by Ker Dukey
They keep showing pictures of Kami, and each time, I break out into a motherfucking grin. He did it. He truly did it. Ended that cunt’s life like he should have years ago.
For me.
I’m dying to walk into that hospital, blow shit up, and take my perfect doll home. But if Viktor taught me anything, it’s to be patient. We’re playing a game. All moves must be thought through and analyzed. I can rest assured Viktor is sitting in that cell formulating the biggest move of all.
“You may as well let me go. Then, maybe you can just fucking leave. If you stay, Dillon will find you. He was on to Harris. It’ll only be a matter of time before they discover the location of his home,” Marcus says, his eyes manic. Starving for two days will do that to a man. “They’re coming for you, Benny. You better run, run, run before it’s too late.”
I slap at the side of my head to get him out of there. The only person I’ve felt comfortable with intruding is Viktor. Fuck, I need him back. He always knows what to do.
“Your bullshit cop tactics don’t work on me,” I snarl. “In fact, I think I’m tired of hearing your mouth. Maybe I should cut out your tongue and send it to Dillon. Tell him I’ll do the same to his wife if he doesn’t cooperate.”
The plan feels like the most solid one I’ve had. I stand from the bed and limp over to Marcus. His eyes widen when I unsheathe my knife from my belt. Blood is encrusted near the hilt. It’s ended so many lives, I’m not sure whose blood it is at this point. One thing’s for sure, though: it’ll be Marcus’s soon.
“I gotta know something, man,” he grits out. “Before you hack me to pieces. Why’d you stop caring?”
I tense and growl. “What?”
“About Jade? I’ve read the criminal profile on you. The shit you did to her. You were fucking obsessed. A psychopath dead set on keeping his prize. Then you discarded her. Like you didn’t care anymore. Are you that mental?”
I grip the front of his dress shirt and yank him closer, digging the knife slightly into his throat. “I’m not someone you can profile, goddammit. I don’t follow your cop rules, asshole. I make my own. This is my world.”
He laughs. “He played you, man. Harris got inside your head and played you. You’re in this predicament because it’s actually his world. You’re nothing but a pawn, man.”
I’m so enraged, my only thought is slicing this cop to bits. I don’t need him. In fact, he’s slowing me down. I need to leave this house and find a way to force Dillon to give me what I want. Marcus thinks I forgot about Jade? The asshole doesn’t know me at all. I’ll remember exactly the way her ass feels when I’m ramming the barrel of my gun inside of it. I bet it’ll only take three seconds of that shit for Dillon to make some motherfucking miracles happen. I didn’t just discard her. She was everything, but she was a temporary fix for a deep-rooted need, and once Bethany came back to me, I didn’t need my dirty doll anymore. She became the past—a filler until I was reunited with Bethany. A good filler. Revisiting past pleasures to further our agenda won’t be such a chore.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a smooth, deep, calm voice resounds from behind me.
Familiar. Thick. Accented.
Viktor?
I jerk away from Marcus and gape when I see someone who could be his twin.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demand, my hand tightening on the blade.
The man stands a few inches taller than Viktor and a bit wider. His dark, almost black, hair is styled similar to Viktor’s, but a few strands of grey at his temples depicts he’s definitely a bit older.
“I am Vlad Vasiliev. Viktor’s older brother.” He lifts a black eyebrow. “You must be Benjamin Stanton. His lover, no?”
Fuck, he sounds just like Viktor, aside for the more prominent Russian accent, and it’s messing with my head. The same deep timbre that rattles its way straight to my cock is there.
“What do you want?” I may trust Viktor, but I don’t trust this smug asshole, and Viktor always froze up when mentioning his past. It’s a painful subject for him. Why is this brother here in our world telling me what to fucking do?
Marcus snorts from behind me. “Lover? No wonder you weren’t interested in Jade anymore.”
Vlad’s brows furrow together. “When you starve or torture your victim, they tend to lose their minds a bit. How long has this one been under your care, Benjamin?”
