CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ANTHONY
It was coming time for the game between Aiden and me to end. I'd known it since the moment he'd declined to honor our agreement, I'd lost sleep over it, and I'd pulled more than a few tense muscles working out in Aiden's weight room just to ease the violence building inside me.
Going back on our original deal was infuriating enough, but to see the way he treated Sera, to realize he was using her confession of prior abuse to torment her further, my anger was elevated to a barely contained rage that demanded retribution in the form of blood.
However, for as much as I wanted to string Aiden up by his toes and show him that I'd not forgotten the Master inside me as much as he liked to believe, I still needed him in order to ensure the proper punishment of the men who owned Sera before. Only he knew their identities by name, and only he could secure the information necessary for approval to be granted for their disposal.
Ironically, my need of him was my fault alone. Since Elise's death, I'd pulled away from the Society, and in doing so, I'd lost the influence and standing I'd once had within the group. Looking back, it was a necessary separation - one that prevented me from making mistakes in the procurement and training of courtesans.
Losing one was devastating enough, but to lose another due to my own foolish arrogance would not only have ruined my reputation within the group, it would have ruined me as a man.
I'd worn sorrow and self-doubt as a cloak since the moment I watched Elise's body fall over that cliff, and it was that cloak that made me forget the ingrained desires and needs I carried. Having stripped off the cloak to leave it shredded and tattered on the floor along with every other chain that restrained me, I felt the man I once was come to life. That man sought revenge for the games played against him, and that man was only barely contained by the rules of the Society.
After watching Aiden drag Sera from the kitchen, I stood from my chair with such force that it tipped over and fell heavily to the floor. I didn't jump at the slap of wood against tile, didn't react at all but to pace heavily across the floor, my hands fisting and releasing, my teeth grinding until my jaw locked with frustration.
Instinct told me to find where Aiden had taken Sera, to rip her from his dangerous hands and fly her off to a place where she could live as a freely as could be allowed a courtesan. But the honor I’d been taught by the Master who'd raised me - and the unwavering dedication to the Society into which I'd been born - kept me rooted to the same bullshit path I walked in the kitchen.
Fuck honor... I thought, surprising myself with the ferocity of my inner voice.
Perhaps denying myself the violence I craved for so long had starved the sadist inside me. Even young, I was never this out of control, this full of the pulsing, rolling need to dominate, to force my hand regardless of the consequences.
Consequences...
I stopped pacing while that word whispered through my thoughts, endlessly repeating until I understood its significance.
There were no consequences. Not in this. Not that mattered to me.
It was always the Society that held me in check, their rules assigned to the members, whether Master or Owner, and the threat of expulsion or even death for failing to abide those rules.
But there was only one woman I wanted, only one courtesan that mattered, and to have her, all I had to do was take her. Expulsion from the Society mattered little if I had Sera under my control. I wouldn't want or accept another woman to train, so there was no point in maintaining my ties to the organization.
Death scared me even less. The island where I lived was well known to the other members, but it was only accessible by plane. Seated high above sea level on cliffs that were a straight fall down to the water below, any person who dared come after me would be caught and executed before he managed to scale those cliffs or climb off the plane.
I had more than enough money to survive comfortably for the rest of my life, and I wasn't bound to the Society as I had been when I was a younger man.
In truth, I had no need of the Society, and they had no need of me.
The only thing I needed was Sera.
"Master Anthony?"
A soft, feminine voice whispered behind me snapping me free of the chaos of thought inside my mind. Spinning on my heel, I stared down at an angel, her strawberry blond hair glowing beneath the kitchen lights resembling a halo around her head.
"Rebecca? Is everything all right?"
My anger dissipated at the sight of her face. Twisted with worry, her expression was a silent plea while her eyes danced about the room watching the doors as if she worried someone might appear.
Her gaze found mine once more and she stepped forward, her voice whisper soft. "He's gone too far, Anthony. You have to do something. And you have to do it now."
