Red Fire - Surrender by Cassandre Dayne
ISBN: 978-0-9876894-8-1
First Edition 2011
Release Date: October 30, 2011
Naughty Nights Press (NNP)
P.O. Box 550 Drayton, Ontario, Canada
http://naughtynightspress.com/
Artwork & Logo by Shane Willis, RAD ACT Photography
http://www.radactphoto.com/
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. This book is under copyright by the author and is protected by law.
This e-book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial graphic scenes and graphic language, which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where minors cannot access them.
Names, characters and incidents depicted in this e-book are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
No part of this e-book may be adapted, stored, copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy.
The right of Cassandre Dayne to be identified as the author has been asserted.
Warnings: This book contains graphic language, violence and sexual situations including: parings that include m/m, m/f/m, ménage and partner sharing along with: mild BDSM, stranger fantasies, consent/non-consent situations and references to BDSM equipment in detail that may offend some readers.
If you are offended by multiple sexual interactions between characters of any gender or vivid and clear descriptions of a multitude of sexual acts we ask that you refrain from reading this e-book.
Please read at your own risk. – Yours Faithfully, The Naughty Nights Press (NNP) Team
Acknowledgements
I’d like to acknowledge the talented staff at Naughty Nights Press. Not only are they an inspiration but also working with the talented team has been an extraordinary experience. From their professional staff, to the way they nurture every writer individually and the very creative cover artist whose art is an inspiration, I can’t thank you enough for working with me while sharing your talents.
It’s been such a pleasure to be one of the very first writers with Naughty Nights Press and together I hope and foresee we’re going to have a very long and prosperous future.
Gina, Penny, Shane, Sheldon and every of the wonderful folks who’ve gotten involved to provide reviews and support, I can’t thank you enough.
Cassandre
Dedications
Writing for me is not only a dream fulfilled, but something that has burned within me since I was a child. As with all of us, everyday life sometimes interferes and I put my dreams on the back burner. Getting published in November of 2010 has truly changed my world but there is no way I could do what I do without the love and support of friends along the way. I’ve been lucky to be involved in several wonderful family-like atmospheres on Facebook, by being involved in several writing groups. From the Naughty Writers Group – thank you Dawne Prochilo for the invite to Wicked Wanton Writers – Ms. Gina Kincade, it’s been a fabulous honing experience.
Friends along the way – Forever “E” at Rebel Ink Press and Gina at Naughty Nights –without your support I wouldn’t be here. Sam Crescent – you are an inspiration. Derek Johnson – always in my heart, Julez Morbius – my vampire in disguise, Kiki Howell – a woman after my own wicked heart, Sharita – always my BFF, Sexy Lexxxi – Alexandra Christen, Ray Sostre – I so enjoy a man who loves all things sexy, and all my buds: Alexx, Jean, Jodi, Soibhan, Tessa, Penny, Ana, Kharisma, Brindle, Patti, TreSa, Blak, Kellie, SammyJo, Elle, James, Avril, Drea, Robin, Lee Ann, Lindsay – and so many others – you all inspire me every day.
Kisses xxx
Cassandre
Chapter One
An anguished scream was jerked to an instant termination with one move as the strangled echo ebbed through the narrow space. In a single flash the fresh-faced boy was changed forever, never to know or understand the true meaning of love or life, his last moments on earth filled with horror. The scintillating thought was a bit too profound on that bleak summer morning. “Ah…what I wouldn’t give for some additional playtime dear boy. You have all the makings of a true submissive.” Growling, the lithe body was dropped and hit the floor with a tremendous thud.
There was no way to adequately describe the sheer intensity of taking someone’s life into your hands. Caressing and kneading, loving and then carving out the heart, reaching deep inside the gaping hole, the victim still so very much alive and so utterly terrified. The incredible joy of watching as the pulse of life throbs wildly and the luscious human tries to understand the ramifications of your deadly actions was a thing of beauty. Perhaps the most delicious moment of all was when their haunted eyes followed every move, dancing across your face in a heated war of life and death, their mind filled with the images of raging terror. And then just as the hint of life ebbs from the dimming eyes, you reach in, scoop out the bloody tissue with your hands, gathering the pulsing muscle, warm and tender and so delectable. Tasty. And there is nothing better than savoring the ripe, heated and dark red blood as it gushes across your hand, dripping onto the hard…cold…floor. The aroma pungent yet sweet captivates your very being and stills the chilled blood racing through your system. “Mmmm…” As the killer squatted, relishing in the memory of so many, the boy, perhaps almost a man lay twitching. Dying.
The killer was happy, no beyond happy. The intense feeling was a rapture of lust. Chuckling, the sound bounced off the walls in the tiny apartment as the pulsing reverberations of the street filtered around them. It was not dawn yet but soon enough which would mean too many prying and curious eyes and there was still work to be done. Revenge was sweet.
