Cruel Crown: A Dark Romance (Sekten Book 2)

by C. Lymari

  “Why?”

  He finished smoking before he answered my question. “Because I love Daphne.”

  Did the fucker just say he loved Daphne? My fucking Daphne. When he laughed, my glare intensified.

  “Relax, I love her like a sister.”

  “You fucked her,” I added dryly.

  He shrugged.

  “Shit happens.”

  “You’re saying you wouldn’t do it again?”

  “Now, I didn’t say that. Look, I like Daph. I love her but not in that way. Did I like the sex? Yeah, but then I love pussy. I get twitchy if I go too long without getting laid.”

  Shaking my head, I lay back down, feeling drained already. I wondered why I didn’t hurt as bad as I should.

  “Yeah, you go back to bed. I’ll figure out a way to get us out of this jungle,” Bas added with sarcasm. I didn’t have the energy to flick him off.

  Location: Ecuador

  Recovery was a bitch in a third-world country. My eye was fucked; I didn’t need a doctor to tell me my vision would never be twenty/twenty again. There was a faint pink line in my throat, a bullet graze in my arm, and my ribs were slowly healing.

  The borders were hot right now and I was the number one enemy. Since Bastian had left camp—or so everyone thought—he wasn’t a suspect, and he killed his loose ends.

  Daphne had probably done what she’d set out to do, and the bitch was in her Swedish cottage laughing at how she’d played me like a fool.

  My ribs hurt from the heavy breathing I was doing, and my throat clogged with the anger that flowed through my veins. The first few days, I was drugged on some herbal shit the natives gave me, and Bas had given me vitamins to inject. Every fucking little thing reminded me of her. It didn’t matter that our time together had been brief and lapsed time. It fucking sunk into every surface, every pore; it was ingrained in all of my being.

  “Okay, I think you should be ready to travel now so that I can charter us a ride out of this hellhole.” Bastian came to where I was seated, looking down at the river that flowed through the hills.

  “Does your phone still have juice?”

  “Enough for one call,” he replied.

  “I have someone who can pick us up,” I told him, not meeting his stare. I inhaled the fresh air, and then I exhaled, knowing I couldn’t just let it go. “I want in.”

  There was a smile on Bas’s face. I could see him grinning from my peripheral vision.

  “You’re going to specify what ‘in’ means, otherwise I’m going to take it as an indecent proposition.”

  “Stop being a wanker.”

  I pulled out the cigarette from his mouth and put it off on his forearm.

  “Fuck,” he cursed when the ash burned his skin.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I had thought long and hard, and I’d finally found something that would give me some peace of mind.

  “Last time I went to Moscow, I got the impression Damian had told someone else to proxy Daphne’s vote…”

  Bas poured some water on the cigarette burn, cleaning it. “Yeah, and look how well that ended.”

  “She found out about the meeting because you told her.”

  “I know,” he said slowly, and then his eyes widened once he realized what I was asking him to do.

  “You’re a son of a bitch. I don’t have to do shit for you.”

  I shrugged and then slowly got up. “You saved me for a reason. I won’t kill her, but I want to be part of the snake’s lair.”

  Bas cursed some more.

  “I haven’t paid my dues yet, but I know Damian wants you in. And I know he wants to test my loyalties, so it works in my favor. And as for your dues…”

  “I already paid mine. I left a hard drive to him as a gesture of goodwill.”

  Bas started to laugh.

  “Yeah, those flight plans are all past. You want in, you and I are going on a little field trip.”

  “Where?”

  “Chicago,” he replied with a faint smile.

  For the first time in days, my blood hummed with life, my heart beat with excitement, and the knife that was in my chest didn’t sting as much. I couldn’t kill the person I wanted right now, but Yorovich Morozov was the next best thing.

  “Give me the satellite phone. I need to make a call.”

  What should have been a one-day trek into the nearest town took two because of my weakened state, something Bastian didn’t let me forget.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you, princess?” he goaded for the twenty-thousandth time.

  “Blow me,” I bit out.

  “Sorry, bro, I’m Sekten, and I kneel for no one.”

  I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. The natives gave us some water and directions to the nearest town. From there, we would need to get a ride to the strip we were going to get picked up from.

  The jeep was left behind and burned so there wouldn’t be any evidence left of our trail.

  “Fuck,” I cursed as I saw the houses from the nearest town now visible.

  “Only if you bottom.”

  Ignoring his comment, I kept on talking. I swear, I thought I was fucked-up, but it was nothing compared to the oil prince.

  “I don’t have any of my passports. They were all left behind.”

  Right now, I felt like an idiot. To get papers made was going to take a minute. I needed to find one of my contacts, and for that, I needed access to the black web. Then it would be a waiting game to get someone to make me a good set just so I could get out of this shit hole.

  Bas didn’t look bothered. He started to search his backpack. “Now, what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t come prepared for you.” The asshole winked at me.

  He handed me the passport I had used to come into Colombia. “How the fuck do you have this?”

  “While you were in Daphne’s tent one day, I went into yours. Look, I didn’t know what was going to happen, all I knew is that you would want retaliation, and I wanted to make sure I talked to you before you fled the country.”

