by M Dauphin
Had she just listened to me, she'd be out of trouble and I'd go back to real business, living the life I planned without her.
And now what? Now I have a bullet wound and a girl locked up in the basement. Not to mention the kid I don't know what to do about.
This whole thing is a fucking mess.
Thank god for Alice. She's been a savior in this whole thing. I don't want Bronson here until I'm able to tend to him on my own. I don't trust Jasper with him, and he's too young to take care of himself. I had to tell Megan he was dead just to attempt to shatter her world more than mine. He's the only thing she truly loves in this world.
I didn't wake up for four days after being shot. According to Jasper and Tito, the door man, they weren't sure I was going to make it. Jasper had to dig the bullet out of my shoulder and the blood loss left stains all over the goddamned house. The cleaners have been trying, but I think I'm just going to have to end up replacing the carpet in the library at the very least. I also had them trash the couch they did the surgery on. I don't want the reminder of what happened. I'll already be wearing two nasty scars from it anyway.
The bullet went in and lodged its way in between the tendons and muscles in my shoulder. Ripping them to shreds. Tito's a licensed doctor that got put on leave ten years ago for a malpractice suit. I pay him more to be my door man than he would ever have made as a surgeon.
Thank god for Tito, because without him, I'd have never been able to use my arm again. As it stands, it's going to take a while for me to gain full control of it again. He said after the stitches are out I'll be able to start using it more. For now though, I'm in a sling and using my left hand for everything.
I fucking hate it.
It's nice having all I need here so I don't have to make multiple trips to the hospital for gunshot wounds. Hell, this is the second time in a month I've been shot and I'm still standing. Anyone else in my shoes wouldn't have made it, but my body is used to the abuse.
As much as I'm used to the physical pain of being shot and beaten, though, that's nothing compared to the pain I felt when Megan betrayed me. All the looks I thought she had given me these past few months that made me think she loved me were nothing but a play to get closer to the kingpin himself and kill him.
I have no doubt in my mind that if I hadn't intervened she would have tried to kill Jasper and she would have ended up dead.
Or worse.
In his clutches, hidden away as his little sex slave.
I know who he is. I've seen what he can do.
The problem with it all is, I don't care if he's doing it to any other girl… just not my girl. He's a brother to me. He's the man that's been fronting this empire for years now, because I'd rather kill people than sit behind a desk and take complaints from clients. I'd much rather be murdering people anyway. He does as I ask and I get to murder people, all while he looks like he's the big bad guy everyone pinned him for. It works well this way, and it's just one more way for us to have one up on our competitors. They'll say things to me they won't say to Jasper because they think he makes the rules. But he doesn't.
I fucking do.
Jasper's been a trooper all these years of lying to the public, really. He's good at it. He's got a hot temper too, which I enjoy watching when he's exploding on other people. Other people. Not me.
No one outside of these walls knows what we are up to, and it stays that way or a fuck ton of blood will be shed. No, I think we're good for now. Jasper's been tending to me and didn't leave me to die. He's trying to apologize for shooting me without having to say those two horrid words.
'I'm sorry' isn't in his vocabulary.
Now all I have to do is decide what I'm going to do with Megan. Jasper locked her in the basement.I haven't been down to see her, and I'm not ready to yet. She fucks with my head and my heart. She makes me want to murder her painfully, but more so she makes me want to fuck her until she's screaming from pain and pleasure. I can't fucking win with her.
I'm going to let her rot down there for a little while longer. Let her think I'm dead and wallow in whatever emotions she has. If any at all. She's got nothing down there but a bathroom, couch, and some books. No bed, no TV, no windows. Really, it's the perfect room to keep someone in, though it wasn't built that way. I've never had a prisoner, and I fucking hate that my first is her, but I guess it only makes sense for the first girl to make it to my heart is also the first girl to shatter it.
My phone goes off on my nightstand and I instinctively move my right arm to get it, hissing with pain when I remember that's a bad idea.
Fuck me.
