The Devil’s Plaything: A Dark Mafia Romance

by René, Dani

  “Does that make your dick hard?” I chuckle, warming up the weapon once more and placing it against his stomach. Motioning for my men, I step back and watch them remove his jeans and boxer briefs. Once he’s naked, I turn to Javier. “It’s time.” Turning my attention back to Rodrigo, I tell him, “Ask for mercy. Or apologize to me.”

  “I will never ask for mercy,” he spits at me. “And you can go fuck yourself. I got what I wanted. Your whore’s cunt belongs to me. She’ll never feel you again.”

  I smile. Javier hands me the metal clippers and closes the distance between me and the asshole I’m about to show just how much I think of his threats. Placing the clippers at his groin, I push each metal blade on either side of his limp, shriveled dick, and I shut the clippers.

  “If you for one second think that your poor excuse for a dick did anything to my beauty, you’re sorely fucking mistaken.” I hand Javier the clippers and watch as the final part of my plan is about to come to fruition.

  Two of my men soak Rodrigo in the clear liquid. Every inch of him is wet with gasoline. I haven’t done this in a long time. The first time I saw a man burn alive was when I turned ten, and my father made sure I watched him torture someone. The man in question had been one of my mother’s lovers, and the moment Luis Cordero found out, he made sure the man felt agony like nothing before.

  That’s one thing I learned from dear papá is that when you love, you do it with everything inside you. There are no half-assed attempts.

  “Time to say your prayers,” I tell Rodrigo, before I drop a match on the ground. The flames eat up the distance quickly, and soon enough, all that’s heard echoing around us are the cries of a man on fire. The stench of burning flesh permeates through my veins, and I know it’s a smell that won’t go away anytime soon.

  “Quite the spectacle,” Javier remarks. “I thought my one and only friend had gone soft,” he chuckles from beside me, as we watch the fucker burn.

  “Nothing soft about me, asshole,” I bite out with a grin on my face. When I turn to him, I nudge him toward the door. “Take a photo of the aftermath, then let’s get back to the hospital. I have a woman waiting on me, and I can’t leave her alone for too long.”

  Time to save my girl.

  34

  Sofía

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  It’s an ongoing sound that I can’t place. I can’t move, and fear skyrockets through me, before I feel warmth on my body. A hand. Someone is touching me, but I don’t know who. My mouth opens, I think it does, but I can’t find my voice.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Again, a hand moves to my face. It’s a gentle, commanding touch, and the moment the cologne of my visitor invades my senses, I calm. The spicy scent mixed with the smell of cigarettes tell me exactly who it is.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  “I’m here, juguete,” Victor’s voice is like a salve to the agony that’s taken over my body. All the things I want to tell him I can’t, not yet. Memories take hold of me, and I can feel the tear trickling down the side of my face when I recall what happened.

  I was taken.

  I was stolen from my captor and imprisoned by my attacker.

  All the while I spent with Victor as his prisoner, I was never hurt. He may have threatened me, but his affection for me won out. The man who took from me, who forced himself in me was Rodrigo Alvarez, and I feel the bile rising up to my throat once more.

  My gaze snaps open, and the harshness of the bulbs above me burn my retinas. My body convulses, and I choke out the acidic fluid. My body is held, I’m kept on my side while I puke up my guts. And it doesn’t take long for me to empty everything that was inside me into a bucket.

  When there’s nothing left, I lie back and meet those golden eyes of my savior. He looks at me as if I’m fragile, as if I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen. He wipes my mouth with something warm, and he cleans the rest of my mess with the caring of a man lost to love.

  “You scared me,” he tells me. My chest aches. There’s pain shooting through me, but something warms my veins in the next second, and I turn to see the drip that’s plugged into my arm.

  The drugs work quickly, and the pain, that had appeared, eases. Victor’s lips press against my forehead, and he settles in the chair beside my bed. It’s strange to see him in this setting. I never would’ve pictured a man like him to be in a hospital waiting for someone he cares for.

