Twisted in Chaos (Destructive Devastation #2)

Chapter 1

“You,” I breathe.

Vomit churns in my stomach at the sight of him hovering above me with that same menacing smile that haunts my memories. It lurks in the shadows of my mind, surfacing during my darkest moments.

In those bleak hours, he is always there, taking what isn’t his. And then, my knife appears, slicing through him again and again. I leave no part of him unmarked—torso, face, limbs, hands, feet. I stab him relentlessly for daring to harm my sister and me.

Blood drips from every inch of him, and his howls of pain fill the trailer, pulling me back from the blackness that had consumed my vision.

How he survived to become a never-ending nightmare, I’ll never know.

And that was only the beginning.

He’s the catalyst of my darkness. Thomas Mondelli. Shepp’s father.

“Me,” he says with glee, clapping his hands together.

The man who was second-in-command to my monster—Gabriel Viotto. The man who made my life a living hell for murdering the man before me.

Only, he’s not dead, given the fact he’s standing right in front of me, eyeing the emotions crinkling my face.

Shadow–my monster’s greatest adversary.

All the pain. All the torture I endured at the hands of Gabriel was for nothing. The guilt that gnawed at me for years. Wasted. Was my sister safe? Yes. But me? Am I okay?

No.

Never again.

Did my monster know he was alive? Was he in on the plan to let Shadow freely roam as a new man until he could make this deal to send Sunshine and me away?

I’ll never be the same fucking person I was four years ago when I was just trying to survive and provide for my sick sister.

The familiar darkness swirls inside me, starting low in my belly and spreading like dark tendrils, encapsulating every inch of me, swallowing me whole, and taking my fear and rendering it useless.

Like me.

I’m useless. I keep fucking up and getting myself bound to chairs and stuck in cages because men in power deem it so.

Long before, as a child, literal sunshine made up my insides. Happy. Carefree. Living my life the best way I knew how. Sure, I had a shitty childhood filled with a mother who didn’t give a shit if I ate or had clothes. As long as she had the men coming in and out and the drugs they brought her to fill her veins, that’s all that mattered.

Not me. Or my sister, Sunshine.

Then it happened. That fateful day when I snuck out to hang with my friends and left my little sister locked behind her bedroom door. Even though I knew the dangers, my mom brought men back to our trailer day in and day out. Nothing new. Except this time, my mother sold her own damn kid to get the drugs she was aching for.

And me? Well, I stabbed a man to stop him from molesting my sister. Then, my mother sold me to a monster without caring for my well-being.

It was there in the depths of my monster’s basement when Gabriel Viotto tortured me into submission that my darkness was created from my misery. It started as nothing more than a tiny black dot blocking the trauma and feelings.

Then, it transformed into its own damn entity, covering my insides and suppressing the torture and murders I was forced to take part in.

After months of living in a small dirty cage, in blood-stained clothes, my darkness never left me. It grew like a parasite clinging to my soul and darkening me day by day.

Until he freed me from the confines of that cage and sent me back to my trailer with strict instructions on how I could make up for my indiscretions.

But I wasn’t truly free.

And I never will be.

“You,” I gasp again like a broken record, unable to say anything but the obvious.

“Yes, me,” Shadow confirms, tilting his head as he looks me up and down from head to toe.

Shots of denial pour through me in waves. My stomach sloshes with nausea. My throat burns. I force my eyes shut, counting to ten in my head. Panic consumes me, slowly eaten by my darkness.

He’s not here. Can’t be! Why? Because I killed him three years ago.

Heaviness pushes on my chest. I gasp for oxygen, begging it to fill my lungs. Every breath I suck in becomes painful, like razor blades tearing through tissue and refusing to inflate.

This can’t be happening. I can’t be facing the man I stabbed. He’s supposed to be dead and buried. That’s what they said. That’s what Shepp said. His own son. That’s why I was taken to my prison. He’s dead. He’s fucking dead!

Just tonight. Last night? Today? Fuck. My sense of time withers away. How long have I been in Shadow’s clutches, rotting away in the chair?

Minutes? Days? Weeks?

How long has it been since Gabriel sold me out and pushed me into the stairwell where men took me hostage?

Pain pulsates through my skull the more I try to search my memories for the time gap, but I come up empty-handed. It’s like it’s all vanished, swallowed by a time thief.

Only the faint memories of our night starting at the initiation ball, celebrating my guys’ leap into manhood within the Viotto Crime Family, remain.

