8. Chapter 8 - Roux
Chapter 8
I was this close to saying fuck it and going on a killing spree. The visceral anger scorching my veins was making it hard for me to see anything but red. I didn't just want to have blood on my hands, I needed it, but the girl in front of me needed me more.
It took all my strength, every scrap of willpower I had, to leave that sack of shit on the ground so I could focus on Rin in my arms.
The only reason I was even here was because Rion said he’d left a document in the safe and wanted me to get it. This year, we had finally gotten permission to have our own place outside of the Alpha Sigma Xi house, which was what we’d always been working toward. It was hard enough as it was to try to make sure only one of us was seen at a time, making our time in this house very difficult with the others always looking for ways to screw us. Well, to screw over the prince of Foedus, R. Ambros.
It also worked in our favor to have our own off-campus place since Rion concocted the plan to have Rin here at Messores with us. We wanted to keep her exposure to Foedus, and guys here in general, to a minimum. The less she was around these people, the better. She normally kept to herself anyways, so we thought it was going to be easy. At least that was until she made friends with Cinzia Ricci, the youngest and only daughter of the Ricci family head.
What a fucking mess.
Rion swore up and down that he’d coded her room to be a private one, but the Riccis weren’t dumb. They were Foedus’ hound dogs for a reason. No matter how careful we’d been, they would have found something fishy when it came to Rin being here. We just had to make sure they didn't look too deep. We really needed them to write her off as a girl with no connections.
When I snuck through the window of our old room, I thought this would be an easy, annoying job that would take seconds to complete, but as soon as my eyes connected with Rin’s scared face, tears in her eyes while some dead man pawed at her, I lost it. I couldn’t think about anything but ripping him to shreds for ever laying a single finger on her.
I stalked over to him, and as he said, “Make as much sound as you want, baby,” The beast inside took over. I didn’t even know what I said as I grabbed a handful of his hair and smashed his face into the wall so hard it made a dent. He easily crumbled to the floor, but I didn't give a shit about him. He was going to be dead soon.
Rin sank as her eyes closed, and I snatched her into my arms before she fell to the floor. She was just as light as I remembered. Didn’t Rion give her money? Why wasn't she eating enough? Stupid girl.
I went to lock all the doors, making sure no one could get in since I wanted to come back for my prey when I had time for him, and found them already locked. Glaring at the guy on the ground, I promised that I would make his last moments horrific, but that needed to be after I took care of Rin. Pulling her up, I hung her over my shoulder before I went out the way I had come in—the balcony. It was a little awkward with a body over my shoulder, but not impossible.
Making my way to her dorm, I kept to the dark spots and shadows. I didn't want someone to ask why I had this unconscious girl draped over my shoulder, although even if someone did, it wouldn’t really matter. While I was on campus, I was R. Ambros, and this school was my domain. Well, really, it was all three of ours. Between Rion, Ravi, and me, we made up the persona that was R. Ambros, the outgoing, serious, and take-no-shit prince of this school. No one could stop us or tell us what to do.
A buzzing came from my pocket, and I knew that Rion had probably seen us on one of the cameras. Well, he was just going to have to wait since he wasn’t a field guy like me. He didn't get to know things as soon as they happened. I would call him once I got Rin situated, knowing he was the most meticulous out of the three of us and would want eyes on the situation.
I took out my key card that opened up any door on campus and walked right in, using the stairs since I’d be less likely to bump into someone. By the time I got to the top floor, I was cursing Rion for not putting her on the first.
Pushing her door open, I immediately knew what side of the room was hers. I laid her down, thinking about leaving until her leg fell over the edge and her shoe peeked out. The thought ran around in my head a few times before I caved, peeling her shoes off. Her creamy thigh was all I could think about as my fingers curled around the top part of her thigh-highs. Copper filled my mouth as I bit my tongue to keep from taking anything further, but man, did I want to.
I wanted to lick up those thighs, hear her gasp as they easily fell apart for me. I wanted her to beg and plead for more, writhing beneath me. One finger trailed the edge of her short skirt, imagining pushing past the fabric to find the sweet wet pussy I’d been dreaming about.
She made a small sound, and my attention sharpened. Her brows pinched and her breath quickened, signs of a bad dream. I didn’t know what came over me, but I set my hand on hers, whispering into the night, “Don’t worry. I’m here.” That seemed to settle her down because her inhales and exhales became softer, more even.