Rebecca’s words froze me in place. It was one thing for any other person to claim Aiden had slipped the leash of control over his cruelty, but for Rebecca to claim it meant that, truly, he'd lost himself to his sadistic temperament.
Fearful of the answer I'd receive, I asked, "What has he done to Sera?"
She fidgeted in place, her hands wringing over themselves as she fought an internal battle. Aiden was her Master, and as such, she was bound to protect his secrets. But Rebecca also loved Aiden with every fiber of her being, and her concern for him overruled the expectations of a courtesan.
Her voice wavered as she whispered what she knew with hurried breath. "I shouldn't have gone into the room after he left, but I heard her screaming. It wasn't her normal anger. The scream sounded wrong. She's -"
Her voice cut off, her eyes darting to the doorway behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder to follow her gaze the doorway was empty.
Desperation wrapped my hands over Rebecca's shoulders. "Tell me where she is. I'll handle the rest."
Tears broke free of her blue eyes. "I don't think she's alive," she confessed. "She was screaming when he left, but when she stopped, I tried to talk to her through the wood and she wouldn't respond."
"Where is she?" My voice bellowed regardless of who might hear.
Rebecca jerked away, frightened and trembling. Tears streamed down her face, disbelief a shadow coloring her eyes. "In the room next to yours," she whispered through broken sobs. "I think Aiden intended for her to scream all night, and he put her close to your room so you could hear it."
The last words hadn't fully fallen over her lips before I was running down the hall. Adrenaline spiked my blood and rage fueled my body. Boots thudding against the polished wood floors, I turned corner after corner until I was standing in front of a door barely ajar. Strong-arming the wood, I ignored the knob slamming against the wall as I burst through, my eyes seeking and finding a large trunk tucked against a far wall - the only piece of furniture in the room.
"Sera!" I called out as I covered the distance in three powerful strides. Dropping to my knees, I fumbled the simple latch, my hands shaking from fear and desperation. "Sera," I called out again without receiving a response. "Answer me, Sera!"
The latch slid open and I practically ripped the lid off the hinges. What I found inside stopped my heart.
Balled up inside like a child in the womb, Sera didn't move or respond. I placed my hand on her shoulder and found she was still warm, the pulse in my veins coming back to life as relief swept in to strip terror's claws from my chest.
Shaking her shoulder didn't garner a response, so I lifted her carefully from the trunk not knowing if she was injured. Her body bore no marks as I laid her on the floor, my hands brushing over her skin to ensure there were no open cuts, no obvious signs of fractured bones or internal injuries.
Sera's eyes were open, but unseeing. Her mouth was limp, her hands still fisted despite her freedom from the confined space.
She wasn't dead as Rebecca had feared. Sera was catatonic.
I cursed under my breath wondering what Aiden had said or done to scare her into this state. Making the decision that this game was done, I lifted her from the floor and carried her to my bedroom. Carefully, I placed her on my bed and wrapped her in the blanket. She didn't move or answer me despite how many times I said her name. Assured that she was breathing and that her pulse was strong, I stepped away from her to pack my things. While throwing clothes into a suitcase, I snatched my phone from the bedside table.
Brent answered the phone after one ring. "Mr. Bernal? Do you need me to bring the car?"
"Yes. When you arrive, I want you to park the car at the base of the front portico and I want you to wait just outside the front door. I also need you to call my pilot and make sure the plane is ready. We leave immediately."
"I'll be there in half an hour, Sir."
It took me another ten minutes to finish packing. When I was done, I set the suitcase next to the door, thankful it wasn't too heavy to kick down the hall while I carried Sera.
Sitting on the bed next to her, I brushed my hand over her forehead, both testing her temperature to check for shock and moving the hair from her face. "Sera," I whispered, hopeful that within the time that passed, she'd have gained full consciousness and escaped whatever nightmare trapped her. "Sera, I'm here. We're leaving. Tonight." My voice notched louder. "Damn it, answer me!"
Nothing.