However long ago, I was securely in Jericho, Arrow, and Shepp’s protective arms, enjoying the wine and snacks. Well, as safe as I could be, surrounded by the entire gun-toting Viotto family. They are the most notorious crime family on the West Coast, controlling parts of California and expanding their empires through gambling, gunrunning, and whatever else they do to make ends meet.

I inwardly groan, remembering Arrow admitting to removing my birth control and Jericho marrying me without my knowledge. They’re truly walking, talking red flags. And I somehow got myself entangled with them. Technically, though. It wasn’t my doing. They kidnapped me, forced me to sign a contract, binding me to them, and handcuffed me to their wrists.

And where did that all land me?

Here. Tied to a chair.

I grit my teeth, throwing my eyes open. Stay alert. Take in the scene. Form a plan to get everyone out. My eyes wander around the room, avoiding Shadow looming over me with a curious gaze. Judging by the cave-like space we’ve been thrust into; I’m not digging my way through the thick rock walls. Makeshift lights barely illuminate the small cavern. There are no windows. Only a singular door. One way in. One way out.

Wonderful.

How the hell am I supposed to get Shepp, Sunny, and myself out of here in one piece?

No, I am leaving this goddamn prison with my life intact. Sunny. Me. Shepp. We’re all getting out of here. No matter what.

Pain ricochets through me as the memories of the night before flood in. The distinct sound of gunshots popping off and three bodies thumping loudly against the stage. Gabriel sold Sunny and me to Shadow for money. My money. Something I had only known about for a short time.

Greed makes the world evil.

But why does he even need my twenty-million-dollar inheritance? He’s rich enough without it. Gabriel owns Briar Cove without lifting a damn finger. He could bark an order, and anyone in a fifty-foot vicinity would jump into action.

His greed leaves me with nothing but confusion.

My eyes stagger to Shepp, bloodied and on the ground to my left. He hasn’t moved an inch since they tossed him there. Through the low light of the room, I carefully eye his chest, watching as it shakily expands and deflates. He’s breathing. Alive! But not conscious, either. My heart aches thinking about his demise. Or Jericho. Or Arrow. Are they okay? Did they get shot? Hurt? God damn it. I need to know if they’re alive or dead.

I swallow hard, bringing my gaze back to the smug man in front of me. It takes every ounce of courage to look into his blank eyes. On instinct, I want to recoil when I notice the thick scars surrounding his left eye. Scars I must have given him.

He resembles an evil-looking villain, hellbent on ending my life.

He must notice where my mind travels to because his grin grows impossibly large and cartoonish. Evil radiates off him again, like the first time I saw him in our trailer manhandling my baby sister like he owned her after my mom fucking sold her to him.

Fuck.

I need to remain calm to process this entire situation with a level head. There’s no room to lose my cool or let the swarming panic take me under.

“No,” I rasp, swallowing the bile again, trying to keep my damn composure. “No. Fuck no!” I hiss out, showing every damn emotion inside me, rattling my chair with my frantic movements.

Yeah, way to stay cool and collected, Journey. Way to face him like a woman. Now, raise your chin. Buck the fuck up and face your ghost like the brave woman you are.

My darkness swarms every inch of me, dampening the panic clogging my throat. I breathe and count to ten, getting myself under control again.

Despite my monster being the biggest dickbag on the planet, he gave me a plethora of good lessons to defeat an enemy. Any enemy. Mine. His. Whoever. Months of torture broke me down until I was the perfect puppet. And now, I need to remember who he made me into.

I’m a badass bitch, capable of so many things Shadow can’t fathom.

I take a deep breath, calming the raging storm inside me. The boys’ encouraging voices echo in my mind, offering me the strength I’m desperate for.

I discreetly pull at my restraints, wincing when they tighten around my wrists and ankles, binding me to the rickety chair, creaking with every move.

“Believe it or not, I’m still here. Always have been.” Shadow’s grin sends shivers down my spine.

Fear sparks deep inside me, flickering to life when his attention falls on Sunny, sitting rigidly in her chair. My fear has never been for me. My desperation to live has never been solely on my shoulders. It’s always been for Sunshine and her safety.

“How wonderful to see both of you again. I’ve been aching to get my hands on you. But you’ve always been so protected.” He tsks at that, putting his hands behind his back.

My heart aches at the movement, reminding me of something Jericho often does when he’s deep in thought.

“Why?” I croak, attempting to bring his attention back to me.

Sunny doesn’t deserve this.

He snorts. “So, I can thank you for the freedom you bestowed upon me.”

