Rival

by M. C. Cerny

  “Boss?” I turned, feeling the acid in my stomach clench with annoyance. Oh joy, the next set of disappointments were here.

  “We found him.” Paul and Blake whined in matching voices that grated on my ears like two nails on a chalkboard, I would eventually snap. I watched their gazes dart to my ward who was shuffling her feet on the marble floor, unaware of the attention she drew to herself.

  “Nelson,” I said, cracking my neck. “Take Elizabeth to her room. Keep the dogs downstairs for now.” I still had shit to line up, and frustration had me clenching my jaw. At this point, I’d have to drive back to the city for a blow job, or worse—a massage to work the knotted muscles loose. I hated to be touched. I hated relinquishing control, but the pain in my head loomed, and I couldn’t exactly kill everyone in a blind rage. Choking a hooker was a different story, but I’d be sure to order the happy ending first.

  “Yes, sir.” Tapping my foot, I waited until they were upstairs and out of earshot. There was no need for Elizabeth to know this minutia of the business so soon.

  “Proceed,” I told the idiots who would most likely end up in an ice cream freezer for their inanity.

  “We located your brother,” they said together like there was suddenly a fucking echo in my house. At this rate I’d have a migraine if I didn’t fuck something disposable. I’d call my usual picks later and get it over with.

  “And? I don’t have all fucking day to stand here.” My brother plagued me from the moment I learned of his existence. Aaron escaped the shithole I barely survived, and he owed me a life—two with interest.

  “He’s back on State soil. A leave as best as we can tell.”

  “Did you follow him?”

  The idiots looked at each other, and I wondered how much of the idiot I was in hiring them. What was it with people who had one job and the level of incompetence that made me murderous?

  “Well, he’s a bit untouchable right now,” Tweedle Dee Paul gulped while Tweedle Dumb Blake spoke.

  “Nobody is untouchable,” I crowed with irritation at their failure to secure him. Could they do anything right? Of course not.

  “We didn’t know he was in the military,” one stuttered while the other stepped out of my immediate range of violence.

  I slapped the blonder of the two in the chest with my mail packets, grumbling on the way to my office. “I’ll fucking take care of it.”

  I stalked to the desk and picked up my phone, calling a contact I cultivated for this specific scenario.

  “Sir?” they said in unison.

  “Get out!” I yelled loud enough to shake the door from its hinges, making them duck and drop the mail I tossed at them. At this rate, my ire would shatter the glass windows imploding from the negative energy.

  These motherfuckers would be the end of my carefully cultivated patience today. And Elizabeth … sweet Elizabeth was doomed to a life of misery the moment I took her from the ghetto she called home. She was born for this, for me, for the taking, and I had no reservations of about doing all the nasty things to her that would turn heads and make priests gasp in horror one day. They already knew I was an abomination. I was merely fulfilling my potential.

  I pressed the dial for dear old dad. It rang several times before he picked up.

  “Adam. I told you not to call me on this number. It isn’t secure.”

  Ignoring his censure, I grumbled, “Nice touch with the cavalry. Try being more discrete next time; it’s beneath you.”

  “I thought you’d appreciate a little escort home. What is she, barely legal? You sick fuck.”

  If this man thought he could lecture me about sex trafficking or underage children, he was out of his mind. The black file I kept in my safe already pegged him as one of the worst. So many crimes and so little time for atonement.

  “Hardly legal. I’m saving her for something else. She’s the cherry on my sundae.” Just because he didn’t like my plans, didn’t mean I had to let him in on what they were. Everything would be revealed in good time; just not his time.

  “That judge wasn’t easy to pay off,” he said, reminding me of the favor I owed him. That was how this business worked. Always be one step ahead with the secrets to back you up.

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.” I shrugged as if he could see me.

  He had an entire Navy at his disposal, and he still called me to fix his shit. I suppose we deserved each other. Father and son. The apple definitely didn’t roll far from the tree once it fell rotten to the core.

  “You’re an abomination.” The words snarled from his lips like he sucked a lemon, spitting it out.

  I chuckled.

