“Tread cautiously Davenport, or I may not allow your death. A lifetime of suffering is what you deserve. You dishonored my daughter, my family—” His voice rose with indignation.
“Your children will endure a lifetime of suffering if you don’t listen to what I have to say.”
My words cut Wu off mid-sputter. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped, an unusual, but not unexpected reaction from a man who commanded billions and owned the loyalty of thousands of men.
“What do you know of the twins?” His voice lowered, and he popped the button of his jacket. Leaning forward, he pressed his fingers to the tabletop. “Be very careful, or your next words will be your last.”
A week ago, Wu’s personal security picked up his twin son and daughter from their elite private academy. They failed to bring his children home. Nothing broke in the news about the kidnapping, and nothing would.
My meeting with Wu had been an inevitability since my release from prison, and I believed I would meet my end by his hands, or at least hands controlled by his command. This news offered an unequaled opportunity. If I could pull this off there might be a chance for me when all was said and done.
“Have you received communication from the kidnappers?” It was best to speak plainly. Neither of us had the time, or patience, to wallow through unnecessary pleasantries.
“How do you know about this?”
His admission of the abduction would be the only olive branch he extended. I trod on thin ice, skating ever closer to my imminent death.
“I expect they are being used for leverage for the moment, but don’t underestimate those who took them. A fourteen-year-old boy and girl are prized commodities in that world. I assume they intend to extort you.”
“They wish to open operations in my territory. I refused. Now, they have my twins.” Wu rolled his hand over, showing me his palm. I didn’t hesitate and proceeded with the subtle encouragement.
“They won’t kill them. The girl will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and the boy…”
Wu’s eyes pinched and his lids twitched. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he took a long, slow swallow of his whiskey. Bile rose in my throat, but not for the reasons he thought.
“Your son will not be traded as a slave.”
Wu’s eyes widened. “I expect they will kill him.”
“Not in the way you think.”
“What do you mean?” He leaned forward, hanging on the next words out of my mouth. This man had plotted my death a thousand times, but he needed me. The balance of power was about to shift.
“What do you know of cock rings?”
“We are not speaking about roosters, are we?”
“No, we are not.”
The blood rushed out of Wu’s face, and he slumped back in the booth. One of his men approached, concerned, but Wu waved him off.
I gave Wu a second to absorb what I said. A smart man, he connected the dots. In that moment, he knew true fear for what his son would endure.
The swirling uncertainty in my gut disappeared because in that same span of time, my chances of walking out of here alive turned to absolute certainty.
Wu’s lips twisted, and he rubbed at his jaw. “You don’t have children. I don’t expect you to understand. My children are everything to me. You took my eldest from me, and now these animals have my only son and my precious daughter. They are my legacy.”
“I know what I took from you, but I will redeem myself. I will bring your children home.”
He shook his head. “Do you know anything about raising daughters?”
“No.”
“They’re a challenge. You do everything right, provide a safe home, good education, shower them in love, and it’s never enough. Lamai didn’t appreciate what I provided. She rebelled, as many girls do, parties, drugs, and sex.” He made a half-wave toward me. “Those were only a few of the things she did in excess. My daughter defied me and turned her back on the life I worked hard to give her.”
It was hard not to squirm as this man mentioned his daughter, sex, and me in the same sentence. He paused when the waitress returned and placed two full tumblers of whiskey on the table. She removed our empty glasses and refilled the bar nuts.
“I know the things my daughter was into,” Wu said. “My men reported back to me. When I confronted her, she lashed out, dove deeper into drugs, and took other things to the extreme. You would think a man like me would have raised a woman of grace who valued her family’s honor, her reputation, and her place in society. My elder daughter wanted none of that. But Malee, she is innocent, docile, the perfect child. After what happened to Lamai, I vowed things would be different for Malee. She means everything to me.” His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on his glass.
The sad truth was that I barely remembered his daughter. Other than killing her, the rest of that night was a blur.
“I loved Lamai. I will always love her, but her fate, much as yours, rested in her hands. The decisions she made had consequences. I was never able to get her to understand the danger she placed herself in.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Mr. Davenport, I know what happened. I know my daughter and her friends approached you, your brother, and your friend. She went willingly. What happened next is something neither of us can change.”
It was something I wished I could change every damn day of my life. That one night altered the entire trajectory of my life.
“I know about forgiveness, even if you do not. You’re right not to ask for it because that isn’t something you can ask of another. It’s solely mine to give. I know what you endured. Not that I didn’t curse you a thousand times for taking Lamai from me, but I understand. What happened next made me realize the kind of man you truly were. I wish I could say my daughter was no accident, and now you come to me saying you will save Malee and my son? Whatever you know, you will tell me, but you won’t come anywhere near my children.”
Honor meant everything to Wu, and that was how I would sink my teeth into him, and hopefully save my sorry ass.
