For a distraught second, their gazes held.
Then, he turned his back to her again.
Sobbing uncontrollably, she scurried for the door.
While the journey was only seconds, it seemed like an eternity.
Once reaching it, she hesitated before whirling around.
“By hurting you, I hurt us,” she whispered. “But, no matter what happens, I’ll always love you.” A distraught sob was rent from her. “One day I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Goodbye, Braden.”
Then, heart shattering, she walked away.
***
An hour later, the taxi crawled along the curving drive.
The study was drenched in black darkness and devoid of any fire.
But, the only coldness was the emptiness she’d left behind.
Against the moonlight, his figure was silhouetted against the window.
Though his insides were in turmoil, he stood there with a dead calmness.
The taxi traveled along the road at a slow pace, and the further it ventured, it only became that more difficult for him to breathe. While so, he forced himself to embrace every bit of the emotional calamity.
Moments later, the red tail lights disappeared altogether.
The heavy curtain dropped from his listless fingers.
Turning slowly, he faced the quiet darkness.
Finally, he wept.
***
The taxi driver had been surprised when she’d requested to be dropped off at her apartment rather than Jameson’s. A hefty tip, however, had easily persuaded him to take this very route, she mulled, taking to the sidewalk.
Now, she was here.
The apartment was dark and lonely.
For a brief second, she paused in the open doorway before stepping inside.
Numbed, she stared about.
The dread filled her.
Nothing about the place was home anymore.
The fresh tears moistened her already swollen eyes.
Her heart was somewhere else.
It belonged to him, only and always.
There was a sense of finality even as she shut the door.
Bypassing the wall switch, she turned on a smaller lamp instead once reaching the love seat. A soft glow lit the darkness somewhat and allowed partial visibility. She dropped the purse on the loveseat before journeying towards the hallway.
The bedroom door was partially cracked.
Frowning, she paused at the doorway.
Weeks ago, she’d specifically made sure that all doors were shut. It’d been a move to preserve energy and cut down on the electric bill. But, now, she mulled, pushing the door open wider, something was…...different…
Directly beneath the windowsill, an owl-shaped nightlight added some illumination, but not much. The curtains were drawn just as she’d left them.
Her hackles rose.
Still, something was…different…
When a lighter suddenly flickered in the muted darkness, her suspicions were confirmed. On the bed, there was a manly shadow, and it was a posture that she knew all too well, unfortunately. A hand cuffed the gold-tinged lighter, and as the device was raised higher, it shone on Vitali’s rigid features. Offering a caustic smile, he drawled heavily in his southern tone. “Surprise…surprise…”
“Carlo.” Swallowing hard, she moistened her lips. “What are you doing here?”
“To see you, why else?” With a stealthy slowness, he rose from the bed before stopping at the bed’s end. “Miss me?”
“Of course,” she nodded stiffly, voicing the lie. “How did you get in here?”
“Bribery. How else? Know what amazes me? All these fucking saints thinking they’re better than people like me. But, when it gets down to it, they possess the same awful carnal needs and desires.” Shrugging, he passed a mocking smile. “Every man has a price. Once you discover it, you’ve nailed down their weakness.” He spread his arms open wide. “What kind of greeting is this anyway? No smile, no hug, nor any term of endearment?” He puckered his lips out, but then gave a humorless smile. “I’m actually hurt. Yet, considering how tense things have come between us, not to mention our separation, your reaction is understandable.”
Tensing, she cut her gaze towards the closet.
Just inside of it, the automatic pistol was in the safe.
But, after her initial encounter with Vitali months earlier, she’d made it easily accessible. Potentially, this could be one of those times---
His features held an eerie calmness. “You looking for something?”
“No.” She swung her gaze back to his. “I’m not looking for anything. As for me missing you, I have, and it makes me extremely happy that you’re home.” Shrugging the jacket off, she tossed it onto a chair, and then offered a tight smile. “I’m surprised that you’re here, that’s all.” Her forehead crinkled in a frown. “Weren’t you supposed to return at the end of the week?”
“Change of plans. A situation here requires my immediate attention.” Passing a coy smile, he glanced around the small bedroom, and then met her gaze again. A lethal and open hostility breathed on his face. “Maybe the question should be: why are you here? Why aren’t you at the compound?”
As she regarded him, she kept her expression blank. “I’m sure that you’re aware of what happened with Velasquez?”
“Naturally, I am,” Vitali shrugged nonchalantly. “But, leaving a highly-secured area such as the compound and coming here doesn’t make sense.” As he glanced around the quaint bedroom, his face held annoyance. “Standing here, I’m getting a serious case of déjà vu.”
Her stare was unwavering. “Why?”
“Surely, you remember the specifics?” Vitali asked with mock horror, and a deadly look seized his features. “Why don’t I point them out to you? You kept your whereabouts a secret for months. Then, you have the audacity to return here without so much of a word.” As his eyes chilled and narrowed into thin slits, he edged closer. “But, your greatest crime? You fucked another man.”
