by Fawn Bailey
We sat down at a small table on the terrace, and a man brought over drinks for us - rose lemonade.
"With roses from Thorn's garden," Max explained.
I nodded mindlessly, and sipped on my cold, delicious drink, wishing I was anywhere but there.
Kain had truly broken me. I wasn't ready for my life to go back to normal. The mere thought of that pretty, feminine room Max had prepared for me, filled me with regret and dread. He had no idea what kind of person Kain had turned me into. He didn't have a fucking clue. And I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to hide who I had become - pretend like everything was normal.
"Aren't you going to ask me what happened to me?" I asked softly, and Max's eyes snapped to mine over the rim of his glass.
"I know what happened to you," he said tersely. "You were kidnapped by that fucking madman who is barely an adult himself. He fucked you. He tortured you. He tainted you."
I blushed deeply at his crude words. He really had changed... Long gone was the gentle, sweet boy I used to know. And I wasn't sure whether I liked the man who stood in his place.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to hunt him down," Max went on. "I'm going to bring him out of hiding, just you wait. And then I'm going to fucking destroy him for what he did to you."
My thoughts filled with Max and Kain, hurting each other, harming each other. I shook my head to get the thought out, feeling Max's burning gaze on me.
"You don't want him to get hurt," he finally said. "You're attached to him."
My eyes found him and I hoped the guilt wasn't showing through in my gaze. I didn't trust myself enough to say a single word. What on earth was I supposed to tell him? He was right, after all.
Kain's exquisite torture hadn't just made me a prisoner, it had made me a willing captive.
I lived for those moments spent in his playroom. Longed for his touch against my heated skin. He'd taught me to crave his cock more than I craved my next meal. He taught me to submit to him fully. And without it, I felt more lost than ever, as if a primal part of me had been ripped out, replaced by an enormous black hole that threatened to get rid of the rest of me. I was never going to be fulfilled, not unless Max treated me the same way Kain did.
The sound of a doorbell woke me up from my reverie, and both our eyes snapped to the entrance to the veranda.
"My parents," Max said, getting off his seat.
I followed suit and waited for them to join us with my heart pounding and my hands clasped together before me.
Moments later, I heard Max's papa's booming voice in the hallway. He laughed heartily and sounded as cheerful as ever, and it made me perk up a little.
They entered the terrace, and my smile spread across my face when I saw the couple I thought I might never lay eyes on again.
Max's papa was still handsome - tall and broad-shouldered, with a smile so kind it could only be paralleled by his son's... Not now, though. When we were younger. I grinned widely and stepped into Mr. Marino's embrace with my arms outstretched. He gave me a warm, tight hug, and for the first time in ages, I felt like I really was at home.
I blinked away the treacherous tears in my eyes and smiled up at him.
"It's so good to see you, Mr. Marino," I admitted.
"You too, my darling girl," he responded with a bright smile. "But you must call me Michael now. We're practically family already."
My smile faltered at his words, but I managed to nod and give him a terse grin nonetheless.
"I am so happy to see you in one piece," Michael went on. "You have no idea how awful... truly awful, these past few years have been."
I could feel his searching eyes on mine, trying to decipher whether I truly was in one piece. I could tell he wanted to ask me some things as if they were on the tip of his tongue. But he seemed to decide against it, biting his tongue and stepping aside.
There was a woman standing behind me, and I drank her in, trying to decipher what was going on.
She looked awful. Haggard, tired. Her expression was completely vacant and I wondered silently what had happened to her. Even though she was clad in designer clothing, with an expensive hairdo, perfectly applied makeup and even some tasteful plastic surgery, her eyes aged her. She looked scared and horrified.
"You remember my wife?" Michael said, and my heart lurched.
"Mrs... Mrs. Marino?" I managed to get out.
"Mom," Max said, cutting it and patting his expressionless mother on the back. "Look, it's Ophelia. Ophelia Sokolov."
