by Gia Star
My dad… that was another story.
“I had no idea my dad was on the run from Antonio until Chica said anything.” I told him.
“No?”
“Nah. I just heard he married a girl in the Air Force and ran around the world with her for a green card.”
“How did you know Chica was your cousin?”
“I knew my aunt. I thought she just moved away without speaking one day. I remember playing with Chica when I was younger. I had… no idea.”
“Sounds like you and Chica need to talk.”
I thought about what happened with Kara. She was blindsided by the truth of her situation, as was I. She was right; everything we’d known was corrupted by Antonio’s greed.
Who would we be if he never showed up in our lives? Kara would have been an aerospace engineer, unbothered by her father’s loss. He would have never died, because he would have never been involved with that asshole.
When Steven and I told Kara the truth, I feared it was too much for her. We’d only known each other for such a short time period, and the relationship started off transactional. But so much that had changed in that short timeframe, and she deserved to know the truth.
Manipulation was a motherfucker.
Antonio was a motherfucker.
He was King of the Motherfuckers.
I don’t know if my future could have been as bright - actually, I know it wouldn’t have been. But I wouldn’t have spent time behind bars trying to make sense of my shitty hand.
Kara didn’t deserve what happened to her. It started with her dad and spread through her family like a disease. For her sake, I needed to let her know why things were the way they were… and I needed her to know, deep down inside, while things would never be right, she could live her life in peace, without fear of retribution for something she had no control over.
If I did this one thing - give her peace of mind - it hopefully atoned for all the dark, ugly, shit that stained my own soul.
Once this was over, once I survived - if I survived - what would become of us? Of Kara, Steven, myself? Of everyone and everything related to this empire?
I didn’t want to continue this life. I was already a felon. I was already an outcast to society. I had money saved and stashed, but I didn’t have anyone and anything to come home to.
Perhaps Kara, but would Kara really want me when this was all over? My heart ached at the thought of losing her.
“Sounds like we all need to talk,” I corrected. “All of us.”
Steven nodded.
We pulled into the compound. Ominous silence allowed me to hear the thump of my heart beating wildly. My mind was filled with disturbing thoughts. I never thought this day would come.
“You ready, man?” Steven looked at me. His shades obscured me from direct eye contact, and his tone was unwavering, but I knew what he was doing: giving me a final opportunity to avoid what was ahead.
I drew a deep breath. Antonio was the man that saved me when nobody else did. He fed me when I was starving. He showed me how to be a man and he put a roof over my head when my mother was too goddamn high to realize there was more to life than men and meth.
Steven waited as I balanced my thoughts out.
“If not now, when?” I said, shrugging like it was nothing to me. The truth was this was pivotal. This would be the first time I saw Antonio since I’d realized who he was, the first time I would confront him about the monstrous shit he’s done, and the last time I would look into his eyes. Even if it killed me, I had to make sure he was handled…
For Kara.
And for my mom, who could easily be tortured and killed just to punish me. We didn’t speak, but she brought me into this world, and the least I could do was make sure she lived out her life naturally - however she sought to live it.
“Let’s go,” I declared. “Get this shit over with.”
Steven handed me one of his guns. I was walking in unarmed because I had given mine to Kara and Maddie. We knew that until this was over, nobody could be trusted.
“Aye, Luke! Okay, everyone’s here.”
Leo, Antonio’s right hand, and a man I respected like an uncle, greeted Steven and I as I made it into the compound foyer. I nodded to him and the rest of the men. It was a very small, private group of us indeed. Only those considered closest to Antonio and in his Inner Circle.
“The reason we’re all here, gentlemen, is because we’ve got a traitor in our midst.” Leo looked strange in a blood-spattered white dress shirt, black slacks, brass knuckles, and expensive black leather shoes. Not because he was well-dressed and bloody. A lot of us did our best work well-dressed and bloody.
It was because of whose blood it was.
“Our leader, Antonio, is not the man we thought he was.”
Some of the guys murmured in agreement at the announcement. I looked around and their reactions of disgust and bitter hatred made their confirmation even more visceral.
“Let’s look at Antonio. He’s a civilized gentleman, right? He’s clean cut, he’s exquisite, he’s paid, and he’s a merciless protector of our empire, right? He’s clothed and fed each of us through this organization, right?” Leo counted out each of those points one by one with his fingers.
The men agreed, and he laughed, a rueful, nasty laugh. It was chilling, cold enough to snap someone’s spine in half.
“Our merciless leader’s anything but one of us. He sees us as beneath him, and he’s preyed on us the entire time.” Leo’s icy sneer revealed a hatred Satan could envy. “He’s carefully strategized his way to the top through meticulous treachery that goes beyond what we could even imagine. And after recent revelations, I’ve decided we can’t operate like this anymore.”
“What happened?” One of the guys asked.
Leo nodded. “Fair question. Without getting into a lot of details, let’s just say my best friend was the man who killed my father. I was fifteen when he died, and after a few months of struggling, that’s when I was offered the chance to build this empire with him.”
“Shit.” Steven shook his head, and several others gasped in shock at Leo’s disclosure.