“What happened was a son desperate to honor his father’s wishes. My father’s lies infested my soul and the crimes I committed for him are ones I’ll never escape. I’m not here to ask your forgiveness. Nor am I here to foolishly offer you my life. I’m here to atone for what I did. You can torture me for the information I have, if you want, but there’s no need. I’ll share it with you, but it’ll do you no good. Only, I can act on it. Only I can bring your children home.”
Wu’s brow arched. “How?”
“First, I need your help.”
“My help?” He shook his head at me and gave a tsk. “Americans are strange creatures. This I do not understand. You offer to help me, but only by demanding my help first?”
“I’ll explain.”
I didn’t like the hooks Lily and Kate had in me. Nor did I like the tether Chambers and his elusive boss tied around my neck. At the end of this, I would be a free man and face the future on my terms.
Over the next two hours, we drank more whiskey and ordered food. Halfway through my explanation, he waved to two of his men and told them to join us. I backtracked and explained, leaving nothing out.
A prominent businessman and one of the elite super rich, Wu handled his mob connections with the finesse of a businessman, keeping his hands clean and his moral integrity intact. This was what I needed.
Chambers knew nothing about this part of my plan. We had argued all week about the utility of enlisting Wu’s aid. Chambers thought I was nuts to go to the father of the girl I murdered, but I understood Thai culture and their sense of honor.
And eye for an eye, and payment of debts owed. I would do that and more or die trying.
I lived only by the grace of this man’s good will. If I could enlist him in the fight, not only would he be my greatest ally, but it would free me.
I left that meeting with the backing of one of the wealthiest men in the world. It came with a price because Wu�
��s situation added another task to my plate. I was to break up a cockfighting ring and not the kind with barbed roosters.
While girls were pressed into sexual slavery, boys entered an altogether different hell, one filled with brutal training and fights to the death. The man who took Wu’s children wanted to expand his recruitment zone inside Wu’s territory.
Through Chambers I had a name, and while Wu and his associates struggled with how to take Zane Carson down, I would join Zane’s operation. To say I was over my head would be the understatement of the century, and into this new hell, I would bring Clara.
I truly was a monster.
Twenty-four hours later, I stood outside her door. Breaths ragged, pulse pounding, I took a moment to collect my thoughts. Then, instead of cycling the lock and barging in, I knocked on the door, giving it three sharp raps.
A moment’s pause, then Clara’s shaky voice rose from the other side of the door.
“Hello?”
She wouldn’t expect me to knock, and by now she was well acquainted with Chambers who took care of her in my absence. He didn’t knock either.
I leaned my forehead against the door. “Clara, may I come in?”
Her gasp revealed the terror my presence elicited and twisted my insides. Someday, I hoped for a different reaction.
“Yes. Of course, Sir. Please.”
The retinal scanner compared my retina to the two files which would allow access. Only Chambers and I could open this door. With a faint snick the locking mechanism disengaged, and I pushed on the door.
It was time Clara and I had a heart to heart conversation.
Chapter 23
Clara greeted me as required, on her knees, forehead pressed to the floor, arms straight, palms to the floor. An essential piece of her training, seeing her like that never failed to stir my hunger because I wanted all that it represented.
Instead, I had Clara.
I fought the beast within, tamping down its appetite to take, to claim, and to rut until I was spent. This was the evil swirling beneath the surface of my calm exterior, an angry and unsettled being barely restrained. I walked past her, gulping down the fire burning within and took a seat in my customary chair.
“Join me.” I barked the command, sounding harsher and fiercer than I intended, but I reminded myself of an essential truth. I was not Clara’s hero in this story.
“Yes, Sir.” The hesitancy in her voice came as no surprise. Her entire demeanor around me was one filled with caution.
She lived an uneasy existence, never knowing when I would turn on her and become the villain she expected, only that one day it would come. The problem was that I didn’t know either, but we would answer this question shortly.
She approached me directly, knowing how I expected her to behave, but when she knelt before me, I waved to the adjoining chair.
“Please sit, Clara. We have much to discuss.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you.”
I hated when she thanked me. It made me feel every bit the villain in her life. It seemed important to her, which was why I allowed it.
Or maybe, I allowed it because for a moment I could pretend she really was grateful. I know, I was a fool to believe such a lie, but I couldn’t help the need within me to share that connection with another human being.
During her training, I seldom allowed her to sit on the furniture. All my interactions came with purpose and intent. The goal set before us, to mold her into the most compliant slave, came only with rigid rules, fierce discipline, and endless practice designed to see her fail until perfection became the norm.
Every move she made, every breath she took, every command she complied with needed to become second nature, and it needed to proclaim her unwavering devotion to me, her Master, and embrace the absolute acceptance of her role as my slave.
I wished this wasn’t something I had to force upon her, but this was the reality we lived in.
She was going to hate me.