  “W-w-where’s… R-R-Rodrigo?” I choke out the words, my throat feels as if it’s filled with sand, and before he answers, Victor brings a glass toward me with a straw peeking out at me. Gingerly, I accept the offering and suck the cool liquid into my mouth. It feels so good, but I know I mustn’t overdo it.

  “He’s been taken care of,” Victor finally tells me, once I’m lying back again. “I made sure that he won’t ever see the light of day again.”

  “W-w-what d-d-did y-you do?” I’m curious to know what a man like Victor Cordero is capable of. When he cares for someone, he does bad things, but if he hates someone, what on earth would he have done?

  “I throat fucked him with my knife,” he tells me, as if he’s recalling a fun day out at the beach. “But not before I shot his dick off.” He shrugs nonchalantly, as if he’s telling me about a daily occurrence that is natural, and not at all violent. I know he’s a Cartel leader, and I’ve seen firsthand how he chopped someone’s fingers off, but the thought of him doing that still causes me to shudder.

  “Y-y-you sent me to him. You g-g-gave me up to R-R—” I can’t bring myself to say his name as the burn of acid thickens in my throat. I’m conflicted by the man I love and the man who sent me away, and they’re the same fucking person. I don’t know how to feel—pain and anger make my chest hurt, but then the happiness and elation that he found me trump all that rage. I want to cry, I want to bawl my eyes out, just to let myself expel the hurt.

  “I was a fucking idiot. Stupidity won out, and I will spend the rest of my life paying for it. The guilt of what I put you through…” His words taper off, silence hangs between us, and then Victor’s gaze locks on mine. His eyes, which are normally filled with either desire or cocky mischief, are now burning with agonizing remorse.

  “Y-y-you r-really wanted m-me gone?” Tears burn my eyes. The pain of his betrayal still stings, and I can’t breathe because all I can think about is how I was violated because of Victor’s rage. He didn’t believe me and it stings, my heart aches so fiercely, my breath is stolen.

  “Never. I never fucking wanted you gone. And when you were, I realized just how much I’d fucked up. You scared me in ways I never felt before. You made me love even when I knew I could never be capable of such an emotion.” This time, it’s Victor who blinks, and I’m awed by the tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you, Sofía. I am in-fucking-love with you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone before. You are my life,” he insists, his voice thick with emotion, and my heart stills for a second.

  I can’t deal with the tears right now, even though we do need to talk this out some more, I need to focus on something else, so I ask, “T-t-tell me w-w-what h-happened next?”

  A victorious smile, one I’ve come to love, paints his face with a light that I haven’t seen on this man ever. And he leans in, his hot breath at my ear, and he whispers, “I burned him alive. I watched as his skin sizzled.”

  “O-oh God, V-V-Victor,” I mumble, nausea following me around like a shadow at the thought of someone’s flesh on fire. It sounds horrific, sickening, but there’s no way I can argue with him and tell him he did something wrong.

  He did it for me.

  “And you know what, sweetheart,” Victor tells me. “It made my dick so hard, all I wanted to do was fuck you, so you didn’t have to ever remember what he did to you.” Even though I know Victor would never hurt me, I don’t know if I could feel happy with having someone touch me sexually ag
ain.

  The pain between my legs was nothing compared to the moment he pulled out of me and painted my body with his sticky seed. He was so pleased with himself that he didn’t see the men coming up behind him.

  “I… I…”

  “Don’t speak,” Victor says. “I know you’re nowhere near ready for that.” He keeps his voice low, there’s a promise in his tone, in his words. “But when you are, I’ll remove every trace of him. It will start with my mouth, over and over again. Then, when you’re used to that, it will be with my fingers. And finally, once you’re healed, once you beg me for it, I’ll push my cock into you.”

  He trails his knuckles over my cheek, wiping away the tears that are now falling freely. I can feel the anger emanating off him, I felt it the day he saved me. And I have a feeling, I’ll be feeling it over the course of the next few months, years even.

