♫ Secret - The Pierces ♫
I expected for escort bloke to knock me out after watching him put Vic down, but he never did.
In fact, he didn’t speak to me at all. He merely tossed Vic’s limp body into the backseat beside me, slid behind the wheel, and pulled out into airport traffic—cool as a fucking cucumber.
We drove for quite some time in complete silence, shrouded by the dark of night.
Every instinct within me told me to fight back, to demand answers and get a better understanding of where he was taking me—since Liza hadn’t divulged a thing—but I remained tight-lipped throughout.
Stoic.
Seemingly unaffected by the gravity of the situation.
My mind was in the red, though—flags waving, alarms blaring.
Liza had finally caught up to me, in real time, and without an ounce of actual physical force, she coerced me into her trap.
Into her web of madness and revenge.
Like she’d done to Vic. She’d obviously lied to him as well, had led him to believe they were equal partners in whatever the full extent of their arrangement was.
I wasn’t afraid of death, but the thought of dying in her hands was a fucking nightmare.
Worst yet, Lux was coming after me…
What would happen if I was dead by the time she found her way to me? If she found her way to me…
Would Liza kill her, too?
Within that depraved loop is where my thoughts remained for the rest of the drive. Leaving the hustle and bustle of the city behind us, we ended up on scenic country roads where the plots of land grew larger and further apart with every twist and turn.
Eventually, we pulled into a long, narrow driveway that led to a massive estate. Securing said estate was a tall, iron gate. Escort wanker punched in the code and the doors opened slowly, granting us access to the semi-lit perimeter.
In any other circumstance, I would have ventured to say it was a gorgeous sight, all old-English style with hints of goth provided by the gargoyles at the top of the castle-like roof.
But my architectural appreciation quickly faded the moment the SUV slowed to a stop at the steps before the front doors.
Two men, who appeared to be hulking butlers based on their classic attire, came barreling down toward us. I was expecting them to yank my door open and pull me into their possession, but both men went around the back end, and opened the door opposite of me instead.
Where Vic laid, still passed the hell out.
One grabbed his arms, the other grabbed his legs… And then they were gone.
Seconds later, escort bloke was opening my door. Once again, he didn’t utter a single word, simply tipping his head by way of direction. I hopped out onto the pavement without protest and craned my head back, taking in the clear, late-night sky.
After all, it might’ve been the last time I’d ever get to see it.
And in some sense, it was—because that’s the moment when they finally knocked me out.
I didn’t even see it coming.
There was a brief whooshing sound.
Then a screeching blow to my head.
And then the world around me gave to darkness.
* * *
I woke with a start, gasping for air as I shot up from the…
Bed?
A massive plush bed no less.
My head protested immediately against the sudden movement, pounding violently to the point I thought it might explode. The back of it felt tight and sore, as though something were keeping my aching skull closed.
Stitches, I presumed, based on the images all coming back to me now.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed myself through the onslaught with deep breaths, clutching the sheets around my body for support, my jaw ground to avoid making a sound.
When the agony subsided, I cracked my eyes open once more, slowly, finally noting the night had passed me by. Warm streams of daylight now poured in through the bay window not so far away, bathing the room with its incandescent rays.
I peered around, observing my ornate surroundings. Vintage floral wallpaper, gold-trimmed Victorian furniture, what had to be imported, luxury area rugs. Above the bed hung a chandelier, and in the far corner were two parlor chairs set up like a sitting area with a bookcase in between.
And then there were the doors, both a cream color with simple golden knobs.
Where did they lead? Were they locked? Guarded?
Swinging my legs off the end of the bed in an attempt to investigate, it was then I noticed I sat in nothing but my briefs.
No t-shirt. No pants.
Not even my bloody socks.
What the hell?
Panic took its hold on me as my mind began racing millions of miles per hour.
Why the hell were my clothes off?
I’d not even had a proper minute to think it through when one of the doorknobs jiggled, followed by a lock coming undone.