The knife, a remnant from the past, was still embedded more for viewing pleasure than anything else but the effect had been instantaneous. Jazzed beyond belief, the killer laughed, reached down and slathered long fingers into the pool of blood, guiding the crimson soaked tips into a hungry mouth, savoring the rich copper flavor of the golden haired boy. Too much had happened to ever be denied again the pleasures that life could offer. “You have no idea just how delicious you taste, boy. If I weren’t in a hurry I’d ravish every part of your body.” The snack was indeed overpowering in its rich heritage and succulent flavor. The whispers of people coming and going and beginning their wretched days forced a look out the window. How many more would be enjoyed? The thought and the number was staggering indeed and then again fulfilling.
The killer stood up and walked to the stove where the branding iron lay hot, skimming across the golden flicker of the ignited flame. Crude in design and meant as a tease only, the symbol was perfect. Unfortunately there was little time left before to complete the task. As the last throes of life jolted through the dead boy, his body jumped involuntarily, thrashing his long legs up and down on the hardwood floor. This kill had been too easy. It was not nearly as much fun if the ugly creatures didn’t behave like terrified prey fighting every move as the knowledge of just how fragile their life was settled into the very core of their being.
With the instrument ready, the killer smiled and advanced toward the body allowing one last look at the handy work. Yes, there was something about this particular brand of slaughter that fueled
the imagination and made the hunger burn deep inside. “Tick tock, brother. Soon it will be your time.” Crisp laughter filtered toward the slice of tangerine sky. At the last minute he jerked out the knife. Perhaps it would come into good use later.
***
Jax Steele stared at the back deck and sighed. Intent on getting an early start, he’d managed to sleep past the alarm and now it was already after ten. “Bloody hell.” He glared down at the load of lumber and shook his head. Leave it to Home Depot to get it wrong again. Kicking through the pieces he realized that he would have to send the majority of the load back. Another setback in a series of them broiled his blood. Hell, he had been planning the two days off now for weeks just to be able to get the project completed and now this. He had to do something with the house before it fell apart before his eyes.
Growling, he poured out the remainder of the bitter coffee over the very dead azaleas and glided inside to grab the phone. Barely inside, the rattled chirps coming from his cell phone meant one thing – the precinct. “Yeah?”
“Hey buddy, sorry to bother you on your day off but this one can’t wait. It’s fresh if ya know what I mean.”
“I thought you were taking some time off as well, Mike,” Jax hissed.
Mike chuckled, the tone dark and brooding before he hacked into the phone. “You know how it goes. Look, seriously man, this one’s gruesome and the Sergeant is all over trying to keep it quiet but the place has already turned into a madhouse and the first team just got here about twenty minutes ago.”
“How gruesome?”
“Let’s just say that the girl that found him is heavily sedated.”
“Oh shit man. Where?” Jax glanced out his back window and wondered if he was ever truly going to finish the backyard. Damn, if it wasn’t springtime in Virginia. It never failed that the worst crimes seemed to creep as the heat sizzled the city streets. Somehow the murders lately had seemed more out of the ordinary and particularly repulsive. Jax was bone weary.
“Down on East Grace. Sergeant’s adamant we take it. I’m almost there now,” Mike said, sighing heavily.
“College kid or from a drug deal?” Shit they had just closed a case in the same location only days before. Granted, this time it had been a domestic dispute that turned violent but the bloody shooting spree had kept the neighbors in terror for days until they located the victim’s son. What a damn tragedy it had been for the entire family. Jax knew that while several of the row houses had been refurbished, the area was still heavily trafficking in drugs and prostitution.
“From the ID looks like a college kid. We’re trying to locate his parents now. Hell, the poor boy was only twenty-one.”
“Do I want to know how he died?”
Mike hesitated, his breath slicing a long hiss into the phone. “No buddy, you really don’t. If its anything like what they said, we have a freak on our hands.”
Jax knew Mike’s tone of voice and instantly the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. Mike Tomlin was seasoned enough that very little bothered him. Coming from the seedier streets of New York barely four years before, Mike had truly seen the worst of man. To hear the slight rattle meant they indeed had a monster to deal with. “Give me the address guy and I’ll be there in fifteen. Is it contained?”
“3020 and yeah, mostly, but someone tipped off the press. My guess is the kid had friends given the fact the entire street is lined with them. From what I heard the black and whites are having a difficult time keeping them out. You know how college kids can be. Ah shit! It’s a fuckin’ mad house here. Goddamn it! Why the hell couldn’t they contain this fuckin’ shit better? Goddamn idiots. Get down here buddy, I need ya bad.”
Mike’s Yankee accent always kicked in when he was pissed and at that moment, the rage reverberated through the phone lines like a bull in a china shop. “Great. Just great. Grabbing my keys now guy.” Jax ended the call and held the phone to his forehead. There were times he hated being a detective and as the murders became more horrific, he seemed to be having difficulty keeping his distance. Perhaps he was just getting too old to deal with the vicious nature of his career. How many sleepless nights had he experienced lately? He sighed as the ugly thoughts about his life crept in past the horror of his career. Well, perhaps the bitter divorce and nasty custody battle had something to do with his haggard demeanor. There was nothing quite like hearing from a judge that he wasn’t a fit parent for a teenager. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed back the nasty thoughts. Get moving guy and stop reminiscing. It’s not going to change anything.