I grit my teeth. I fucking hate how he seems to know my situation and uses my name like we’re acquaintances. “What. Do. You. Want?” I don’t ask how the fuck he got in here.
Vlad lets out a sigh and pulls his hands from his pockets. I fixate on the leather gloves. He cracks each knuckle slowly, then cracks his neck before fixating his blazing amber eyes on mine.
“Your head.”
Marcus starts cackling. Okay, so starving the motherfucker has made him go a little crazy.
I hold my knife out in front of me. He can fucking try. I’ll have his throat flayed open before he can even come around the side of the bed.
Vlad smiles at me, brilliant and charming. “Well, it was what I wanted. But now, witnessing things for myself, I realize my original intentions may need to be reevaluated.”
So, he talks in riddles like his brother.
This family is something else.
“Viktor doesn’t take kindly to betrayal,” I bite out. “You should ask your sister.” I don’t know the whole story, but seeing his slight flinch satisfies me, knowing my words hit their intended mark.
“I’m not going to kill you, Benjamin. I’m going to help you.”
My hackles rise when he pulls a gun out from inside his fancy-ass suit jacket and begins screwing a suppressor on the end. Marcus continues to laugh like a goddamn lunatic from his chair.
“He’s going to help you, all right,” Marcus snorts.
I don’t have time to react. One moment, Vlad is fiddling with his gun, and the next, lightning quick, he has it raised and pointed at me. He fires the weapon, but with the silencer, all it makes is a pfft sound.
Stunned, I wait for the bullet to impact.
Instead, I hear glass breaking.
Shouts resound outside the window, and I hear cracking within the house. It makes sense for Vlad to know where his brother lives, but no one else knows. Detective Dipshit couldn’t have figured it out this quickly, could he?
Vlad moves like a lethal cat and swoops his arm around as someone blasts through the door behind him. The bullet pierces the man’s skull. Another man charges in and manages to swat the gun from Vlad’s grip. Before I can move to assist, Vlad pulls a knife from his belt.
With movements that remind me of Viktor, he effortlessly punches the knife into the man’s torso countless times. The man groans and slumps to the floor.
“Wait!” a voice shouts from within the house.
Vlad bends to pick up the gun and shoots me a glare. “Don’t say a word.” Then, he hollers out of the bedroom. “Bring him in.”
I can’t help but grin like the cat that ate the canary when Dillon walks into the room, both hands above his head.
“You killed my men,” he spits out at Vlad.
“Should have brought more than six,” Vlad replies, his features relaxed, as if he didn’t just end three men within seconds. “I trust my men did their jobs out there?”
Dillon’s face turns purple with rage. “Who the fuck are you?”
A giant man in a suit stands behind Dillon with an assault rifle pressed into his back.
Vlad walks over to him and smiles. “I think you know. In fact, I’m pretty sure Klara used your phone to call me.”
“So why isn’t he dead yet?” Dillon roars, his hate-filled glare burning holes through me.
“Because they’re making deals, D.” Crazy-ass Marcus is thinking clearly now. Dumb fuck.
“Yes,” Vlad agrees. “We are. And it’s time you enter the negotiations, Detective. I’ve done a little research. The plane ride from my homeland was achingly long and boring.
I know everything about you. Down to the fact that you named your son Mason. Mason and sweet Jade are doing well now that they’re settled in back at home. How’s MJ handling the new baby? Is she a good big sister? Do the cops you have watching the house not frighten her?”
Dillon’s rage simmers. “What do you want?”
“I want Viktor. You’re to release him and let us go on our merry little way. Your nightmare ends today, Detective. Aren’t you exhausted? I know you have a new baby and all, but the bags under your eyes say you’ve been working too hard.”
I want to rush over and push my blade into Dillon’s fucking heart, but I’m not a psychopath like Marcus claims. I’m smarter. A well-trained monster. A master of his own game.
Control.
I wield it like a weapon—a weapon Viktor taught me to use. If I kill him, we can’t get him to free Viktor.
“You know I can’t do that,” Dillon growls, but his voice has lost some bite.