There went one of my questions answered.
Bracing myself, I rose onto my feet, ready and willing to tackle whoever was on the other side, and run out just like this should I have the opportunity to do so.
But the moment I saw Liza saunter through the threshold, I couldn’t fucking move.
“Good morning, sunshine!” she quipped cheerily, a silver tray balanced on her palm.
She was clad in only a silky white robe, pepping goosebumps all over my skin in alarm as my stomach churned about.
No.
Shutting the door with her bare foot, she sashayed toward me with an equally cheery smile.
Or at least she was aiming for such.
In reality, it was nothing short of creepy and deranged.
“How’d you sleep, baby?” she asked, setting the tray down on the pristine nightstand beside the bed, a lush spread of breakfast items set on its polished surface. “I’m sorry we had to sleep apart. I promise tonight you’ll get to sleep in my bed like the King you are.”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at her, blinking, shocked to my damn core.
Her body was Liza—all five-foot-two of her—but the person within her mind… I didn’t recognize that person at all.
And that’s saying a lot because Liza had always been a little strange—eccentric, if you will.
This, however, was a whole different ballgame. I hadn’t picked up on it much over the phone, but now that I was seeing her in person, now that we were face to face...
It was so blatantly obvious.
The girl had snapped.
“What do you want, Liza?” I finally asked, watching her warily.
Dropping down onto the edge of the bed, that creepy smile of hers widened. “I told you already. I want you, and now I have you.”
A chill rolled down my spine.
That’s what she’d said on the phone… Swore none of this was about Leo. I didn’t want to upset her, because who knows what she was capable of at this point in time, but I was interested to see how she would react if I brought him up.
“What about Leo?” I hedged, gauging her closely.
Her blue eyes darkened, narrowing into tiny malignant slits. “He’s dead. You killed him, remember?” she snapped.
“Of course, he deserved it,” I boasted, lifting my chin high as she shot onto her feet.
“No one deserves to die!”
“And yet, here we are. You’ve stalked me, finally got your hands on me. Isn’t the next part of your plan to kill me?”
Liza groaned in exasperation and thrusted her fingers into her blonde hair. “Why don’t you listen to me?! I’ve already told you—I don’t want to kill you! I just. Want. You!” she screeched demonically.
“What does that mean, though? You want me for what?”
“It means I want you for me. I want you to serve me, to love me. I’ll love both of you back, I swear it.” Her voice was much softer now, tears bubbling in her eyes.
She made no sense whatsoever, and my head was starting to spin from her demented behavior. “Both of you?”
Liza nodded, toying with the belt of her robe. “You and Vic.”
Vic. That’s right—he was here, too. After the bash to my head, I’d forgotten all about him.
“Where is Vic?” I asked.
“In his room. Don’t worry, I gave you the better one. You can’t tell him, though—he may get a little jealous,” she giggled.
Like a child.
Alarm bells blared once more as a heaping dose of nausea twisted my gut like a sodden towel.
What that statement subtly implied…
“How long are you expecting us to stay here?” I questioned, praying to whatever deity might hear me that she was not about to say what I thought she was.
“That’s a silly question, baby.” She advanced several steps forward. “Forever, obviously.”
It was.
Fuck, it was!
I had to get out of here.
This wasn’t what I’d signed up for, involuntarily or otherwise. I certainly didn’t want to die at her hands, but again, I wasn’t afraid to meet the grim reaper.
I’d take death over this fresh hell…
On quick feet, I dashed around her and held a hand out in warning, my back now to the door. “You can’t be serious! You can’t keep us here like prisoners!”
“You’re not prisoners—you’re my men, my beautiful, devoted men,” she cooed, advancing toward me again. “We’re going to have such a wonderful life together, Rome. All of us.”
She really had lost it.
Completely fucking lost it.
Had Leo’s death affected her this much? Or was this a result of something else? Her parent’s death?