My anger rose again as I played out the scene I’d walked into, and I scanned her, looking at her more clinically to see if she had any bruises or cuts. Luckily, it looked like she didn't need medical treatment.
I knew I was a sick man when my mind went back to lusting after her, but this time I envisioned erasing everything that guy had done to her, replacing it with pleasure. I didn’t want the stain of those hands on her, pawing at her like a fucking animal. She didn't deserve that. She shouldn't have had to go through something like that. We would need to keep a better eye on her on campus. It was time for phase two of the plan.
My fingers curled into fists as my phone buzzed again, bringing me back to reality. I pulled her comforter down, carefully placed her underneath, and tucked her in. As soon as she was out of my arms, the rage came back full force.
I hated the way her hair framed her face. I hated the little sighing sound that came out once she was sleeping deeply. I hated that I knew every single guy at that party had seen her, had gawked at her outfit, one that fully displayed how gorgeous she was. Then there was the feel of her in my arms—so light, so soft, so easily breakable . That was one of the things I hated the most, but it didn't matter now because I had something to do.
Fists clenched, I turned around with only death on my mind. I needed to get my pound of flesh tonight; I didn’t give a fuck about anything else.
Leaving her dorm, I pulled out my phone and pressed one. The call was picked up on the first ring. Someone was waiting by the phone. That gave me a sick sort of pleasure. Being the one who was always doing the dirty work, I got a thrill when my hate and darkness ended with me being the white knight, not them. Sure, she was knocked out, but she was in my arms, not theirs.
“What the fuck is going on? Why—”
Rion’s voice was always curt, stern, no frills, and no emotion, but right now, he was vibrating with fury. Just what I need.
“I need you and him to meet me at the reserve. I’m planting a tree tonight.” I couldn’t help the wide smile that was on my face as I told him. This was always my favorite part.
“Got it.” He hung up, and I quickly made my way back to the Alpha Sigma Xi house. I had my prey to pick up.
I slipped into the house again, wanting to avoid as many people as possible. Ravi was the one we sent when we had to smooth things over or needed to deal with people. Rion was the prince of Foedus, the one who played the heir role in front of the important Foedus people, and I was the force to be reckoned with, the bringer of death.
Glaring down at the asshole on the floor, I recognized his idiotic face. It was Travis Mathis, the vice-president from Beta Theta Pi, but I didn't care. I was going to make this fucker pay, which meant I needed to get him out of here quickly and quietly. Tying him up, I threw him over my shoulder and made my way to the window, regretting that I couldn't just kill him here and be done with it.
The slam of a door echoed through the window next to me. “What the fuck did you do, Luca?!”
“Cin, don’t—” The window shut, and my curiosity got the best of me. If the Ricci siblings were fighting, it would be useful to know what it was about.
When Foedus put us in this house, they had hopes that Luca and R. Ambros would become closer, so they gave each of us the largest rooms in the house. The catch? The shared bathroom.
It was a failed attempt by Foedus, but right at this moment it might be an opportunity. We might’ve moved off campus, but Foedus still deemed this room an Ambros room, and that meant Luca would think he had the bathroom all to himself.
Slowly cracking open the bathroom door, I quietly put my ear against it since the walls were soundproof.
“...is missing, and Natasha told me she saw you and her getting cozy in the gazebo!” The youngest Ricci had always been the most passionate of the group, so I was unsurprised to hear her yelling.
“I swear I don't know where she is. We were in the gazebo, but that fight broke out between Ryan and Fred, and I had to break it up. Where the fuck were you, Elio?”
Elio was the wild card of the group. Not a sibling, but a cousin in the Ricci family tree, he had earned his spot by being the best in his field.
“Hey! I was in a meeting with Cameron about the job he just finished. Now, what the fuck happened to my peaches?” He growled that last part, making no sense, but then again, I didn't expect much else from his crazy ass.
“Enough. Luca, I didn't ask you where she is.” Her voice went deep, and I could envision her stepping up to her brother, going toe to toe. “What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?”
The room was silent for a few seconds before I heard the creaking of a bed and Luca sighing. “I lined her glass with Chemical X.” It took all my effort not to bust in there and throttle him. He drugged Layrin!
“What?! Why would you do that? I told you she doesn't know anything!”
Luca’s voice thundered over Cinzia’s. “We don't know that! You were the one who flagged her account as odd and wanted to check her out. Now that I’ve met her… I just had this feeling like she knows more than meets the eye. All I was planning to do was interrogate her, but I got distracted.”
