“This isn’t over.” I walk away from her and exit the back corridor.
Chapter Five
Rowan
I’m left panting and alone in the funeral home hallway, my heart beating fast and my panties wet. Luca has never spoken to me like he has tonight, nor has he used any force on me before…but I like it. My hand caresses my face, trailing my fingers to my abused lips, loving the feeling of his dominance on them. I like it because it’s him doing it. I trust him and love him. But the way he spoke to me in the Hall of Remembrance will not happen again. I know I’m fucking pushy and feel as if I should be right in the middle with them, because I have been for the last damn year, but he’s right, I slayed my monsters… Well, almost all. I know now not to even bring my father up to him. That will have to be my little secret. I came to that realization while sitting in the pew, alone.
He is the one I was thinking about when Luca found me sitting alone on the pew: my father, the man who gave me to those monsters. And I can’t let him live out his life and there not be any repercussions for what he did to me, because he’s the one to blame. If it weren’t for him, they would never have known my name or me. I’d never known pain and fright as I did the night in the tomb, or now. My body would have never been forcibly split open and splayed out for everyone to see. My own blood, my father, is the reason I was used and abused in front of people. And he can’t keep living like everything is okay. I’ll bide my time,make a plan, and not go into this blind. If anything, I’m good at waiting. And that I’ll do.
Pushing off the wall, I right myself. Shaking the thought of my father from my head, I follow where Luca exited.
The night air greets me, cooling my overheated skin. The smell of pine trees sweeps across the grounds on the blowing wind, ruffling my hair in its wake.
Luca, Thomas, Matteo…and Clover? I have to fix my face, but Luca sees it. They all stand at an idling vehicle. It’s black and has nothing eye-catching. My eyebrows draw together, closing the space between them and me.
Luca’s face saysdon’t try it, and I give him a little smile. I will not fight him, but I'm curious about Clover.
“We’ll be back in a few hours. Niko is on the property if you need anything,” Matteo tells me matter-of-factly.
“Thanks.” I look at Clover, but she says nothing. I haven’t been able to speak to her; I only know what I’ve been told, but she looks so small and broken. I try to smile at her, but it probably looks more like a grimace. Holding my hand out, I say, “I’m Rowan.”
I watch as she looks at Matteo, and he gives her a nod. If I wasn’t paying attention, I would have missed it. Clover holds out her hand to me; it’s shaking and feels so tiny in mine. “I’m Clover,” comes out meekly.
I give her a big smile, needing her to know I’m no harm. “Nice to meet you.” I let go of her hand, turning to Thomas. “I don’t know what you all are doing because of this fucker,” I point to Luca, “but be safe and make sure he comes back to me in one piece, yeah?”
Thomas laughs. “Will do.”
Turning to Luca, “I love you.” No matter how annoyed I am with him, that’s a statement I’ll forever keep.
I watch his smile form, showing me my favorite tooth of his. “I love you too, baby.” Kissing him, I wave them off as they load up and drive down the driveway, all the while I’m picking at the skin around my nail.
Breathing in heavily, I look up at the funeral home… house? I don’t even know what to call it, and I hope that they make it back safely. Standing there in my own thoughts, I hear a scream, which makes me jump and want to crawl out of my skin all at once.
Perplexed, I walk a few feet, trying to decipher where it came from, when it happens again.
My eyes scan all around me and the grounds as I walk closer to the crematorium. Reaching for the door, my hand shakes as I pull the heavy door toward me, a creak announcing my presence. Fuck.
Stepping into the building, the glass wall cuts me off from the cremation chambers, where I spot Niko. My feet move on their own as I step to the glass, the overhead lights shining on them as if they were my specimens.
My breathing comes out ragged as I watch what is happening in front of me. There stand Niko and Catherine. He pounds into her, one hand around her neck, and the other tangled in her blonde hair, while she is bent over a gurney. I don’t have to see her face to know it’s her. I’d know her in a crowded room. My body knows the traitor who caused us pain. I stand and watch, not able to take my eyes off the scene in front of me. It’s hard, fast, and demanding.
Niko turns his head slightly, spotting me out of the corner of his eye. His tempo speeds up, the metal gurney squeaking with each push as our eyes stay connected. My heart pounds. His lips spread wide with a sneer.
He says something to Catherine before roughly pulling out of her. I watch, eyes wide and breath labored, as she getsdown on her hands and knees and starts crawling around the concrete floor, making a circle, not stopping until she’s in front of Niko, staring up at him. I step back from the glass, not wanting her to see me. With still a view, but out of sight, he motions to her, and in an instant, she is on her raised knees, taking his cock into her mouth, but it's not slow and soft; it’s anything but. When I see both his hands disappear into her hair, he starts to fuck her mouth. Her hand goes to his thighs to push away from him, but it only makes him move faster. I stand there, watching her being forced to have his dick down her throat, and I don’t feel any emotions at all…for her.
Niko throws his head back, all the while Catherine looks like she is now glued to his pubic bone, until he unclasps his hands from her hair, pushing her from him, at the same time, she throws up violently onto the concrete floor as Niko watches.
Cathrine falls to her hands, gagging as Niko circles her. I wish I could hear what he’s telling her. All I can see is her looking up to him and crying violently.
Should I feel bad for her? Maybe. But I’m hoping Catherine is getting everything she deserves and more. My body still carries the scars and pain, and my soul is still broken because of her. And I hope hers is forever soiled.
Niko turns toward me, smiling. Catherine and I lock eyes when she looks up to see what he’s staring at. Leaning my head to the side, I wave slowly at her before spinning on my heels, exiting the crematorium. The fresh air baptizes my lungs as I stand there with my eyes closed, trying to lock that darkness back up. A part of me wants to see Catherine suffer, but that would make me just like her, wouldn’t it? How do two wrongs make a right? It doesn’t. But that broken girl inside me wants to see her hurt so badly—all of them. Most of them have; only Catherine and my father are left. The ringmaster is gone; the puppet needs to be locked away forever, too.
Walking into the funeral home, I’m hit with a sharp pain in my stomach, taking my breath away. These are nothing new; I’ve had them since that night. I haven’t told Luca about the pain I have, not wanting him to treat me differently, so I keep it to myself. My pain fuels me. It’s a constant reminder of what I need to do… I must get David. He must pay. I can’t live my life knowing he’s out there with no consensus about what he did to me. So, the consequences will come to him.
My heart's rhythm quickens, as if it knows it will heal fully again. My crimson heart will recover, no matter what.
Chapter Six