The woman raised her eyes to mine. I'd never seen another human look that out of place in their own body. She stared into my eyes as if trying to place me.
"Hello, M-Mrs Marino," I managed to get out, reaching for her hand.
I used to be quite close to her, just like I had been with my own mother. She was a kind woman whose primary concern was her sons. She loved those two boys more than anybody else. But now, she looked like a shell of her former self.
"It's me," I managed to say. "Ophelia... Princess Ophelia."
I watched the realization dawn on her, and her eyes widen. She drank me in hungrily, then took a hasty step forward and gripped my forearms with her bony fingers tightly.
"Ophelia," she whispered. "Run, Ophelia. Run. Run. RUN!"
Chapter 11
Kain
I couldn't get my dolly of my mind.
My sweet, submissive, sinfully delicious little plaything sat front and center in my thoughts, her legs spread invitingly and her eyes fearfully finding mine. A position I had seen her in countless times, and still one that never failed to get my cock fucking hard for her.
Ophelia was going to be mine again, there was no question about it. I was addicted to her like I'd never been before. At first, she was just supposed to be a prisoner. A girl I could torture and hurt, a girl that would make all my twisted fantasies come alive. She did more than that. She made me fall in love with her, and I hated her for it.
"Kain. We need to move."
I raised my eyes to one of my men, Caspar, and nodded slowly.
"Soon," I said. "Let me finish up here."
I stared at the man in front of me, his terrified eyes following me around the room as his mouth let out muffled cries due to the cloth I'd stuffed between his lips.
"Do you think it's time for us to go, Leonard?" I asked softly, tracing the blade of my silver knife over his stubbled skin. "Do you think you've had enough that?"
He screamed into his gag and I chuckled lightly.
"Maybe not just yet," I said. "You know, I always finish a job. I don't mind getting my hands dirty."
I slashed into his skin and Leonard screamed when blood trickled down his cheek. His eyes were wild, angry and scared as fuck as he tried to see the damage I'd done. Of course he was fucking scared. What would the world think if a senator came back from his trip with a scar cut into his face? I didn't give a shit, because I knew he wasn't coming back, anyway.
Like I said to the poor old fool... I always finished a job.
He struggled against his restraints on the chair, his dick flopping around uselessly. I glanced at it with disgust. I didn't mind getting my hands dirty, but I sure as fuck didn't want to touch his shriveled up excuse for a cock. Especially when the only time it got hard was when a little boy was around, ready to suck it.
"You know, Leonard," I said calmly. "I always knew you were a piece of shit. But I would have left you alone if you hadn't acted on your sick fantasies. Do you remember me?"
The man's eyes found mine and he stared at me with overwhelming fear.
"Come on," I chuckled. "I'm sure you remember the first little boy you tortured, don't you, you sick piece of shit?"
I watched realization dawn in on him, and clapped my hands, placing the knife between my teeth when I did.
"There we go, folks!" I said triumphantly. "The monster remembers!"
I saw tears gathering in the man's eyes but I was past the point of giving a shit about him being upset. I
wanted to destroy him. I wanted to make sure he never forgot who ruined his life.
"Do you remember my name?" I asked him, and he closed his eyes tightly, pretending he didn't. "Come on, old man. I'm going to take the gag out now. If you're good and say my name without screaming I'm going to reward you. Will you be good?"
He nodded, and I cut the gag in two with my knife. The second it fell from his mouth, Leonard started screaming for help. I laughed at him, waving the knife in front of his face, while Caspar gave me a stern look.
"That's not going to help you," I told Leonard in a sing-song voice. "I'm going to fucking kill you before anyone gets here. Don't do anything dumb."
The man stopped screaming and started begging.
"Please," he said. "I'll do any-fucking-thing you want, just... just please, let me go."
"Now why would I do that?" I asked sweetly. "Are you innocent?"