  I shook my head angrily at this mess.

  “Why did she do it?”

  Bastian dropped the cocky smile from his face. He brought his hand to his face and looked ahead, trying to see if he could spot any methods of transportation. I knew that’s what I would do.

  “Look, I know you want answers, and I get that. Daphne, she’s cryptic, but she never does anything without reason. If you’re going to see things through her eyes, you have to keep feelings aside. There is something big going on, and it could be catastrophic for many countries. There’s a war on the horizon, and it was your life in order to get a chance to save millions.”

  When he put it that way, it made me feel like a selfish bastard, but only for half a second—she was still going to pay.

  She was Sekten and she kneeled for no one? Well, I guess I’d have to show her that she would kneel for me.

  “Why did you guys do a double attack?”

  “It was the only way the Colombians and Mexicans would trust us. Nothing brings allies faster than when they aid you in battle.”

  He had a point. We made it to the town in silence. People looked at us warily, but money spoke to all languages and all kinds of people. We got some food and a ride. Now all I had to do was bide my time before I struck.

  By the time we made it to the airstrip, the luxury jet was waiting for us.

  “Your friend hates me,” Bas mused as we got closer to the jet. The stairs were down and waiting for us.

  I looked at Bas and the jet again. It was black and red, and on the tail, it had a red diamond with the word Remington.

  “You know Falcon?”

  “Daphne and I paid him a little house visit.”

  I should have figured he was with her that day. Ren should have told me himself though.

  We climbed the stairs and I felt excited, yet anxious about what was to come. The cat-and-mouse game Daphne had been playing had ended. Now it was a whole ne
w game where she crowned herself queen. Didn’t she know that people loved dethroning queens and watching them bleed?

  “What the fuck is he doing here?” The words came from the cabin of the plane. I sighed before I turned to look up at Ren, who was glaring at Bastian. The fucker behind me was smiling at him, which only deepened Ren’s scowl.

  “I believe you two have already met,” I said.

  “Oh my God!” was screeched from somewhere in the cabin. “What happened to your face?”

  “Princess,” Ren growled as his cute little girlfriend came barreling down the aisle so she could hug me. She was an heiress to a diamond empire—tiny little thing, but she was full of rage.

  Her hands then came to my face, her fingers tracing lightly over bandages that protected my eye.

  “Who did this to you? We are going to kill them—” I snorted at the rage on her delicate features. Ember, noticing I wasn’t alone, turned to Bas, cocking her head. “Who are you?”

  “I don’t get a hug?” He grinned at her, which made Ren stand up from his seat.

  “I don’t know you,” she replied as she looked him up and down. “Do I?”

  She probably did know him or had heard of him a while ago. Bas had been keeping a low profile for years, but they probably ran in the same circles.

  “Ember, go to the room,” Ren said in a stern voice as he gave her shoulder a comforting touch. Ember rolled her eyes.

  “First, you leave New York in a rush and go to Italy without telling me why…” My head swung to look at Ren. “…and now we’re picking up G, who looks like he almost got killed, and yet, you don’t tell me shit. I should leave you all fucking stranded here.” Ember pushed me aside and strutted to the back of the plane where I imagined the bedroom was.

  “What happened?” I barked.

  Ren kept blocking the way for us to take a seat and glared at Bastian.

  “Why is he here?”

  Bastian’s grin only got bigger. He threw a hand over my shoulder. “We’re kinda together right now.”

  I patted Ren’s chest before I pushed him aside. “Don’t worry, mate, you’re still my number one guy.”

  “Fuck you,” he groaned, running a hand down his face. “Someone explain to me what’s going on?”

  The first thing I did was take a seat, making myself comfortable. Bastian dropped his backpack and headed for the wet bar.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” Ren added dryly.

  “Why were you in Italy?” I asked, knowing why but wanting to confirm it.

  “Your fucking bitch called,” he answered. “Who did this to you?”

  “My bitch,” I replied bitterly.

  Ren raised a brow and then watched Bastian as he took a seat.

  “You don’t mind if I charge my shit, right?” Bas asked but did it anyway. He then turned to look at us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here, I kinda own his ass.”

  Rolling my eyes, I explained most of what went down in the jungle to Ren, and in return, he told me about his little trip to Italy. He didn’t hide the fact that he hated being in debt to Daphne.

  “The Estacado girl was in bad shape. She kept begging Daphne to kill her. She couldn’t even look at me. She was afraid of me.”

  Do you know what I felt? Nothing. Absolutely no fucking remorse over her. She was just a job and a casualty. Bastian, on the other hand, cursed, then threw back his drink.

  “Why do you care?” Ren bit out. “This is all your bitch’s fault.”

  Bastian scowled and glared at him. “If I were you, I’d be a little more fucking grateful to her. Anyone else would have fucking killed you, no hesitation. And if they didn’t, they would have killed your pretty little girlfriend.” Ren growled, but Bas kept going. “And if they felt like playing, they would have made you watch as they took everything from her, leaving nothing but a shell behind. Daphne paid with her blood for you, so be fucking grateful.” He then turned to me. “Everything we touch dies or ends up broken. Are you sure you want in?”

