KELL (The Valisk Family Series Book 1)

by Roxanne Greening

  The moment his back was to me, I pulled out the liquid powder that would put him to sleep.

  His eyes had turned glassy as it kicked in. He liked his coffee black, which helped me to mask the extra flavor.

  It wasn't like I used much. I only needed time to tie him up so he couldn't fight back. The duct tape, felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

  Pulling long strips of the gorilla brand duct tape was hard.

  It was stronger than the average duct tape. I wrapped the strips one by one around his wrists and ankles.

  This would keep him steady enough. They told me I needed to tape him to the pipes. Grabbing his arms just between where the tape and wrists met.

  Pulling was more work than I thought it would be. He was a tall, slim man, but he felt like he was fat.

  Maybe it was the weight of my soul as I continued to make him the victim. I started cutting long before he awoke.

  It was going to hurt, I knew this, but it would make it less difficult for us both. I got as many as I could.

  His eyes opened wide the moment the drug wore off, and he started screaming. Grabbing the dishtowel, I confiscated from the counter I shove it into his mouth.

  It hurt my ears to listen to his pain. It hurt my heart as he squirmed, trying to get away from the knife as it slowly sliced his flesh.

  I was a monster, and I knew this wasn't going to be the last time I had to do this. After what felt like a millennium, I was on my feet and pressed my left foot into his throat, keeping my right on the floor for better balance.

  He was begging me with his eyes to stop. He didn't want to die, and honestly, I didn't want to kill him.

  "I'm so sorry Mr." I tell him.

  Tears coated both of our cheeks. His tears were mixed with blood, and it turned them pink. I wanted to finish this, I needed to finish this.

  Quickly, I put all my weight down on his throat, and it pressed down deep. His body jerked, and his eyes lost that light. The one saying he was with the living.

  The windows to his soul, I just extinguished it. Snuffed it out like sand on fire. I sobbed louder as I removed my foot. My eyes closed as I looked away.

  His body was already changing. It looked less normal, I couldn't explain it. Blood drained and pooled in the places that I pressed to the floor. Without his heart to pump it, it just flowed quickly to the bottom.

  I'm not sure how long I stood there looking at his body, but I knew I needed to run. I needed away from there. Away from the ones who made me do this.

  They were supposed to care for me, but I learned quickly that they weren't my parents. I was just a means to an end.

  Pulling back to the present, I looked at the poor girl tied to the bed. She was fully clothed, and her long straight brown hair pressed against the pillows that were propping her up.

  Big hard sobs shook from her body. I then did exactly what I wanted to do to earlier.

  I turned and punched him in the throat.

  I then watched as he crumpled to the floor and lost the ability to breathe. I pulled back my foot I slammed it into his head, knocking him out.

  I walked over to the woman and eyed her warily. She's seen me, and if I let her go, she'll bring the cops. I couldn't have that. Pulling the gag from her mouth, I mummer.

  "Name?"

  "Lexa," she replies.

  It was a strangely pretty name.

  "Family, Lexa?" I ask.

  She shook her head.

  "I know what you're thinking, and I promise not to tell a soul. Truthfully, I want to stay with you," she tells me.

  I stared at her like she was the man who killed Medusa. But instead of killing, she befriended her. No one wanted to be friends with the psycho.

  "Please, " she begged.

  I couldn't let her go and I sure as fuck didn't want to kill her. I looked at her and felt bad, she was already the victim. Just like I was. She was a victim of circumstance.

  But what the fuck was I going to do with her? I knew of someone, but it was a last resort. Sam from the Aces MC. He would help look after her.

  I stumbled upon Sam (also known as Tom) when I attempted to dump one of my marks. He grabbed the feet and nodded to my car. I had stared blankly at him. He was helping me dispose of an obvious body.

  "We have a way to take care of this," he told me.

  I look at his leather vest and read the 1% patch and smile. I knew what he was. It took all of two minutes to find my first best bud.

  It wasn't the last time he helped me, and I knew he would take care of her. Although, I didn't want to dump her. Honestly, I never had a female friend. She was also a victim, someone who understood what it was like to live in a world filled with darkness and hate.

  Cutting her loose, I turned back to my last mark.

  The last person I will ever kill.

  Chapter 13

  Kell

  I paced back and forth in front of the cages. Each one was holding a new victim. I pointed at cage number two and watched as Ivan dragged the man roughly through the metal door.

  “Please,” he begged.

  He had tears in his eyes as he begged me to let him be. I smiled at him.

  “Please what? Leave you alone? Take out another person to play with?” I ask him without remorse or pity

  It was sinking in. I knew the moment it hit him like a punch to the face.

  “You’re very fucking lucky I don’t have anyone to give you the same treatment that the women experienced,” I tell him

  I still might, there was no promise I wouldn’t. If I didn’t get what I wanted, I might do just that.

  His whimpers mixed with the whimpers of the others locked in the other cages. It warmed my heart knowing they were afraid.

  “Something you should have figured out by now, but I’m not my fucking brother. He got exactly what he deserved.” I tell him

  Following closely behind Ivan, we went to the room that my brothers called his play place. It had chains hanging from the ceiling, and the first victim was tied to the chair.