When she settled on the chair, she faced me. I didn’t immediately look at her. I couldn’t. Seeing her heart-shaped face would twist my gut with the vileness infesting every piece of me. Falling into her forever eyes would shred any decency left within me, if there was any. I doubted my sanity most days, but my resolve remained.
I would do what was required, if only to save others.
Clara kept me balanced on a knife’s edge, feeling remorse for what I subjected her to, and yet needing to maintain absolute control over every facet of her life. I didn’t need it. I fucking craved it. An animalistic growl escaped me, and she flinched.
“Is everything okay, Sir?” Her lower lip trembled. This was not how our sessions usually began.
The requirement to use that appellation every time she spoke had been lifted. It was a testament to her unease that she reverted to it now.
There was no simple way to proceed, so I lifted my gaze, bracing for the pain that would follow. I was Her Monster. Now, I would become something much worse. I would be the devil.
“I have a question and your answer will alter the course of your life.”
She gulped. A raw, unfiltered sound, the noise filled the space between us. Squirming in her seat, comfort eluded her as I put her on the spot. Her eyes shimmered with a rush of fear and tears she refused to shed. If the past weeks taught her anything it was how to hide her feelings. Clara was a brave woman. And smart. Her mind was something to admire, not destroy.
She knew everything between us was about to change.
“Yes, Sir.”
I could draw this out, but it served no purpose. It was best to get things over with, only then could I proceed. I snapped forward, watching her hunch inward as she tried to crawl into herself and disappear from the horror I promised.
“Do you want to live?”
The price I paid for Wu’s forgiveness was to fully enter the world Lily and Kate sent me to destroy. To them, I played a part with a three-step plan.
Assume a role.
Infiltrate the operation.
Destroy it from within.
What I would do for Wu appeared no different on first glance, only there would be no pretending. There would be no turning back.
I would embrace my fate, owning fully everything that I was, and I would bring Clara into that hell knowing full well that it would break her.
Or so I hoped. Wasn’t that the worst part?
I prayed it was me who broke her because I couldn’t bear to consider the alternative. I couldn’t allow another to put his hands on her, but I would. If Clara refused, then I would dispose of her.
Clara’s eyes widened, and she pressed her hands to her thighs. To her credit, she didn’t answer. Not that there was any doubt as to what she would say. My question was designed to force her to not just accept the inevitable, but embrace it.
Everyone wanted to live.
Pursing her lips, she took in a deep breath and leaned back into the chair. Her eyes pinched and her lips fluttered, as if she was speaking to herself.
The space between us vibrated with the lethal power of her silence. A ticking time bomb, I couldn’t wait for the potency of the moment to detonate, destroying everything I cared about…a woman I had no business caring about at all.
Without realizing it, I leaned forward, perched on the edge of the chair and waited for the inevitable.
When no answer came, I nudged, lowering the tonal register of my deep baritone to what amounted to a growl.
“I asked a question.”
What happened next didn’t matter. There were rules which bound us together.
Action.
Reaction.
Consequence.
These were the three pillars upon which our entire relationship had been built.
Our relationship.
I almost let out a laugh at that. We had no relationship. Nothing except the horrors I imposed on her: obedience, training, punishment. What we had was a fucked-up, twisted, and poisonous thing that could only end in
ruin.
Her eyes opened and something shifted in her gaze. The tiniest flicker, barely perceptible, and the fragile woman who acquiesced to my commands, who bent over my knee to endure the punishments I forced upon her, that fragile woman…disappeared.
In her place, a lioness emerged. The transformation occurred over the span of a moment and took my breath away.
“Are you giving me a choice?” Her words snapped across the distance. They hit me with a force so profound it shook the foundations of my world.
There was her strength. Her grit. The ferocity which had been missing. My blood surged, rooting for her to win, even as the animal within bared its fangs, readying itself to put her back in her place. I was the Alpha, and I didn’t like this challenge, but damn if it didn’t excite me.
“Are you answering my question with one of your own?” I pushed, seeking her reaction, needing her to push back.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she said with an intentional slur, “but I think it’s a reasonable question…considering we’re talking about my life.” Her breathing hitched, and I hated how that made my dick twitch.
This wasn’t the time for that kind of shit. It would never be the time for that. Not with her. Not after what had to be done.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her beautiful face. Her fear spanned the distance between us, forming a bridge I didn’t want but desperately craved. I sought a connection. It was pitiful how desperately I tried to carve out a place for myself in her heart.
“The rules are simple, Clara.” Remembering the way Kate intentionally said my name to induce a kind of hypnotic fugue, I did the same, binding Clara to my will. “I ask. You answer. Action. Reaction…”
“Consequence.” She blurted out the word before I could finish. “Yes, I’m well aware of the rules.” There it was again, that derisive slur.
I paused, finding myself suddenly unsure.
The quickening of my heart and the rush of adrenaline surging through my veins couldn’t be helped. My reaction, my desire, and my need to fulfill that piece of what we were becoming was too great to resist. Even when something else altogether was happening here.
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