I couldn’t imagine what it was like to learn your best friend engineered your friendship around false loyalty. It was probably a trauma that went bone deep. Leo would have to live the rest of his life with that knowledge.
Nothing about our lives was real. Everything Antonio touched was marred with a manipulative slant, twisted and smeared with an iridescent illusion of love.
“There are many things one can forgive, brethren, but the murder of my father is one thing I cannot. This man promised for over thirty years to help me find my father’s murderer, only to be the exact man I was looking for.” Leo’s eyes watered with vengeance as angry tears spilled. “That motherfucker is going to pay.”
Apologies, agreements, and angry shouts filled the room. Several men shared their stories of Antonio’s cross ways, including the snappish way he’s come at them.
“Fuck that,” one of the guys, Romero, said. “I draw the line at killing women. They’re women.”
“Just killing them?” Another one, Mike, retorted. “I never agreed with holding them captive and turning them into sex slaves, whether here or at the brothel.”
Romero shrugged defensively. “They signed those contracts. I thought they knew what they were getting into. Sex is one thing. Torture is another.”
“It’s all fucked up,” Mike snapped. “I have a baby sister, and if I weren’t so protective of her, she could have easily become like any of those women.”
Disgrace and remorse shoved themselves into my gut, twisting like a rusty knife. Mike was right. I knew these women didn’t like what they’d been doing, but they still offered themselves. I never thought of how fucked up it was, it all was, until Kara.
After we’d all shared our stories, I added mine, including the fact that I’d realized how far Antonio would go to get what he wanted. I exposed Antonio’s menace of Kara’s
life, as well as Chica’s revelation that Antonio ran my father off, only to take me under his wing as revenge.
“I think we’ve heard enough,” Leo said. He wrapped an empathetic arm around my shoulder. His mournful eyes looked into mine as he spoke. “I think you and I, we have a lot in common. We wouldn’t be where we are, if we weren’t stripped of the men in our lives. I think we owe it to that motherfucker downstairs to show him just how much we appreciate his hand our lives.”
“Am I right gentlemen?” Everyone agreed, and the air became ripe with bloodthirstiness.
“Well, let’s confront our fearless leader,” Leo said, his eyes cold and vicious.
Antonio’s face was severely battered, no doubt by the brass knuckles Leo adorned himself in.
“Men, we all get to do a little bit, but don’t do too much. A punch or a kick suffices. Just one. This is only round two. We need something for the final round.” Leo stepped back.
Every man in that room took a turn to punch or kick Antonio, who groaned and grit his teeth at their violent assaults.
“It’s your turn,” Steve nudged. He and I were the only one who hadn’t gone yet.
I walked up to Antonio. I nearly vomited because he was sickening to look at.
“Luke… nephew,” Antonio grunted. He looked at me, his eyes so swollen I wondered how he could even see me.
“Nephew? You ran my father off.”
“Your father was playing a dangerous game. You wouldn’t have become half the man you are today with him in your life.”
“I would have had a chance at something. All I had was my mom. And she was high all the time.”
“I gave you work, and a place to stay so you didn’t have to rely on her. I’ve been nothing but good to you, boy.”
“He’s not going to be too good to so many ‘boys’, now,” Steven warned. Growing up in the south, boy was an emasculating way of calling out to a black man, and he didn’t go for that. He stepped forward, sleeve pulled up, but I pushed him back.
“I got this man,” I said.
Antonio chuckled. “Good nephew. I raised you right. Fight your battles directly.”
“I’m not done.” I seethed at his arrogance. Even in this state, with us confronting him, he refused to see the error of his shit.
“Kara. What the fuck, Antonio? I went to pick her up and she was nothing but potential. She just wanted to take care of her mom and go to school. She didn’t even know her father died for a loan that paid for private school. They were an innocent family trying to do good in the world. And you interrupted that - for what?”
“She was young. I knew she would grow into something beyond the scope of normal work. She was going to be sexy, submissive. She was going to surrender to me after I broke her in, made her my slave.”
Antonio chuckled. “You fucked her, didn’t you? Broke that cherry, nephew? It was sweet cunt, wasn’t it?”
Fury pulsed through me as my right fist cracked across his nose, breaking it instantly. Blood spilled onto the floor and the men behind me cheered.
“I fucking hate you.” I spit on him and stepped back. I could feel heat burn through my face as I realized the man I respected as a father was a vicious piece of shit.
Steve pulled me and wrapped me in a hug as I burst into tears. Yeah, men aren’t supposed to cry, but this was truly the most painful experience of my life. Antonio couldn’t even deny what he’d done to me. What he’d done to Kara. I cried for myself, for her, for Leo, for everyone. There wasn’t enough violence in me to give him his just due, and the frustration poured through my eyes.
I was a monster because he made me a monster.
And yet there was still this little boy inside of me, one who held a lot of hope that this wasn’t as bad as I previously thought it was. I cried that his innocence was destroyed, as I realized that very first night at that Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque – and every night thereafter - sealed my fate and led me to Antonio’s destructive, grisly end.
