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eight
Draven
Staring up at my ceiling, I took in the small details in every crack the cement had. With a vivid imagination, part of me wondered if they could lead me back to my freedom. It wandered even further to who might be on the other side of that crack as it ebbed away like the parting of the Red Sea for me to leave this confinement. Tony stood beside Millie as they both greeted me with their natural warmth.
The biggest problem when being raised to dream, those kind thoughts couldn’t become a reality. Hell, even Tony and I hid our relationship from the eyes of our fathers and business partners due to the scrutiny we’d face for it. Lifting my hands, I studied the thickness of each finger, seeing how human they appeared. Only those in my closest circle knew the lives they took because my whole life had been made of secrets and how to hide them best.
Clenching my fist, I knew my desire right now wanted to wring the neck of her idiotic boyfriend. Every thought I had ended with his blood staining my clothes as I ruthlessly punished him within an inch of his life to feed off his fear of me. When killing the right person, it did manifest this god complex that made me feel invincible. Some favored a weapon, but I enjoyed feeling their bones crunch beneath my fists. Some kills had to be cleaner to keep my nose and alibi in check, but I craved the satisfaction of killing with my bare hands like the sadistic son my father wanted.
Only when I read could I be the adventurous boy my mother told me to never stop being. As soon as her loving face entered my mind, my fist relaxed, falling onto the mattress under me. Taking in the crack again, I felt like she inspired every odd thought and fantasy I had when I dreamed of a life outside the prison of power I had been bred in. Part of me knew she must’ve hated the life in our manor herself, so she shared her escape with me. The only break we got from the family business were the pages glued along the spine of a good book.
A true version of a mother’s love in our situation because she couldn’t escape her life tied to my father, and she knew he’d never let me leave his side. Others probably looked in and wondered why she didn’t run, but I knew how powerful the empire of the families grew to be. We had people everywhere, and I used them now that I ran my family’s accounts. She wouldn’t make it to a transport site without being killed with me in her arms, so she stayed and tried to armor me with the only shield she had. My love for her would never falter for the power she gave me to mentally escape in a hell we couldn’t leave physically. Books saved me, but they couldn’t save her in the end.
Metal clinking called my attention back to the door where a guard stood. “Hands,” he requested. Showing mine to him and extending them forward on my side of the bar, he always intrigued me. He cuffed me while I was still inside my cell like having me cuffed would save his pathetic life. His eye always twitched in fear of me, and he held his breath when cuffing me. I secretly delighted in his fears. Just the other day, I lightly growled from within my chest, and he jumped five feet back. Ah, he had been a fun little plaything during my stay.
Once he had me secure, he put the key in and swung the door wide before raising his rifle at me. He even managed to line his eye up with the scope this time. Every time before, he shook and couldn’t center his focus. Clapping my hands, I let a devious smile leave my lips. “Bravo.”
“Y-you h-have a visitor,” he stuttered and began trembling where he stood in his blue uniform. Today? Interesting because Tony didn’t usually come near a weekend.
Deciding to have some fun, I couldn’t help but provoke the little bastard into a stroke or heart attack. Tormenting him even more, I lowered myself and placed my forehead against the barrel of the gun. He went wide eyed, staring at me like my insanity might ruin him. Good because it would if I had to be here much longer.
Coming back up, I kissed the firing point before standing tall. “You’ll never be better than what you fear most, so I suggest you learn to embrace what might end you.”
Turning my back, my legs carried me down the hall where everyone else sat in their chambers. Some gave me nods from wanting to establish a safety on my side in here while others decided sticking their foot out to trip me was wise.
Catching myself, Lester Gaines hadn’t been prepared for my return. My hands rushed up as I flipped around, taking hold of his puny face. The man’s eyes were too wide and buggy with a small chin and large nose. My left hand gripped under his jaw to lock it into place as my other fisted into his hair and jerked him into the metal bars. “Someone’s feeling even bolder today. I thought you would’ve learned your lesson after I kicked your ass the other day.”