  “Tell me something new, Dad.”

  His silence over the phone was telling as usual.

  “I’m an abomination, no thanks to you,” I said.

  “I should have killed you the moment your mother was showing.”

  “No, you just kept her high as a kite, pumped up full of spunk. At least I’m not a traitor to my country.” If he had even the minute amount of self-control, I wouldn’t have a brother and the means to destroy him.

  “You fucking little…”

  “Oh? Stings doesn’t it?” I taunted.

  “I’ll have you arrested and gutted before morning,” he spat through the phone.

  “With what? Your Infinity SEAL Team?” If my father thought he controlled me, he was more psychotic than even I was.

  “What do you want?” he growled.

  “I want what you can’t give me, so instead, I think I’ll take it.”

  “Money?” he asked.

  Oh, that was rich.

  “I have enough of that.” I pulled open my desk drawer and stared at the birth certificates inside. Mostly blank except for my mother’s name and the initials DP listed as my father.

  “You’ll never be clean.”

  I sighed. “That’s what my child bride is for. I’ll have a legitimate legacy, and you’ll have nothing.” It would be my greatest revenge.

  Elizabeth, despite her reluctance, would come around. I’d make sure of it.

  I listened to his breathing change as if he were leaving a room, slamming a door shut. The faint echo of a television playing a game filled the background.

  “Will the shipment arrive in time?” He changed the subject as quickly as he changed the channel now running a news program in the background.

  I chuffed, not at all surprised where his true priorities lay. Forget about apologies for decades of suffering, his abuse toward my junkie mother, or his greed that overshadowed his bizarre patriotism. He made deals with every arms dealer out there, siphoning off military-grade weapons to fund wars that benefited our country. I applauded his entrepreneurial drive, but I despised the hypocrisy.

  “Always changing the subject. I bet you’re pissed your wife’s stupid brother bought those kids a DNA kit for Christmas, aren’t you? Amazing what science and a few well-placed social media ads can yield.” I snickered. Oh yes, dear old Dad was brought to my attention through a stupid online genealogy project.

  Life lesson—if you don’t want the world knowing your deep, dark secrets, don’t swab your fucking cheek.

  He snarled into the phone, and I gave him one last parting shot.

  “The shipment arrives at four o’clock a week from tomorrow.”

  “Move it up,” he demanded.

  I held the phone away from my ear, nearly snapping the case before practicing a deep breath and speaking again. I wasn’t bending to his will for anything. I had a lovely girl to drop off at her new school, and I wasn’t missing a minute of our time together.

  “I want Aaron’s contact information.” I shuffled the papers in my desk behind the roll of a prescription bottle and a medicinal joint I’d never smoke.

  “I’ll bury him first.” That was just like the old man. He’d sooner erase his mistakes than own up to the fact he cheated on his sweet Southern wife multiple times, breeding out of wedlock. I was more than happy to correct th
e ripple in time for him.

  “Don’t be late,” I said.

  I’d get my brother, with or without him.

  11

  Elizabeth

  It was my first night in a strange house. Every bump and sound echoed between the walls like ghosts from a past life coming back to warn me. Too late. I failed listening to that, and now I was here far from home. My feet were already a bloody mess on the pristine white sheets from hobbling to the bathroom and back. A tray had been brought to my room, silver, heavy, and expensive. If I thought for a second that I could get out of here and escape into the void of nothingness, I would’ve taken the pretty tray and pawned it at the first shop I saw for twenty bucks just to insult the man who stole me from my life.

  As we’d driven up the driveway and the gothic mansion came into view, I wondered what secrets embedded themselves in the foundation. Murdered wives, stillborn babes, things that made those television ghost hunters shows so popular. Stone lions lined the drive, a partially constructed glass house lay dormant, overgrown with thorny roses, tangled vines, and ignored. I wondered if twenty years from now I’d be the specter they searched for haunting the halls.