  Blood was welling and pouring in thin lines down his face.

  “Tommy here wasn’t very forthcoming. He’s taking a break, and I honestly don’t want to push too hard, too fast,” I say.

  I watched as Ivan forced whoever this was into the chains. His wrists, held his weight and his toes dangled just above the floor.

  This was something my brother seemed found of. He would force women to watch as he tortured others. Something I was going to do, but with men who deserved this and more.

  “Let’s start, hmm? What’s your name?” I ask.

  He just glared at me. I smiled honestly, I was enjoying this. But each moment with them was one less searching for Texas. Reaching for the scalpel, I pressed it into his cheek.

  The skin separated easily as I applied more pressure. He screamed as it dragged down the side of his face. When I was too close to his neck, I pulled back.

  “Name?” I ask again.

  “Fuck you,” He spit between clenched teeth.

  “Oh, so feisty,” I say.

  This was becoming more and more fun. I reached up and pressed the sharp blade into his forehead. I followed his wrinkled forehead crease and cut from one side to the other.

  “Name?” I demand.

  “Adam,” he replied.

  Oh, he was breaking easier than Tommy.

  “Who’s your boss, Adam?” I asked.

  He once again went silent. Grabbing his ear, I slowly pressed the blade into the top curve and dragged it behind his ear, separating it from his head.

  It reminded me of a famous painter. Giving up his ear because of a woman.

  “I can do this all day,” I tell him.

  I place a handful of salt in my hand. Tilting his head to the side and roughly dumped some of the salt where his ear once resided. He was screaming as tears mixed with the blood dripping down his face.

  The salty tears then dripped into the cuts.

  “Who the fuck is your boss
?” I demand.

  “Vinnie,” He replies.

  “Now was that so fucking hard?” I ask.

  “Now, I want you to reach out to your boss and tell him the inventory was better than what you originally thought, and you need him to pick the ones he wants,” I say.

  Adam, was already shaking his head.

  “I can take the other ear before moving on to other things that stick out,” I tell him.

  His blue eyes which were already wide and filled with pain suddenly became even wider. His nod his dirty bling head hard and continuous. I gave him my best smile and turned to Ivan.

  “Make the call,” I tell Ivan.

  “Da.” Ivan, replies.

  Walking from the room, I headed to the shower. I had someplace to go and a man to kill. My brother’s second, Darian, was a frequent visitor to the bar where I met Texas.

  Chapter 14

  Texas

  I had him strapped to the bed which Lexa was just on. His eyes were big as I straddled his chest. Lexa stood to the right looking on with a smile.

  She was going to participate. She earned the right to see this through.

  “Oh, you’re a sick fuck! I’ve been hired to send you to the only place that you belong. Hell.” I tell him with a purr in my voice.

  Looking at Lexa, I smiled.

  “Want to go first?” I ask her.

  I waited for her to back out after I gave him a few unpleasant marks. But, she nodded quickly. She then leaned in closer, making sure he could see the smile that spread across her face.

  “We're going to kill you,” She tells him.

  Her tone was sweet, almost like she swallowed a lot of sugar and we weren’t talking about killing someone.

  “You’ve been a very bad boy.”

  My voice was cool as the words left my lips. I watched as Lexa pressed the knife under his chin and dragged it slowly down his neck.

  I climbed off the bed as she went lower. The blade wasn’t pressing into his flesh, and he wasn’t bleeding. It dawned on me as she passed his belly button where this was headed.

  She was going after that part he planned to violate her with. Looking at her, I grabbed the salt from my bag. I didn’t need him bleeding out too soon.

  His cell phone was off, and I needed to turn it, so I knew when it was time to go. He needed to be found so the person who hired me would know the job was finished.

  “I hate you.” She screamed the words as she cut into his jeans. She wasn’t even bothering to undo them, she just cut her way through the black slacks.

  When she reached her destination, she looked at him with cold eyes. Then, it was in her hand, and she was cutting through his flesh.

  Blood poured freely as she cut deep. It felt like forever for her to remove his cock. His screams were filled with pain, and tears spilled down his cheeks.

  Opening the salt, I started pouring it over the wound. She held up his dick like a trophy.

  “When you’re finished, will you please let me finish him?” She asked.

  She was waving around his dick like it was a wand. I laughed lightly. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Looking directly at the half man on the bed, I smile and nodded.

  “You did some horrible things. I’m here to punish you,” I tell him.

  Grabbing the whip, I raised it and heard the whistle echo in the air as it whipped across his chest. Blood welled as his skin split and made a nice slice right across his ribs.

  I let it hit him over and over giving him about twenty lashes on various spots. Lexa watched with this calm I was surprised by. This was something I learned over time, but it seemed to sink in and take hold faster in her.

  Grabbing his face, I lean over to make sure he could see my face. His eyes were crazed and filled with pain.

  “You killed her daughter, and she wanted to make sure you paid for it. I wanted to make sure you suffered for all the women you hurt,” I tell him.

