Page 28 of Burn Me Down

“That’s a loaded question. What do you want to know?”

“Why do you have that dead look in your eyes?” I didn’t hold back. I’d never been one to beat around the bush.

The corner of Snake’s mouth curved up. “This is me in a good place, man. Don’t call out my shit like that.” I smirked at him. “You gonna kill me if I tell you all my sins? You going to bathe me in fire to cleanse my soul or some shit?”

“I guess you’ll have to tell me to find out,” I said, and he smiled.

“Who doesn’t like a good game of Russian roulette with another crazy fucker?” I did laugh at that. “Where do I begin? My father was an abusive asshole who made a deal with a fucker as twisted as him. My mother was killed in front of me for it. I ended up in foster care, where I fell in love with my best friend. Some shit happened, and she thought I raped her, then I was thrown in jail for ten years. Met Mannix on the inside, and he brought me into the MC as their enforcer. When I got out, I wasn’t exactly the nicest person and found that I’d developed a taste for killing and blood. I had a certain creative flare. Then, one random night, at a club I’d normally never step foot in, I found my once best friend and the person who put me behind bars working there. I took my anger out on her and got my revenge.”

“So what did you do to her?”

Snake smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Nothing good, I presume.”

“Doesn’t matter what I did. What matters is that I married her.” He settled back into the truck seat and polished off his coffee. “That is the only thing that has helped mend my broken shit.”

“Does she know what you do?”

“She does. Why, you’ve got your eye on someone?”

I looked away and watched as two of our targets stumbled up the sidewalk, stopped to puke, and then practically crawled to the house. They were obviously drunk or high and wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.

“Naw, I’m The Dragon, remember? No one can love a beast.”

“Don’t be so sure about that. Take it from someone with experience. How did you end up this way?”

I snorted. “What? You don’t believe I was born a monster from hell?”

I watched the guys as they tried to open the door. I knew that feeling. It sucked. “I think you grew up in hell, but born there…naw. I think there’s another story.”

As the door closed behind the two men, I turned and looked at Snake. “My story is simple. I killed some people, and my brother had me locked up for it.”

“When did you get out?”

I cracked my neck. “When I burned the place and everyone inside of it to the ground. Death and destruction follow me like a wake, so you may want to learn from the best, but I’d be careful, or the flames will consume you.” He swallowed, and I smiled. “We’ll come back as soon as it’s dark.” I started the truck. “Time for your first lesson.”

Rebecca

He’d snuck in and left me food…again. This was day three since my pathetic escape attempt. I had this horrible feeling that I wasn’t going to see him anymore. Was he sitting somewhere, watching me on camera, while I spent my days alone in this room?

It was strange to think that I missed him, but I did. He stared at me like I was this amazing person, and my skin warmed when he was near. I wanted to feel his hands on my body, and hell, I wanted him to kiss me like he had the other night. Nothing erased it from my mind, and the longer I sat stewing on it, the more I wanted a do-over.

It was almost noon when I began to pace with agitation. From one end of the small room to the other, I marched for hours. There was a strange feeling in my gut. Oh my god, if something happened to him, then no one would ever find me. That thought should have been my biggest concern. It was insane that I was worried I wouldn’t see my captor or get to know him. Any reasonable person in my position would jump for joy and look for a way out.

The sun crossed the sky, and as each hour passed, I freaked out a little more, trying everything I could to calm down. I’d only felt like this one other time, the night Vi and I had slipped out to party at the beach. That was the same night her house burned to the ground with her parents inside. That night changed everything for so many people.

The moon was out when I was finally too tired to see if he would visit, and I went to sleep. It felt like I’d just closed my eyes when I jerked awake at the sound of a loud thump. Bolting up, I watched as my captor marched into my room. The smell of smoke, like he’d been close to a bonfire, hit me when he got close to the bed. The scent was oddly calming, unlike the look in his eyes. I swallowed hard as he glared from behind his mask.

He tossed something black on the bed. “Put that on.”

“What’s going on?”

“Just do what you’re told,” he barked.

“There’s no need to be an ass,” I said, and he crossed his arms. It felt like he was staring into my soul. I wanted to refuse, but slipped from bed and picked up what I realized was a black hood. Nothing good ever happened when you were ordered to put on a hood. I’d watched enough mafia movies to know that. “Do I have to?”

“Do I look like I’m giving you an option?”