by Erin Trejo
“Something is changing,” he whispers.
“What do you mean?” his laugh is dark and unhinged. I try to sit up, but he holds me in place.
“Soon you will see.”
Chapter 23
Alexei
I saw her and now I know exactly who she is. Does that change the fact that I want her in more ways than one? No. Does it change the fact that I want her riding my cock and staying with me? She’s becoming an obsession that I can’t stop myself from wanting. I saw her with her father regardless if she knew it or not. I find myself breathing heavily trying to keep my anger under control. I’m curious as to why she’s never mentioned him before now. Every time that I’ve asked if she wanted to go home, she says no. Something dark lingers in the back of my mind, something sinister and it wants to lash out at her.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Dmitry asks when I jerk my gaze to meet his.
“Of course, I am.” Turning my gaze to the middle of the basement, my uncle is tied to the chair unconscious. Lev stands next to me an angry scowl on his face. Now is the time I will see what he’s made of. This has more to do with him than me. He wants to play a role in this family, he will have to prove his worth just as the others have.
“You have two choices, Lev. You either dispose of the piece of shit that left your sister to be raped, or you walk out of my home and run,” I tell him. His eyes meet mine and I can see the understanding along with the fear. He wants this life with us, but he also isn’t sure about killing his own father. I pull my phone out of my pocket and send off a few texts and emails while Dmitry wakes the asshole. I find myself extremely calm today knowing what I know now. I also find myself on edge with that information as well. She’s walked the house like always and doesn’t suspect a thing. It bothers me to a point. I find myself wondering what her role is in the O’Kelly family if any. They aren’t high up on any list that should cause concern. In fact, as far as I know, the O’Kelly’s have been out of the mafia business for many years now after losing most of their family in a war.
“He’s awake,” Dmitry announces as I slide my phone back into my pocket.
“So, he is. Fancy seeing you here, uncle.” He glances around and jerks at the bindings that keep him in place. I want to laugh but I have questions first.
“Why did you do it?”
“Do what?” he hisses.
“Leave Alina to be taken? To be raped and brutalized! What the hell were you planning?” My anger gets the best of me when I think of the two of them in those cells being hurt. They did this. They put them in that position.
“I did no such thing!” Lev moves in, his fist colliding with his father’s cheek. His head jerks to the side and I smirk.
“How dare you Lev?” his father hisses in his direction.
“How dare I? You left Alina to those monsters! Why? How could you?” Lev questions him. Dmitry and I share a glance and I nod my head quickly letting him know that Lev has the floor for now. I want to see what he can do if he’s to be a part of all of this.
“You know nothing,” his father spits. Lev nods his head and moves to the table, picking up one of my favorite tools, the cutters. He walks back to his father and grabs his hand, bringing the cutter to his finger.
“What the hell are you doing, Lev?” He asks sounding panicked.
“I’m making things right for Alina,” He growls before cutting through his flesh and bone. My uncle screams loudly, and I find myself drawn to the scene in front of me. Lev is proving himself worthy.
“Tell me, father. Why did you do it?” Lev asks calmly moving to the next finger.
“You’re as crazy as your cousin!” Stepan screams. Lev cuts through another finger, blood spraying his clothing. He doesn’t seem to notice as he continues to the next.
“I was forced into it! They knew!”
“Who knew what?” I hiss moving closer this time.
“They knew that if you went after Alina you would take Zia!” My eyes move to meet Dmitry’s and the same confused look etches across my face.
“Who? How did they know I’d take her?”
“Her father! Christ, he wanted you dead!”
“And you were in on this how?” Dmitry asks stepping up next to me.
“It was easy. He wanted a takeover. With you out of the way, he could do it. He could overthrow you and use me as leverage to gain the empire. We were to lead together!” A laugh escapes me. Overthrow me? Now that is a challenge I will gladly accept.
“And how do they play into this? The girls?”
