Chapter Fourteen
Scarlett
Iwake up in an unfamiliar room yet again. It seems my life has been reduced to a sleep/wake cycle of confusion, panic, and eventually, forced surrender.
The bed beneath me is soft and luxurious, and far too large for one person.
There’s a king-sized stretch of dark sheets that swallow me whole.
Across the room, a low dresser presses against the wall.
A window breaks the wall beside it, its curtains drawn just enough to spill late-afternoon light across the floor.
To my right, a doorway leads to a bathroom, tile faintly gleaming from within.
A few feet away, another door stands ajar, revealing the dark mouth of a walk-in closet.
The room is simple but not stark—spacious, restrained, decorated with dark tones. It feels perfect for Monster, but slightly unnerving to me.
Greyson is nowhere to be seen, and when I shift slightly, I realize my diamond collar is attached to a metal rung on a headboard. I’m too tired to find it in myself to be upset about it; I merely sigh and glare down at my hands, which are still encased in those horrible mittens.
I turn my gaze to the window, yearning to be outside again, to feel fresh air on my skin.
I long to be free… but right now, I’m having a hard time envisioning freedom.
I sit up in bed and draw the warm blanket to cover me fully, hiding my nudity.
I’m sure Monster will be along in a few minutes; he always seems to know when I wake up, and he’s never far away.
I don’t even bother looking away from the window when the door to the side of me opens. Then, I hear a voice that’s haunted my nightmares… and it snaps me to full alertness.
“Scarlett Sharpe. You are a difficult woman to get alone.”
Cain.
All my muscles stiffen and tense. My heart breaks out into a painful race.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins, making me feel vaguely nauseous, and the bone-chilling sort of fear that I’ve seldom felt, even in my life, overwhelms me.
I slowly turn my head to the side, a full-body chill coursing through me when I see the man who stalks my nightmares.
Quite possibly one of the most dangerous men in the world.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I whisper.
Cain folds his hands into the pockets of his slacks, regarding me with an impassive expression as he leans against the doorway.
“I own this building. This entire fortress. I own the Nighthawks and every single person on our territory.” He cocks his head to the side. “You’ll do well to remember that.”
I swallow harshly, trying to keep my breathing steady. “I’m not going to talk.” I won’t tell a soul about what happened the day I escaped—I don’t want to even think about it.
“Oh, I know,” Cain says. “I know you won’t talk about our little secret…
because you understand what’s at stake if you do, don’t you?
” he takes a step forward. “Your brother’s life.
And you know I won’t make his death quick or pleasant.
You had time to become… intimately acquainted with my methods. ”
“I won’t say anything,” I reiterate. “I swear.”
I’ll never speak of the conversation Cain and I had when I spilled out of the elevator after poisoning Monster, trembling and terrified.
I’ll never say a word about how Cain pinned me against a wall by my throat, told me he knew everything—who my brother is, what he does, and Eric’s connection to Luther—and then told me to run fast and run far, threatening to kill Eric and me if I ever said anything.
I still don’t understand the full extent of Cain’s motives, and frankly, I don’t want to. I don’t know what he’s up to, and I do my best not to care.
“Good.” Cain nods. “I’m very glad to hear that, Scarlett. But I’m not only here to ensure your silence.”
“Greyson will be back any minute.” I manage to infuse strength into my tone, even if both Cain and I know it’s bullshit. I am absolutely terrified of him, in ways I’ll never fear even Monster.
“We have a few minutes. He’s currently… otherwise occupied with Nighthawk matters, and I took the trouble of disabling those clever motion sensors and cameras he has set up around this entire apartment for you.
” Cain takes several more steps forward, then helps himself to a seat on the opposite side of the bed.
My breath hitches. “It’s only a matter of time before your secret catches up with you,” he warns me.
“I will not allow it to catch up with me, however. And, when the truth comes out, you’ll be faced with a choice.
Incite a war that can only end with your brother’s death…
or fall so utterly in love with Greyson, you can plead a convincing case to your brother for why you want to stay here.
” A threatening smile spreads on his lips.
“For the sake of your brother’s life, I hope you choose the latter. ”
My lower lip trembles. “I don’t love Greyson.” I never will.
“I’m quite well aware, but you will learn to act like it.
I don’t give a fuck if Greyson thinks you love him—his emotions aren’t my business.
My business is the prosperity of the Nighthawks, and your brother will play a vital role in that.
” Cain pins me with a vicious warning stare that cuts me to the bone.
“If you interfere, Eric will no longer have any usefulness to me. And those who aren’t useful to me don’t live very long.
” He stands from the bed and smooths down his tie.
“Do yourself a favor and don’t forget that, Sharpe. ”
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
For the first time in my life, the sound of Monster’s voice comes as a relief. Between him and Cain, he’s the lesser threat.
“Just giving a warm greeting to our newest resident,” Cain says calmly. “I wanted to welcome her back.”
“No,” Monster snaps. “This is a line you don’t get to cross, Cain. Scarlett is my responsibility, not yours. Don’t fucking come near her without asking me.”
“Why?” Cain questions mildly, arching an eyebrow. “Are you worried I’ll hurt your property?”
Property. That really is what Cain sees me as.
Property that could also present potential complications for the future of his organization.
Property with influence… but still just property.
I want Monster dead without a doubt, but Cain…
I want to see Cain burn in hell. I ache to be the one to send him there.
“Get the fuck out!” Monster roars. “This might be your fortress, but these quarters are mine. Don’t fuck with me, Cain. You need me.”
Cain stares at him for a few moments, jaw clenched with displeasure. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he leaves.