Jax bounded upstairs to change into more suitable attire than shorts and a tee shirt and grabbed his badge and gun, strapping the holster to his waist. The keys eluded him until his eyes locked onto heaping bulge under the stack of a week’s worth of mail. Cursing, he finally headed out to the jeep and stood staring at the almost crystal blue sky just laced with a few puffy white clouds. “What a beautiful day for a murder.” His laugh strangled, he said a silent prayer that this one would not be as bad as his instincts told him it would be.
The drive took him less than fifteen from his house. Living in the city and close to the interstates allowed him access to everything that Richmond had to offer and when the dogwoods bloomed their subtle shades of blushing pink and serene white, the downtown area became filled with activity. From festivals to music events, one could find a wide selection of food, drink and parties by just strolling down the side streets. Jax rolled down his windows and took in the teeming sounds and wafting scents of the older neighborhood. Somehow he could still take comfort from the simple pleasures even after Paula had moved to Ohio and taken his only child with her. Visitation rights had been truncated and why? Because of her lies and a damning case that haunted him to this day. Protection was the word she continued to use. Grunting, Jax pushed the ugly thoughts aside.
It certainly wasn’t difficult to locate the murder scene. “Damn it!” Mike was not over exaggerating as he usually did. How the hell did this turn in complete melee? Jax finally found a parking spot nearly two blocks away. “Shit, what a damn nightmare.” Grumbling, he climbed out of the jeep and walked toward the crowd. The closer he got the more animated the crowd appeared to be and Mike had been right, college kids lined the street. What a send off, to go back to their safe little homes in surrounding states.
As Jax glanced toward the other end of the street he could see two network trucks but he suspected they were all there. Someone had absolutely talked. There was no better news than a horrific murder. He could see Mike standing outside interviewing a group of young men. From the activity in the neighboring houses, information about the murder had scorched the surrounding area.
“No, I understand. Here’s my card and if any of you think of anything you might have missed. Give me a call.” Mike nodded as he stole a glance in Jax’s direction.
Jax waited until the wide-eyed kids walked away. He couldn’t help but notice how haggard Mike appeared. His face was positively ashen which was never a good sign. Nothing bothered the old bruiser. “They know anything?”
“Nope. No one heard or saw a thing that I can find.” Mike moved closer to Jax. “I tell you what, from the fuckin’ scene man, I have no idea why that kid wouldn’t have screamed bloody murder all through…all through the…gutting.”
“Gutting?” Jax eyed the doorway, which had been taped off and yet the front porch was brimming with activity. “Medical Examiner here?”
“Just arrived. Come on, but I’m serious, this one will, well, it’s gonna burn your ass.” Mike eyed him like he was a rookie cop and led the way towards the front porch.
As they entered the house, Jax had the vile stench of flesh and blood hit his senses like a jolt of electricity. “Shit!” The place was sweltering as if closed off for some time and he suspected that given the age of the building there was no air conditioning.
“Yeah. Better take this.” Mike held out a cloth and nodded to the other officers.
Jax held the cloth
over his mouth as they neared the back of the house close to what appeared to be the kitchen and could just make out legs covered in what he knew instinctively was blood. Copious volumes of blood were splashed in the doorway and on every surface he could see. The closer they got to the scene, the worse the putrid smell became. The medical examiner looked up and shook her head and he didn’t like the look on her normally reserved face. He and Dr. Charlotte Banning had worked together on too many damning cases over the last two years she had been on the job, but little bothered her. Her look was that of the walking wounded.
“Detective Steele. Glad you could make our little party.” Dr. Banning stood and pulled off her gloves. “This one likes souvenirs.”
“What did he take?” Jax eyed the haunted face of the two officers standing close. The stink of fresh vomit radiated around the room.
“Take a look for yourself.” Charlotte moved back allowing him access.
For a long moment Jax wasn’t entirely certain of what he was seeing. Yet as he stared at the horrific picture of gaping flesh and congealed blood his heart fluttered in a near panic state. “What…the…hell?” The open cavern that had once been the young boys chest was now barely recognizable. Mutilated bone fragments and slathers of flesh were pushed aside revealing a darkened hole where his heart used to be. Jax swallowed hard, lowered the cloth from his mouth and took a step back. The smell thrashed through his system reminding him that there were vile creatures in the world.
“You all right, buddy?” Mike asked, flanking his side and nodding toward the body. “Poor dumb shit. What the hell could have done that?”
Jax somehow managed to lower his shaking form down onto his knees and while he wavered back and forth, he was able to keep the nausea at bay. The golden strands of the kid’s shoulder length hair fell across his horror filled face. Whatever the boy had seen mere seconds before he’d been slaughtered remained in his stricken glassy eyes. “Damn it!” He had to look away. It had always been the eyes that he could barely take. The victims always had the same look as if somehow they simply couldn’t believe that there was truly anyone capable of such violence. And this killer, this butcher was a living, breathing nightmare.
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