“Can’t or won’t? Because either way, I get what I want—with or without your assistance. I know people, Detective. Yes, they may take their time, but I will get what I want. But by defying me, you’ll lose. This game will be all over for you. Over for Mason. Over for MJ. Over for Jade.” Vlad darts his gaze over to me and glances at Marcus. “Over for Elise and Elizabeth too.”
My blood boils, but it’s snuffed out when Vlad shoots me a look of reassurance. It’s one I’ve come to trust from his brother. His threats are for Dillon, not me.
“Fuck!” Dillon rages. “You killed my men! How do I know I can trust you?”
Vlad steps forward, narrowing his eyes. “I didn’t kill that one.” He points to Marcus. “Benjamin is going to leave. Then, you and I are going to walk into that police station with Viktor’s lawyer. We’ll hide out in the interrogation room for a bit, then we’ll walk out. You’ll tell them he’s posted bail or whatever the fuck you have to say to get my brother out of there.”
“No!” Dillon yells. “Fuck no!”
Vlad smiles, but it’s cold and deadly. His mask falters for a moment, and I get a glimpse of his monster. “Listen clearly. This isn’t a question. It’s a statement. You will do this. And then I, to show good faith, will take my brother away. You’ll never see or hear from him again.”
“And him?” Dillon glares at me, hate brimming in his eyes.
“If he is a friend of Viktor’s, then he is a friend of mine. Which means, he also goes away.” Vlad taps the end of his silencer on Dillon’s nose. “It means your partner lives and your problems disappear. Jade can rest easy at night. Maybe pop out a few more children before you die of a damn heart attack.”
“Just that simple?” Dillon asks, astonished. “You take these fuckers away and my life goes back to normal?”
“It will be that simple. If you allow it to be. But if you go fucking shit up and complicating manners, I will be forced to change the game. Is that what you want? For me to have a reason to end your pretty little family?” Vlad asks, venom dripping from his tone. “Trust me when I tell you, you are nothing. You will be replaced by another detective who has a precious family he wants to keep safe. It’s only that I want Viktor sooner rather than later that I’m allowing you to still breathe. Do we deal with you or the next detective who takes your place when I kill you?”
Dillon bows his head, his shouldering trembling with anger.
“You have to do it, D,” Marcus utters from beside me. “As much as I fucking hate this, it needs to be done. We have families.”
Dillon meets his gaze, and understanding passes between them. It’s then that I realize they’ve left out a very important part of the negotiations. My doll. When I open my mouth, Vlad barks at me.
“Benjamin. Wait in the second SUV outside.” His eyes implore me to obey, and everything in me screams to go rogue and do my own shit. I fist my hand, wondering if I should.
Family.
Family looks out for one another.
If I can accept Viktor as my family, that means I have to trust one of the few people he loves: his brother. That means this fucker is my brother too.
“Got it, boss,” I grind out.
Vlad gives me a slight nod of approval.
“See you in your dreams, Detective,” I say as I stalk past him.
“We’ll meet again in hell,” Dillon barks back.
Elizabeth
The medications make me feel woozy and not like myself. I can’t focus. The only time I’m happy is when I’m asleep. When I dream of Monster and Master. The three of us together. Happy.
But then I always wake up.
Clarity finds me and reminds me Benny is gone.
That Viktor is in jail.
My life is over.
“Knock, knock,” Mom says as she enters my room. I’m still in the psychiatric ward of the hospital—the place I’ve been since Viktor shot Kami two days ago.
I try to roll away from her voice, but my arms are restrained. Fire burns through my blood, chasing away the haziness, but I can’t escape her.
For two days, Jade, my sister, and my mother have all tried to bring me back to them. I don’t belong to them. I never did.
“I’m about to go do my rounds, but I wanted to check on you before bed.” She frowns as she swipes my sweaty hair from my forehead. “Oh, baby, you look so tired. Do you want something to help you sleep?”
As much as I don’t want to answer her, I do. “Please, Momma. I don’t want to be on these meds anymore.”