“Right, right,” Elio sounded, then his voice dropped, “but what you’re forgetting is that you should’ve looped in Cin and me.” His voice turned up, getting louder and louder. “Instead, she’s missing, and it's all your fault!”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Luca tried to fight back, but it was two against one, and I knew better than anyone that Luca was going to lose.
Cinzia barked out a warning. “All I’m saying, Luca, is that if a single hair on her head is harmed, I'm coming back here to take my pound of flesh from you.”
“Don’t fucking threaten me, Cinzia! I’m your brother!”
“Brother or not, I told you before I brought her here that she’s my friend and will be treated as such. You don't get to drug my friends with no consequences, Luca!” The sounds of foot stomps and a slamming door made me smile until I remembered that Luca had drugged Rin.
This was why I didn't want her here. Didn't want her to be a part of this. She wasn't built for this, and she was already getting dragged into something she knew nothing about. Fucking Riccis', too smart for their own good.
“Elio—”
“No, Luca. Cin's right.”
Luca sounded desperate and confused. “What the fuck is going on with you two?”
“Cin has finally made a girl friend, and she doesn't want you or any of this to ruin it. And me, mate, I’m just fascinated by her. If I didn't have that job Wednesday, I would’ve been in class trying to find out what makes her tick.” I didn’t like the way his voice turned wistful in the end, like he was desperate for more time with her.
My teeth ground as my body vibrated. I wanted to fucking punch my fist through Elio’s face then hang Luca and watch his body squirm as he died slowly. My hand had closed around the door handle, ready to do just that, when Rion’s stupid voice called out in the back of my mind.
We have a plan. We need to come from a position of power before we drop the hammer on anyone. Then Rin will be safe and be ours.
I tilted my head, working out the kinks in my knotted neck. Later. I could deal with them later. Right now, I had a future dead man in the room and plans to make him pay for touching what wasn't his.
Letting go of the handle, I turned around, closed the door, and retrieved the tied up body. I needed to get out of here, take care of this vermin, and tell my brothers what I’d learned. Yes. Then the three of us could make better moves starting tomorrow.
This fucker was heavier than he looked. I dropped his ass, head first, on the ground before I rubbed my shoulder out. I couldn't get locked up just from carrying his ass all the way here.
He’d woken up once on the way, so I had to knock him out again. If I were Ravi, I would have convinced my prey to come with me, walking his happy ass to his grave all on his own.
I didn't have that kind of patience.
Glancing down at him, flashes of Rin shoving at him, her eyes dull and clouded, worked though my brain. My rage was surging again, and the urge to start this worked its way up my spine. His hands and legs were already tied up like a pig. My mind played out a vision of me setting him up on a spit and roasting him alive, listening to him beg as the flames licked against his skin. I’d get more and more excited when his pleas turned into screams once the realization that no one was going to save him set in.
I closed my eyes and tilted my head to the night sky, feeling the moon's rays as I played out my barbeque fantasy—the smell of burning flesh, desperation and death in the air—immersing myself in the vision of my dreams. I wished I had that kind of power, the power to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Rules, laws, and morality be damned.
“You know you look like a crazy person when you do that.” I growled at the abrupt sound of Ravi’s voice, interrupting my solace.
My brothers walked out of the shadow of the trees in all black, both holding metal spray tubs in hand like we’d done hundreds of times before.
“You came earlier than usual. I haven't even started yet.”
My serious brother's eyes darkened. “Yes, well, we were ready as soon as I saw you carrying her to her dorms. What’s going on, Roux?”
I kicked at the fucker on the ground, and he groaned, caught between being awake and asleep. “After this,” I said, pointing to my new toy, “I'm too worked up for chit chat.” Rion nodded and waved Ravi forward, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small vial of the smelling salts he’d handmade for just this occasion.
Travis sucked in a large breath, eyes going wide when he found he couldn't move. He squirmed on the ground like a worm, croaking, “Wwwhats ggggoing on?”
Ravi stepped back quite a few steps, into the cover of darkness with Rion, giving me a wide berth to do what I had to do. Without answering him, I grabbed him by the rope tied between his bound legs and arms and threw him into the deep grave already made for him. His pained groan came out when he landed, and I smiled before saluting my brothers and dropping into the hole beside him.