  The sheets were too silky. The pillow too soft as it molded around my head and neck. The room too perfect a temperature setting. I was used to the sounds of the city, humidity, and stench. Backfiring cars that could’ve been gunshots. Screams that could’ve been the television or my neighbors having rough sex through the walls made of peeling paint and moldy wallpaper. Even the smell of Chinese food that tainted everything including the clothes I wore was sorely missed. We used to boil rice, the three of us. Eddie, Fiona and me, eating it over our window and pretending it was sweet and sour chicken. This wasn’t home. Eddie wasn’t in the room next to mine snoring. Fiona wasn’t hovering after, feeding me the leftovers her mother cooked.

  Aching in my soul made me sit up in the dark. The sheet slipped off my body, and I gingerly slid to the side of the bed, testing my feet on the hardwood floor. Coolness seeped into the angry inflamed pads on my feet through the sticky bandages. I teetered to stand up. I crept toward the bathroom again when I heard the sound. I cocked my head in the direction of my closed bedroom door. Thumping? Banging? I couldn’t be sure. I remembered him saying there were dogs in the house. Adam made it clear that this was my room, and I would be safe up to a point inside these walls provided I behaved and stayed inside. I wasn’t very good at following the rules and took his advice with a gnarly grain of salt. Curiosity made me inch closer to the door.

  It was quiet for a spell, and I made my way downstairs wincing with each step. I listened for the creeks and groans of the settling foundation. My stomach pained me, and I wondered if he kept the kitchen locked up too. The house smelled like lemon polish and cleaner. The carpeted staircase held on to a chemical smell I couldn’t identify. My hands drifted across the raised bumps in the wallpaper, and I followed the curve of the staircase downward. The gothic mansion was the stuff of nightmares for sure.

  I roamed the first floor hall. My feet hurt, but the wood and stone tiles were like ice on my skin. I found a set of doors, carved with images I couldn’t make out in the dark, and traced the words letter by letter, thirty in all and unfamiliar to my mediocre at best public education.

  Lasciate ogni sperenza voi ch’entra

  I had no idea what it meant and pressed onward toward the lights at the end of the hall. I found the kitchen and considered myself lucky. I opened cabinets and drawers before reaching the refrigerator. Having lived a spartan life of poverty, the double silver doors were like entering heaven. Cold air blasted my face, and light shone bright making my borrowed nightgown translucent. Shelves were filled with brightly colored fruits, vegetables, meats; anything I could imagine and more. It was like an infusion of heroin to a food addict. I pawed through and found a container of freshly juiced pineapple, selections of hand-rolled sushi, and gem-like seeds in a glass jar. Gourmet cheeses and deli meats, all organic, laid inside the shelves on crisp parchment paper. Adam Huntley was apparently a health nut.

  I was fascinated by the garnet looking seeds. My mouth watered, as I lifted the lid and took a few in my palm. I squeezed one, and it spray bright red juice like blood. I licked my stained fingers, finding the taste was fresh and delicious. I tossed them back in my mouth and enjoyed the explosion of flavor on my tongue. This wasn’t plain, gooey white rice. The seeds were tart and popped like blisters as I bit down on them. I chewed and swallowed them, coughing on a seed. I turned on the faucet, afraid to drink anything from the fridge lest my captor punish me, and I convinced myself he wouldn’t miss the seeds I ate. I sipped the icy water, lapping like a kitten when I heard the whine. I backed away, turning the knob off, and followed my foolish curiosity.

  Scratching at the connecting door, I peered over the frame and saw eyes reflected in the moonlight. It must have been a mudroom. Low woofing sounded behind the door, and I pressed my hand to the glass. A wet nose nuzzled the pane, and I smiled. The dogs at least were friendly.

  “Maybe we can be friends,” I whispered into the dark and backed away, hearing pitiful sounds, something we’d likely have in common. I sensed I’d be in big trouble with their owner, a true devil, if I let them out. I backed away, hobbling toward the staircase and my bedroom above. My exploration of the house was done for tonight.

  I was about to push my door open and step inside my room when I heard the sounds again. Louder this time and more insistent. There was a new urgency in the tenor that put me on edge. I slipped down the hall once more, my feet numb on the cold floor and my hand tracing those velvety bumps in the wallpaper like breadcrumbs to my doom.

