by Helen Bright
Thirty minutes after Keeley had left, I received a call from Viktor.
“Gregor, I have the information you were referring to. I just need to ask, are you alone?” He said with a heavy sigh.
“Yes, I am alone. Why? What have you found?”
“I will stay on the phone with you Gregor, but I need to know before I reveal what I have found; have you taken blood today?”
Viktor sounded so grave and worried for me, that I knew whatever information he had would not be something that I would find easy to digest.
“Viktor, just tell me what you know,” I yelled as I put the phone on handsfree and poured myself a large whisky. It wouldn’t calm my nerves, get me drunk, or anything that would normally benefit a human in such a situation, but it gave my hands something to do as I sat at my desk, dreading the next few minutes.
“Very well Gregor, I am sending you an email. Before you open it, I will give you a short, mostly undetailed rundown of my findings. Before Chloe met her ex-husband, she was involved with a man called Peter Finch. This man, Finch, was three years older than Chloe, and at the time of their relationship he worked as a builder. Finch had no previous criminal record prior to them becoming involved.”
I heard Viktor sigh and take in a deep breath before carrying on.
“During their eighteen-month relationship, Chloe visited the emergency department of the hospital where she worked on three separate occasions, before the night of the twenty-fifth of January 2005. The first injury was a broken wrist, which she said had happened when she fell after being drunk on a night out. The second was a suspected broken nose that also came with a black eye and busted lip. This was explained as falling downstairs. Luckily her nose wasn’t broken, and although her notes say she was questioned further about the incident, she once again stated, it happened when she fell downstairs.”
Viktor paused for a few moments, but carried on speaking as I heard my email alert ping.
“On the night of the twenty-fifth of January 2005, Chloe Davies was admitted to hospital with the following injuries you see in the email. The photographs above the hospital statement were taken by the police as evidence, which led to the arrest of Peter Finch, the man pictured below all of Chloe’s injury photographs.
“As you can see from those photographs, Chloe’s face and neck are heavily bruised, and her face was so swollen she was unrecognisable. She had two small bald patches where clumps of long hair were ripped out from the side and back of her head. Her right cheekbone was fractured, and one of her upper back teeth was knocked out. She suffered three broken ribs on her left side, and a fracture on her right.
“Thankfully, there was no hemothorax involved, although looking at the photographs I am surprised this did not occur. I will let you look at the rest of the reports and photographs in silence, but I will stay on the line for any other questions you have, although I already know what will be the first.”
I felt sick, which rarely happens to a vampire, but nonetheless, the images I saw on the screen of my laptop made my gut clench tight. My fangs descended, and I had to work hard to keep the red from my eyes.
As I read on and viewed even more terrible photographs of my beautiful Chloe’s bruised and broken body, I felt the wetness of tears begin to slide down my cheeks.
The next photographs I viewed showed boot prints around her stomach hips and thighs, as this despicable human had kicked and stamped on as much of her body as he could. There was also grazing, and small cuts on various parts, which were possibly due to her being dragged along the floor. I had seen enough. There was only one other question I needed answering now.
“Where do I find him Viktor?” I said, in a voice hoarse with tears and anger that I was desperate to unleash.
“You don’t,” stated Viktor, and then paused before saying, “Because someone else already did that for you.”
I hadn’t expected to hear that piece of information, and if I was honest, I didn’t want to hear it. I needed to feel this man's bones crush in my grip. I needed to see his facial features become unrecognisable as I beat him to death. Viktor carried on speaking.
“Finch was arrested and remanded in custody, originally for three months, but was let out after eight weeks because of an earlier trial date.”
“Which fucking judge decided on that?” I shouted, as my claws extended and dug into the leather armrests of my chair.
“The British justice system is known for its leniency in such matters, Gregor. As a matter of fact, there are many truly terrible crimes that are not given the punishment they deserve. But I digress. Peter Finch was due to be tried for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, at a crown court three months after the date of the offence. But, on the day of the trial, Chloe, and her family did not attend court.”
“Why? I cannot understand why she would not want this man punished.”
“I checked on it a little further, and it appears that on their way to court, Chloe’s father suffered a massive heart attack, which resulted in a cardiac arrest. Luckily they were able to restart his heart at the scene, and he later received a triple heart bypass. However, in court that day, Peter Finch only received a twelve-month suspended sentence, as he had already served eight weeks on remand, so the judge didn’t see fit to give him a custodial sentence.”
“It’s a fucking joke, surely,” I questioned, stunned that anyone in authority could see these photographs and written evidence of injuries sustained and dismiss them as if they were nothing. What about the victim here? My poor Chloe must have felt that the law was certainly not on her side.
“Ten weeks after being released with a suspended sentence, Peter Finch was knocked down by someone driving a black SUV with blacked out windows. Not only did the driver of the SUV run over him, but they also reversed the vehicle and backed over his body as it laid broken and bleeding in the road. Unfortunately, the incident didn’t kill him. However, his back and neck were broken, his pelvis shattered, along with both legs and an arm. He also had a major head injury, which has resulted in some brain damage.
