Chapter 28
DECLAN
T he door to my office inside Inferno flies open with a loud bang, making me sigh in frustration.
This club is our haven inside Decadence.
Hidden behind the factory is four floors of sin—only for the elite. And the only way to get to Enzo, Mikhail Volkov, and Frankie Falcone.
Between us, we run the largest Mafia operation in the States. Those who aren’t part of Inferno want to be part of it.
In fact, they’re so pathetically desperate they’re willing to sacrifice their wives and daughters for just a chance to rub shoulders with us.
If you know about Inferno, you’re invited in, or it will be the last thing you learn before you’re six feet under.
“You look stressed, bro,” Conan tells me as he heads straight to the cigar cabinet.
I am rattled. It’s the same every year. I go to Italy and come back and immerse myself in the Decadence games.
Part of me believes one day she will turn up and I can taste her again.
There isn’t a chocolate that could even be invented that would taste anywhere near as good as her cunt.
And our chocolate is good. The best even. With some of the wildest flavors on the market.
I can’t satisfy myself anywhere else. And God, I’ve tried. That’s how Inferno was born.
Yet no matter who I indulge in. There’s always only one woman on my mind.
A fucking thorn in my side at this point.
Rubbing the tattoo on my chest, I swear it burns every time I think of her.
With every year that passes, my lust is replaced by fury.
If we ever cross paths again, I vow to break her and drag her into the depths of hell with me.
I am not the same man I was five years ago.
She is best staying wherever she is hiding.
The acrid smell of Conan’s cigar filled the air as he approached, his throat clearing snapping me back to reality.
He looks just like Dad.
“Good trip?” Conan's sly smile means he knows exactly what he’s digging at.
“The games are still going ahead then?” he asks as he swipes a bottle of whiskey from the shelf.
“The games are on every year,” I reply dryly.
“Why don’t you just go find that woman you’re obsessed with and marry her? Why make her come to you without an invite? I mean, come on, you could find her if you really wanted to. Ask Enzo again. You say you hate her, and I believe you, but I also know you better than that.”
I could ask Enzo again. But truthfully, I don’t know how I’d react.
He couldn’t find her the first time. Why would he now?
I’ve played it over in my head, us meeting again for the first time again. Each time, I believe her lies.
She could make me weak.
Or she could plunge me so far into the darkness that my last shred of humanity is gone.
And my brothers need me.
“Excuse me?”
I don’t know who the fuck my brother thinks he’s speaking to. Just because he fights in a cage doesn’t mean I won’t crack his skull open.
“I don’t want a wife. I want a slave.”
“Oh, fuck off. You’re too nice to your submissives. You ever left one in the woods all night?”
“Just because you’re deranged doesn’t mean I’m nice. I do my punishments differently, each catered to the woman.”
He rolls his eyes and slumps down on the velvet couch in front of me.
“I don’t mean it like that. I mean, it’s been five years. I don’t think the women that work at Inferno are what you want.”
I swirl the ice in my whiskey and the clinking sound fills the quiet room.
“Well, she doesn’t exist.”
“Hmm.” He knocks back his own drink and slams it on the table in front of him, then kicks his feet up. I smack them straight off.
“Feet off, you filthy fucking pig.”
“No wonder she did a runner. Get that stick out of your ass, bro.”
Before he can continue, I dart my arm across the table and grab him by the neck.
“She didn’t run away. She fucking betrayed me and nearly landed me in an Italian jail to rot. So unless you want to live in the fucking woods and forage for food for the rest of your life, I suggest you shut that fucking mouth and go do some work. The chocolate factory still has to run, you know? That’s the whole idea of a fucking front.”
A wicked smile forms on his lips.
“It’s running, isn’t it?”
I squeeze my hand tighter.
“Maybe I enjoy being choked. Get your hands off me, Declan, before I nut ya and break your pretty face.”
I release him, and he slumps back in his chair.
“Pretty good grip. You been training like I told you to?” he says, rubbing his neck.
“I train every day.”
He sniggers, and I lean back in my chair.
“So, who are your contestants this year?” He claps his hands together, looking at the paperwork in front of me.
We never receive photos. Just backgrounds, tests, and preferences.
These families want an in to Decadence, well, they want the mafia ties we have across the country.
That is exactly the point of the Decadence games. Weeding out the bad in our world for Enzo.
Not everything behind these gates is as evil as we want them to believe. We lead them to think the winner will become my submissive for a year, and the losing contestants end up in a grave. If only they knew the truth. The winner, in fact, ends up with one million dollars and a ticket to a brand new life. Far, far away from their abusive families or husbands.
“Same criteria as the previous years. Hot, dark hair, can handle pain, won’t talk back.” I flick through the pages and stop on the one that instantly caught my eye.
“Sounds good. I’m still waiting for my final contestants from Enzo.” Conan cracks his knuckles.