He was already weeping, mumbling about how he could have such and such money in my account in an hour and wouldn’t tell anyone if I let him go. It was always like this with the weasels. Their instincts told them they needed to do or say anything to get out of the dark, out of this hole, but that would never happen.
Letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, I focused on my other senses. The sound of his feet scraping into the dirt like he was trying to dig himself out was loud and clear. I reached down, finding his legs, then took out my pocket knife and cut off the ties binding his limbs.
He scrambled around in a state of terror and panic, but I remained still, letting my rage fill me, replaying the scene I’d walked into until my bones began to vibrate. The need to cause pain and destruction flowed through me like a whirlpool, sucking me down into the abyss of depravity. All the thoughts that made me Roux were shoved into a box in the back of my head, and the embodiment of death took over.
Trevor was currently clawing at the sides, yelling for someone to help him, but no one was coming. My brothers would ensure that.
I pounced on him. His surprised gasp was all I heard until I grabbed his wrists, yanked both arms back, and twisted. He gave an animalistic yelp before his arms fell to his sides, wrenched out of their sockets. I wanted him to fight back, but I didn't want it to be even.
Grabbing him by the collar, I threw him onto his back in the dirt, straddled him, and slapped him around a few times. I wanted to take this slowly, drawing out the same desperation I was sure Rin had felt.
“I-I-I'm sorry. W-w-wh-hatever I did. P-p-please.” His pitiful stutters made me cackle something dark and evil.
Sneering, I whispered in his ear, “Did she ask you to stop? Did she plead with you?” He started to shake and zipped his lips real fast, which told me he knew what I was talking about. I was a little disappointed, wishing he were an idiot who’d try to deny it, but he wasn't that stupid. My loss.
“That's what I want from you , Trevor. I want you to beg.” Before he could sputter out anything, I grabbed his throat and squeezed, taunting, “I can’t hear you. Speak up, Trevor.”
His fingers clawed at my hands, desperately trying to pry them off while he wheezed. His legs kicked out from behind me as his desperation kicked in. He bucked beneath me to no avail. I was steel, refusing to move despite his rugby-playing ass trying his hardest.
My fingers dug in, feeling the lines of his quaking muscles. My mind was burned with the image of her pale face and drooping eyes, her consciousness barely hanging on by a thread as he groped and kissed her against her will.
I faced the man I was going to kill and realized that his eyes were about to flutter closed. Letting go of his neck, I gave him a moment, only a moment, to suck down as much breath as he could. To feel just a small glimpse of hope that he might get out of this and live to see another day. It was fun to watch his eyes light up as if he thought I’d had a change of heart.
Sucking in a slow, controlled breath of my own, I envisioned what she’d felt, what I’d heard, what I’d witnessed. I immersed myself in that scene until I felt like I was there again, seeing it, feeling it. I cracked open the box that held all my bloodthirsty rage, letting the fire burning up and down my body consume me.
Beneath me was a man who’d tried to rape my girl. He deserved more than punishment, and she was due some rightful revenge.
A broken sob slipped past his lips. His legs behind me kicked out, trying to do something, anything to help himself. It was his last shred of hope, his last bit of fight. You’d think it would make me feel bad for him, but it just set the wood on the fire in my mind. Cocking my fist back, I looked down at the slobbering mess, smiling like I was a kid at Christmas and Santa had just gotten me everything I wanted. My fists furiously rained down on him, one after the other.
Smash. Crunch. Smash. Crunch.
The anvils dropped faster and faster until his body stopped fighting back, simply twitching with the impact. Hot liquid splattered everywhere—my face, my clothes, the soil walls—but I kept going. This rage inside of me was an unending chasm that replenished quicker than what I used
When my knuckles connected with bone, I stopped. His face beaten into his own skull so severely I couldn't tell what he looked like before. He didn't even look human.
My anger receded as I laughed at his state. “You shouldn’t have touched her. Death was too easy of an escape for you.” The need to end it with my normal ritual rose up in me and I called up, “Knife!”
I expected Ravi, the little psycho, to throw it down, wanting to see if I could dodge it. At the edge of the grave, a flash of silver shone in the moonlight, then it was lowered down by a rope. That meant it was Rion, always the perfectionist.
Grabbing the knife, I went back to Trevor, thinking about how his hand had grabbed at her, his unwanted hands. Well, now I wanted them.
Setting myself to work, I sliced through the skin, tendons, and muscle just fine, but the damn bone gave me some trouble. Eventually, after some breaking, I took both as trophies. I would keep them preserved and cared for, reminding me of this glorious night and how it had felt to exact vengeance.
