back at me unmoving, threatening me. Like they did that night that he took me. After they’d all had their turn. After he’d killed my father. When I thought he’d end my life, instead he took me. He took Viagra so he could make sure he got everything he wanted from me. He tortured me. He trained me to be nothing but a toy for him. He used me to broker deals. He made sure I felt like a whore. Like I was nothing but a slave to him. Like I owed him for not taking my life.
Those eyes stare back at me. I point the gun, but nothing happens. Click. Click. Click. I hear screaming and bullets flying around me. Men run past me in a blur. Click. Click.
I can’t let him live. I drop to the ground. My knees slam hard into his chest as I smash the butt of the gun against his face. I do it as hard as I can. The gun stings my hand as the metal crunches bone. I raise my arm higher and slam it into his face again. And again. Hot blood splashes against my chest. I do it again, and instead of crunching bone I’m met with the sick sounds of soft flesh.
I look down at what I’ve done. I’m breathing heavily. My hand is covered in blood, still gripping the gun. My face and chest are splattered with blood. I look for his eyes in the mess beneath me. I gasp and hardly take in the sight before strong arms grip me from behind and pull me into him.
“Don’t look,” a voice whispers in my ear. Kane. The gun falls from my hand and I turn in his grasp.
“Kane.” I hold onto him. My fingers dig into his back. Kane. He’ll save me. He’ll fix this. Shock and horror grip my heart, stilling it and freezing my blood. “I’m sorry.” I pull away from him and look him in the eyes. My bottom lip trembles as I apologize again. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh. It’s alright. It’s alright.”
“Am I still your good girl?” I ask. He looks at me with a pained expression. I’m still good. I can be his good girl. It was only once. I’m still good. I can still be good. I need him to forgive me. I need to be his good girl. If I’m not, then I’m nothing. Images of Vadik’s eyes and his yellow teeth flash before my eyes. I hear his voice taunting me in my head. “You’re nothing but mine.” I bury my head in Kane’s chest and shake my head, willing the images to go away.
No. I’m not his. I’m not his. I’m Kane’s. I’m Kane’s good girl. I’m his good girl. I’m still good. “Please,” I whisper into his hard chest. Tears sting at the back of my eyes, threatening to fall, but not coming. “Am I still your good girl?” My voice cracks, and my throat dries with a harsh scratch on each word.
“Shh. You’re still my good girl.” His hand comes down on my back and runs soothing strokes over my tense body.
Everything’s alright. I lean into his embrace and breathe in deep. I take comfort in his warmth. I’m Kane’s now. The thought soothes a sick part of me. A darkness within me wanes, but it’s still there.
Kane
“You’re alright, baby.” I kiss her hair and look around the room. I can’t fucking believe she’s the one who fired first. She put herself in danger. She put the rest of us in danger. To be fair though, we all knew. Every fucking one of us was wearing Kevlar. They weren’t. Cocky fuckers.
Dead bodies are still lying on the ground. Two have been removed. Their blood left streaks across the floor as they were dragged out of the room. Valettis. It fucking hurts my chest. Two lost. But that’s two too many. The cleanup crew sprays something on the ground. They’re almost done cleaning up the evidence they don’t want found.
One’s a young boy, maybe in his early 20s. He wasn’t here when this shit started. He’s not one of the group that flew in here when bullets started flying. Vince was smart. The numbers were stacked in his favor, but they were hidden.
I need to take her out of here. I walk us to the back quickly and spot an open door with soft voices coming from beyond the jamb. At this distance I can only make out incoherent