“Yeah, I had to wait longer for mine. Something to do with a Russian family he’s wanting to create ties with. He was waiting for their response before offering out the final space.”
I rarely question it. Each year he just slaps the final contestant’s papers on my desk. He made it clear that was his role. We aren’t looking at the women. We are hunting the families responsible for the applications.
Men desperate enough to sacrifice their daughters or wives to get a way into our club.
Inferno isn’t just a sex club.
It’s a whole other world. Only those who are worthy of knowing about it are aware of its existence.
It doesn’t just open you up to sex.
But to arms, drugs, laundering, hitmen. You name it, the Quinn brothers provide it.
These families are giving a sacrifice to me for their membership.
Little do they realize they are about to lose far more than they could ever imagine.
That’s where Finn and his menacing, arguably evil, ways come in. Death is involved in the games; that is a fact.
But for the family of the woman who receives the ticket, they get the ultimate prize. It’s their ticket to our inner circle, which extends to mafias in Vegas, New York, Chicago, London, and Italy.
Again, it’s a very short-lasting arrangement.
I don’t know who is more sick in the head. Us, or the fathers who sell their daughters to the games.
“They look good. A good variety. It will be interesting to see who wins this year.”
I slide my hands over the one report that sticks out to me.
Ebony West.
She sounds sexually inexperienced in the BDSM world.
Likes: spanking. Being tied up. Blindfolds.
Hard limits: none.
Everyone has a hard limit in this game. Not that they exist during the games themselves. But in the end, the winning woman gets a choice. Take the money and run, or if we both so choose, they can become my submissive for the year. Yet, I haven’t come across a woman who interests me so far to offer her that deal.
Now looking at Ebony’s answers, I want to find her hard limit. This gut instinct wants to take her, break her, and mold her into the perfect submissive for me.
There is nothing better than breaking one in to be mine.
“There’s one you like, isn’t there? You know the rules, Declan. We can’t have favorites.”
I bite the inside of my lip.
“I'm the head of the family. I can do whatever the fuck I like, Conan,” I growl in annoyance.
Maybe this is just what I need to finally get over my mystery girl.
Someone else to shatter instead.
That’s how I get my pleasure now. Inflicting my pain on others.
Those who are hurt, hurt other people. And that’s the harsh reality of my world.
“Let me see.” Before I can swipe it out of the way, he grabs it from my fingers.
“Oh, sexy name. Ebony.”
A pang of jealousy shoots through me.
“Enough.”
“And she likes spankings. Pretty bland other than that. What caught your eye?”
He scans the report, and then I watch the light switch go off as his green eyes look up from the paper.
“No fucking hard limits. Brother, this girl has to win. Imagine the shit you can do to find them. I want her in my games. I’ll give you one of my girls. Do a swap?”
“Exactly my thoughts. And no. Fuck off.”
I snatch it back and place it with the others.
“So, you gonna influence the games? Or take part this time? You should. It’s fun. Just wear a mask so no one sees your face.”
Maybe I could watch from the sidelines this year rather than from a monitor screen. Both Conan and Finn immerse themselves in their own versions of the Decadence games. Finn’s, well, we stay well away from that.
But if this woman is that inexperienced, I have no hope of her winning. Unless she really is telling the truth and has no hard limits.
But that’s about as likely as a magical chicken shitting out golden eggs full of cocaine at this point.
“No. We never influence the games. That’s the entire point, Conan. They have to survive by their own right to earn their ticket to freedom.”
He chuckles.
“Someone should look inside our brains. We’re all fucked up, Dec. Even our precious doctor, Finn. I bet his contestants are like a test experiment.”
He clears his throat and gets into his “Finn” character. Those two are like chalk and cheese. Conan, the cage fighting lunatic that never shuts the fuck up, and then Finn, the brooding doctor, intelligent as hell. He’s quiet yet won’t even blink when slicing someone up. Possibly the truest psychopath you can get.
“Spread your legs, baby. I need to get a good look up in your cunt to make sure you’re tight enough for me. If not, I’ll add some stitches,” Conan mimics our brother’s deep, yet well-spoken voice.
“Fucking hell, Conan.” I toss my pen at his head. Now I have visions I don’t want playing out in my brain.
“Never bother trying doctor role play.”
He frowns, as if he’s deep in thought.
“I do enjoy a bit of blood and knife play. I might have to give it a go. I’m sure Finn won’t mind me using his kinky medical room.”
“Good luck getting the keys from him,” I tell him.
Finn is the most secretive out of the three of us. Neither of us have seen inside there, not sure I even want to.
He has an important role in our games. Whatever keeps him satisfied is no concern to us.
I glance back down at Ebony’s file. Something about her is making my chest ache. I’m excited to watch her arrive. Contestant number three will be high up on my watch list.