far it

  stretched. It might as well run as far as the gates of Hell since I’d sent so many

  there already. She had no idea the distance I’d go, the things I would do, the

  number of bodies I would stack to keep her mine. I’d become so damn obsessed it

  was like a toxin, poisoning my mind, my heart, and even my cock. She was my drug,

  and it infuriated me how easily I’d become her junkie. It almost made me hate her

  for creating such a weakness for me.

  I’d catch myself thinking about her in the middle of a gun fight, zero concern for

  the bullets blazing past me in the dead of night while I took comfort in the fact that