“The injuries have left him a quadriplegic, with a total loss of sensation in all four limbs. His head injury was severe and causes regular fits and slurring of speech. Finch now resides in a residential nursing home on the outskirts of Nottingham, where his care is paid for by the state. He is visited once a week by his mother, Audrey Finch.”
I let this information sink in for the moment to see if it pleased the raging beast inside me. It didn’t.
“Viktor, this man Finch is breathing good air and the people who pay national insurance in this country are paying for him to have that privilege. I want him dead.”
“Would you not prefer to see him face what has to be a living hell every day, incapable of even wiping his own ass?” Viktor questioned.
“Frankly, no. I would just rather his existence be removed from this world altogether. Send me the address of this nursing home so I can look him in the eyes as he takes his last breath.”
“No, I cannot do that Gregor. If you want him dead, I can see it done in a way that will not lead back to any of us. Give me two days to make it happen.”
“Viktor I want…” I was cut off mid-sentence as I tried to plead my case to be the one who killed the man.
“Gregor, you would do well to spend your time with your woman. Let me take care of this matter, and you can owe me one, my friend. And bring your woman to Russia. I need to see the woman she is today, so I can put these photographs out of my mind. As do you Gregor. Do not let what you have seen today cause you to treat her differently. From other information I have gathered about her, she appears to be a strong, beautiful, capable business woman. A good fit for you, I think.”
“She is remarkable, Viktor. I am blessed to have found her.”
“Do svidaniya, Gregor.”
“Do svidaniya, Viktor, and thank you.”
Chapter Fifteen
Gregor
When I ended the call, the silence of thi
s old house descended all around and for a few minutes, I let the numbness that was creeping through my limbs take over. I needed to do something, anything to make this feeling of helplessness go away, but looking at the evidence photographs of Chloe on my laptop wasn’t helping.
She must have been in absolute agony, and as a human, it would have probably taken her weeks, or even months, to heal fully from this. But emotional healing would have taken much longer, and at that moment, I cursed myself for causing her fear last night on revealing the contents of my cellar.
I remembered her mentioning hitting, as she thought I had wanted to restrain and hit her. As I thought more on her words, the fantasies I’d had of Chloe over the last few weeks played in my mind. The one that appeared in my subconscious most frequently was of Chloe naked and bound as she was last night, her ass in the air as I spanked her repeatedly, leaving hot red handprints every time my hand impacted against her soft skin.
I felt disgusted with myself for having this thought, and I began to examine my past behaviour, comparing myself to this man Finch.
Maxim, my old body guard who had attacked Keeley, had thought I hated women, because of my activities in my club. To me, my actions were a normal, and acceptable part of being a Dom, and many women were more than happy to sub for me. Men too, although I never participated, as it just wasn’t my thing. But would my thing be as acceptable in today's society as Keeley had said? Or did my need for this behaviour mean I had more in common with Peter Finch than I cared to accept?
The more I thought about it, the more sickened I felt with both myself and the contents of my cellar. I could feel the key almost burn its way through my pocket, begging me to remove it.
Seconds later I found myself moving with vampire speed towards my cellar, and after opening the door, I leapt down the steps. The lights were still on from when I had cleaned up earlier, and the St Andrews Cross I had once thought to be an exquisitely carved work of art seemed to taunt me from its illuminated position.
Gone were the fantasy images of Chloe with limbs cuffed to each corner as she writhed in pleasure against the thick polished oak. Instead, I had a vision of Chloe screaming in fear as I approached her bloodied and bruised body. Rage consumed me, and my prized furniture became the target.
My first kick to the middle of the cross made little impact, which only caused my anger to grow even further. The second kick caused a split which fractured further once I had kicked it again. I then let go with a series of kicks and punches, only stopping to tear away the electricity cords and steel rods from the back.
When the cross became a jagged splintered mess, I moved on to the stocks that Chloe had insisted she would never want to use. Wrecking these was much easier than destroying the six by six-inch-thick beams of the cross, yet was just as satisfying.
I had thought I’d heard a noise in the house, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from using my claws on the leather of the very piece of furniture that I had bound Chloe to last night. This piece had created a wonderful memory for me, and somehow it felt wrong to destroy it.
Indecision caused me to pause for a moment and in doing so, I heard footsteps running down my hallway and the heavy wooden door of my home slam shut.
Chapter Sixteen
Chloe
All morning I had been lost in my own world, the events of last night playing over and over in my mind. Sure I had been shocked and scared when I had first seen the contents of Gregors cellar, more so than when I had discovered he was a vampire, which made no sense at all.
But, when I had finally been able to let go of my fears and give Gregor all my trust, I’d had the most thrilling sexual experience of my life. I would never have thought that to be naked and cuffed to something could feel so empowering and liberating, but amazingly enough, that’s how I felt.