Slowly sitting up, I growl when I see the screen light up.
"Hey, Alice," I say, trying to hide the pain from my voice.
I need some fucking drugs if I'm going to start functioning as a human again. It's about damn time I get back on my feet and start showing everyone around here who's really in charge.
"Lucas? How are you, my dear?" Her voice sounds worried and my thoughts immediately go to Bronson. The boy I think of as my own son. Megan has to think he’s dead, but in all reality if he died… that'd be the end of me.
"Is everything ok, Alice?"
"Oh fine, fine. Your brother has been keeping me updated on your recovery but he won't let us come up to the hospital to visit you. Bronson misses you, Lucas."
I sigh and close my eyes, feeling like a total dick for throwing that on her.
When I dropped him off at her house I never thought about the aftermath of all this. At some point of my consciousness I ordered Jasper to call Alice and inform her I was in a car accident and unconscious. She agreed to take Bronson for as long as it took for me to recover, but I'd imagine a week with a five-year-old you don't know well is pretty hard for an almost ninety year old. Although I hate to say it, it's probably been better for Bronson that he's been with her. But I can't let that kid go.
"I know. I'm so sorry." I truly am too.
For all of this. For killing his mom, for putting away his second mom. I could have single handedly ruined his life and now I'm going to try my hardest not to make that happen. I'm the only thing he has left in this world, and I'm going to make damn sure he gets a better life than he's on track for.
"Hey, listen. I'm being released today. I'll come pick him up on my way home from the hospital. I'll have my brother swing us by, that way we don't have to go back out again tonight."
"Oh, he will be so excited, Lucas! I'm just happy you're doing better. You gave us all a good scare."
"Me too, Alice. And thanks again."
I hang up before any more niceties. She's liable to keep me on the phone for hours on end talking about the weather, but there's shit I have to take care of first.
Somewhere in this house there has to be a bedroom fit for a prince. Because, of course, if the King is to have a prince he deserves only the best quarters.
TWO WEEKS AGO
"Luke! Watch this!" Bronson has been here a little over a week and I'm already seeing a change in him.
Pulling into Alice's driveway, I saw his face watching out the living room window. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and goddammit if I didn't choke back tears.
Who knew you could miss someone so small? Who knew a child could make that big of an impression on your heart? My life has been consumed by a little kid. I sleep, eat, and breathe all things Bronson. He's fucking amazing and I'm the luckiest mother fucker out there to be able to call him my son.
The minute I saw him I ran as hard as I could to get to him. It was like a void in my chest started closing.
He's mine, and he's here with me.
"Great job, bud!"
He's hanging from the monkey bars out back and slowly swinging from one to the other. I smirk at my new playground equipment purchased for him. If I could just take the kid to the park, I would, but it’s out of the question, so I’ll build a damn jungle gym back here if I have to. My back-yard is six times bigger than the playground near where we lived last mont
h anyway. There's enough room here to put in a ball field in the future if that's what he wants. I know this isn't the lifestyle for a child, but I'm never letting this one go again.
I've been looking into schools around the area for him, but I think it'd be safer to have him home schooled. With all my connections, I've been able to obtain a certificate of adoption in the great state of California. It arrived in the mail today and I couldn't help but break out into a huge smile when I opened the envelope.
Megan's not going to mind that I put her name on the certificate. Hell, I don't think I'm going to tell her quite yet. I'm not against telling her the truth about Bronson, but I'm going to leave the adoption papers for a better day. One of these days I'll get down there to see her. I've been leaving her to stew in hopes that once I walk through the door she'll be so thankful that I'm alive that she'll throw away all past plans to take over this empire and I'll be able to trust letting her out of the basement. I don't have high hopes though. She's a tough bitch. We have a lot of shit to air out, adoption being the last thing on our list.
Now comes the fun part.
"Hey, Bronson! Come here, buddy!" I have to try to hide the smile on my face for the time being.
This kid, being only five years old, is crazy fucking smart for his age. I don't want him to think something's up quite yet.
