I am no longer my own person. He owned me in ways I forced to the back of my mind. With each vile act I endured, he made sure that my only escape was to die. But I couldn’t give up my life. I had to be there for Dante and River.
Instead of running, I planned. Each day and night that passed, I made sure I had everything I needed to take him down. His friends, partners, all of them would suffer. I would make sure of it.
Everything he did to me, all those things he made me witness, I’ll perhaps never forget, but I can clear my conscience by killing the assholes who supported him. My father died from the wounds I inflicted only six months ago. We’ve kept the news from everyone because my plan can finally start.
Revenge.
Such a beautiful word.
Blood will be spilled. I will bathe in it. Drench myself in the metallic liquid because that’s what they deserve. I played hide and seek from a young age. I hid as best I could from the men and women who frequented our estate. And now that my father has met his maker, I’ll ensure those filthy pieces of trash answer to me.
And only me.
I’ll run a rampage through his organization so violent, so bloody that no one can save them. And when I walk away with their blood staining my hands, I’ll have my vengeance.
It took years to learn, to observe their movements. Each small nuance is ingrained in my mind. It makes me more dangerous than they can ever be. It makes me the killer they never saw coming.
“Are you listening to me?”
The voice drags me from the horrors replaying in my mind on a loop. I glance at the blue eyes that match mine and nod. My brother, Dante Savage, is all grown up now. I haven’t been listening to a word he said. But I nod in any case.
“Drake, we can do this together,” he tells me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Dante wants something I can never have. He’s told me before how he wants to find a girl and settle down. Strangely, I can see him doing that, but the problem is, those dark desires that seem to ignite when he’s fucking someone have always scared them away. I want to laugh when I think about my volatile brother, but then I realize, in all my years trying to protect him, I didn’t do a very good job because he’s just as fucked up as I am.
“You need to stay here, make sure they don’t come looking for Malcolm,” I inform him once more as I watch the screen. I know Dante can see my hard-on. There’s nothing hidden between us. We’ve both witnessed each other in our worst states. We’ve shared women. We’ve shared River. Our sexuality is nothing like anyone else’s. Our minds don’t work right. And after the childhood we’ve had, nobody can blame us.
“Do you still look for her?”
I know he’s talking about Caia. The girl I wanted. The one who attempted to make me feel. Perhaps I did. But then she was stolen, severed from my life before I had a chance to really know her. Even though we’ve searched for her high and low, I now believe she’s never coming back.
Our lives are filled with darkness. Hers was only light. If only I wasn’t late in stopping my father that night, I would never have lost her. I could’ve fucking saved her. And every time I think about it, I hate myself more. She didn’t deserve what happened.
“No. She’s dead.” My cold words cause him to flinch; only slightly, but I see it. As much as Dante plays the hard-ass, I know deep down he’s not like me. Nowhere near.
“And what if one day you walk into a house and find her there? Are you going to finish the job father failed to do?” he questions me. “Or will you admit you fell for her?”
“I fucking told you time and again,” I bite out, turning to pin him with an angry glare. “She’s dead.”
“If you say so,” he utters. “I don’t believe she is, because father would’ve had a file on her burial spot, like he does with everyone else he’s killed.” Could she be alive? I almost believe him. Only for a moment I allow my mind to wonder how it would feel to find her, to feel her touch, her lips. I let myself feel happiness, normality. But in the same second it appears, it’s gone.
Since the moment I walked into the cell and laid my eyes on Caia, I felt my world tilt off its axis. Not one other girl who had been brought here made me want to protect and hurt her in equal measure. She fed the hunger my father ingrained in me. He’s turned me into this. A sick monster who yearns to see the vile acts being portrayed before me.