The danger breathed wildly in the room.
She sensed it immediately.
Her question was quiet. “Why are you bringing that up?”
“I’m bringing it up because we really need to talk about it.” Tensing further, Vitali balled both fists along his sides. His grip was so tight that it was bone-crushing. “And that’s what we are going to do…talk…”
“Why? What happened then has nothing to do with here and now. It’s all past history.” She forced a scowl. “I thought that we’d moved away from that.”
Narrowing his eyes, he began a slow chuckle.
But, as quickly as his laughter had come, it died out.
“You’re good, I’ll give you that.” Then, eyeing her closely, he began a series of slow handclaps. “Bravo! And the Emmy award goes to the biggest whore of them all----you.”
The alarm bells in her head rang louder.
He knew…
Somehow, he knew…
Still, though, she had to borrow time.
“You will not insult and degrade me, do you understand? Being in a relationship doesn’t grant you the right to treat me as such.” With a jerky movement, she snatched the huge bath towel from the nearest chair and began folding it. “You know, what Carlo? This petty jealousy of yours has become tiring.”
“Stop it with the lies. No more!”
Within seconds, Vitali was upon her.
As he grasped her upper arms tightly, she dropped the towel before wincing in sudden pain. Gasping a short breath, she shot him a defiant look. “You’re hurting me---”
“I know the ugly truth,” Vitali muttered slowly between clenched teeth. “You’re fucking my son! Don’t deny it.”
For a brief second, she hesitated.
Then, she embraced the newfound opportunity for liberation.
Finally, a real truth could be revealed.
“Ok, I won’t,” she murmured coldly. “I am fucking your s
on, and every time he’s deep inside of me, I love it---”
“Shut your filthy mouth!”
“You, on the other hand, you make me sick.” Every bit of animosity that she felt played in her voice. “All those times, when you put your hands on me, I was sickened. Do you know how many times I vomited after you were gone? I hated the feel of your hands on my body…I hate you---”
“So, what is it, huh?” He tightened his violent hold. “Are you after my money?”
“I don’t give a damn about your money!”
“You’re just a straight up whore, then?” His nails bit into her skin. “That it?”
“No, that’s not it! I want you to suffer for what you did to Gage?”
Vitali eyes held surprise. “All of this is about that little shit?”
She spat in his face. “You deserve to die for what you did to him!”
As the moisture wet his skin, the outrage played straight on his face.
“Fuck you, fuck that kid.” A cruel ugliness etched every line in his face. “The only thing that’s important to me is my son. You lay with him, and then let him smother you with his dick, that’s what’s sickening.”
“Well, let me give you one more truth.” Her brown eyes were exceedingly cold. “I love Braden.” Again, saying the words freed her, and within this dangerous moment, the truth was the only thing that was right. “I love your son.”
“You are a straight up bitch.” He shook her violently one time. “That’s the only credible explanation for this! How dare you do this to me!”
“Let go.” She jerked against his painful hold. “Take your hands off of me!”
“You wanna know what I do with sluts like you?” Vitali minced, and his features twisted cruelly. Gritting his teeth, locking her in a vice grip, he shook her hard. In between his horrible movements, he taunted her further. “I fuck them over. Acid baths, a cutting blade, bullets…they all do the trick quite nicely----”
Giving a battle cry, she knee-jerked him hard in the groin, and then executed a swift hook punch. A wild cry of pain left him as he doubled over in pain. Yet, he still issued a violent warning. “Bitch---you’re going to pay up!”
The air burst from her lungs as she raced for the closet.
But, somehow, he snagged her foot. “Come here!”
She crashed to the floor with a hard grunt.
Wildly, quickly, she kicked both feet, and they easily connected with his face. Her final fast kick met him straight between the eyes, and he quickly yelped in pain.
“Damn you!” he yelled out, releasing her fast.
Breathing fast and hard, she crawled on her belly.
Finally, she made it back to her feet.
She sprinted across the room to the closet.
Wrenching the door open fast, she dropped to the ground.
“Come on, come on,” she whispered frantically, searching the small space like a blind woman. Her hands fumbled in the darkness, but finally she grasped the safe box. Flipping the lid quick, she grabbed the semi-automatic handgun and whirled around to face madness again.
She caught sight of his shadowed figure.
He was on the run.
Falling fast into a defensive crouching position, she fired a round of shots.
The bullets exploded and lit the room.
As the bullets found unintended targets, they made rapid chipping sounds.
But, there was no sound of any human suffering.
She went still in the closet.
A deadly quiet ensued.
She peered out.
Vitali was nowhere in sight.
Keeping a steady eye forward, she loaded another clip before standing up slowly. The door creaked as she pushed it open wider and then stepped out. A faint noise sounded to her right. Immediately, on alert, she aimed the gun before swinging in that direction.
A hard breath lodged in her throat.
Still…nothing…
Quickly and expertly, she scoured the bedroom.
He’d gone.
But, where, she pondered, hovering at the threshold.
Heart pounding, she crept forward.