  Turning, I looked to Lexa. She was watching me with detachment on her face and checked out in some odd way.

  “Here you can finish him,” I tell her.

  “This is for the girl before me, the one you buried. This is for all the horrible things you did to her. For making me watch and gloating about how I was next.” She screamed at him.

  She grabbed his cheeks pinching them hard to open his mouth. She then took his dick and forced it inside and continued to push until it was deep in his throat and gagging.

  His face had turned red and more tears poured down his face as he fought to breathe. She smiled at him expressing how proud she was.

  Fuck, I was proud of her too. She stood up for someone. She wasn’t just doing this for herself, but for another victim. I snarled in frustration. That poor woman would still be here if I had found him sooner.

  That was a question that was going to haunt me more than all the souls I snuffed out. Could I have saved her?

  Chapter 15

  Kell

  The bar was crowded, and everyone that was talking had a hum echoing in the room and that slowly turned to a mummer when they noticed me.

  It went silent like dead fucking silent. I scanned the faces not seeing either of the people he so badly wanted to see. Then, he saw the bartender fidget.

  Taking long strides, he devours the space, taking him closer to the now fearful bartender. The bartender’s face looked almost constipated.

  “I can see by the way you’re trying not to run that he’s been here,” I tell him.

  “Yes,” he replies.

  I waited for him to elaborate more, but he didn’t, and my frustration grew.

  “And?” I ask.

  “She left with him,” He tells me.

  “She as in Texas? As in the woman I was with the other night?” I demand.

  Anger. Frustration. Fuck, now I was pissed.

  “Yes,” He replies.

  He whimpered like a fucking child.

  “When?” I ask.

  “Maybe an hour or two?” He answers.

  Like he didn’t know.

  “One or fucking two? How the fuck do you not know?” I demand.

  His eyes got bigger, and I could see his little brain shrinking.

  I stormed from the bar and listened as the door slammed behind Ivan. Anger and a small amount of fear warred within me.

  I feared for her. I may have lost her already. I was going to take him apart, piece by piece.

  Chapter 16

  Texas

  The man from the bar kept popping up in my head. His laughter, how he tasted, and the way he felt when he was pumping hard inside of me.

  I felt twinges for almost two days after. I missed him. It was weird and terrifying, but I missed him. I missed the warmth he brought. Shaking my head, I looked at Lexa.

  She was covered in blood. Grabbing her hand, I rushed her to my car. We needed to get her cleaned up since my dress covered the blood stains.

  She was wearing a white shirt and dark blue skinny jeans, and every drop was visible. She needed to change and clean off with some water. Luckily, I had some rags that I keep with me.

  I would burn it all later when we were far away from here. Darkness was descending, and I knew travel tonight wouldn't be smart.

  "We need to get cleaned up. I have clothes for you to change into," I tell her.

  "Thank you," she replies.

  It was the first time someone thanked me wholeheartedly. Something in my chest rattled. It was the same thing that rattled over him. My mystery man.

  What was I thinking, he wasn't my anything. This was a different rattle. This was a tiny ripple, but his was more like a tsunami.

  A wave-like destruction that broke a few chains holding my heart.

  It hurt to feel, and each kill ripped into it. Bandages were never enough to stop this bleeding. I thought of leaving town, but it hurt to leave him behind.

  I grabbed her hand and forced thoughts of him to the back of my mind. I needed to move fast. This needed to be a cont
rolled with fire. There was too much evidence around.

  I would stash Lexa at my safe house and come back here. Fuck moving his body. He could burn in here like he was doing in the pits of hell. When it was over, he would resemble my soul. Black and crisp. Completely unrecognizable.

  Chapter 17

  Kell

  I stared at the shack and was almost fucking positive that was where the fucking bastard was hiding. She was in there, and I had no fucking clue what I was walking into.

  It was like acid burning its way into my soul. I know I needed to move to save her from this psycho, but this was on me. Anything and everything that happened in there was my fault, and I wasn’t sure I could live with it. Ivan could see my indecision and torment.

  He walked to the door without pausing or looking at me for orders. He just walked through it. This was why he was my second. He fucking did what needed to be done.

  My feet moved slowly, and my stride was small. The door was getting closer and closer, and I couldn’t hear any noises. There was nothing.

  I expected the asshole to be screaming, and I hoped to hear loud sounds because of Ivan. There was nothing though, and the silence was unnerving. The closer I got, the harder it was to breathe.

  I felt like a fearful child and that angered me even more. I was a fucking man. I ran a family and killed people as easily as taking a breath.

  Yet, when I reached the door, I fought the need to run like a frightened child. The stench of old pennies filled the air and leaked from the little shack.

  I knew the smell of blood. This place was full of it. Suddenly, I couldn’t move fast enough. Rushing into the filthy place I stopped in my tracks. There was someone on the bed.

  His eyes stared lifelessly at the wall. His killer must have been standing there. Whoever killed him, took their time doing it. Little cuts marked his body.

  As I looked around I noticed there was no signs of any struggle. There was also no Texas.

  Where the fuck was she?