Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1)

by Flowers, Tiffany

  “You have a massage scheduled for an hour.” Neeko must have scheduled it to say he is sorry for being late.

  “Ok, Mr Dressel. You want to party with me before you have to go?” I say, sarcastically.

  “You’re going to get me in trouble if Neeko ever hears you talk to me like that.” He winks.

  I laugh. “Well, maybe you need to be spanked every now and then.”

  “Ok, well...on that note, I am leaving.” He chuckles and flashes out.

  Chapter 14: The Real Neeko

  Neeko

  I have been spending too much time on levels 4 and 5, but I have to find out why they are so active. I get great pleasure out of torturing demons. I get to hear them scream just like I heard my family scream. I can still remember the way my mom’s screams sent chills to my bones on that awful day.

  We were at our summer house. We always went there to get away as a family. We only had a few guards to protect us because there was really no need for any protection. We had a truce with the demons. My father thought there had been enough killing. We were eating lunch when one of the guards came running in. “Sir, we must get you out of here. The demons are attacking.”

  “What? You must be mistaken. We have a truce with Damon.”

  Suddenly, we hear a big bang and then screams. My father was too big of a man to run, and my mother wouldn’t leave him. She scoops me up and hides me in a big vent, telling my sister to run and hide. My sister runs upstairs. My mother turns to me and says, “Do not make a sound, no matter what you see or hear. Stay there and don’t move.” She kisses my forehead and closes the vent.

  I can’t really see well out of the small slits in the vent. I hear my father say, “You’re not Damon. Who are you?” Then I hear my mother scream and this horrible laugh before my mom’s scream is cut off. I hear shuffling around, then my sister’s scream. Tears fall down my face, but I make no sound because I want my mom to be proud of me. I am so scared. I don’t move at all. I must have fallen asleep in the vent because when I wake up, everything is quiet...no screams or footsteps, nothing. I wait for a little longer. When I start to lift the vent, I hear someone call my name. It’s a sweet woman’s voice. I have heard it before...

  It was Derrick’s mother. We were always back on time so when they discovered that we weren’t back yet, they came looking for us. Derrick’s mom covered my face so I didn’t see anything. I don’t know why my father didn’t fight back. I guess it was to save my mother, but it didn’t help. I was only six so I wasn’t strong enough. I hid like my mother told me to. They thought they were strong enough to take them, but there were just too many demons, I guess. If it wasn’t for Derrick and his family, I would have been killed trying to get revenge. His mom taught me to reign in my anger and apply it to things that I could change. They have killed so many Immortals that I knew and loved. I didn’t go to my parents’ and sister’s funerals because I was mad at my father for not protecting them. I lost everything that day. I will kill every demon or half-demon I can find. I despise all of them. They are vile creatures and none of them are worth saving. They will pay for what they did. I will crush them and make them wish they were never born. Damon came and gave his condolences at their funeral. He said it was not him who ordered it. I don’t know if I believe that or not, though.

  I strap a demon down to the bed and fix his IV, which is used so that he can’t use his powers. The mixture of meds in the IV keeps them hazy. They can’t focus to use their powers, but they feel every ounce of pain I enjoy giving them. I shock him awake.

  “Why are you demons so active? What does Lash have planned?” I demand.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He grins at me.

  “Wrong answer.” I stare down at him, clenching my teeth.

  I electroshock him again. Still no good answers. I begin to peel his skin off and rub salt in the wounds to keep them from healing too fast. Then I shock his wounds. “I’ll give you one more chance to answer, then I am going to torture you until I can’t anymore.”

  Nothing. I grab my saw and begin sawing off fingers. The demon’s screams echo off the walls, sending me excessive amounts of pleasure. After I finish sawing off all the fingers on one hand, I take a hot poker and cauterize the wounds. I don’t want him to bleed out. Not yet, anyway. I start doing the same on the other hand. By the time I am done with him, he is nothing but a torso and head. However, he didn’t give me any answers and this is the tenth demon this week. Gabby is going to think I am avoiding her again, but she can’t know about the sub levels. She can’t know about my dark side. She wouldn’t understand.

  The next demon is strapped and ready for me when I walk in. I carve a cross onto his chest to wake him. “Why are the demons so active? What does Lash have planned?”

  “You have something we want,” his scratchy voice belts out.

  Finally an answer, even though it’s vague. It’s a start, at least. “What do I have that he wants?”

  “The missing piece!”

  I don’t have anything like that. He must be speaking in code. “What does that mean?”

  The demon just laughs. “He will get what he wants. The Oracle has told him so. You might as well just give it to him.”

  “The Oracle? What is it he wants?” I am starting to get annoyed.

  “By the time you find out, it will be too late.”

  “What does that mean?!” I am getting angry and my face is becoming hot. I’ve had enough of this riddle. “Tell me something other than your stupid riddle, or I will torture you extra slow!”

  “Torture me all you want. I was sent here to tell you what I did and nothing else. All you can do is torture me and kill me. Lash can do worse.”

