Chapter Seventeen | Cordelia
I’m going home. No more of this bullshit. The second I can run, I’m fucking running. I am not marrying him, not in this life or the next. He’s out of his fucking mind. It’s been nothing but a fucking powertrip with him and I won’t marry someone who thinks he should control me. Even now as he drives us back to Kansas City, his hand is resting on my thigh, all possessive like and shit. I will be gone the second he stops somewhere.
“Red.” He says out of nowhere.
“No, the light up there is green.” I tell him.
“Not the light. My favorite color.” He looks over at me, “The kind of red that you wore for the family dinner.”
“So, blood red.” I say with an exaggerated sigh.
“Indubitably.” He gives me a curt smile and continues staring at me, not watching the road, while driving. “What’s the matter little deer?” He says, my face must give away my worry, because he just smiles harder and presses the gas to go fucking faster.
“There’s an intersection coming up.” I remind him.
“Certainly is.” He retorts.
I look at the intersection and see that the light has turned yellow, but there are no cars to be seen because we’re in the middle of nowhere, still.
“What if someone comes?” I ask, looking back at him.
“What is life without some fun little deer?”
“Boring.” My heart starts beating frantically in my chest as I watch his face, studying if he’s serious.
“Are you bored yet?”
“Never.” I slide my hand into his and we just stare at each other as we fly through the intersection, going well above the speed limit, running the red light.
I take a deep breath as we clear the intersection, and say, “Black.” with a sigh. “My favorite color is black. Like a midnight sky on a new moon. I like being able to see into the soul of the universe on a clear night.”
He slows the car back down to a normal speed and we continue the drive in silence. I’m not really sure what just happened, but it was exhilarating as hell.
I keep peeking over at the gas gauge, hoping he needs to stop soon, since we’re in Kansas City now, and I can totally find my own way home if I need to. But no, it’s got a half a tank, what kind of mileage does this motherfucker get? Maybe I should look into getting a new car after all, my little putt-putt Honda Civic from the turn of the century just doesn’t run like it used to, once upon a time. Granted, I could totally afford a new car, but damn, my Civy girl has gone through some tough shit with me.
“Who’s your father?” Axel asks out of fucking nowhere, I thought we weren’t asking questions.
“Why?” I ask, feeling nervous as fuck right now, because my father isn’t someone I ever talk about, for good reason.
“Thought maybe we should invite him to the wedding.” He says with the straightest of straight faces.
“I think the fuck not.” I scoff, “He is not in my life.”
“Is he dead?”
“Not that I know of.” I shrug, because the last I knew, he was behind bars, where he belongs. Although, I suppose I kind of do too. Like father like daughter I guess. Except I didn’t kill little girls after kidnapping them for weeks, doing god knows what. I tried to not look too much into it. I changed my last name when I was old enough, not leaving any trace to keep me connected to that sick mother fucker.
“Mom said she knows who he is, so I’m trying to see if it’s going to be something I need to protect you from.” I freeze, my heart jumping in my throat.
“She.” I can’t even, “She didn’t tell you?”
“No.” He grips the steerwheel. “So you’ll have to tell me.”
I stare down at my fingers as I rub my hands together. Debating if I want to divulge this part of my life to him, he’s basically a stranger and he didn’t even want to tell me what his favorite color was. So instead I deflect. “What was prison like for you?” When he doesn’t say anything, I chance a look at him, seeing that his jaw is clenched. “So you want me to spill my secrets but you’re not willing to tell me yours.”
“It’s not like that.” He says through gritted teeth.
“It’s exactly like that. So, when you’re up to telling me about prison, I’ll tell you about my father.” I fold my arms over my chest, lean back in the seat, and stare out through the side window, not wanting to even see him in my peripherals.
I’m not sure why he thinks I’d be okay with all this one sided bullshit, I really need to get out of here. Hell I’m half tempted to just pop the fucking door and yeet myself out onto the highway. Just skirt-skirt right through traffic. This would be a perfect time to use that yeet button gif, if I had a phone. Or you know, was messaging someone instead of talking to myself in my head, like the fucking batshit crazy person I am right now. I feel like Axel has taken my equilibrium and shaken it, I don’t know how to find my static state anymore.
When he flicks the blinker on, I get hopeful, we’re getting off the highway. Sitting up in my seat, I look around to see that we’re too close to their house and if I dipped now, he’d be able to call in reinforcements. Stupid, fucking alphahole dickwadded, control freak dipshit. I hate him so hard right now.
“I’d like to go to my house Axel, this is no longer a request. I will make your life very fucking hard, and I may go fuck your sister and brother just to piss you off so you’ll let me leave.” He slams the breaks on, jolting me forward as the seatbelt tries to decapitate me. “Fucking hell!” I shout at him. He’s got me by the throat so fast I don’t even have time to blink. “Or not.” I rasp out.
“I would hate to have to kill my own family, but if you let any of them touch you, I will kill them.” I start coughing when he lets go of my throat, touching my already sore neck, I frown.
“You’d kill your own family over me? That makes zero fucking sense Axel.”
“You haven’t been paying attention.” He presses two fingers to my temple.
The cars on the exit ramp start honking but he doesn't seem to care, he's still got his fingers on my temples and staring at me as if I'm supposed to magically connect to him mentally, read his thoughts and whatnot. “Axel.” I blink twice and clear my throat, because I'm not really sure what else to do. He's got me in a chokehold. Even though I want to run, I also really want to jump on his lap and ride him until the sun goes down. What a fucking predicament I've found myself in.