Not for another twenty minutes.
My phone pinged to let me know Brent was outside the mansion, tension riding me harder because of what I knew I had to do. It wouldn't be easy, but confrontation never was.
Lifting Sera from the mattress, I bundled the blanket around her tight enough that it wouldn't hang down and drag. I managed to open the door, and moved down the hallway with Sera in my arms, kicking the suitcase in front of me until I reached the front foyer. It surprised me to find I was alone. I had every expectation that Aiden would be waiting.
Brent was surprised to see me disheveled with a woman in my arms. His training and experience kicked in a second later snapping him out the state of shock at my appearance. "Where is your bag? I'll take it to the car."
Nodding my head in the direction of the bag, I waited for him to squeeze past me before I rushed out the door towards the car. By the time I had Sera tucked across the seat, Brent was closing the trunk and rounding the back end.
"The plane will be ready when we arrive."
My gaze flicked up to the front entrance of the house, dread filling me to walk back in and confirm my suspicions that Aiden was lost to madness. Although it would have been easier not to care, to jump in the car and breathe easier as Brent gunned it down the drive, I couldn't leave Rebecca alone with Aiden, not until I knew she was safe.
"I have to go inside for a few minutes. Be ready to leave at any moment. And if you see Mr. Oliver exit the house without me, do not wait for me, Brent. I want you to drive away as soon as you see him."
"Mr. Bernal?"
He was genuinely confused, but I had neither the time nor the inclination to explain. Turning to him, I offered the only bit of information that mattered. "The woman I put in the car is ill. She may wake up confused, disoriented or terrified out of her mind. If that happens, call me immediately. Do not let her run from the car."
He inclined his head and I didn't waste another second. Running up the entry steps and across the portico, I entered the house to find the foyer empty still. Confused by Aiden's lack of concern that I was removing Sera from the house, I set out in search of him to discover that he was seated behind the desk in his office.
Rage was a red haze over my vision, the need for vengeance a drumbeat in my veins.
Leaning back in his seat, Aiden lifted his arms to tuck his hands behind his head, the picture of casual indifference to the anger that radiated out of me. "Anthony," he crooned. "What brings you to my office so late in the evening?"
The lack of fear in his expression only served to anger me more. Here sat a man who had tortured a girl into a catatonic state, a man who, through age and experience, should have known exactly what he was doing to Sera. He couldn't have cared less to even acknowledge or respect the level of my fury. My fingers clenched into fists, my jaw ticking with the violence that I could no longer contain.
The smirk that tugged at his lips when I failed to answer was the final push knocking me from the precipice of control.
From one second to the next I was standing in his doorway and wrapping my hand around his throat. Surprise flickered over his face, laughter falling from his lips as I lifted him from his seat. The leather chair fell backwards as I hauled him against a wall, his feet inches from the ground as I pinned him to the plaster. Where I found the strength, I wasn't sure, but it pulsed in me demanding blood.
Leaning into him until we were nose to nose, I smiled to see red spread across his cheeks, to know that my grip was making it difficult, if not impossible, for him to breathe.
"What has happened to you? What kind of a monster have you let yourself become?"
Practically screaming the questions, I stared unblinking as his face turned a darker shade of red, as his hands came up to grip at the one I had wrapped around his neck. Even with the threat of death, he grinned, although the expression was strained.
My arm moved just a fraction, but it was enough to pull him forward and slam him against the wall, the back of his head impacting the plaster with a dull thud. "Answer me!"
"Let him go, Master Anthony! Please!"
Without releasing my grip on Aiden, I turned just enough to find Rebecca crawling out from beneath his desk. The hand I had locked around Aiden's throat gripped tighter, but still not tight enough to compress his airway fully.
"Rebecca?" Genuine confusion filtered through me. Returning my attention to Aiden, I glanced down to find his belt unbuckled, his pants zipper pulled partially down.
I released him, watching as he slid down the wall and fell to the ground.