  Demons can be killed, but they just go back to hell if you don’t do it the right way. You have to burn a demon for it to stay dead; otherwise, they will just pick a new body. We have a big furnace that we throw the bodies into after we are done torturing them. I think I will enjoy burning this demon a little more than usual but, for now, I will torture him...maybe for days. He will be begging me to stop by the time I am done. I hang him on the rack...a slab with a thousand spikes coming off of it that you hang up. Gravity pulls down on the body, making the spikes cut and maim the flesh. I will hang him like this for three days before I take him down to torture him some more.

  After three days, he has lost a large amount of blood. We have to give him a little to keep him alive, but we mix it with salt, which burns like hell. He screams and screams, which turns me on. I may have to find Gabby after this and take care of myself. I love Gabby and my feelings are real. She is my mate and my soul’s other half, but I can never show her the pleasure I get out of torture because she would probably leave me. I can’t have that.

  After we give him all the blood, I start to torture him again. We shackle him to the wall and burn the bottom of his feet. The tender flesh quickly burns and bubbles. That’s when I start to cut limbs off and cauterize them. He passes out several times. Each time, I shock him awake. When I am done with him, and seeing as he didn’t give me any answers, we burn the pieces. I have to take a shower before Gabby sees me covered in blood.

  I clean up and leave the lower level, going up to our room. I climb into bed with Gabby, who is already fast asleep. I wonder what I have that they want. What could be the missing piece? Has my team found an artifact I don’t know about? I lay there for hours, but I can’t fall asleep so I get back up and head to the sub-level. I have to find out what they are looking for.

  I have spent all night down here and haven’t found anything new. It’s our cruise day and I lost track of time. I am lucky Derrick knew to fill in because I had forgotten about the whole thing. These demons are driving me insane and taking me away from Gabby when all I’m trying to do is protect her.

  Chapter 15: Lash Has Arrived

  Gabby

  I walk out the door to try and find the spa. This ship has a huge pool, and we have our very own hot tub. It has
all kind of games, and even has a casino. I walk around, looking at everything, until I come to the spa. I am about 15 minutes early, but I walk in anyway. They take my name and usher me on back. I am met by a nice older lady.

  “I know you are scheduled for a massage, but is there anything else you would like? We have facials, mani’s and pedi’s, a mud bath...”

  “I would like a mani/pedi, please.”

  The massage was wonderful. I got my nails and toes painted blood red with black tips. They will match my lingerie. I have a cute teddy and thong, and red pumps. It is the only lingerie I own. I figure since he is doing all this for my birthday, he can have a little surprise we he undresses me tonight.

  As I start walking back to the room, someone calls my name. “Gabriella?”

  I turn and see a man with blonde hair. He is shorter than Neeko at about 5’11”, but his shoulders are wider. He is shirtless, and has tattoos all over his upper body. Wait! Are they moving? I look at his face and can see danger, excitement, and thrill.

  “Who are you?”

  “Your dream come true. Well, more like your favorite nightmare.” He winks at me. “But you can call me Lash.”

  “I have heard Neeko say something about a Lash, but I can’t remember if it was good or bad. What do you want? He will be here any minute,” I say to try and scare him off. He makes me nervous.

  “I’m sure, but I need to tell you something so you can decide.” I turn to leave. I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. “Run from me and you will regret it. I can kill you with one blow, girly,” he growls and I freeze.

  “Fine, but get to the point.” I don’t want him to think he can run over me, even though I am deathly afraid of this man.

  “I know who and what you are. No, I will not tell you, but I will say this. Neeko will pick his people over you. It will be very bad for you. I am here to give you a chance to skip all of that and come with me,” he says, cocky, as if I have already chosen to come with him.

  “Who are you, Lash?”

  “I am the leader of the demons, but don’t let that sway your decision.” He grins like his job is a good thing. What do I do? Where’s Neeko? “You can tell me no. I won’t kill you for it because I know, eventually, you will come to me.”

  “I don’t believe anything you are saying. So I will decline.”

  He grins. “I know you feel the energy between us. I am going to leave you with this. You are the missing piece.”

  And then he disappears, leaving me stunned. I did feel something, but he was just hot. It was nothing else. Missing piece? I quickly walk into my room and lock the door. I am pretty sure that locks won’t keep a demon out, but it makes me feel better.

  Neeko shows up 15 minutes later. I am so pissed at him for leaving me alone and for not telling me certain things. I have been pacing back and forth in front of the bed so much that there is probably no carpet left. My face is red, my ears are burning, and tears of anger are about to fall. He looks at me and takes a step back. “What is it, baby?” he sweetly says, trying to lessen the fire raging in me.

  “I met Lash just a few minutes ago.” I want to shock him into silence and make him feel bad about leaving me alone.

  “What?! When?! Did he hurt you?!” He pales and walks up to me, running his hands over me, checking for injuries. He takes out his cell phone and calls Derrick.

  He closes the phone and says, “Derrick and his men are checking, but he is probably long gone.”

  “He just wanted to talk, but he asked me to come with him. He said you would pick your people over me and that it would not end well for me. That I would come to him eventually.”

  Now that he sees I am ok, his anger spikes, causing him to clench his jaw together. He turns and paces toward the wall, balls his hand into a fist, and swings...putting a fist-sized hole in the wall. I jump and he turns, knowing he’s scared me.

