Chapter 24
BANE
Iwake up groggy, the entire room one large blur. My eyes blink, my mouth dry as I try to swallow.
Nothing is right.
Everything is wrong.
My body hurts, my shoulder especially. And my face.
Everything, really.
Damnation, this is not how I planned my weekend to go.
“You awake?” a voice says as my eyelids flutter open.
I stare at Henry, who is just across from me, one leg crossed over the other, a boba tea drink in his hand.
“Hey, babe. Missed you.”
I blink at him, deciding which part of him I will take first.
Probably his scalp. He was always so obsessed with his hair.
“You look like shit, though,” he says as he takes a sip of his drink and sets it down on the ground, pushing himself up. “Sad because you were such a hot piece of ass.”
I don’t say anything, just stare at him.
“Aw, don’t wanna talk. Bummer. You always had too much to say. Wouldn’t stop talking, even with my dick in your mouth.”
His fist lands on my cheek, and my head whips to the side. Blood pools in my mouth, but I simply spit it out.
I’ve had worse.
Now that I’m here, and I know what to expect, I can compartmentalize.
I can get through this.
“Mm. You’re making me horny,” I say with a giggle. “You always did hit like a bitch.”
Henry’s smile slips as he stares down at his fist. Bruises are forming on his delicate hand, and I know I’ve gotten to him.
He was never as lethal as he wanted to be.
“You’ll regret that.”
He picks up his boba and takes a long sip, chewing on the tapioca.
I stare at him as he steps toward a cart, and I know what’s under there. Tools, I’m sure. Things he’s going to use to torture me.
It’s all very expected.
I’m bored already.
“Why are you closing your eyes? I want you awake for this.”
I peek one eye open. “Just taking a nap.”
His jaw clicks. “The fuck you are.”
I sigh and then close my eyes again, trying to get a little rest in between torture. It’s always good for my mental state. I need to meditate to get through it.
“Open your fucking eyes.”
He slaps me with something, and I sigh, pain zipping through my cheek and down my neck.
“You could always ask nicely.”
“Open your fucking eyes and look at me.”
I don’t bother, which leads to another fist to my face.
“You should look at me, brother.”
That makes me giggle, even though my stomach twists.
“Adopted brothers, to be exact. Kinky, huh?”
“Did you know who I was?” I ask, and he winks at me.
“Sure did. You were a good fuck. Kinda sad we had to part ways.”
I roll my eyes, which earns me another punch to my face and one to my stomach.
“Just so you know, you weren’t that great. Passable, but I’ve had better,” I spit.
He laughs, but I see the flicker of annoyance in his eyes.
“It doesn’t matter. When we’re done with you, there will be nothing left. No one will even remember you.”
“Not if I get to you first.”
He scoffs. “I’m not the one tied to a chair, am I?”
“Well, unlike you, I have people who care about me. If they find me, you’ll regret the day you were born.”
“Oh, I already do. Our bitch of a mother gave us up for cash. Luckily, we found someone who wanted us. Although,”—he taps his chin—“he didn’t want you, now did he?”
When I say nothing, my mind trying to piece everything he just fed me together, he adds, “You know, for years, I didn’t even know I had a brother hidden below the house. You were a dirty little secret for a very long time.”
My mind swims, and I find myself growing nauseous.
“But Emma found the hatch in the pantry, and she dared me to go down there. That’s when I saw you.
Digging like a fucking rat at the walls.
It was pathetic. And then I meet you again, and I find out you’re still underground.
Seems you liked it. Maybe you weren’t held prisoner all those years after all.
Maybe you stayed because you liked it down there. ”
“I didn’t.”
He cocks his head and then picks up his boba and takes another long sip, almost contemplating that. But it seems Henry has no conscience.
I mean, neither do I most days. But I do have people I love. And I will murder for them.
I have. I’ll continue to do so.
Henry has no one he cares about but himself. And maybe his sister, but I’m not even sure that’s the case.
“Oh, and just so you know, that tracker your dog put in you? We took it out. He won’t be coming for you. They tried, but they failed. You’re gonna die here. Very painfully.”
He grins at me, and I feel my body shudder, but I still manage a wry smile.
“Oh, goodie. I have always loved pain.”
That makes his grin falter.
“You’re a sick fuck.”
“Better than a loser like you. At least I have hobbies. What were yours again? Hm, that’s right, you don’t have any. You’re not good at anything. Nothing.”
“Fuck you. My hobby is taking down the Costellos. And more specifically, finding you and fucking you over.”