He looked away, shutting his eyes. Of course he did. Too chicken shit to admit what he'd been doing to children for years, and too much of a coward to say it out loud.
"Tell me my name, Leonard," I went on. "Go on. Say it."
He looked into my eyes, and I stared into the dark abyss of his. It hit me then that he didn't remember. And why should he? He'd abused so many children over the years, what did it matter who the first one was? He probably couldn't pick me out of a crowd. He didn't have a fucking clue who I was. And I was going to kill him for it.
I slashed at him again, and he screamed when his cheek was sliced off his face. The meat hit the ground with a wet, slippery sound and Leonard started to bawl.
"My name is Kain," I told him simply. "Kain Archer... And I was your first, just like you were mine."
I started cutting him and the screaming got louder and louder. I could tell Caspar was nervous, standing off to the side and glancing nervously around him as if trying to stop what was happening. But I knew he never would. He was sworn to protect me, and I made sure he got enough money to never even consider hurting the man who paid his wages.
I was a man with many enemies, but I was careful and stealthy, and nobody had caught me yet. I intended on keeping it that way, too.
"Do you remember now?" I whispered to Leonard as I cut deep lines into his body.
He was crying, shaking his head. It made me angry.
"How about now?"
More cuts. More blood, gushing, spilling on the floor.
"Kain..." Caspar said exasperatedly. "We need to-"
"How about NOW?" I asked, slashing a line across Leonard's eye.
He screamed the loudest this time, and I laughed in response. It was so fucking funny how these men, who used to hurt me, fuck me and torture me for years, turned into children themselves when I brought out my weapons and torture devices. Their sounds were enchanting. Their screams were what lulled me to sleep every night.
"Still nothing?" I asked with mock regret. "That's too bad Leonard, because as it turns out, we're out of time."
He wept as I knelt between his legs.
"I don't want to touch this," I said with disgust. "Then again, I hadn't wanted to fifteen years ago and you still forced me to do it, didn't you, Leonard?"
Just a whimper. He was drifting in and out of consciousness. Fear and loss of blood will do that to you.
"I'm going to cut your dick off," I told him calmly. "And then I'm going to make you fucking eat it."
"KAIN!"
Caspar was panicking, and now I was, too. I heard the footsteps. They were coming for us. They were going to catch me. And then I would be taken away again, without my ultimate prize. Without my little dolly.
"We need to leave," he said hurriedly. "NOW!"
I cut his dick off. It didn't take much. The man screamed. The blood spilled, splattered. I got up. I left his twitching member on the ground and made him look at me even though it disgusted me to touch him.
"Tell everyone who did this to you," I said. "That's why I'm leaving you alive. So they all know I'm coming for them."
"Please," Leonard rasped, but Caspar was already pulling me away.
"We need to go through the window," he said in a rush. "They're already in the building."
He helped me get out, his eyes dark as we climbed down to the ground. And then we were running, our feet hitting the ground and raising dust as we got the fuck out of there.
In the limousine, I felt the impact of my actions.
It had been five years since I had killed somebody, and it was because of Ophelia.
While I had her, I was a different man. A kinder, simpler man whose only concern was my own pleasure. My thoughts revolved around my pretty captive and all the dirty, perverted things I could make her do to me. I didn't give a shit about revenge. I didn't care about punishing the men who had taken everything away from me. My only worry was Ophelia, my dolly, my little orphan. She was all that mattered.
But sweet little Ophelia was gone now. They'd taken her away from me. I was going to get her back, of course, but I needed to bide my time. In order to get Ophelia, I needed to go through the Marinos. And they were the biggest criminals of all.
Caspar sat across from me in the car, and I could feel his eyes on me. He was worried just like always, concerned with how I was doing and whether I was beginning to spiral yet again. I refused to look at him and refused to acknowledge his worry. I didn't want him to know I was fucked again. He panicked too fast.
"Our next target is Adina Clare," I said. "She lives in Paris."