As he runs over, I can't help but smile. He stops right next to me and looks up at me expectantly.
I kneel down by him and grin. "What would you think about being my son? You calling me daddy and Megan mommy?"
His little eyes grow huge, then suddenly they shrink.
"I miss Birdie. Is she ok yet? When can I see her?" A knife to the gut at her nickname that I haven't heard him say since he's been here. He was told she's sick and can't see anyone. That's the only way to keep him away from her right now.
"Soon, pal. I'll take you to see her as soon as she's healthy again. So, what do you think then? Would you want to start calling us mom and dad?"
If he says no there's nothing I can do but force it on him and hope that he eventually agrees to it, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.
His smile grows and he starts to nod frantically. "So you're my dad now? I've never had a dad. I had a mom, but she got sick like Birdie. Is Birdie going to die like my mom did?"
"No," I snip then clear my throat. "Birdie will be fine. And she'll be your new mom and I'll be your dad."
His joy is contagious and soon he's jumping into my arms and knocking me over to the ground. His laughter rings through the yard as he tackles me, being as careful as a kid can be when tackling a bullet wound victim. Thank god my arm's starting to feel better.
I'd be okay with this much joy in my life, for the rest of my life.
THREE WEEKS AGO
"Don't stop until I tell you." Jasper's tone indicates he's on the brink of his orgasm and if he doesn't cum soon, I may just choke myself to death.
I mean that literally, but do I really want to die gagging on Jasper's cock?
I've been locked in this room, that's more like a flat, for eighty-four hours. It's better than the pitch black room the size of a closet that I had been locked in. I sat in that room with no contact for what felt like days. When Jasper came for me, I caught him off guard and bashed his head against the cement wall. I'm still paying for that act that drew blood. But he hasn't cut into my flesh yet.
At this point, a lot of people would have given up. I blacked out the last time we did this, yet I still forced myself awake and not to die. My future looks bleak to others. I'll forever be trapped in Lucas's house as Jasper's sex slave and whipping post. There really isn't a possible way out of this basement unless he lets me out. But soon people will be looking for me and that is when I will escape this vile fate.
I'm not talking friends or family. I have none. I'm talking about Benjamin Vig, B.K. Vig's son. The man I'm supposed to marry. There was a reason I picked B.K. when Jasper demanded a name of someone he could kill when he found the marks on my body from Luke. With B.K. out of the picture, I could either buy time, or cancel the ridiculous agreement I made years ago.
It started harmlessly as a joke. If I married his son, he would bring me business. It was humorous to his minuscule brain. The joke turned serious when my options turned to marriage or death. B.K. wasn't going to kill me, it was someone bigger, higher up the chain. Someone more dangerous than B.K. was fucked over by one of my employees and, after they were taken care of, there was a hit out for me. I easily could have recruited Jasper's help and had the problem resolved quickly, but then he would have been filled in on a little more than I wanted him to know about how I was conducting business for him. The only person I could trust was B.K. and he took care of my problem under the condition I married his son.
Let's reverse a little.
The employee of mine that caused this issue was Ben Vig's young, beautiful, stupid wife. What a tangled web we weaved, and blame as to whose fault her death was is still clouded. Needless to say, I traded my life for my hand in marriage. By the age of thirty, Ben Vig must be married, and I'm not entirely certain how old the man is, but thirty is coming soon if it hasn't already. And that is why B.K.'s name was the first off my lips when Jasper demanded a name.