The hallway was empty.
That only left the living room and kitchen area, she deduced, pausing at the low archway. Even better, the space was devoid of any good hiding spots---
A fierce growl came from the left.
From the murky shadows, Vitali made a fast lunge.
His body slammed into hers like a mass truck.
The breath left her entire body.
Crying out, she went flailing and the gun went flying. With a hard thud, she crashed onto the floor. Upon the impact, her head hit the edge of the coffee table hard, and she embraced nothing but pure pain.
In a daze, confused, she saw nothing but blinding stars.
Somehow, she managed to make out a shadowed form.
“You stupid bitch,” Vitali hissed, pinning her down fast, and straddled her. “I’ve got you now, and no one is here to save you. Not even your mighty Titan.” He closed both hands around her nape tightly. “Didn’t I warn you? No one, and I mean no one has the right to defy me. Unfortunately, you haven’t learned that fact, and now, I have to prove that point.” His lips sneered nastily. “You---you’ve gone too far. Sleeping with my only son, and then declaring your undying love for him? I ain’t having that shit.”
A painful gasp left her.
As he exerted more pressure, she flailed for air.
His choke hold was brutal.
His weight was crushing.
Gasping, wide-eyed, she struggled beneath him.
He slapped her hard.
Once, twice, and then finally, she lost count.
So much that she tasted her own tangy blood.
Around her nape, his hands were like a vice grip, and the air that she fought for wouldn’t come. All over, her body shook with shock, and her eyes became glazed. And thinking, thinking, thinking, she mulled, and her eyes rolled back.
It was impossible.
In the distance, she heard the apartment door fly open.
Weakened, bloodied, and confused, she arched her head in that direction.
Akumu, she frowned before whimpering with pain.
Through swollen eyes, she tried to take him in.
The hulky figure looked like him.
“Pops!” The voice sounded garbled. “We gotta go! Somebody’s called the blue. They heard all the noise and shit and got scared.” Then, the voice gave a low whistle of surprise. “Damn man, you really beat the shit out of her.”
“Quit standing there gaping like a fool and help me get her up!” Vitali thundered violently and grappled her weakened form up roughly. “Find a blanket or something and wrap her up. Move, damn it, move!”
The night air was chilly.
Though he was overweight and hefty, Akumu managed to move quickly. Holding her close against his solid chest, he carried her across the short yard onto the black customized SUV. At the sound of the seemingly endless dinging bell, she cringed on the back seat and was grateful when a slamming door shut it off.
Shifting into gear fast, Akumu sped off.
For miles, they traveled.
Even the bright lights on the freeway were painful as they flooded inside.
Shivering, in pain, she huddled closer to the car seat, and sobbed quietly in pure misery. Along the way, she experienced mini-blackout episodes, and her mind faded in and out, but she caught snippets of conversation throughout.
“…what are you going to do with her…”
“…gotta send Titan a message that I’m not to be played with…”
“…he won’t take this lying down…”
“…dump her ass out…”
Finally, exhausted, she collapsed.
Chapter 24
It’d been hours since she’d gone.
Yet, as if imprisoned, he remained in the darkened study.
He’d been crying like a straight up fool.
The only light came from his smartphone.
With red-rimmed bloodshot eyes, he peered down at the bright screen.
For the longest, he’d just been going through the photo album and staring longingly at her every picture. When he came to a selfie photo of them, he paused for a long moment. In the photo, they were hugged close and cheek-to-cheek. On that day, they’d gone hiking in the woods and posed at their special spot.
They’d been extremely happy, and their expressions said just that.
They were in love.
He traced a shaky finger along her image.
Had they been real?
Or was what they’d shared the great pretend?
Deep in his heart, past his burning anger, didn’t he know the answer?
In her every touch, he’d felt it.
In her eyes, he saw it.
In her words, the truth was real.
As angry as he was, he couldn’t deny the truth.
She loved him.
“How can we work through this, Bella?” he whispered in agony. “But, isn’t that the issue? Despite everything that I’ve said to you, tonight, I want things to work out. My faith in you is staggering, and isn’t that what terrifies me?”
But, the real issue was, he’d been terribly hurt.
It’d taken a bottle of straight white whiskey and deep introspection to reach that very realization. Finally, he’d accepted that it hadn’t so much been her betrayal as much as it’d been her lack of faith in him.
If nothing else, didn’t it prove that she didn’t trust him?
Did he appear to be that closed-minded?
Yet, tonight, hadn’t his actions only confirmed her suspicions?
Like a spoiled petulant child, he’d hurled insults at her.
He’d broken her down emotionally, bit by bit.
While so, he’d bled inside at her every teardrop.
But, he’d wanted her to experience his hurt.
That’d been incredibly selfish on his part.
He’d gone too far.
As always, he’d put pride first and reacted like a selfish asshole. With little to no shame at all, he’d bore down like a tyrant, and he hadn’t given her a chance.
Now, sitting here alone, he was paying the heavy price.
Rise of the Titan Page 59