He moves his finger and the vehicle starts to move. I'm at a loss for words right now because the way he was looking at me made me feel like it was just us in the world. Axel turns the SUV around and in the middle of the street, knocking me against the door.
“What? Where are you going?” I ask, grabbing the holy fucking shit bar above my head as he speeds away, the opposite direction of his house.
As he weaves through traffic, I suddenly realize that we're headed towards my house. Furrowing my brows I look at him and grunt, “you are the most confusing man I've ever fucking met in my life.”
“If you don't stop talking right now, I'm going to pull over and shove my dick so far down your throat and hold it there until your pretty lips turn blue.” he threatens, sending a shiver through my body, because holy hell. I think I might like that. He seems to have a thing for choking me out, and I'm not even going to bother lying to myself at this point because, same. The rush I get from straddling life while he fucks me is a whole different kind of high, one that he's making me crave more each time he does it. Damn him.
When he skids to a stop in front of my house, I jump out and run up the stairs with him on my heels shouting at me. I don't have my keys, but I stupidly put one outside incase I ever needed it. Scooping up the dead plant from my porch I fish the key out of the dirt and push it into the lock. Just as he grabs my wrist, I pull him into my house and kick the door shut. I'm quick this time, slamming him to the ground. I won't be bested in this house. I leap over his body and run for the knife I have tucked under the couch cushions and turn to face him.
“Fuck right off Axel.” I state angrily as I watch him stand up. “I'm sick of your shit, it's time we sit down and have a conversation like two actual adults.”
He wipes the blood from his lip that I didn't realize he had and smiles at me with dark eyes. “By all means little deer, let's have this out.” He pulls a knife out from behind him and we start to circle each other in my large living room.
“Why are you holding me against my wishes?” I ask.
“Because you're mine.” He replies too quickly.
“I'm not yours.”
“Tell that to your cunt, I bet it's wet and begging for me to be inside it.” He switches hands with his knife and lunges at me. But I'm quick to party and we're right back where we started. Staring at each other.
“Not the point. Why?”
“Because you're like me. You enjoy the kill, the hunt.” He answers, surprisingly. “Who is your father?” He asks.
“Nope, why were you in prison?”
“I took the fall for Kenan.” He answers. “Who's your father?” He asks again.
“Some guy in prison.” I respond, watching him as he moves, only this time, he just sidesteps and I do the same, keeping distance between us.
“That's not an answer.”
“Neither is saying you took the fall for Kenan, but here we are.” I use my knife free hand and spread it wide like a wing, “So when you answer something fully, I will. You know way more about me than I know about you.”
“Kenan was one strike away from going away for a long time, when he got busted with some drugs at a nightclub, I told the cops they were mine.”
“You served five years for drugs?” I ask, not sure if he's telling the truth.
“It was cocaine, a lot of cocaine.”
“Why'd you have that much cocaine?”
“It was being transported elsewhere and that was the meeting spot. Who's your father?”
I stop moving and stand up straight. He was in prison for drugs and my father is in there for kidnapping and killing fifteen little girls that they know about across seven different states. “Alexander Romano.” I say, dropping my hands to the side.
“Alexander Romano?” He repeats. “The fucking prick who killed a bunch of kids?”
“Little girls.” I nod.
“You know he was part of the Romano crime family in Chicago before my mom killed some and took over their territory.”
“I know. My father was the middle child. The younger brother, my uncle, I think is currently in prison for something minor.” I only know that because he actually tried to speak to me after my father was caught, then he went away too.
Axel pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Gabriel Romano.”
“Uncle Gabe. You know him?” I ask, not really sure what else to say, seems awkward and all since his family is the reason I don't have much of a family. But I wasn't the one who pushed for this whole conversation, he did.
“I did.” He steps closer, “Are you in contact with them?”
“No. I changed my last name and moved to Kansas City as soon as I could, my mom died when I was sixteen and Clayton was tired of me after he made me get rid of the baby.”
“Why do you kill people ?”
“Men.” I correct him.
“Why do you kill men?”
“It started out because one touched me after being told several times to stop and I flashed back to Clayton, and ended up killing him very sloppily. But after that, I just did it to get rid of the pain Clayton left inside of me.”
“Now? Why do you do it now?”
“Because I enjoy it.” I answer honestly. “Why are you asking me?”
“Because I'm wondering if it's your upbringing or if it's just part of your DNA.” He rubs his hands over his face. “This is a fucked up-” he pauses.
“What?”
“My family has been slowly killing off all of your family.” Oh, he just realized that. Good for him. “My mom, dads, brothers, me.” He looks me dead in the eyes. “I killed Gabriel in prison.” He blurts. “Because we're trying to flush out his father, your grandfather.”
“He's still alive?” I ask.
“Supposedly.” Axel throws his knife down and grabs my wrist, “take me to your basement.”
“No.”
“There might be cameras up here. I'm assuming you keep the basement on lockdown.” I nod, “then take me there.” I lead him through the living room to the dining room, open the hutch cabinet door and punch in the code. The door slides open and we slip in. The door shuts behind us and I lead him down the stairs, flipping the light on.
“There are no cameras down here, the room won't allow signals through.” He walks straight to my victim's chair and sits. “Are you okay?”
“No, and our lives are about to get a whole lot more complicated.”