So, now I sit and wait. If things hadn't taken a drastic turn and the truth hadn't come out that Jasper is not who he's been playing for years, B.K. looking for me wouldn't mean much. But with Lucas dead and, I imagine, the empire sitting in limbo because Lucas doesn't have any living family, Jasper is a sitting duck. I'm not the only one that wanted this empire. When the truth starts to come out that Jasper is not who he says he is, people are going to want his head on a platter. And the truth will come out, because when you run an operation this big, the dunce playing you doesn't just get to inherit everything without legalities following. Jasper is as good as dead when it all surfaces, and my hope is B.K. is the one to deliver on that. Then I will marry Ben Vig and, to the Vig's, we'll rule the empire together. But we all know who will really be taking charge, and Ben would have no qualms letting me. He's just like his father. In love with a pretty face that'll make their less than pleasurable features look better. Not that Ben's ugly. I don't really recall what he looks like, I've only met him once and he was obviously unmemorable then. I imagine since I've seen him last, probably five years ago, he's only aged to look more and more like his father. I've dealt with Jasper this long, I think I can handle fucking a Vig, if need be. Not that Jasper is unattractive. That's the whole problem with the man. He's amazing to look at, clothed or not –but he's full of toxins.
The blast from his fist to my temple makes the room start to go black.
Coming to, it feels like I've had a conscious mind but couldn't wake my body from that hit. And when I finally open my eyes, my jaw is locked open. I was giving Jasper a blow job when he punched me and now my jaw is stuck open. There's no pain. I can't feel anything actually; my entire body is numb and I can't even sit up. My eyes watch the clock on the wall for three hours before tingling in my fingertips gives me hope this paralysis is wearing off. When I'm able to move my hands, I reach for my mouth but not sure if I'm touching my lips. I do realize my jaw is not locked, there is some sort of brace holding it agape and I take a minute to just breathe because sensation hasn't come back. Feeling suddenly jolts through my body; I have control over my limbs again. That's when I realize there is something large in my mouth, sitting on my tongue.At the same time I'm reaching for it, it moves. It's alive and as it starts to crawl out of my mouth While I force hocking noises from my throat, I know what it is. Grabbing the spider that's bigger than my palm, I feel the puncture on my finger before I throw it across the room and jump to my feet. With feeling back in my body, I'm suddenly aware of the pain I'm in. Not from being punched in the temple, my tongue is in pain. My neck and my bicep hurt. Ripping the metal brace from my mouth, I hear a pop in my jaw but nothing I'm concerned with at the moment. I run for the bathroom and look at the monster in the
mirror. My tongue is so swollen I can't close my mouth, and I have the neck of an athlete jacked up on steroids. Results of spider bites, I can see the punctures on my neck and my tongue. My bicep isn't swollen, but it is bruised as if he injected me with something and that's possibly how I feel like I've been sleeping for days. Looking at my hair, I think I might have been unconscious a few days. I'm not wearing what I was when I saw Jasper last and this dress thing is as filthy as my hair. It only takes me a few minutes to realize it's semen that's dried in my hair and on my dress.
That mother fucker has been getting off with my unconscious body. Sick fuck! How, after all these years, can his actions shock me? I became immune to everything he'd done to me, but this is a completely new level for him. After pulling open the shower curtain, I rip the dress off, my fingers brushing prickly fur and then I see the spider on the dress. With a shriek of disgust, I throw it out of the bathroom, almost positive that's a second spider, it was far smaller than the first. Spiders don't scare me, but I'm not willing to share my body with them. Especially these mother fuckers. The bite on my tongue and neck are painful enough that I'm wondering if they're poisonous. Trying to squeeze the one on my neck, I hear the door and freeze momentarily before my body takes action on its own and I yank down the hanging circular mirror from the wall. Careful not to make a shattering noise, I grab both ends of the mirror and place it on the counter then push downward. This is going to get me hurt, but I just need a shard of glass to cut him with. The mirror pops and the shattered pieces fall onto the rug, muffling the sound, but small shards have cut into my hands. It's not my concern right now. Grabbing a shard in each hand, I quickly wrap what's left of the mirror in the rug and hide it between the toilet and the shower.
Bird noises whistle through the room and I slowly emerge, expecting to find La Petit, but it's Jasper making the whistling noises.
"Little bird." His eyes scan my naked body then he focuses on my neck and agape mouth. "You're a filthy sight." He scowls then lifts a bowl and pulls a straight razor from it. "I'll shave you today."