Monster turns to face me, and his expression softens. Something in my chest pangs—confusion, fear, uncertainty, and something warmer. I despise him, but the change that overcomes him when he’s facing me… it’s impactful. Nobody’s ever looked at me this way.
“What did he say to you?” Monster questions.
Shit. I can’t tell him the truth… “He suggested very strongly that I should give in sooner rather than later. He was not kind with his words.”
Monster mutters a curse under his breath.
“Yeah. He never is.” He approaches the bed, placing a knee on the mattress.
I stiffen, preparing myself for another bout of sexual torture, but Monster just reaches behind me, pulling my hair away from my neck.
I hear a slight clatter, and turn to see the chain that was holding me in place detached.
“How does it work?” I ask quietly, reaching up to touch the cruel collar disguised as a beautiful necklace.
“Magnets,” Monster responds. “The clasp is created from some of the strongest material in the world, so it’s not coming off without a magnetic lock that only I have access to. A different magnet system lets me attach it to chains.”
“If I told you that I hate this fucking thing and asked you to take it off, would you?”
Monster tilts his head to the side, regarding me closely.
“I don’t think you hate it,” he says. “I think you hate what it represents—my ownership—but not the necklace itself.” He reaches out, not reacting when I futilely attempt to shrink back.
“This collar…” he trails off, running his fingers over the ostentatious diamonds.
“You see it as a reminder of my ownership, but I’d much rather you saw it as a symbol.
You’re a diamond, Scarlett. My diamond. The most precious stone on earth—the most precious woman on earth.
That’s what this necklace means.” He drags his fingertips up my neck and strokes his thumb over my bottom lip, gazing at my mouth.
“You’ll see that someday. You’ll see your value, and how much you mean to me someday.
” He clears his throat, pulling away. “For now… let’s get you fed. ”
The next days follow a similar cycle. I wake up in the cell; Monster comes to me with breakfast, always making a point to feed me himself.
If I try to resist, my hands are restrained.
If I try to claw and fight, I get the mittens I fucking abhor.
He dresses me and takes me on a walk, parading me around the fortress and bringing me to the greenhouse.
Despite everything… I love my time in the greenhouse.
I start testing the soil around the beds and drawing out a map for a vegetable garden, practically humming with excitement as I work.
I have the ability to affect true change right here, both on a small scale that benefits the Nighthawks, and on a larger scale.
I can do world-changing research… even if I know the world will reject what I find, because it’ll take money out of billionaire’s pockets and suggest they stop polluting this world.
I think three or four plots of farmland would be good to start with, each for a certain crop; and an extra plot will be set aside, isolated from the others, and meant for my personal experiments.
When I run my plans by Monster, he gives everything the go-ahead, and seems genuinely pleased with my excitement.
He even promises to put farm work on the Nighthawk’s daily physical training schedule, guaranteeing me the labor I’ll need.
After my time at the greenhouse, he brings me to his office with him, where I either kneel on a pillow to get tortured or sit on a couch to stare at nothing while he works. Lunch is taken in his office; then, he takes me back to my cell, where I eat dinner.
I don’t see Luci, even though I ask about him as often as I can.
I don’t get to speak to or interact with anyone who isn’t Monster.
I don’t get any freedom, or very much agency—Monster’s seemed to develop an obsession with physically caring for me.
He washes my body and my hair in the shower, not allowing me to do it myself.
When I’m exhausted from whatever new kinky thing he did to me, he carries me between places.
He uses the guise of aftercare to hold me like I’m precious to him…
and at times, I wonder if I actually am.
He doesn’t hurt me, though that doesn’t stop me from flinching when he makes certain moves around me.
He doesn’t fuck me… though I know it’s only a matter of time.
I’m not sure what the holdup is, if making me wait is his way of psychologically torturing me…
but either way, it’s cruel. Part of me is terrified, and the other part of me just wants it over with.
His sexual proclivities exhaust me… maybe just regular sex would be a nice break.
It's early one morning when Monster introduces a routine shift, directly after I’ve finished up breakfast.
“Max is going to be with you today,” he tells me.
“I have some work to do off-site, a meeting to take, so he’ll take you to the greenhouse in the afternoon.
The supplies you ordered the other day are in, so you can get started on whatever you want.
” His throat works as he sips a cup of coffee.
“You might think Max is nicer than me, but he answers directly to me… so do yourself a favor and don’t try to pull anything on his watch.
It won’t work. He’s one of our best agents. ”
I nod slowly. “Alright.”
Monster’s brows briefly furrow before his expression smooths out. “You’re sleeping in my bed tonight,” he tells me, glancing around the cell. “If you’re a good girl, you’ll get to stay there, with me.”
“If my preferences have any value, I’d much rather stay here.”
“Your opinion holds plenty of value when it’s not standing in direct contradiction of me.” Monster sets down his coffee mug and cups my chin, angling my head to keep my gaze on him. “You’re mine, Scarlett. There’s no use in fighting it.”
I don’t respond to that. The reality of my circumstances is starting to set in.
I managed to escape last time because I had the element of surprise, and Monster wasn’t expecting me to make such a move.
I have no such grace this time around; he watches me at all hours of the day with a sniper’s vigilance.
The only times he leaves me alone are in this locked cell.
I have no freedom. By all measurements, I do belong to him…
and I hate both of us more with each passing day for it, but my hatred is also beginning to trickle into a resentful sort of acceptance.
When I get an opportunity… if I get an opportunity, I’ll kill him and escape. But the chances for that opportunity seem to be remarkably, frustratingly, impossibly slim.
“I’ll see you tonight, Flower,” Monster says, leaning down to kiss my head. “Max will be along in a bit.”