"Please, Kain," Caspar said slowly. "You need to slow down."
"Slow down?" I raised my brows at him. "How do you expect me to slow down when there's still so much to do? So many people to visit, so many lives to take. So much revenge to be had..."
"Kain," Caspar said, trying to stay calm. "We're getting closer and closer to getting caught. They're going to come for us."
"They've always tried," I drawled. "But they never succeeded. I'm good at running, Caspar. Don't you worry."
"Maybe it's time to stop running," he said. "Maybe it's time to rest."
"Rest?" I spat out. "I'm going to rest when I have my dolly back. I'm going to rest when I'm the only man in the world who can hurt her."
This rendered him silent, and we spent the rest of the journey quietly. I was too busy with my thoughts, anyway. I'd already forgotten about Leonard and the sight of his shriveled up dick on the floor. I'd moved on to my next victim.
Adina Clare.
Beautiful thirty-something ex-model who lived and worked in Paris. Perfect, manicured and pretty on the outside. Twisted, sick and fucked up on the inside.
She was an abuser. Her specialty were girls between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. She got them under the pretense of offering a modeling course, and then she made sure they were abused beyond belief by her customers. The girls she picked were mostly foreigners who spoke neither French or English, too terrified of being deported to stand up to the beautiful model. She made their lives a living hell.
I was going to put an end to what she did. I was going to make sure she never stepped in contact with a child again.
It didn't matter to me whether my victims were women or men. They both deserved the same fate.
As I thought about Adina, Ophelia's pretty bare face kept forcing itself into my head until it was the only thing I saw. Her pretty, straight nose. Those small but so fucking plump lips. Her pretty eyes. The skin... her fucking porcelain skin. I couldn't stop thinking about it, how cold it was to the touch and how she warmed when I was next to her. I was lost without her. I needed her back so fucking badly it hurt. But it wasn't time yet, it wasn't the right moment.
When I finally had my dolly back, I wanted to make sure my revenge was doled out. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my little orphan, and I didn't want anything standing in my way. So first, I had some business to take care of.
"Thinking about her again?" Caspar asked, and I raised my eyes to his.
"Always," I replied softly. "She's
always on my mind."
"We'll get her back," he tried to console me. "Those bastards won't hurt her. They wouldn't dare."
I replied with a clipped smile. Of course they wouldn't dare, they knew what I was doing to my enemies...
But it didn't mean they wouldn't try.
And I was going to kill any person who so much as touched Ophelia Sokolov.
Because she was my fucking property.
Chapter 12
Ophelia
I backed away from Mrs. Marino while Max chuckled nervously.
"It's okay, mama," he told his mother. "No one's going to hurt you."
He kept talking to her in quiet, soft tones, and the woman burst into tears, burying her face in her palms.
Michael took my elbow and gently led me away from the pair of them, sitting down at the same table where I'd been drinking lemonade with Max earlier.
"I think I have some explaining to do," he said ruefully, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "I'm afraid my wife was a different woman when you last saw her. You see, some things happened while you were gone, and I'm afraid we lost a very essential part of who Leila used to be."
"What happened?" I whispered, waiting for him to explain.
The man took a deep sigh and gave me a slow smile, then launched into an explanation.
"I'm afraid Leila has always been a frail woman," he started. "From the very beginning. I fell in love with her irrevocably, and I couldn't live without her. But even then, I already knew she was a special woman... tender, gentle, sweet. It was so easy to hurt her. Too easy, in fact."
He sighed and I urged him to go on with my imploring gaze.
"When everything happened... five years ago, when your parents died, when our sons were hurt beyond belief... Leila never recovered," Michael went on. "I'm afraid the man who took you shattered not only her world but her mind as well."
I glanced at the woman, who was now shaking in her son's arms. She looked like a living doll. So perfectly coiffed and presented yet so empty on the inside. She was just a shell... And it was all Kain's fault.