  “Oh, baby. I’m sorry.” He rushes back to me. “You know I love you. Don’t listen to him. Demons play with their victims, causing mental pain before the physical.”

  “Don’t leave me alone again.” I look at him. “Why didn’t you tell me about not wanting anyone to know about us thinking I was human?”

  His eyes get big and he wipes his forehead. “I didn’t even think about it. You being human was never a big deal to me. If you know how much trouble I would be in if anybody found out you were human, then you know I would never choose my people over you. Who told you?”

  “Derrick. I almost said something to Amy and Rebecca about it. And I never said you would choose your people over me. That is just what Lash said.”

  “You will have a guard on you 24/7 from now on. I cannot risk Lash getting his hands on you. I can’t lose you.” He leans down and kisses me gently. “I’m sorry.”

  I lean into his chest and inhale his scent. I love this man and, no matter what he does, that will not change. “Come take a shower with me. We’ll let the warm water wash away the tension.”

  I follow him into the bathroom and watch him undress. I could stare at his naked ass forever. He catches me staring and winks. He jumps into the shower and turns on the water. When I see steam coming up, he peaks his dripping head out and says, “Are you going to join me?”

  I undress and slide in behind him. I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head on his back. “I’ve missed you.” It feels like we haven’t seen each other in weeks.

  “I know, baby. I’ll work on that.”

  He grabs my hands and pulls them off him, turning to face me. He puts his hands under my chin and looks in my eyes. “I really am sorry about not spending much time with you. I was trying to find out why the demons have been more active lately. I was trying to keep you safe and, in turn, I have neglected you.” He kisses the corner of my mouth. “You forgive me?”

  “I guess so. You just have to prove to me you want to be with me. I understand you’re a leader, but you are going to have to make time for me if you want this to work.”

  “I will start making time for you, I promise.”

  He kisses my nose and then my chin, working his way down my neck to my chest. Lifting me in his arms so he can reach my nipples, he nips my peak and twirls his tongue around, causing me to moan and lean my head back. The hot water and his expert tongue have me wet already. He kisses back up to my mouth, gentle and then aggressive. I wrap my hands around his neck so our bodies are touching. The feel and smell of him intoxicate me. He slides in me and pushes me back against the shower wall. We make love like it’s our last day together.

  This boat has so much to offer...water slides, casino, bar with a dance floor, gym. I feel like being a kid so I dress in my one-piece with the sides out. It accents me perfectly. Neeko walks out in his swim shorts. “Wow. I’m either going to faint from the sight of you, or I’ll just keep you locked in this room all day.” He winks.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself, but I want to have fun in the pool.” My mouth waters at the sight of him.

  He grins. “Oh, so you want to have fun, huh? I can use my magic and make that dream come true.” He steps closer to me and I get a whiff of him. If I don’t get us out of here, I’m going to do him on every surface in this room.

  My voice drops to a husky whisper, “Neeko, not that kind of fun.”

  “But that’s the best kind.”

  No argument there. It gets better every time. “Please, Neeko.” I am about to give in to him. He walks to me and plants a kiss on my lips, then walks out the door. Damn tease. I follow him out the door. We get to the pool, which is pretty empty. We claim two chairs and he puts our towels on them. “Neeko, I am going to the slide. You coming?”

  “No, I think I’ll watch you. After all, that is my favorite thing to do.” He laughs

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Yes, but only because you don’t have a tray of food.” He really busts out laughing then. I pretend to pout and stomp off. I’ll get him for that. He better watch his back. It was only one
time I threw the tray of food at them, and they deserved it.

  I make it up to the top of the slide, and look down at him. He is sitting on the steps of the pool, watching me. I wonder if my gift with nature would work on water. I slide down the slide, and it makes me feel five again. I reach the bottom and think of the water splashing him. I come up to the surface in time to see a wave from the pool splash Neeko in the face. I’ve never laughed so hard.

  “Oh, that was funny, huh?”

  “Yeah, considering I made it do that.”

  “Really?” he asks, surprised

  “Payback, baby.” He walks toward me and pulls me to him. Our bodies touching, he kisses me hard, then splashes me in the face.

  “That was payback.” We start laughing as a water fight commences.

  After a few hours of playing in the pool, I notice that nobody has shown up. “Hey, Neeko. Why isn’t there a lot of people on the ship?”

  “There are a few, but I bought out the rest of the ship so I can keep you safe.”

  “Over-bearing?” I laugh. “That’s kind of sweet...in a creepy way.” I slap him on the arm. “You could have told me.”

  “Ow, that hurt.” He pokes his bottom lip out.

  “Yeah, right, Prince Charming.”

  “You can call me that, as long as I am your Prince Charming.” He picks up my hand and places a kiss on top of it.

  “When did you get all mushy on me?” I say, jokingly.

  “Since your love melted my hard exterior.” He flutters his eyelashes.

  “You’re crazy and cocky, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.” I lean in for a kiss.

  “I love you, too, Gabby.” I snuggle up to him.

  “I’m getting tired. Let’s go back to the room and get dressed so I can take you to eat...or maybe I’ll just eat you.”