Page 28 of Ripple Effect, Vol. 4

“I’m not okay with that. Are you?”

His head kicks to the side with a pop as he cracks his neck. “So what is your plan?”

The only plan that comes to mind is the one that takes me back to the days I’ve fought hard to distance myself from. The one that puts me into my mother’s three-inch stilettos and her bright red lipstick.

Sex is power.

“Its simple. I’m going to seduce Dorian. And you’re going to get me close enough to do that.”

17

Ripley

I wish they’d kill me already.

The cold, dark cell damn near suffocates me as I dangle from the rafters above. The yellow brick of the small room is covered in black scribbled words that read, I taste like the dreams of mad children.

I focus on those words, clinging to consciousness.

A throbbing ache beats inside my skull and shoulder from the accident, and beneath that, the dull pain deep inside my bones that lingers from their torment.

Years of meting out the same kind of punishment haven’t made me numb to its effects.

White-hot pain rips through my flesh, as the electricity shoots through my body like fire bullets. Like shrapnel ripping through my veins, pumping red-hot agony deep into my bones. My feet slide against the wet concrete, and I struggle to stay upright. Pulse after pulse leaves me curling into myself, muscles steeled, aching, after hours of torment. The constant flow of adrenaline leaves me exhausted, limp, as I hang with my wrists bound above my head.

The pain disappears and I sag into the chains, muscles trembling and weak, threatening to give out. “Fuck!”

Cruel and wicked laughter echoes throughout the small chamber. “Oh c’mon, Rip. Surely you’ve endured worse. You’ve certainly doled more pain than this.” Dorian steps into my narrow field of view. “Consider this your penance. Now where the fuck is she?”

To the side of me stand two bouncers from Spades, staring off, as if they don’t see the shit going down.

Another blast of electricity has my spine planking, bowed with the agony that tears through me like flames. Clenching my teeth, the copper tang of blood hits the back of my throat as I bite down on my tongue to keep from crying out, because, fuck them.

“You’re good, Rip. You won’t talk no matter what we do to you, will you?”

Like shards of broken glass exploding through my veins, the flames travel to my spine, my hands, my feet, crystalizing my blood, until at last, it dissipates and I suck in a breath of mold-riddled air. My throat bobs with a dry gulp, thick cotton on sandpaper, and what little saliva I can muster expels from my mouth on a hacking cough.

“Did you know this place was an old psychiatric hospital?” Hands behind his back, Dorian strolls around the room, stopping in front of the graffiti. “Manteno State Hospital. It closed in the eighties, but back in its heyday, it was known for experimentation. They say it’s haunted by the souls of those who died here.” He turns around and the smile on his face taunts my fists. “Welcome to your eternal home, Ripley. Hope you like the digs.”

Beside him, Pyro, the kid I’d met weeks ago back at Spades, stands holding a cattle prod, eyes on me.

“Why … d’you do it?” Weakness claims my voice, my muscles trembling and tired. “Why’d you have Adrian killed? An’ shoot Lucien.”

“Why indeed.” Dorian’s gaze falls from mine, but the smile on his face remains. “Enzo and I have always been the black sheep. Clearly Lucien was my father’s most prized son, a fact made more evident when he left everything to my older brother after the bastard died. For years, I busted my ass to prove my worth to a man who’d already decided I was worthless.” He shakes his head. “But Lucien was a fool. He took me in. Took both of us in. Gave us a small piece of what we were denied. Made the fatal mistake of adding me as a beneficiary to his estate—but only after Adrian.” He shakes a finger in the air. “It’s been exhausting, living under the weight of their iron fist. See, neither my father nor Lucien believed in the power of the connections I’d established. The potential. My brother didn’t deserve the business. He’d never have the vision that I had to become the most powerful family in the city.”

“Kidnapping kids? Stealing them from their homes and selling them off like prized cattle?” I nod toward Pyro. “That’s where you found this one, right?”

A darkness shifts behind the kid’s eyes, as his lip screws up and he jabs the prod into my gut. Shockwaves full of dull nauseating pain shoot up into my abdomen and steal my next breath.

Dorian’s laughter fades into the sharp ringing in my ears and the blur of pain that steals my vision. “Pyro, relax. We’ve plenty of time for that.”

The shocks fizzle away and my body, hot with adrenaline, cools with the layer of sweat that glazes my skin.

“For the record,” Dorian continues, pacing in front of me. “I only steal what’s not given to me. These kids have nothing. They come from nothing. Most cases? Their parents are willing to sell them off cheap. We’re living in hard times, my friend. Whether it’s to pay off a debt or feed their addictions, you’d be surprised how easily they part with the anchor that pulls them under. And what’s so wrong with that? If the church can take boys in and make them killers, surely I’m not committing a sin.” He nabs a bucket from the floor and an arc of ice-cold water hits my shins, splashing up from the concrete below me. “Guns and drugs are good for connecting with criminals, but I wanted to expand those connections. Most of the Black Monarch members are doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Powerful forces from across the globe, and powerful people crave what they think they cannot have. An insatiable drive that lusts for the forbidden, and the young and innocent are the ultimate fruit. Some like them eighteen and some like them eight. So I provide them with trained slaves and in return, they treat me like a god.”

“You destroy lives.”

“Was your life so bad, Ripley?” He tips his head and his smile makes my fists twitch. “You had it made. All you had to do was follow orders, but your testosterone-driven bullshit got you into trouble with my brother. He’s dead and someone has to pay. Truly, I didn’t think you were that foolish, until I saw the tapes of you nearly killing one of my men. For a woman. Thought you could hide that from me?” Dorian tugs a cigar from his pocket, and crosses the room toward one of the guards standing off to the side who offers him a light. “I’ve got business back at Spades, so my men are going to oversee things and make sure Pyro here is thorough. Rest assured, we’ll find the woman, and when we do, we’ll be sure to treat her with the same mercy you undoubtedly showed Enzo.” Patting Pyro on the back, he squeezes his shoulders. “This is your chance, kid. Make me proud. Don’t blow it.”