  I don’t know if it’s guilt, or if it’s shame that he didn’t get to me on time, but deep down, when I look into those golden eyes, I know he loves me. He told me the moment I fell into his arms, and when he picked me up off the ground, he held me as if I was in pieces and he was attempting to put me back together.

  He cups my cheeks and rests his face against the top of my head. The gesture is simple; yet, it speaks volumes in the silence of the room. I keep my eyes closed, focusing on the sleepiness that’s slowly overtaking me.

  It feels like I’ve slept for weeks. Months even. “Victor.” His name is a plea on my lips, escaping easily as he holds onto me. I would’ve died if he didn’t make it on time. The operation was a success, and I cry because my father isn’t here.

  “I will make this better,” he vows quietly, and if it was any noisier in the room, I wouldn’t have heard him. “I’ll make it all go away.”

  “You’ve already made me better,” I whisper against his chest. “All that’s missing is my dad,” I tell him, and he stills, his body turning rigid. Fear worms its way through my body, and I wonder if he did something. I know my father had to pay for stealing, but surely Victor didn’t kill him.

  “He will be here to see you soon,” he promises, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t lie to me. I know he wouldn’t. It’s one thing he always told me; his word is law. He never breaks a promise, and this time, I pray he isn’t just saying it to abate me. My eyes flutter closed. Victor moves away, pressing his mouth against mine, before he smiles. “Go to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake.”

  I’m held safely in the arms of Victor’s promise, as I allow my body to relax and sleep to take hold. When I wake up, I hope both the men I love will be here.

  “I love you, juguete.”

  35

  Victor

  I didn’t want to leave her, but I needed to come here before she wakes up again. I promised her the one thing that I never thought I would do, and I’m a man of my word. For her, I would do anything—beg, borrow, and steal. I’ve killed for her, and I would certainly, happily, do it again.

  When I pull up to the remote safehouse, I find Hector outside. He’s looking better. After I made him pay for stealing from me, I had my men clean him up and move him out here, so Rodrigo couldn’t find him. As much as I wanted him dead, I knew the moment I put a bullet in his head, my girl would hate me forever and that wasn’t something I could live with.

  She was mine before I realized, before I admitted it. Javier saw it, though. He knew the moment he looked at me, and even though I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. Exiting the vehicle, I make my way up to the porch.

  “Mr. Cordero.” He looks at me with a smile. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Call me Victor, you no longer work for me, and I’m here to speak with you.” I gesture for him to sit down, and I lean against the railing that surrounds the house. He looks concerned, and to be honest, if I were in his shoes, I would be, too.

  “What is it? Is there something wrong with my baby girl?” His eyes dance with emotion—fear and love—for his daughter, and even though I could drag this out just to torture him, I don’t.

  “I’d like to marry her,” I tell him bluntly. “I love her, I want to keep her as mine for as long as I live, and I thought it was only respectful to come and inform you of my decision.” I may not sound like the perfect son-in-law, but I know I can make her happy.

  Isn’t that what husbands are meant to do?

  “Well,” Hector says, rising to full height, “I never thought I’d ever say this, Victor.” He shakes his head, and for a moment, I think he’s going to deny me. What would I do if he did? Kill him? No. Probably not.

  “Listen, Hector—”

  “If you ever hurt her, and this is coming from my heart,” he says, as he meets my gaze dead on, “I will kill you. I’ll slice you limb from limb,” he promises. There is no mistaking that he would hurt me. But then again, if I ever hurt my girl, I would kill myself, because she’s far too good for me, and I’m the first to admit it.

  “You have no reason to worry, Hector. She means the world to me. I didn’t expect it, I didn’t even think I was capable of love,” I admit. My heart is being laid bare on my sleeve, and he stares at me as if he’s trying to decide if he can believe me.