“Alina was clueless. I didn’t know what they would do to her. They were supposed to wait it out for you to show up.”
“What if I hadn’t shown up? What then? Had Lev not informed me of the situation I would have never known,” I grit my teeth trying to keep control. If I lose it, I will kill him before I ever get enough information from him.
“We didn’t plan that far,” he admits. Lev moves quickly before any of us can speak or react. In seconds, he’s behind his father, his head in his hands. In one swift motion, he snaps the man’s neck and takes a step back. Unhinged chaos dances in his vision. At this moment, he reminds me of myself.
“Well, that line of questioning is over,” I muse. Lev’s eyes move to meet mine but there is only confusion.
“Dmitry will handle disposing of him. I do believe one of those fingers should go to Mr. O’Kelly.” I nod toward the finger on the floor.
“I will have it taken care of,” Dmitry says moving around the room. Lev stands in stunned silence. Maybe this was his first kill, I don’t know for sure.
“Lev. Walk with me.” He nods his head, looking at his dead father before his feet move. He walks next to me as we leave the room.
“What are you feeling?”
“I don’t know. A little numb, if I’m being honest,” he says in a low tone.
“That’s to be expected. The first time will always make you feel numb. It’ll pass,” I tell him.
“You’re used to this. It gets easier, yes?” I look over at my cousin and nod.
“Traitor. He was a traitor. Remember Alina every time you think of him and what you did to him. You gave her life back, Lev.” He nods his head as if he understands.
“What about Clara and her father?” I don’t like her name leaving his lips. She’s mine but I know rationally, she’s here for another purpose. The question is why hasn’t she completed her orders?
“I will handle them in time.” I leave Lev to his own thoughts and head upstairs to find my little Irish Sparrow. As soon as I walk down the hallway, I stop at her door peeking inside. She hums softly to herself while flipping the pages of a magazine. I find it hard to believe that she, of all people, would be sent to kill me. She isn’t a threat, at least not to me. I can overpower her at any time. Although I have been training in her self-defense, she still doesn’t hold a card to me.
There’s just something more to this girl that I don’t want to let go of. Perhaps keeping her as my prisoner is the route to go. Chains have always amused me and seeing her attached to the other end would make my cock hard. I don’t know how long I’ve stared at her when she finally looks my way. A smile curls her lips as she flips her long red hair over her shoulder.
“Hi,” she says softly. A thought comes to me. I will show her. I will show her what kind of monster I am. What she’s dealing with.
“Hi. What are you reading?” I ask nodding toward the magazine. She holds it up to show me.
“Alina gave it to me. She thought I might like to look at the articles.” Why does she seem so happy? How can she play that part so well when she knows what she’s doing here? The thought alone makes me angry and I find myself wondering just how good an actress she truly is. If she’s lying to me, about all of this and our time together, she very well should be in Hollywood.
“And do you? Like the articles?” I ask. She shrugs her shoulder.
“They are pretty boring,” she giggles. I give
her a soft smile as I walk into her. She climbs off the bed and meets me halfway, there’s a look of lust in her big, blue eyes. Is that an act as well? It couldn’t be. She craves me the way I crave her. She wants my touch both good and bad. I see the way she lights up, and that fire blazes in her when I give her the pain that she’s grown accustomed to. Her arms wrap around my waist, her head resting on my chest. I wrap mine around her as well, holding her near to me.
“What is this for?” I ask not understanding the meaning of this hug. Of course, I’m not complaining that she’s touching me, but after what I’ve come to know, I’m on edge.
“For letting me stay. For giving me things that no one has ever given me before,” she whispers into my shirt. I tense at her words. Clara pulls back and looks up at me, that sparkle in her eye. Confusion has become my new best friend when it comes to her. I don’t know how she can play the emotion card so well. She stands here staring up at me with the look of lust and admiration, yet she is the devil.