“Why?”
“Oh, you’ll find out. I promise. He’s on his way.”
“Who?”
He pats my cheek and then leans down, his eyes meeting mine. “Your father.”
My father.
I didn’t even know I had one; my past was a mystery. But as I think about it, everything falls into place. Fragments from my dreams start to materialize in my mind as Henry stands across from me and sips at that unending drink.
The woman who appeared in my dreams must have been my mother, and the shadow lurking over me, always watching, the one I deemed as Death, must have been the man who sired me.
Who knew he was still alive?
I was under the impression—the delusion, maybe—that he was dead. Or at least missed me.
But no, he’s the one who hurt me. All this time, it was him.
“Henry,” I ask after a long pause. “Since I’m gonna die, can you answer some questions?”
“You do know my real name, right? And yours too? You know, I had to prod for that. For a long time, Dad just called you a thing, a rat, a bastard.”
That makes emotion well up within me, but I choke it back. I refuse to show any of that to him.
I refuse.
“I’ve been called worse, if I’m honest.”
He laughs and then shakes his head, his hair falling in his face. “You were such fun. It’s too bad you were with them. So tied to the Costellos. We could have drawn out what we had a little longer.”
“No, that wouldn’t have happened. It would have ended regardless. I was getting bored.”
“You weren’t. You were upset I ended things.”
“You didn’t end things! You hurt Tatum.”
That makes his smile widen, and he bites his bottom lip.
“Technically, I didn’t. The Aces did. But they were operating under the express orders of our father.”
“And look what happened to them. They’re all dead.”
“Sad, I know. I kinda liked working with them. But I always move on. Just like I did with you.”
I glance away and strain at my restraints, but they don’t move. Of course they don’t. He knows better than to let me loose.
“Now, Ara. Back to your question. I would love to tell you everything, but he said not to give too much away. He wanted to be here for the big reveal.”
“My name’s not Ara. It’s Bane.”
“Ara. Bane. It doesn’t matter. What does is that you’ve been working for the enemy. He always said you were a disappointment. It’s why he took Emma and me in. Said you were born to an English bitch of a mom and looked nothing like him. I bet you’re not even really his.”
As he says that, my mind absorbing the information as best I can, the door swings open and a figure steps inside. I can sense him, just like I did all those years ago.
My vision narrows, the edges hazy as I take in the shape of him. He was always faceless in my memories and dreams, but here he is.
Right in front of me.
And moving closer.
So close I can smell him.
It’s familiar, something strong and musky.
As the light hits him, the shadows receding, I find myself unable to breathe.
Death is standing before me, and I can’t run. I can’t hide.
I just have to submit.
“Hello there, Ara,” the deep voice says, bringing up memories of my time underground. “Welcome home. It’s been fifteen years since you escaped.”
I wheeze as I take in his face. Dark eyebrows, a pronounced nose, a twisted and evil grin.
Everything flashes forward, moving to the front of my mind.
My mom’s tears, the way her arms felt around me, how she smelled of roses, how I was pulled away from her.
Please don’t take him. Don’t take my baby.
He doesn’t deserve to live here with you. You’ve made him weak, and we all know my son can never be that.
My eyes flash up to my father and he cocks his head, taking me in. I need to say something, need to reply to Death, who is standing over me. I must warn him away from me, but I find that my mouth is dry, my tongue sticking to the top of my mouth.
“Ah, there he is. You always were too emotional, too much like her.”
I inhale, the taste of bile on my tongue.
“Too many feelings, isn’t that right, Samvel?”
Henry nods behind him, slurping on his drink. “Always was a crybaby.”
“Mm. Remember that rabbit? What was its name? Sophie?”
“Sasha,” I croak.
My father rubs his chin, moving back slightly, the shadows enveloping his face. I take in his suit and tie, the way his body looks sleek and polished in it. If he weren’t Death personified, I’d think he was just a normal man on his way to work.
But he’s so much more.
Sinister.
Evil.
“But the rabbit doesn’t matter. Not really.
What does is how you wept when I burned her.
I never understood that. She was dead anyway.
You had taken her apart and put her back together again.
I should have known then what you were, but I never truly understood how disappointing you were until Henry told me what you did for fun. Necklaces made of bone?”
“It’s a hobby.”
“It’s a waste of time.”
The easy way he dismisses me makes me spit back, “It’s a good thing I don’t care what you think of me.”
“Oh, but you will. You will care very much.”
I don’t know what that means, but I don’t have a chance to deliberate it.