20. Ariyan
ARIYAN
Observing the sights unfolding before me, I struggled to keep my disgust at bay. Men losing themselves to lust… was there anything more humiliating than that, than thinking you could conquer the world by penetrating others with your misshapen cock?
Unable to tell right from wrong, those men bathed in filth, believing they were worth something, while in fact, they were less than pigs rolling in their own pile of shit.
“Sir,” one of my men said.
Not saying a word and with my eyes still staring ahead, I tilted my head to the side, and he moved to whisper in my ear.
“We caught a man trying to sneak into the party.”
Bitterness filled my mouth, and I clenched my jaw. “Did he see anything?”
“No.”
“Where’s he now?”
“In your office, sir.”
“Keep him there until I’m free.”
Things had gone smoothly thus far, and the last thing I needed was for some intruder to ruin tonight. Still, I couldn’t simply walk away, not when the act was reaching its climax.
“Gentlemen,” I said, despite them being anything but.
“I assume by now you’re already familiar with how things work here, but just a reminder, if you’d like to see one of our sirens again, please make sure to hand their name to our hosts; they will take care of the rest.” I forced a polite smile.
“Now, then, please proceed to explore your deepest desires, and always remember that the Kallos keeps your secrets safe and your passions fulfilled.”
After giving my monologue, which unfortunately I’d already memorized by heart, I left the room. If only I had it in me to burn those filthy men along with their dirty desires into ashes, but wishing to keep my head attached to my neck, I knew better than to do so.
He named those poor souls sirens, well aware that they weren’t the villains in this horror story.
But that was precisely his intention. Pretending these poor souls were there to seduce rather than to be exploited made it much easier for those pigs to stomp on them with their expensive boots.
I knew the taste of dirt in your mouth; I knew the burn of cum drying on your face and the feeling of your soul being torn to shreds after you’ve been used again and again like a public toilet.
I also knew that all those things were happening right now up there, on the fourteenth floor of this hell.
And until I bought myself free, I was bound to wear the devil’s clothes and act the part.
It wasn’t fair, but life had never been.
Living in this hell, it was one fight chasing another, and by the time you barely escaped with your life, you hardly recognized the bits of you that survived.
You’ll die an ugly, lonely death, just like the rest of us.
I stopped before my office door and took a deep breath.
Remembering this nonsense now would do no good, especially when I had other matters to attend to.
Smoothing a hand over my black tux, I then straightened the bow tie.
The only thing I truly desired at this moment was to shower under boiling water and get the filth off my skin, but that would have to wait.
Opening the door, I walked into my office, unfazed by the armed guards standing there with my intruder in the center, his hands tied behind his back with zip ties.
“Leave us,” I ordered, voice calm.
Quickly enough, all three men left the room, leaving me alone with this semantic error named Santiago Rivas.
Walking straight to my desk, and without looking up to stare at the problem that had dirtied my clean floor with its sweat, I asked, “Mind telling me which part about not wanting to see your face until Monday wasn’t clear?”
I was about to take out my lip balm when the words that came out of his mouth surprised me, and I looked up at him.
“Pardon?”
Swallowing hard, he shifted in his place, his hands moving behind his back. “You’re that guy, aren’t you? The one we beat up.”
“Ha,” I huffed, my lips curling into a smile.
Surprisingly, his little realization came sooner than I’d expected.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” His brows creased, his eyes filling with what I could only assume was a sickening desire to know the whole story.
“You are.”
Pressing his lips together, he nodded, still seeming awfully determined. To be fair, it shouldn’t have been hard to guess it was me, considering I’d practically told him everything that night. Only his stupid little brain was incapable of holding on to that crucial piece of information.
“Ace and Ricky—it was you. You’re the one who shot them. Weren’t you?”
My brows rose, and I had to cover my smile.
He truly is such an idiot.
“You don’t expect me to confess to murder, do you?”
His head jerked back, and he tried getting free from the zip ties to no avail.