“You’re fucking insane!” I barked, chest heaving, my eyes scanning every inch over the room for a weapon.
“No, I’m not!” she bellowed.
“Yes, you are! You’ve taken two men hostage for some deranged, twisted fantasy you’ve conjured up in your head! How is that not crazy?!” The veins in my neck bulged from the sheer volume of my voice.
Tears welled in her eyes once more. “Because I love you!” she cried. “I love you both!”
“This isn’t love, Liza! I don’t know what the hell happened to you after we broke up, but you need help—serious help!”
“I don’t need help, goddamit! I just need my boys!”
“Yeah, well, you’ll be down to only one soon because I can assure you I’m walking out that front door right now.”
It was only after I said it that I realized I shouldn’t have uttered a word…
Wiping the wetness clinging to her cheeks with quick hands, she stared at me, tilting her head slowly to one side. “You can try,” she cackled. “But you won’t get very far. There’s guards at every door and they’ve been instructed to drag you down to the basement if either one of you try to leave.”
Of course there are.
“I don’t even want to know what you could possibly have down there.”
I really didn’t.
“That’s right, you don’t,” she agreed, crossing her arms, a satisfied smirk playing on the corners of her mouth.
“Let me go, Liza,” I tried, moving back yet again as she stepped forward. “I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“I just want you! Jesus Christ, Rome, don’t you get that!”
“And I’ve told you, you can’t have me.”
Silence ensued, but only long enough to fool me.
In a blur of movements, Liza bound up to where I stood and managed to cuff my arms behind my back.
“And yet I already do,” she murmured, running a polished fingernail down my bare chest.
Cringing under her touch, I tried wriggling myself free, but it was useless. These weren’t costume cuffs, they were the real deal. “Let me go!” I demanded, despite knowing it wasn’t going to do a damn thing.
“Shhh—let’s calm you down.”
“I’ll calm down when your psycho ass gets tossed in the looney bin!”
“So cranky.” Another child-like giggle bubbled in her throat. “Don’t worry, baby—we’ll make that better.”
Her hand made contact with my chest.
I stumbled back from the force of her shove, falling right into one of the parlor chairs I’d seen earlier.
It wasn’t until she slithered into my lap that I fully understood what she meant.
“Don’t you fucking dare. The answer is no,” I gritted out.
Unperturbed and quite determined, Liza leaned forward and flashed her tongue out against my neck, licking all the way up to my ear.
“Relax,” she cooed, grinding herself against my dick.
Again I cringed, trying and failing to get away from her. “Get off me.”
“But I wanna get you off, baby. I want you inside me again.”
“No.”
“Just play nice, Rome. I wouldn’t wanna have to hurt you,” she growled, her tone low.
Deadly.
“You’re fucking crazy!” I yelled, struggling beneath her.
“Not the first time I’ve heard that.” She chuckled, biting her lip as she leaned back, her hand smoothing over my length, palming it. “Ugh, this cock. I missed it. So big, so thick…”
“Don’t…” I clamped my eyes, willing my dick not to fucking react. It was already twitching with every roll of her hips.
“Look at this pussy, Rome—your pretty little pussy. So wet, aching for you, ready for you. Imagine it sliding down on your cock…”
My eyes snapped back open to find Liza naked, hovering above me, her fingers spreading her cunt wide open.
I wanted to fucking wretch.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” I roared, full—blown panic seizing me.
Crippling me.
Is this what Lux felt when…
Lux.
I swallowed a heap of air as her beautiful face, the one I loved so much flashed into my mind. Tears leaking down her face, sadness and betrayal swimming in her eyes…
As agonizing as that image was, that’s what I held onto with all my might as Liza stripped me of my freewill, of my dignity and my sanity, impaling herself on my semi in one fluid move, gasping her praises.
“Fuuuckkk! Oh my god, I fucking missed you, Rome! I missed you so much!”
And I missed my Queen, whom I hoped like hell would find her way on the twisted path that led to me.