Her features soften. “I know. We’ll get you out of this dark place and soon you won’t have to. Just keep trying for me, okay?”
The rage explodes within me, but I tamper it down. Going crazy isn’t going to help my case. I need her to feel sorry for me.
“My wrists hurt,” I lie, forcing fat tears into my eyes.
Mom purses her lips together and her nostrils flare. “Why did you do it?”
I blink at her in confusion, a hot tear leaking down my temple. “Do what?”
“You killed that woman.” She makes a choking sound. “With a roller skate. Your prints were all over it. Dillon’s doing his best to keep them from pulling you out of here and sending you over to the prison. He wants you to plead insanity. Is that what happened? I just need to know.”
I still at her words. Thoughts of Jessica Johnson riding Benny’s cock have clouds of red blinding me. I scream and twist in the bed. “THE WHORE DESERVED IT!”
Mom jolts away from me as though she might get burned. “You’re just like him. Like your father. Like your brother.” A sob escapes her. “I tried so hard. It was never good enough.”
My body relaxes, and I spit out, “I was never good enough. When you chose Elise over me, I had to find my own family. Someone who understood me and loved me. You sure as hell didn’t.”
Mom bursts into tears and rushes from the room without another word. I fight against my restraints to no avail. Eventually, I tire out and cry. My grief is overwhelming. Crushing and consuming.
I’m still crying when a nurse in scrubs walks into the room hours later, pushing a wheelchair, limping slightly. He wears a surgical mask and cap. When his eyes lift to mine, I stop breathing.
I must be dreaming.
This isn’t real.
Chocolate brown eyes pin me with a heated stare. Familiar. Filled with love. Mine. My monster.
“Master,” I choke out.
He rushes over to me and runs his fingertips along my jaw. “What have they done to you?”
I start to sob when he pulls out a knife. Not because I’m afraid, but because I’m overwhelmed with happiness. He saws through my bindings, only nicking me a little in the process, and frees me. I’m easily hoisted into his strong arms.
“You’re alive. I overhead the officers talking. Viktor shot Kami and they said you were dead,” I whisper as I clutch his cheeks. Desperately, I pull the mask down and admire his mouth. His beard has been clipped short to a simple scruff. “Kiss me.”
Leaning for
ward, he captures my lips with his. His tongue is strong and assertive as he owns my mouth. I want it all over me. In me. When he breaks away, I whimper.
“We don’t have time for this, Doll.” His tone is gruff, but I understand. If we plan to escape, I need to help.
“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
Once I’m situated in the wheelchair, he pulls his mask back into place. It’s late, so hardly any people are hanging around the psyche ward. With points of my finger, I guide him down the least traveled hallways. We avoid the busier areas, and soon, we’re in the back parking lot. He abandons the wheelchair and carries me to a vehicle.
“Get some rest,” he says once we’re pulling away. “It’s a long drive.”
I wake up when I hear the sound of gravel beneath the car. Sitting up in my seat, I ignore the pounding headache nearly blinding me. We drive up to a nice home surrounded by trees.
“Where are we?” My voice croaks from sleep and thirst.
“A place Vlad set up.”
Vlad?
He shuts off the car, but before he can climb out, I attack. I’ve missed him so much and knowing he’s not dead ignites a thousand fires inside me. I scramble into his lap and straddle him. His groans of need quench my thirst. I want to lap them up.
The ripping of my hospital gown is my only warning before I’m completely naked in his arms. His palms greedily grip at my breasts while I tug at the button of his jeans in desperation. Within seconds, I have his hard cock pulled out and he’s torn away his shirt. We both still as we inspect the damage that bitch inflicted.
“You killed her,” he mutters, his voice reverent.
“For you,” I pant.
Our eyes meet, and his flicker with need. His fingers bite into my hips, and I crush my lips to his. I grip his cock between us and line it up with my soaked pussy. When I sink down on his length, we both groan. An ache forms in my chest when I realize I had Viktor in this same position just a couple days ago.