  My cheek leaned against the dark wood frame, my hand held the silver doorknob, and I pressed my ear to the flat panel. Thumping. Banging. Moaning. This time it grew louder; maybe because of my proximity. In my head I knew what the sounds were, but I couldn’t stop the instinct of needing to know. That drive to discover what monsters lay beyond my bedroom door in this big dark, scary house full of secrets and lies might save my life someday. Adam Huntley might have snatched me off the street, but I was determined to outlive him in every way possible.

  My hand turned, and I listened for the creaking whine to stop before the lock disengaged with the subtle click. I pulled the door back and stuck my head out into the hall. The sounds ceased for a moment before starting anew. My ears pulsed, and I turned my head right toward the staircase, and then left presumably further down the long hall. I squinted my eyes as if that would help me see in the dark. The only thing I got out of it was more anxiety of things that went bump in the night. Specifically things that were over six feet tall, broad as all giddy up, and devoured me with his jade green eyes like I was his next meal.

  Biting my lip to quell the anxiety, I leaned into the wall and kept my hand up to guide me as I shuffled down the hall. The noises got louder as did my suspicions. I turned around to look back toward my room where I left the light on. It spilled into the hall, but the house was ginormous, the largest I’d ever been inside of, and with each step I got further away from my little sanctuary. I forced myself to be brave and turned toward the sound shuffling, one foot in front of the other. The moans changed to breathy cries, and more than one voice I couldn’t make out. When I finally reached the door, it was cracked open, and I peeked inside. Surely there was no harm in looking when the door wasn’t fully closed.

  The scene before me looked like a Greek painting from the one class trip I was forced to take in school. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I snuck off from the main group, and instead of looking at pyramids, I found myself in a section of lurid paintings. Naked men and women drinking, partying, doing erotic things I didn’t understand back then as sexual acts. Adam was like Bacchus, surrounded by two women and another man. All were naked and writhing on the bed while he sat propped up by pillows. They all touched him, stroking down his muscled body. He was covered in tattoos, scars, and in the dim light inside the be
droom he carried the weight of the world in his blank stare at the ceiling. Shouldn’t he have been happy? I didn’t know. I’d never seen anything like this before, and when the second man emerged from between his legs, I saw Adam’s thick, rigid cock glistening. He had a piercing in the top, and the women vied for who could put their lips on him next. I was shocked. Unnerved, I flung myself away from the doorway, panting hard. I wasn’t supposed to witness this orgy, and yet I couldn’t look away.

  The urge to run to my room and to hide under the blankets was strong, but I felt compelled to watch. I gathered my breath and turned back, pushing the door open a little more. I gasped when the hinge creaked unexpectedly. I fit my face between the edges of the jamb and watched anew from the dark shadows of the hall. Something stirred in my belly I didn’t have words for as I watched Adam hover over a beautiful woman. He held her down by her throat and fitted his dick to her center, pushing inside of her in one stroke while his hand tightened around her neck. The other woman kissed her face and then her breasts while the man went to Adam’s backside massaging his muscles before gripping his hips. Adam jerked away like he was totally uncomfortable, merely tolerating the presence for the sake of pleasure.

  It was sinful, I supposed, as he jammed himself against Adam from behind. Adam raised his head, his throat exposed, muscles thick and rippling under his strain. The only sounds that permeated the night were the hoarse moans of them all getting something they wanted. A pleasure of sorts that I knew even porn channels would censor because of the depravity of what was happening. They moved together as one cohesive unit, until Adam barked out a slew of curse words before leaning over the woman who cried out. The other two also screamed out and then seemed to wilt away, falling down to the floor completely spent. I knew they were having sex even if I didn’t fully get the mechanics of what went where.

  My shock was complete. I prayed this wasn’t what Adam had planned for me, and I backed away from the open door as quietly as I could to sneak back to my room, a little queasy. It was best he never knew I saw this. I didn’t know what consequences he’d dole out, but they couldn’t be good. The revelations of this evening only made my future seem bleaker.