  He finally nods, and I breathe a sigh of relief. “You have my blessing,” he tells me. “I’d like to one day see her again.” There is so much sadness in his eyes, and I decide I’ve tortured him enough.

  “Well, then you better get ready, I’m taking you to see her right now,” I tell him, which has him snapping his gaze to mine. “She’s in the hospital, she’s been hurt, Rodrigo got to her, and I was too late.” My voice is thick with rage and anger.

  “What? What the hell, Cordero? You were meant to keep her safe from that asshole, not send her into his house to get… Oh god! Did he…?”

  I nod slowly, even the thought of what he did burns the flesh from my bones, just as I did to his. He paid for his sins; I listened to his cries of agony, and even though he was alive as every inch of his body burned, I wish with all I have that I could’ve put him through more pain.

  “My baby,” Hector drops to his knees, and I feel his pain right down to my soul, because that’s how I felt the moment I saw her lying there, bleeding. The doctors thankfully have said she’ll heal, but I don’t know how the mental scars ever will.

  “I killed Rodrigo,” I tell Hector. “I burned him alive. His skin melted from his bones.” My voice holds no remorse, no guilt, just pure satisfaction. How can Sofía want me when I’m so cold and callous? I know the asshole deserved it and I would do it again and again without a second thought.

  “Thank you, Victor,” Hector smiles at me, grabbing my hand and holding onto me as if I’m his lifeline, just like my girl holds me. I never thought of myself as anything other than a heartless bastard, but it seems that I am capable of feeling something other than hate.

  “I didn’t… I couldn’t get to her on time. But I’ll make it right, I’ll fix her,” I vow. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will make sure she forgets what happens. And if she needs to kill a man to get over it, I’ll give her that too.

  I should’ve let her kill the bastard, but I couldn’t stop myself from exacting revenge. Nobody hurts someone I love, and I needed to make it known that she’s claimed.

  Mine.

  “You’re a good man, just like your father,” Hector says, causing me to still for a moment. I knew my father; Luis wasn’t a good man. Well, not completely. He did things that were questionable more times than I can count.

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “Listen to me, Victor. Your father may have been the head of the most dangerous Cartel in the world. And yes, he may have killed, maimed, and tortured, but he loved his family with a fierceness of a hunter. If anyone dared to touch you or your mother, he would’ve burned the world to get his vengeance.”

  My chest tightens painfully. For the first time in a long while, I think about my dad being a father. Not just Luis Cordero, ruthless asshole, but the papá who I for
got he was. To me, he was a hero; to the world, he was a criminal—just like me.

  “You’ll have kids one day and you’ll see,” Hector tells me with a sparkle in his eyes, which causes me to chuckle. Can I be a father? With Sofía, I can be anything.

  “Let’s go see your daughter,” I tell the man who’s still holding onto my hand.

  “Yes, let’s go see your future wife.” He grins.

  I leave my men to lock up the house and slip into the bench seat of the car. Hector joins me, and two of my men, who are up front, offer me a nod before we head out toward the hospital.

  I’ll be married soon.

  To the woman who stole my heart after I stole her as payment.

  36

  Victor

  Two weeks later

  We haven’t spoken about her time with Rodrigo. And the more days that pass, the more I itch to learn the truth. She would never come right out and say what happened, which only makes me angrier. But I’ve given her time, I’ve given her long enough, and today that will all change because I need to know the truth.

  I’m sitting in the office when she enters wearing a long black dress that hides her curves. Her long hair hangs down her back, and I’m tempted to fist it, pulling her back while I take her over my desk.

  She looks at me, and I can tell that she’s wary, and she should be because, today, I will learn the truth. Her eyes are flickering with secrets, and I’m tired of hidden stories between us.

  “Sit,” I offer her the chair. Sofía has been distant, which I can understand, and I allow her to be far from me for the time being, but I’m going to cleanse her of whatever the hell is bothering her.

  “Are you busy?” she asks, attempting to look at the desk, instead of meeting my inquisitive gaze.