“Would you stop moving so much? You’re giving me a headache.”
“I’m sorry, okay? About that night.” Closing his eyes, he bowed his head with a sigh. “I’m really sorry about it. I shouldn’t have beat you.”
While he wasn’t looking, I grabbed something out of my drawer and walked over to him, stopping with the tip of my shoe nearly nudging his.
“I don’t recall asking for an apology.”
“Huh?” He looked up, his eyes going wide upon seeing the gun in my hand.
“Hey, wait—”
“If there’s something I hate, it’s the word ‘sorry,’” I said while attaching the suppressor to my beautiful gun. “You see, men like you have stripped it of all meaning to the point where I shudder at the sound of it.”
“Fuck,” he hissed, gritting his teeth. “So what do you want me to do, huh?” He leaned closer, nearly falling over.
“I want you to turn around.”
Fear crossed his eyes, but fairly enough, he did as I asked.
“Ariyan, please, my brother—”
“What about him?”
“I’m all that he has.”
Would you look at that? His voice just shuddered.
“How unfortunate.”
“You don’t understand. Both our parents died, and it’s just us two.”
“How sad.” I brought the gun to his head.
“Fuck.”
“Didn’t I tell you to watch that dirty mouth of yours?”
“Fuck off, you’re pointing a gun at my head.” His voice cracked. “Shit, man, please, just… I’ll do anything.”
Pursing my lips, I tilted my head, eyes locked on my gun.
“Anything? What exactly does that mean?”
He shrugged. “I… I don’t know, a-anything you want. I swear, I’ll give you fucking everything you ask for, just, please, don’t kill me.”
My smile dropped as I shoved the muzzle to the back of his head.
“Anything… Everything… You toss around words like that, thinking it sounds noble, without even grasping their true weight.”
Like a child does.
“Tell me, Mr. Rivas, would you agree to kill your own brother to stay alive? To give up his life in return for yours?”
He half turned to look at me, eyes furious. “Like hell I would.”
“See?” I smiled. “So you wouldn’t give up everything.”
“You’re a fucking monster.”
That’s what happens when you do give up everything.
“A little advice: when you’re bargaining for your life, better know what you’re offering, or else it’s not very persuasive. Even more so, don’t call the person holding the gun a monster. It’s rather offensive.”
“Offensive?” he gasped. “How about holding a gun to my head for offensive, asshole?”
He let out another one of those pathetic whines, although I understood his desire to live. As pathetic as his life was—and it was, there was no question about that—it was still worth living.
“Get on your knees.”
His breath caught, and he held still for a moment before slowly getting down.
“See? You’re such a good boy when you put your mind to it.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Seriously?” I clicked my tongue. “I just praised you, and there you had to ruin it.”
“Oh, excuse me for swearing at the psycho who’s about to shoot me.”
“Wouldn’t you rather die with some dignity?”
“Dignity?” He huffed. “In seconds, you’ll blow my brains out, so who gives a shit about that? Just fucking do it so I don’t have to hear you anymore.”
“And what about your brother?” I asked, watching his broad shoulders moving with the slightest turmoil.
Just like a fighter getting to see the last ray of sun before dying, he’d accepted his fate.
Good.
SANTIAGO
“And what about your brother?” that devil asked.
Knowing I’d disappointed the one person I’d sworn to protect, I closed my eyes and prayed to God to keep him safe.
Other than that, nothing else went through my head.
There wasn’t a single thing I’d done right in my life, nothing worth reflecting over.
It was all just one big mistake, and yet I didn’t want to die, especially not like this.
Not by him.
Taking a deep breath, probably my last, I straightened, ready for the shot.
“I said do it—”
A hard strike to the side of my temple cut me off, and what followed was darkness.
Pure darkness until a glint of light appeared at the far end of wherever I was, and I ran toward it.
Actually, it felt more like floating than running.
Was this what dying felt like? Swimming in the abyss?