Everything inside me stops all at once. What did he say? I blink several times when a menacing chuckle vibrates through him.

“Freedom?” I bravely ask.

“Freedom,” he repeats with a nod. “Imagine the hell I lived in under Gabriel’s rule.” He spits at the ground. “Dying allowed me to build this.” He holds his hands out, gesturing to the stuffy, dim room. “A man of the family must die before his soul is released from the binds of his duty. I died. Therefore, I was released to build my empire in the shadows beneath that backstabber’s nose. He’ll pay for ever betraying the men around him, including me.”

Right. Of course. The blood oath of the family. Something Gabriel forced me to do, too. The night I fell on my knees and bared my chest, leaving behind a scar of memories I can never forget.

I am a part of the family. Therefore, my death is the only thing that will release me from its binds.

“But no matter,” he says, shaking his head. “There are so many things you don’t know.” He grins. “So many secrets left to be answered.”

“What are you talking about?” I question, watching his every move as he steps back. Not bothering to elaborate on what he means.

“Come on, you. You’re coming with me,” he grunts, digging a knife out of his pocket and flicking it open.

My breath stalls when he cuts the ties around Sunny’s wrists and ankles. My darkness swirls before my eyes, cutting off any rational thought.

“No. What are you doing?” I growl, pulling at my restraints when he forcefully pulls Sunny to her feet.

She stumbles slightly, but he rights her with his tight grip.

“Please,” Sunny gasps, clutching her chest and yanking her arm. “You can’t.”

My heart pounds against my ribs when her gaze flicks to me. Terror lives in the depths of her deep green eyes, filling with fat tears, threatening to spill over. She shakes her head at me, warning me off while attempting to fight for her life against him. Her long brown locks hang over her slim shoulders, swaying with every jerk of her body. Her sickness has made her vulnerable. Weakening her entire being. Fighting against him will only cause her more harm than before.

Fear grabs me when Sunny suddenly droops in his grip, deflating completely. Sunny’s chin juts and tightens. She eyes me, maybe for reassurance. Or maybe to let me know she’s about to do something stupid. Something a fourteen-year-old shouldn’t do.

Fuck.

“I’ll be fine,” she mouths to me in a stark turn of events.

The fuck she will.

“Get your hands the fuck off her,” I shout, thrashing in my seat.

I pull at the restraints more, begging God or whatever deity above to set me free and save my damn sister once and for all. I just got her back.

It’s been three years of hell, viewing her through a screen. Or begging for scraps of her words in vague letters, which I could only do every few months.

The thick air of the room compresses down on me. My lips pop open. Shadows dance across the dimly lit room as chaos grips my mind, holding me hostage as the scene unfolds in front of me. And there’s nothing I can do about it.

My sister is being taken away again, and I’m strapped to a goddamn chair.

I’m a failure of epic proportions. I promised to keep her safe the moment my drugged-up mom brought her home from the hospital and laid her in my arms. She was mine to protect from anything or anyone who wanted to harm her.

And I’ve let her down.

Again.

“I fucking can!” he snarls, tightening his fingers around her upper arm.

More than likely, leaving thick bruises behind as he continues to drag her beside him.

“She’s my concern.” Shadow taps on the door a few times until it opens. “We’re going up. Take her,” he grunts and stills when the guard moves in and whispers something in his ear. Shadow’s entire demeanor changes, and he narrows his eyes at the guard, snarling something under his breath that I can’t quite hear. “Right. I’ll be right there,” he hisses, shoving Sunny roughly back into the room and slamming the door in her bewildered face.

“Sunny,” I gasp, with tears pooling in my eyes. “Sunny, come here.” Desperation leaks into my voice, wishing I could reach out and grab her, but I’m still bound to the damn chair.

“J,” she whimpers, running toward me and wrapping her arms around my neck.

The entire world freezes the moment her skin touches mine. Her warmth radiates into me like pure sunshine, awakening my blackening soul. It’s been too long without her. The world felt so dark and gloomy without her by my side, where she belonged. So dismal and not worth living. Now that she’s right before me, I never want her to let me go.

“You’ll be okay,” I vow. “We’ll get out of here.”

Some way. Somehow.

Sunny sucks in several breaths before she pulls back and gazes at me. There’s something there—a feeling—hiding in the backs of her eyes that I can’t decipher yet.

“You’re going to be okay,” I whisper through the tears flowing down my cheeks. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”

That’s a promise—a vow I won’t break again.

Sunny’s face relaxes, and she wipes away any tears on her cheeks. “He’s going to take me,” she says abruptly with determination. “It’s going to happen. And there’s nothing you or I can do about it.”