“Change into something warm. I want to show you something,” I tell her. Leaning down I press a kiss to her head and shove her toward the closet. She giggles but she goes as I turn to head into my room. I hope to hell this makes me feel a little bit calmer.
Chapter 24
Clara
His attitude has shifted since we’ve been in the car. He gave orders to the driver in Russian and then sat silently. Something is bothering him, and I don’t know what that is. We’ve both remained silent on the ride and I don’t want to push him to talk if he doesn’t want to. Once the car comes to a stop, I glance out the window to see an old abandoned building. Alexei climbs out, offering me his hand. I climb out and he keeps our hands intertwined.
“This is a special place. It’s the place that made me who I am.” I glance up at him shocked. He doesn’t look at me, his eyes are a million miles away. I glance around and there is nothing. An old rundown building and a field.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“I told you I was sent away to a camp of sorts. This is where it was. Come,” he says taking my hand in his and leading me toward the building. As we step inside, something in him transforms. It’s like he’s not even here with me right now. His eyes are void, spaced out as he looks around the room.
“We’d sleep on the floors. We didn’t have beds or blankets. As you can imagine it grew quite cold in here. If we got sick, we were forced to keep moving anyway. We were allotted four hours of sleep a night before rigorous training the next day.”
“Every single day?” I ask through a gasp.
“Yes. We weren’t given days off. We’d eat only enough to keep us alive. Water was a gift that you earned.”
“That sounds horrible, Alexei. You were only a child.” I can’t even imagine having to live like that. A child at that.
“It didn’t matter. We are trained to be who we are. I wasn’t alone. I was trained amongst others that are now Vors as well as many soldiers, assassins. We were all given the same common knowledge.”
“Why? Why was this the way they had to do it?” I find myself intrigued yet disgusted all at the same time. How could someone traumatize their children like that? Why would you want to?
“It’s just our way,” he says his eyes vacant.
“Would you do this to your own child?” I don’t know why the question arises, but I now find myself curious for an answer. I know that anger that lives deep inside of him, but I couldn’t imagine him hurting a child.
“No. I won’t have children. I wouldn’t make a good father.” My heart breaks in my chest for him. For the things, he went through.
“Did you have friends here?”
“We weren’t allowed to have friends. I watched many die here. Some as young as six. Different sicknesses, infection. We were beaten for not being strong enough. We were punished if we didn’t move quickly enough. Life here was indeed a living hell but I grew accustomed to it,” he says looking straight ahead. This has to be killing him inside, but he isn’t showing it. I turn and stand in front of him, my hand resting on his cheek. He finally lowers his gaze to mine.
“I’m so sorry you had to live through that, but you did live. You’re here. With me,” I tell him as my heart pounds in my chest. The feelings I have for Alexei are far greater than I imagined they would be. I don’t think I can live without him in my life. What my father wants me to do is off the table. I can’t possibly harm him.
“Am I?” He asks tilting his head to the side and studying me. His hands move slowly up my sides before he grabs my upper arms gently. He stares into my eyes, his haunted ones giving me pieces of his past that I will hold onto forever. “I know who you are,” he whispers when he leans in closer to me. I don’t know if he means literally or not, but the way he says it sends an eerie chill down my spine.
“Who am I?” I ask with a shaky voice.
“Zia Clara O’Kelly.”
“What difference does it make?” My voice hitches on the last word and Alexei smiles. It isn’t his heart-stopping smile either. It’s the one I should fear and run from. It’s the devil coming out to play. Fear dances inside me. He knows.
“Oh, воробей. It changes everything. I know why you were sent to me. The question is, do you have the strength to do it?” His words are as smooth as silk. He leans in closer, his breath mingling with my own before he sinks his teeth into my lip. I cry out from the pain before I frantically kiss him back. I can taste the blood on my tongue and it makes all my other senses explode. Every nerve ending fires off at the same time as his rough grip tightens. His kiss is strong and possessive just like the man himself. He spins me quickly, slamming my body against the hard concrete of the wall. Pain ricochets through me as Alexei keeps me pinned in place. His lips move over my cheek, licking my earlobe before biting it between his teeth. I’m a panting mess that wants nothing more than for him to be inside me, marking me, anything he will give me. Alexei pulls his head back smiling one of the wickedest of smiles I’ve ever seen. Darkness flashes across his face, his dark eyes impossibly darker.