“Ready.” A rope came down with a loop at the end, and I stuck my foot in. Holding the rope with one hand, I kept my body straight and clutched the fingers of the two severed hands in my other.
On my way up, I heard Ravi mumble about me getting heavy. I was going to make him pay for that little comment, but I needed to talk to them now that my head was clear and thinking properly.
As soon as I broke the surface, I threw my new hands over and climbed my way out. I’d done this many times, so it was easy. As soon as I was out, my brothers got to work. One of them standing on either end, wearing face masks, they sprayed chemicals down into the grave.
In Foedus, one of the trials was to find your own new and inventive way of getting rid of a body. At eighteen, we handled three situations where we had to kill and take care of clean-up. We were told to “figure it out,” and that was that. Since three heads was better than one, we came up with this—the forest reserve.
With our first deposit from Foedus, we did all the paperwork and paid the right hands to make a forest reserve on campus. Its intent was to save plants and trees that were going extinct. We had holes as big as graves at the ready at all times, and if anyone caught on, they would need to not only have proof, but highly qualified lawyers to even think about pursuing it. They’d be buried in a mountain of legal and agricultural paperwork if they wanted to dig up so much as a single tree. No cop would touch it with a ten-foot pole.
Rion had perfected the whole thing by coming up with a chemical compound of heat-inducing acid that would deteriorate any evidence in a span of a month, so even if they did find a spot to dig up, the body would no longer be there. All they’d find was soil and not a single shred of evidence.
“Go to the greenhouse. You're a mess.” Rion’s annoyed voice clearly came through the mask, and I smiled. While he was all for taking our pound of flesh, he was more methodical and less messy. The greenhouse housed not only the trees waiting to be planted, but a shower with a special bleach feature that would taint any evidence a forensic team might get from any recovered clothes or personal effects.
“I will, but we need to talk.” This had both of my brothers removing their masks and turning to me.
“The Riccis are on to Rin.”
Silence filled the space between us as Rion’s expression contorted, the planes of his face taking on sharpness I’d never seen before as he bellowed to the sky. Ravi gave me a worried grimace, but I shook my head. He needed to get over this and start thinking of a solution.
I continued as soon as Rion was done. “They don't know she’s tied to us, but they do suspect something. Cinzia and Elio seem to want to protect her.” I fisted some grass at the thought of Elio being in class with her, flirting with her. The grass ripped from the ground as I exhaled. “But Luca seems to want to dig in deeper. That's why he drugged her.”
“What!” Ravi exploded. “I’m going to wipe that smug Italian face right off, and when—”
I lifted my hand. “That's not all. I overheard them talking. Seems like the Riccis have come up with their own drug, and Luca’s intent was to see if she would talk about who she is and what she’s doing here.” I gave Rion a pointed look, but he was already staring at the ground in thought.
“Cinzia and Elio reamed into him, so I don't think he’ll go with that approach again.” I left out what they both knew; he would just try something else if we didn’t step in. “So I think we need to move on to the next phase of the plan even though it's early.”
Ravi’s face flashed from worry to pure excitement as he clapped his hands. “Yay! The best part of our story! The heroes return to the princess!”
Rion’s head snapped up to mine, then he pointed at the hole. “And him?”
I frowned, spitting out my words. “Rin slipped away from Luca and ended up in the house. That asshole thought he could take advantage of her, in our old room.”
Rion and Ravi shuddered at the same time, looking down at the hole like they wanted a piece of him too. Then, in normal Rion fashion, he shook his head and pointed at me. “You, shower, then come help us plant the tree.”
“And then?” Ravi cooed in delight.
Rion looked at us then back to the hole. “Then we make plans for staking our claim. The only saving grace is that she doesn't know anything about all this, but we need to make it known that if they mess with her, they’re messing with us.”
“Won't that just make them more curious?” I tried to keep the worry out of my voice, wanting to trust my brother.
Rion nodded. “Which is why we need to make it more about the competition between us. They need to think she’s just a hot body to steal from them, someone we plan to have fun with and leave. Their interest will die down once they’re convinced.”
Ravi threw his hands up to the sky in exhaustion. “Ugh! Now, we have to go to more meetings and bullshit all because of the damn Riccis'.”
Rion nodded. “For Rin.”
Ravi and I looked at him, making another vow in the dead of night. “For Rin.”