Yeah, okay, Liam Neeson. Cool story. But it’s not going to happen. I’ll battle my way out of this room with my body strapped to this chair. They can put me down before I officially give up.

All to save Sunny and Shepp.

“No. I won’t let him!” Denial smacks me in the face. “This can’t…”

It can’t happen. He’ll hurt her. Again. She doesn’t understand who she’s up against. He already tried to ruin her once. What will he do when he has her alone?

“It is,” Sunny says with a tight smile, resting her forehead against mine. “You’ve been my hero for so long, Journey. To keep me healthy and safe, you have made so many sacrifices. You got me on the transplant list. He made you do so much to keep me safe,” she hiccups, shaking against me.

“And I’d do it over and over again to ensure you were okay,” I whisper, letting the tears escape from my eyes. “You’re my little sister. I’m supposed to protect you.”

“And you’re my big sister. Sisters do anything for each other. It’s my turn.” She pulls back slightly. Confidence rests in her eyes as she gently wipes my tears away. “It’s my turn to keep you safe. Whatever I have to do, J.”

“Sunny.”

“Journey,” she mocks playfully with a hiccup.

“Sunny, untie me. Let me fix this. Let me…” Desperation roars through me when a defiant streak sparkles in her eyes. “No! Set me free. We can work together. We can...”

“No,” Sunny says, stepping back and folding her arms. “He’s going to take me, J. He’s going to do it, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Yes, there is!” I plead. “We can work together. We can…We can…” I struggle to find the right words to say. Take him down? Murder him without a weapon? What can we do? Anything! “We have to fight.” It’s my last resort and the only thing I know how to do to get us out of here. Maybe ambush him when he walks in. Knock him over the head, and then we can all run.

But Shepp…. He’s still unconscious and probably too heavy to carry.

Desperation claws at me from the inside out, begging me to find a way to keep Sunshine out of Shadow’s grasp.

She shakes her damn head, letting her brown locks flutter in the thick air resting between us. She steps back. Determination settles on her shoulders, pulling them back. For someone so damn small and sick, she has the stubbornness of a mule.

There’s no changing her mind.

More tears trail down my cheeks. “You don’t understand what you’re up against,” I whisper, pulling at my restraints again until the rope is cutting through my flesh.

“I will,” she says, raising her chin with defiance.

“They’re monsters,” I choke out with desperation. “Remember what he did to you! To us.” I suck in a breath when her chin drops an inch, and worry takes over her expression. “Remember what he tried to take...” I trail off. “Please, Sunny. Please don’t.”

“I know how to pretend,” she says, stepping forward with a little smirk resting on her lips. “You were my hero for so long, J. I’m grateful for what you did for me. You protected me in the best possible way. Now, it’s my turn to protect you.”

“What if he hurts you again? What if he... You need surgery! What about your meds?” I’m grasping at straws, barely hanging on and keeping my composure.

I’m suffocating. More panic breaks through the darkness, festering inside me and clawing at my flesh to break free and scream some sense into her.

But it’s useless.

Like me.

My gaze flickers to Shepp, still unconscious on the ground. Unmoving.

“I’ll be fine.” is all she says before wandering close to Shepp and bending down. She gently looks him over and checks his pulse, giving me a nod. “He’s still alive. I’ll make sure you’re both okay. I love you, Journey.”

A hint of relief slams through me the moment she checks him over, but it doesn’t last long. Sunshine is saying goodbye. Again. Ready to take on the monster who destroyed our lives with his careless act.

The urge to shout and scream her into submission gnaws at my throat, but I tamp it down. What choice do I have? I can’t force him to leave her here.

“I love you, too,” I sob. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

“Pinky swears and promises,” she whispers, holding her pinky in the air for me to see.

“Pinky swears and promises,” I gasp out, nearly sobbing when she leans over for my hand and wraps her pinky with mine.

I squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to get ahold of myself, when the binds around my wrists loosen just as the door smashes open.

“Take her up,” Shadow hisses with agitation, basically tossing my tiny sister into the arms of the young-looking guard, who nods in compliance.

My entire being fills with numbness as the last of my sister disappears through the door, and then the inevitable happens.

Shadow stands before me with a knife, sporting a sinister smile that could peel the flesh off any mortal.

It’s time to steel my spine and face the manic man prowling toward me maliciously.

“Looks like you and I need to have a little chat,” he says, stepping forward and leaning down. “It’s been long overdue since you stabbed me.”