  “What does he mean by ‘in’?” Ren sat straighter and looked at me.

  I ignored him.

  “What do you mean she paid with her blood?”

  “You do not disobey Damian without consequences.”

  “What did he do?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  Bastian rose and refilled his drink.

  “He called a meeting gathering all the members, then he chained her up to a pole and had her whipped.”

  Trying to remember who had been in the room that day in Moscow, I found myself asking, “Who did it?”

  Bastian looked at Ren. “I did.”

  “What?” I seethed, but he ignored me.

  “That first lash was easy. I mean, how hard could it be, right? By the third lash, her skin was red. Seven lashes and her skin began to tear. You see, inside headquarters, she’s not my friend nor my mentor; we are both soldiers. I was doing what was expected of me. Eleven lashes later and her blood was starting to surface. Fifteen and Damian said I wasn’t using enough force. Seventeen and her back was covered in blood, her knees and legs shaking, little whimpers leaving her mouth, but she wouldn’t beg for me to stop, so Damian ordered to add five more since this was obviously not enough punishment for her. At twenty, she cried out when the pain became too much. At twenty-two, she couldn’t take it anymore. The only reason she was still standing was because of the cuffs, and sometime before twenty-five, she passed out. I threw away the bloodied whip and walked away with everyone else, leaving her there pretending like I didn’t give two fucks about her, so what she did for you wasn’t in vain.”

  I wasn’t the only one who was breathing heavily. If I thought I hated Damian before, it was nothing compared to how I felt right now. Daphne would pay, and if the only mercy I could offer her was to watch me cut off his head, that would be more than enough than she’d ever given me.

  Location: Chicago

  It’d been two weeks since we got dropped off here in Chicago. What Bas told us made Ren stand him a little bit more. He was grateful because he was living his happy fucking ending, thanks to Daphne. As for me, I was not letting myself think about my next move until it fucking happened.

  Bas got a doctor to come see me, and he said what I already knew: the damage to my eye was permanent. The scar was healing nicely, but my vision would not be perfect. It was okay; I only needed one working eye to use a sniper.

  “Chicks dig scars.” Bas patted my back in support or some shit.

  We were staying in a penthouse at the Hills hotel, while Bastian waited for the go-ahead of whatever it was we were supposed to be doing since this was a need-to-know basis.

  “Okay, so why can’t she kill Yorovich?”

  Meanwhile, I had been questioning Bastian about anything and everything I could think of. I wasn’t stupid; he was telling me because he wanted me to know.

  “The Sekt is archaic. They have traditions and laws. Contracts are pretty much sacred to them. The best I can describe it is as a modern-day guild. What happened in Chicago didn’t void that contract, but Damian just put it on hold for a few years. If I’m not mistaken, she’s due to go to him in a few months again.”

  There was no way in hell I would allow her to go back to him. He might have been her old master, but Daphne was about to find out someone new held her leash. I snorted. “So, it’s a cult?”

  Bas stopped smoking his cigarette. “Yeah, I guess it’s a cult.”

  “And Damian is your leader.”

  He passed me the cigarette, and I took it greedily.

  “He will be yours too. We bow to no one, but he likes to test those limits forcing us to kneel for him. He has spies everywhere.”

  “You really are selling it,” I said dryly. I needed something more substantial than a cigarette, but the oil prince didn’t do drugs. I tried to talk about it, but it was a touchy subject for him. Then I remember his girlfriend was pretty, but as rich as she was, she used to be a junkie, which eventually got her kil
led.

  “Is it true you watched your girl die?”

  His jaw went hard and his face stony. On the inside, I smiled. I liked pushing buttons. He got up and was about to leave but turned around and looked at me, those dark eyes staring me down.

  “Damian is on his way. My advice, mate,” he mocked, “don’t show any type of emotion.”

  Bas left the penthouse in a hurry, slamming the door on his way out. Guess his girlfriend was a touchy subject.

  So, Damian was coming, and things would get interesting. Many times, I’d stopped myself from dialing her number and telling her I was coming for her, but no, I’d rather see shock wash through her face when she saw me. Bas had his reasons for not letting her know I survived, and as for Damian…he was just a fucking prick who wanted her to know she was betrayed.

  According to Bastian, they kept things aloof within prying eyes. Aloof, my fucking arse. That’s why when we sparred, I didn’t hold back. I was angry—at him for whipping her, at her for betraying me, and at myself for not stopping her.

  What I felt for her wasn’t love, for love wasn’t built on secret and lies. It was something more, something so painful that it stole and ripped out your soul.

  The next day after my shower, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyebrow, according to Bas, was now hip. A slash went down, and there were now just the small stitches in my lid. I tried to keep it covered as much as I could since it hurt to blink. Then I looked at my neck, and I could barely make out the scar since the tattoos covered every inch of my skin.

  Damian was going to get here any minute, and then he would ask of me what he wanted me to do so I could join the Sekt. After that, a vote would be called, and since Daphne wouldn’t be notified, I was getting in. Just a few more hours. For the first time since Colombia, I smiled. It was cold, cruel, and calculated.

  “You better start running, Petal, because your time is up, and I’m coming for you.”