Zain easily dismantles my father’s futile attempt at freedom. He’s bigger, stronger, and determined, and not to mentionhe was ready. Zain plunges the syringe into my father’s neck. I let out a harrowed scream.
My father clutches his neck and topples to his knees. Slurred words leave his throat. “Vesper…run…dangerous.” His beady eyes turn hazy before he collapses onto the floor.
A million things rush through my mind. Pain. Deceit. Affection. Confusion. Fear.
Doubt.
Zain’s stance widens. He heaves like a madman before his gaze settles on me. The syringe is still half full in his shaky hand. His eyes darken to something I’ve never seen before. Sinister, psychotic, a deep manic intensity I’ve never witnessed. Not to this degree. For the first time, I don’t know what he will do to me. It differs from his usual dead, void gray eyes.
I’m frozen, unable to move as he stalks forward. I squeeze my eyes closed, gripping the wall behind me as if it will somehow keep me grounded and safe.
“Shh, it’ll be over soon.” He reaches out to stroke my hair tenderly. His hot, smoky breath hits my cheeks. His delicate touch is the complete opposite of how he looks right now.
My eyes fly open just in time to feel the pinch along my neck. I suck in a breath. The room starts to blur and spin before me. His hands cradle my waist in a tender fashion.“My songbird.”
The last thing I see are his gray muted eyes. The room goes black as my body goes limp.
***
Ithurts. My head. My body. All of it. I groan and take a deep breath, trying to recall what happened. Did I take drugs with Zain? Did we have sex?Oh, God. Did Jax rape me?!
No, Jax is dead…
Panic sets in. I thrash and buck only to realize I’m restrained at the ankles and wrists by a tight nylon rope. My eyes burst open. I cough until I dry heave. The contents of my stomach threaten to erupt from my insides. I’m in my room. Crimson curtains surround my soft, plush bed. Sweat soaks my silk sheets.
“You’re gonna feel drowsy. Probably a bit disoriented. It’ll wear off, songbird, I promise.”
My head twists the best I can towards the dimly lit fireplace. Zain leans back against the leather upholstery with a cigarette dangling from his lips. At his feet lays my father. He’s bound and gagged. Bruises pepper his blotched skin.
“What the fuck!?” A strangled cry leaves my throat. It comes out scratchy from the dryness. I swallow hard, hoping to loosen the lump that’s nestled in my chest.
He cocks his head and looks at me with a dark reverence. “Wasn’t supposed to be this way, you know. Was supposed to be simple. Get close to you. Destroy you. Let your father watch your downfall while I get answers.” He jumps to his feet as if he’s angry. At himself? At me?My father? I don’t understand. I fist the silk sheets because it’s all I can do.
“Suzanne and Bella will find me,” I hiss. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but this isn’t right!” Each word leaves me louder and more frantic. Truthfully, I have no idea if they’re alive.
He approaches me slowly. My eyes drift down to my father. He’s not awake. Zain undoes the top set of buttons on his shirt, showcasing the top of his chest. He follows my gaze to my father on the floor. He takes in a heavy measured breath. “He’s gonna wake up shortly. Don’t worry, Vesper, your cook and maid will not be botherin’ us.” The sinister edge to his words makes my eyes bulge. Did he hurt them too?
“Relax, they’re safe. Did that for you. Otherwise, I’d slit their throats and toss ’em over the edge of the cliffside,” he says casually, as if he isn’t talking about murdering innocents.
“Why are you doing this?” I rasp. Tears spring to my eyes, soaking into small blots on my silk sheets.
He sits, sinking into the mattress next to me. He leans over and licks my tears from my cheek.
“Delicious.”
I whimper harder, hating how my body reacts to him. The glint in his eye tells me he’s completely lost to the darkness. It’s overtaken him like cancer. It occurs to me thateverythingI thought I knew about Zain is a lie. I feel used. My body has been defiled for the sake of some sick mind game. It seems vengeful, but I’ve done nothing to earn his wrath. “Earlier…you said I stole from you. What did you mean?” I sniffle. My tear-stricken eyes meet his. Maybe I can talk my way out of this.
He caresses my cheek in the same way he always has. Shame fills me for craving his touch. “You stole my life.Mine,” his voice is laced with tainted distrust and aggrievement. “When your father wakes up, you’ll understand. Brace yourself. You’re gonna hate me,” he says with a venomous vindictive hiss.
Right on fuckin’ cue, he stirs. I saunter towards her tied up bastard of a father.
My father.
At least, he was supposed to be. The fucker adopted me just to toss me aside like garbage. Like I meant nothin’. Him and that shit bag of a wife before she died, Amelia. Vesper was my replacement. She was an alternative to dealing with me and my fucked-up problems. They chose her. She’s perfect. Isn’t her fault. It’s a shame she’s paying the price for her father’s sins, but life ain’t fair.
He writhes on the floor and bellows. I waste no time. I push off the bed and stand before him like a god. And today, I will be. I’ll be his decider. He will beg me for penance and forgiveness.
I kick him straight in the stomach until he wails obscenities. He lets out a desperate howl, and Vesper cries out from the bed. She pulls at her restraints. Of course she doesn’t understand. She was a pawn for a bigger purpose. Only problem is I never anticipated feeling something other than hatred for another person. Still not sure what it is. Love? Affection? Obsession? The pain it inflicts upon me that she has to watch me murder her father eats me from the inside out. I’m reluctant to finish the job, and I gotta get my head screwed on straight.