“Fuck off, De Luca!” Lester had once been Alexander’s favorite pet… until I killed his boss for raping my sister. He found himself in here for killing one of my guards in the shootout. “I can see right through your bullshit. A lost little boy with no purpose, and your dad thinks of you as a failure. He basically congratulated Alexander when he raped your sister for being a man and taking what he wanted.”
“He did, huh?” A festering of rage began to build because that sounded just like my father.
“Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes. It was almost like he wanted Alex instead of the son God gave him.”
“You see a lot, don’t you, Lester?” My grip hadn’t eased, even with the guard nudging my back with the same barrel I had just kissed.
“I’m always watching, De Luca.”
Without hesitation, I released his jaw and used my thumb to jab right into his eye. Feeling it pop like a zit came with the force I used. Blood spurted all over my front in little groupings, and I nearly licked it when some landed near my mouth. His scream of terror was music to my ears, knowing he’d lose an eye for what he saw and let happen. “Your snarky ass would be right, but not even my father could deny my power when I took over his empire and forced him to step down. He cowers with our enemies because he fears me. Maybe you would’ve seen this coming too had you been paying attention to the real crime lords and cowering when its appropriate.”
Letting him go, I yanked what little remained out. He fell to his knees and covered the blood seeping out of the empty socket. The horror could chill a normal person to the bone, but I relished in the fall of my enemies. Their suffering fed my thirst in the name of bloodlust. Finally turning to the weakling for a guard, his terror called to me as well, but he’d be the lucky sap I wouldn’t hurt if he fell in line.
“He watched his boss rape my sister and keeps telling everyone about it. An eye for an eye, right? Plus, he did attack me first.” I shrugged, knowing his rules would have me placed in solitary again. My mind had forgotten that if I hurt the fucker, I wouldn’t be able to speak to Tony. Luckily, this man nearly pissed himself in my presence.
“Y-yes, sir. I only s-saw you defend yourself.” Smirking, I let that answer be enough as I headed to the end of the hall. Every man lined their cell bars, staring at me in horror, knowing firsthand I had the balls to follow through even when under lock and key.
“Fuck you, De Luca! I can’t wait for everything to blow up in your face! I’ve seen their plan, and you’ll go down just like your sister went down on Alex! You’ll be their little bitch, and I’ll sit back as they put the fear of God into you!”
As much as red lined my vision to kill him completely, I settled for turning around to see another guard coming to collect him for the medical bay. Letting my blood-covered thumb into my mouth, I licked his flavor like a decadent strawberry. Oh, how I sickened him to the point of gagging with it. The coppery tang engulfed my tongue, delighting me to my core.
“Fear of God? Was that one of my father’s lines he paid you to deliver?” I let my menacing side manifest as my eyes darkened with the bloodlust of my enemy now savored on my lips. “I’m in my thirties, you blooming idiot. If he couldn’t break me as a boy, he has no power over me as a man. I fear nothing, you fool!”
Everyone else remained silent, finally learning their place among my presence. The title of dark prince didn’t come from chasing waterfalls. I earned the name, and now they knew why themselves. Allowing the guard to guide me to the receiving room, I walked in and found a lovely surprise waiting for me. Tony managed to call in his most trusted guard of his own.
Smiling with all my teeth as I took my seat across from them, Tony pointed to my teeth, indicating I had blood on them. With my tongue, I licked them clean again. Batting his worry away, I knew he feared it being mine. Picking up the phone, I gave Tony a shrug with my smile still growing. “It’s not my blood.”
“Whose is it?” he questioned.
“Lester Gaines,” I growled. Turning my head toward Costas, I couldn’t believe he came. With him on our side and here to help in person, I’d be out in no time. Tony told me he planned to come after killing the rest of Alexander’s family, but it felt real now that I could see him. Both men wore disguises, but I knew who sat across from me. “Costas, it’s a relief to see you, friend!”