“What is your answer?” He asks.
“What answer?”
“Can you do it? Can you kill me and hand over everything to your father?” God, I want to crawl into my own skin right now. I hate the way he’s looking at me.
“It’s not like that, Alexei.”
“Oh, it isn’t? Did you know that you were placed with Timur for the simple fact that they knew I’d come there for Alina? That they knew I’d recognize you and take you as well?” His head tilts slightly as he looks down at me. Fear causes me to shake in his arms.
“I…”
“No lies, Clara!” I jolt at the force of his words.
“Yes, I knew but--“
“You are a traitor! You are just like the rest of them.” His words slice through my heart and tear my chest open. I start to respond but as soon as I open my mouth, his hand slams roughly over it. He leans in next to my ear and whispers, “Now you will know what it is truly like to be a prisoner.” As soon as he moves his hand, I try to protest but he turns on his heel and drags me behind him. I trip and stumble trying to keep up with his long angry strides.
“I wasn’t going to do it, Alexei!” I scream but he doesn’t listen. “I don’t want to do it!” He reaches the limo and tears the door open before grabbing me and tossing me inside. I land with an oomph and roll to the side, shoving myself up.
“Alexei, please.” He slams the door and moves toward me, pulling my coat off my body. Ripping at the fabric of my shirt, he tears it off my body. Moving to my boots and jeans next, he doesn’t stop until I’m sitting, shivering from the chill in the air in nothing but my bra and panties.
“You will be treated as a prisoner from now on. You will learn what it feels like to be nothing, to have nothing. You will no longer freely roam my home and Alina is off limits to you. You will eat, sleep and breathe whatever I allow you. Do you understand me?” The cold calculated way he says it makes me c
ringe. He can’t even look at me without disgust in his eyes. I betrayed him. It wasn’t my intention. I was only trying to survive, and now that he knows, I’ve ruined everything.
“I said, do you understand me?” He growls, causing me to flinch. I reach up and wipe the tears from my eyes and nod my head.
“Yes. I understand.” I don’t understand though. I don’t know how he knows or how he would even find out. It’s stupid and naïve on my part because I know who Alexei is, but I still didn’t think that he would find out so easily. My heart sits heavy in my chest as I realize what I’ve done. Maybe if I would have told him to begin with, this wouldn’t be happening.
“How did you find out?” I ask softly hoping he will give me something, anything but his silence. He moves his angry gaze back to mine and smirks.
“My uncle.” That bastard. How did he know? I will kill him for ruining this, ruining me. Alexei must see the glint in my eyes.
“You can think all you’d like. He’s dead already. Soon your father will join him in hell and then you. you will be last.”
Chapter 25
Alexei
The amount of rage that simmers within me is indescribable. There’s an unfamiliar ache in my chest that I’ve never felt before. I can’t place it, but I know it doesn’t belong. She betrayed me. After all I’ve done for her and she lies to me. I can’t control the anger I feel. I’ve taken it out on everyone around me although it wasn’t their fault. That fact mattered very little to me. I’ve killed the men that fired at my wall after Dmitry found them. They apparently worked with my uncle although he should have known better than to send amateurs to do that job. They didn’t even break through security. After all of them were disposed of, I drank. Quite a bit too. I wanted to be numb. I wanted to forget that the girl in that makeshift cell in the corner of the basement didn’t betray me the way she did. She doesn’t see me in the darkness as I sit silently in the corner staring toward her.
“I wondered why something as pure as you would have fallen into my life,” I say loud enough for her to hear me. I hear the gasp too.