I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to doing that again, although I still didn’t think I could deal with the stocks. Pam had been begging me to tell her what it was that Gregor had done to put this huge smile on my face and the twinkle in my eyes, but I wouldn’t tell her. I think the contents of Gregor’s cellar just might be enough to shock the normally unshockable Pamela.
I was currently on my way to surprise Gregor with the photo frame that I had finally managed to fill. Looking at the smile on Gregor’s face as he held baby Rory made me feel so broody. I thought about him saying he wanted to bond with me, and what that would mean. Instead of finding it to be much too early to be thinking about a permanent relationship, I found myself wanting it more than I ever thought possible.
I had fallen in love with him, and I knew he was telling the truth when he said he loved me, too. I could feel that love, feel how real it was, and knowing that I would get to feel that forever made me one hell of a lucky woman.
When I got to the Manor, I rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. I tried the handle and found that the door wasn’t locked, so I let myself in and quickly made my way down the hallway to Gregors study.
I couldn’t wait for Gregor to come home and see the gift I had brought him. Okay, it wasn’t much compared to the gifts he normally bought everyone, but I knew he would appreciate it.
I looked around his study and found the laptop open on his desk. I decided to place it in front of the keyboard so he would see it as he sat down to work. I pushed the laptop back slightly to make enough room to stand the frame and disturbed the screen as I did so.
What appeared on the screen made my blood run cold. The photograph was of my battered and bruised, swollen face from when I was attacked by my ex-boyfriend.
Why did Gregor have this on his laptop? This was part of the official police evidence, taken from my hospital bedside after I was admitted. Tentatively, I reached out to scroll down the page. There were more photos, and a copy of the full medical and police report detailing my injuries and the events leading up to them. There was also the police mugshot and current information about Peter Finch, the bastard that caused my injuries.
Why did Gregor have all this? I looked around the study as if trying to find something that would explain the reason why he held this information. But of course, I would find nothing in this room that would reveal why the man would need these details.
No.
The reason that Gregor had this information was becoming plain to see. After I had shown fear last night, it triggered his curiosity and need to put things right. Only he could never put this right. This event was in my past, or had been. I had laid it mostly to rest or, at least, I thought I had. But here was a stark reminder that you can never fully leave your past behind, and especially not when you have an interfering Russian willing to throw money at someone to illegally acquire official police documentation.
Gregor asked me for trust, and I gave it to him willingly. I wanted to tell him about the abuse in my own time, so I asked him for patience, but obviously, that was something he wasn’t willing to give.
I had worked so hard for so long not to be seen as a victim. My ex-husband gave me a safe haven, and also confidence for a while; until he wanted to replace me with a man, that is. And Gregor had just become yet another man to give me false hope for a perfect future that included love and respect, as well as passion.
But these images on his laptop showed just how much Gregor Antonov respected my wishes. With a heavy heart and eyes full of tears, I left the Manor and slammed the door on the future I thought had lain in front of me.
Chapter Seventeen
Gregor
After hearing the front door slam, I ran up the cellar steps with vampire speed and made my way just as quickly to the front door. I nearly tore it off its hinges in my pursuit to get to who I knew had left my home in such a rush.
I had reached the door to Chloe’s van before she had time to close it.
“Leave me alone, Gregor,” she sobbed as she tried in vain to wrestle my hand away from the door. It was then she noticed the blood on my hands, and the wood stuck in my flesh.
“Oh my God, Grego
r, you’re hurt,” she exclaimed as her eyes started to take in the rest of me.
Was I hurt? In my heart, I was. How could I not be after seeing those photographs? But, as I looked down at my shaking hands I saw they were torn and busted, and my injuries didn’t stop there.
There were small pieces of wood sticking out of my flesh, over most of my upper body and my legs had large gashes that would not heal without extra blood. I truly hadn’t felt the pain from any of this, the rage I held saw to that. But to Chloe, I must have looked frightening. Both my shirt and trousers seemed covered in my blood, and I could see some of it was dripping onto the pebbles of my driveway.
“What happened,” she said as she moved to get out of the car. I saw my bloody handprints smeared across the white door and roof of her van as I backed away.
“I think you know what happened Chloe, or what I saw. That’s why you were running away wasn’t it? You wanted to get away from me because you saw what was on my laptop. That’s why you were crying, because you knew I had got the information you asked me to wait for. But I couldn't wait for you to tell me, Chloe. It was driving me crazy, both the human and vampire side of me felt the same. I couldn’t rest until I knew.”
“So you went behind my back and got the information. The bare bones of it anyway. But that’s all you will ever know now, Gregor.”
I read the unsaid words in her eyes. She was done with me. I had betrayed her trust, and that was something she had vowed never to accept again. I could see it all laid out like a script, but I wasn’t going to hear it. Not today. Not ever in fact. I just couldn’t deal with those words and the meaning behind them.
