Chapter Six
TOREN
Pulling up in front of my childhood home doesn't have a feeling of warmth settling inside me. When I look at the mansion, all I see is a palace devoid of love and care. This isn’t a home, it’s just a house.
A blank canvas for a rich sadistic bastard to show off his wealth.
Nothing about this place feels right as I step out of the car.
I hold my head high as I walk to the front door with Carnage beside me.
I have no idea what it is about him but I feel safe.
It's a strange feeling considering I haven’t known him long but he has proven to me that I can trust him.
I know we aren’t exactly on the same team, considering the Denver Kings want the Devlin Cosa Nostra and Kellar Cartel shut down, but for right now our wants are aligned and as long as that continues I know I can trust that he will have my back.
My only worry is when all of this is over, what will happen then?
Will he become my enemy? Will he want me dead as well?
Before I can open the door, a butler beats me to it.
The look of surprise on his face at the sight of me has me biting back a smirk.
I’ve never seen this man before, he’s new but it’s clear he knows exactly who the fuck I am.
He speaks as I stalk past and head straight for my father’s study ignoring his protests, knowing Carnage will handle him and stop him from getting to me.
I should be terrified of the person I am becoming but I’m not.
The power the Denver Kings have given me is addictive and alluring.
The hunger for revenge is toxic, like a dark cloud constantly hovering over me daily, but rather than trying to push it away I’ve embraced it and allowed it to consume me.
Masen, Kellan, Cas, Meekan, my father and even Xaden are the reason I am this way.
They forced me to change and become this jaded monster who thirsts for the demise of her enemies and wants to watch their worlds crumble to the ground.
I round the bend and push his study door open without knocking.
I expected him to be alone here but seeing my brother, Frank and Kellan in here has me schooling my face from showing the shock.
The look on their faces at the sight of me is fucking priceless, I wish I could take a picture of this moment to relive on days I’m bored.
I’m standing in the middle of the room and place my hands on my hips, smiling.
The four of them just continue to stare at me with varying looks of shock, outrage and hatred, but the glimmer of fear and regret I see in my brother’s eyes has my stomach rolling.
I tear my gaze from him and focus on my father.
He places his hands flat on his oak desk and pushes to his feet, the sneer of his old withered face only solidifies that I am doing what is best for not only me but the future of both these towns.
These men aren’t fit to lead. They allow their greed and hatred for each other to rule them and cause chaos.
I want none of that. All I want is to be free of them all and live my life in peace, and if that means me needing to take down both sides, so fucking be it.
His mouth opens but no words come out and I know it’s because the sight of Carnage entering the room and coming to stand by my side has rendered him speechless.
Before he can utter a word I take charge and speak. “Father, allow me to introduce you all to my friend, Carnage… De Santis.” At the mention of his last name, all four of them stand and stare at him with looks of outrage on their faces.
“You dare to walk into my house uninvited and interrupt a private meeting? You have no fucking respect,” my father roars and pounds his fist on the top of his desk.
The old Toren would be trembling and dropping her gaze to the floor in shame, but not anymore.
Toren 2.0 doesn’t cower. I don’t have the luxury of being blinded to the corruption and vile things they do any longer.
I shrug my shoulders. “Respect is earned not given, Steven.” My brother’s face falls at my blatant disrespect, but I ignore it as I look between my father and Frank.
The sight of them both makes me sick. These men aren’t who I once thought they were.
I always believed both of them wanted what was best for the people and educated their lives to make the world a better place but how fucking wrong was I?
“How fucking dare you—”
I cut Frank off before he can finish his tirade.
“I’m offering you a chance to get out of this unscathed.
Walk away now, Steven, and I give you my word, I won’t come after you or your criminal organization.
” Silence descends for a second before Frank, Kellan and my father all laugh.
When Masen moves to come to me, their laughter dies off instantly.
Carnage doesn’t move to stop him, that is what I respect most about him.
Just because I’m a female, he doesn’t take it upon himself to try and protect me or save me from making mistakes.
He allows me to lead and when I need help, he knows I will ask for it.
When Masen reaches out a hand to touch me, I smack it away and glare up at him.
Hurt shines in his eyes but I feel nothing for him.
He chose his side and allowed me to take the fall for the heinous crime he committed, all because he wanted to go pro.
Our father helped him pin the blame on me so his son’s shining new career would make him look good in the press.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch me,” I grit out.
“Stop this, Toren,” he urges. “Come home and we can fix this. You have no idea what you are getting involved in and that cocksucker Devlin—”
“Keep his name out of your fucking mouth. Xaden has nothing to do with any of this,” I hiss.
“He has everything to do with this!” he roars.
I don’t tremble or even recoil from the harsh tone of his voice, I just stare up at him and wonder how I never saw my brother for who he truly is—a coward and a fucking disgrace.
Masen isn’t the man I thought he was. He isn’t my protector or my white knight.
He is just a fucking sheep, doing everything his shepherd tells him to.
I see it now, the hold my father has over him.
Masen has always wanted to please him. Steven always favored my brother over me and didn’t do a damned thing to try and hide it unless we were in public.
It never bothered me growing up because I had Masen and he was enough to fill the void, but not anymore.
No longer do I look at him and see my savior, all I see is a monster.
I didn’t realize I had put him on a pedestal until the night my memories came back at Xaden’s father’s house.
I can never look at him the same again. Xaden may have tricked me into bed and used me to get back at my father, but he never lied to me.
All Masen has done is lie through his perfectly straight fucking teeth and the urge to punch him in his lying mouth is overwhelming.
The sheer thirst of bloodlust is consuming me.
“No. You did this, Masen,” I snarl, hatred lacing each of my words.
I watch as my brother's face morphs from remorse to plain anger and I relish the sight of it. The mask he has worn is finally gone and now I am looking at the real monster. He is our father’s son.
The perfect child molded into the foot soldier Steven Kellar wanted.
“You’re on the wrong side, Tor. He clearly fucked the common sense out of you.”
“No, he just fucked the devil into me,” I clap back.
Disgust is plain to see on his face. I ignore my brother as I look over at my father and Frank.
“When the time comes and all the carefully crafted walls you built around your castle come crumbling down, just remember I was gracious and offered you a chance to be free and walk away.”
Anger radiates from my father as he scowls at me. Truth be told, I want him to hate me. I want his anger directed at me, to push him past his breaking point. He tried to destroy me and failed, but unlike him, I won’t stop until there is nothing left for him to latch onto.
“Get the fuck out of my house and never come back. You are no longer part of this family.” Kellan snaps his head toward my father in surprise but I'm not. I knew this was coming and hardened my heart in preparation. “As far as I am concerned you are nothing but collateral damage and that cocksucker Devlin’s whore. I will bury you with him once I wipe that motherfucker out and take his town from him.” Steven flicks his gaze to Carnage and shoots my friend an evil smirk. “Then I will be coming for yours.”
Carnage just snorts and nods. “Oh, I would love to see you try, old man. You may think you know who I am, but you really don’t. I was named Carnage for a reason and I long for the day I get to show you why I suit the name perfectly.” Carnage grips my hand and begins to lead me out of the room.
“You don’t want me as your enemy, little sister.
” The deathly calmness to my brother’s tone has me pausing and peering back at him over my shoulder.
He looks like an unhinged animal. I’ve never seen him in this way and honestly, it makes what I have to do so much easier.
I guess I never truly saw the real him under the mask he wore. He is vile and cruel.
“You’ve always been my enemy. I just didn’t know it until recently, brother.” I answer in a cold tone void of all emotion. He may have won the battle I had no idea I was fighting but mark my fucking words, I will win the damned war if it is the last thing I fucking do.