Not caring that he was coughing in an effort to swallow air, I stepped back and offered a hand to Rebecca to help her to her feet. My voice barely controlled, I asked, "Did he hurt you?"
"No," she answered, her hand reaching to sweep her long hair over her shoulder to fall down her back. "He wouldn't hurt me, Anthony."
"Rebecca-"
She placed her fingertips lightly on my mouth, her gaze locking to mine. Her voice soft, she insisted again, "He would never hurt me."
Stepping back, I spun towards Aiden. He'd stood from the floor in the time I spoke with Rebecca, his hair mussed, his shirt wrinkled, his hand rubbing over his neck to relieve the pain I'd caused. And although I'd just attacked him, he grinned.
"That was quite a show," he choked out, his voice gritty from a raw throat. "I didn't think you had it in you, at least, not anymore."
Remembering the urgency to leave, I didn't respond to his statement. "I'm taking Sera and I'm leaving. I don't give a damn if that's a problem for you or not. You've slipped the fucking leash, Aiden. You're no better than the sons of bitches who held Sera in a pit of bodies."
Coughing to relieve whatever damage I'd inflicted to his throat, he leaned back against the wall, his expression strained, but his eyes still clear of any discernible emotion. "Take her. I'm done with her."
My eyes narrowed, but I held myself from stepping forward. Sera needed me more than I needed the satisfaction of punching him in his pretty face.
Pivoting on my heel and marching toward the door, I'd almost covered the full distance before Aiden called out to me. Although I slowed my pace, I didn't bother turning to look at him.
"A courtesan will always love her first Master. It makes it impossible for her to give herself fully to another man."
A bark of humorless laughter burst from my lips. "That is unless her Master crosses the line and becomes a monster." I cast him a scathing look over my shoulder. He inclined in his head in response.
"I have the Society's permission to execute her former owners."
His words stopped me in my tracks once again. Turning to him, I stood silent, my hand clenching and releasing until I found the ability to keep from shouting. "Why are you telling me this? Are you offering for me to take care of the problem?"
"I'm offering it to Sera."
Surprise widened my eyes. "She won't be around to take you up on that offer. We're flying out immediately."
"I'm in no rush," he admitted, his hand reaching down to pet Rebecca's head where she kneeled at his feet. "Call me when you've determined what she would like to do."
"I wouldn't hold your breath for that call. I'm not sure I'll ever speak to you again after tonight."
For the first time, I saw regret flash across his face, the rare bit of emotion followed quickly by understanding and something else I couldn't quite name. "I'll wait regardless."
No longer concerned with the monster staring back at me, I left the office and returned to the waiting car. After climbing into the back seat and checking for any change in Sera's condition, I barked out an order. "Drive."
The car jolted into motion, the tires crunching over asphalt as Brent navigated the winding drive towards the entry gates.
Having positioned Sera's head in my lap, I brushed my hand over her hair, silently praying that she would come to before I had to carry her onto the plane in route to my island.
An hour's drive had us back at the cliff where I'd originally found her and still, she neither spoke nor moved. Brent continued driving until we arrived at the small executive airport, pulling the car up close to the plane that sat ready for takeoff.
Sera was dead weight in my arms as I carried her up the stairs and into the cabin. After a few last minute checks were completed, the plane sped over the tarmac, finally lifting into the air.
It wasn't until we reached our full elevation that I breathed out a sigh of relief. Sera was safe from harm, despite her condition. She was finally free of the men who had been her tormentors and greatest nightmare.
My hand still brushing over her matted hair, I spoke softly to her in hopes it would pull her free of her terror.
"Wake up, Mi Bella. You're safe."
She didn't stir at the sound of my voice, but she did finally close her eyes. Her hands relaxed and she breathed out heavily, her entire body becoming loose on the cushion where she lay.
"Ah, Sera," I breathed out, the violence in me sated enough to bleed away, "You may not have found your own wings to fly free and escape those bastards, but rest easy in the knowledge that I have given you mine."