“I think that’s enough from us.” Leo walked up to Antonio. “You know what makes you even more pathetic? You’re not sorry. You don’t even give a fuck about what you’ve done to us, your family, as you call it. We’re here, hurting, hating you, yet still unable to deal the punishment you deserve.”
“Whatever motherfucker.” Antonio spat his blood onto Leo’s shoes, triggering him to kick him in the chest again.
“You know what? I’m done.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to do this all day with you. I’ve got better plans. Ladies?”
A shuffle of steps could be heard coming closer and closer to the room. Suddenly we were surrounded by women, some of them scarred and disfigured, others looking like haunted beauty queens.
“These women, my friends, are the recent captives that have been saved from Antonio’s private torture chambers,” Leo announced. “And they have a special task. In exchange for their freedom, they’re going to give Antonio the same level of pleasure he’s given them.”
The women scowled and cheered, along with the men who hooted and hollered. Thunderous venom filled the air, and it crackled. The energy of retribution fueled a dizzying level of frenzy, and it was all held back by Leo’s command.
“Let’s give the ladies room, gentlemen.” Leo said. “For those of you who wish, go ahead and enjoy the show. I’m going to retire to my chambers. We’ll have dinner tonight to celebrate.”
Leo turned to go up the steps. The men roared and my heart pounded. This was going to be a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t have the heart for this. I turned, gave Steven a look, and we followed Leo up the stairs.
The last thing I saw was Antonio, still tied up like a dog, begging for forgiveness as the women charged him, various weapons and devices in their hands.
The last thing I felt is my heart, pounding like an African drum. There’s a final piece of sadness for what I thought we were - family - sliding down the drain as the illusion’s flushed out.
The last thing I heard were Antonio’s blood-curdling screams as the women turn the tide on him, encouraged by the deep, bellowing encouragement of the men, thirsty to taste his blood on their tongue and smear the victory of his death on their souls.
Kara
One Week Later
Sounds of ecstasy, wild desire, and uninhibited passion filled the room.
“Fuck baby,” Luke groaned. “This pussy is so fucking tight.”
I moaned in response, gripping the sheets as I stabled myself to continue taking every inch of him from the back.
It had been over a week since Luke returned from dealing with Antonio, and it was a week well spent. Luke and I kissed, pounded and tore at each other from the second we’d finally gotten a room to ourselves.
It was bliss. Especially now that I’d never have to worry about ever giving myself away to anyone other than Luke. He was all I needed, and he filled those places I desired to be touched, held, and felt, so deliciously.
Sometimes we need fantasy to survive reality. When Luke and I first made love, that’s what I was fulfilling, a fantasy. I thought real love on my terms would never happen once I realized Antonio’s plans. Luke was my savage way of always having something in my control, because my entire life was predicated on a price I had to pay - one that was heavier than I could ever imagine.
But every moment that passed brought about something I never expected: a strong man whose vicious flaws were overpowered by a courageous heart, one that was too beautiful to allow him to be judged by his sins.
Luke wasn’t perfect. Far from it. He had a bloodstained past, engineered by a ruthless puppeteer who had his hands in everything as nasty you imagine.
Despite this, Luke was the reason I could breathe freely. He’d gone against the man who’d given him everything - and I mean everything - to protect me.
He didn’t have to extend my time leaving behind Maddie, mom, and aunt Cori. He didn’t have to take his precious time making sure I was comfortable - or even saving
me from that hideous tarantula that tried to kill me. And while I’m sure he enjoyed it, he didn’t have to do me the solid favor of taking my virginity so it wouldn’t be lost at the hands of a sadistic, misogynistic madman.
The world would see a flawed outcast, an outlaw with unforgivable treachery on his hands.
I saw a man who worked hard for those he loved. A man who was never given a chance to overcome his obstacles, but did the best he could in spite of their intensity.
A man who deserved a true chance at love, life, and all the wonderful possibilities available.
Sometimes you have to walk through hell in order to experience the pleasure of heaven.
And right now, we were locked in our own version of Heaven on Earth. I was face down, ass up, and completely surrendered to his power.
My body splintered with pleasure with every stroke as Luke’s cock slammed into my wet walls. I called out to him, my lover, my protector, and felt myself gush all over him and down my legs.
“Fuck this pussy is so wet,” he gasped. He grabbed my hips and pushed himself into me. I felt his legs convulse, and his shaft jerked inside my walls as he erupted. Hot cum filled me, covering every crevice as he marked himself mine.
As he pulled out, the tip of his cock hit my G-spot and I squirted as I melted into ecstasy. Luke held me steady until I came down.
“I love you,” he said, kissing my forehead as we laid next to each other and fell asleep.
The drive back to Albuquerque was introspective, and made less lonely by the accompaniment of Maddie and Steven.
Upon my return, Cori and Mom didn’t need an explanation. The exhausted yet happy looks on our faces let them know everything wasn’t perfect, but would be okay.
With Luke, Maddie, and Steven by my side, I told them everything, including Antonio’s real plans. Cori was absolutely horrified. Mom cried tears of regret for not telling me the truth of my father’s death.
“I should have just given myself to Antonio,” she confessed. “Your father wouldn’t have died if I’d listened.”