But before I could dive deeper into it, I found myself back in our kitchen, watching Mom and Dad dancing to a song playing on the radio.
Nacio was sitting on the counter, clapping his little palms while I was next to him, keeping him safe so he wouldn’t fall.
It was then that our parents turned to look at us.
Mom picked up Nacio while Dad took me, and we all danced to the music.
My heart was full, body warm, and mind at peace.
Peace only that younger version of me knew.
Peace that would soon be taken away and replaced with anger.
Fury that throbbed inside me, calling for blood.
For violence. A shout so loud, it was enough to keep me alive—
I blinked my eyes open with a gasp. Only a sharp pain in my head made me close them immediately, and I took a deep breath, trying to stabilize myself.
“Finally awake, I see.”
I turned my head in the direction of the voice, eyes unfocused.
“Sooner than I’d expected, but I assume that boxing made you used to being pounded in the head.”
That’s right, I was hit in the head, but with what?
“Although a gun is not the same as a punch, I’m afraid. Therefore, it’s quite impressive that you’re already up.”
I slowly leaned up on my elbows, hissing at the pain while I did.
“W-what day is it?”
“Saturday.”
“Where am I?”
“My office.”
Rubbing the side of my head, I noticed I had a bandage there.
Did he patch me up?
It then all clicked back together, and my eyes widened.
“You were about to kill me—fuck,” I hissed because I moved too fast, which wasn’t smart, considering my head was spinning.
“I’d be careful if I were you.” He got up from his chair. “You might have a concussion,” he said, walking toward the couch I was lying on.
How did I get on it? Did he carry me?
He stopped next to the couch and bent down. On instinct, I pulled away, but he paused, hands before him.
“I’m not going to kill you, relax.”
“Said the scorpion to the frog,” I snarled, eyes narrowed.
“My, my, I’m surprised you know that fable.” Crouching before me, he rested his elbows on his knees, a smile on his lips. “Are there any more tales you know?”
I stared at him, suspicious. He was dressed casually for a change, with a pair of gray slacks and a simple white T-shirt.
Yesterday, he wore a black tux, the same as all the other men I’d encountered.
Thinking about it, who were they? The way they captured me without batting an eye…
they weren’t some regular guards, but professionals.
But more importantly, what the fuck was this snake up to?
“What do you want?” I hissed.
He tilted his head, golden eyes studying me with sickening interest.
“Do you remember why you came here last night?”
I nodded.
“You asked me a question, too.” His eyes locked with mine. “Do you remember?”
I asked if he killed Ace and Ricky.
With my mouth too dry to speak, I nodded again.
“The answer is yes.” His expression was as cold as ice.
My eyes widened with shock as I remembered Gabriel telling me how the person who shot them was a professional. So this guy… he truly was a psychopath. Which was bad news for me, considering he was a breath away, staring at me like he was ready to kill.
“I-I could have been blamed for it.”
His smile widened. “I did provide you with an alibi, didn’t I?”
Shock hit me, remembering how I was called on at the last minute to come for the night shift. This fucker… he really thought of it all, but then, why?
“You’re probably wondering why you got a different fate, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
He reached his hand forward, and I squeezed my eyes shut, ready for him to hit me or something, when he caressed my jaw. It shocked me, and I slowly opened my eyes to stare at him.
“You’re still breathing because I have other plans for you.” He slowly moved the pads of his fingers along my skin.
“What plans?”
His mask broke, and a twisted smile took over his too-beautiful lips.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Pulling his hand away, he got up and walked back to his desk, leaving me hanging. Was I insane for craving to feel his touch again? Yes. Definitely yes.
“Be here tonight at 10:00 p.m. Not a minute before, not a minute after.”
“Wait.” I jumped to my feet, nearly falling over. “Does that mean you forgive me?”
My words echoed in his office as he stood still, not meeting my determined stare.
“Forgiveness? Is that what you seek?” he asked with his back to me.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll see you tonight at 10:00 p.m.”