Sacrifice

Chapter Eight

V incent confuses me so much. One minute, I think he’s nice and doing something sweet, the next, I’m hurt and baffled by his behavior. Why does he have to be such a jerk?

Sitting in bed, I watch as the clock slowly ticks by and I ponder the feelings inside of me. Even when I am following his rules, he refuses to give me the one thing I need. It doesn’t matter what I do. He’s still going to be The Beast and I can’t stay caught in his trap.

Midnight comes and I dress myself in a warm sweater, yoga pants, and thermal socks. Vincent bought me shoes, but they are in his room. He told me he would let me know when I need them.

This isn’t ideal for running away, but I’ll figure it out. Escaping this beast is the only important thing at the moment. Tiptoeing down the stairs, I make my way to the basement door. My heart is racing, and my palms are sweaty. It doesn’t matter; I tell myself.

It’s normal to be nervous. I’m… My thoughts swarm with images of the last few hours I had with Vincent. They were good. Confusion makes me blink. I can’t. Possibly want to stay, can I?

No. I scold myself. It’s time to go. Vincent isn't the nice guy I’m trying to make him out to be. Making my way down to the basement, I see all the toys and different cat beds. What? Before I can process what I’m seeing, Mossimo comes out of the shadows holding my Espresso.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” His deep voice vibrates and I gasp, taking a step back.

“Please, let me have my baby.”

Mossimo keeps advancing on me, so I reach out for Espresso. A hand grabs my shoulder, and I whip around. Vincent stands there like an angry god waiting to smite me from where I stand.

“This was an extremely poor decision on your part, mi reina. ” He looks down at me with disapproval. “Mossimo, take the cat out back and make sure to dispose of it properly.”

Oh God. He wouldn’t? “No! Please.” I wrench myself loose from Vincent’s grip and run after Mossimo. “Please don’t hurt him. He’s an innocent little baby.”

Vincent grabs me and tries to pull me away from Mossimo as I reach out and try to take Espresso from him. “Enough, Aribella.”

“No.” I shake loose of Vincent again and realize that Mossimo is further away. Dang, he walks fast . “Please, he’s all I have left,” I call out to his disappearing figure.

Vincent gets in front of me and all I can do is lash out at him. He’s not the least bit phased by my begging, or the scratches I’m leaving on him. He grabs me around the waist and hauls me back up the steps.

“ Mi reina , calm down. You’ll eventually learn that it’s best just to do as I say.”

He’s insane . “Calm down? How can I possibly calm down? You’re going to kill the only thing I have left.”

As the door closes on me, I can see Espresso and he’s meowing at me. The door closes and a gunshot rings out in the air. My entire being stops and I fall to the ground. My scream that rips from my chest sounds unreal and my head swims. Breathing hurts as I gasp for air and the pressure in my head spikes. Even with the medicine, I feel my blood pressure rising to dangerous levels. Black floaters blur my vision.

“How…” I breathe out into a hiccup. “How could you?’ I manage to whisper as I look at the ground.

“Get up,” Vincent demands of me, but I can’t. My world just ended and I don’t have a clue how to move forward.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. It’s just a goddamn animal,” he growls at me as he uses my hair to force me into a standing position.

“He was the only thing I had left of my father,” I mumble as Vincent drags me up the stairs.

“Well, if you had behaved, you wouldn’t have lost your precious cat. Now stop fighting me and let’s go.”

His words sink in and I lose it. My anger clears my head and I yell at him. “Never, you beast!” I punch him in the stomach, but it does nothing. He raises an eyebrow at me. My hand hurts, but I’m filled with too much rage to care.

“I believe you’re my pretty little beast, after all.” His voice is too calm and collected. It makes me wonder in fear if he’s about to kill me. I’d rather he be yelling or at least throwing something in anger. He laughs as I rake my new fake nails along his face, drawing blood. He crushes my wrists and forces me up against the wall.

“Let me go.” My demand falls on deaf ears as he continues to chuckle and presses his body against mine.

“This is just foreplay, baby.” He releases my wrists, picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, walking into a room I haven’t seen before.

Vincent flings me onto a bed that smells of him. I take in the black decor as the scent wafts over me, causing my body to react. I hate the way he confuses me and my body.

Fighting him has only made me tired, but I refuse to give in.

“I told you I wouldn’t take you until I made you beg for it. But it seems I’m going to have to teach you another lesson—and take your virginity, anyway.”

Getting off the bed, I give a humorless laugh. “Not in a million years would I sleep with you,” I spit at him. “You just killed the only thing in this world that mattered to me.”

He takes me by the throat and moves us until my back hits the wall. Vincent places his hand over my mouth and I glare at him with rage. The situation sinks in, and I feel the panic bubbling up inside of me at the thought of him raping me.

Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down. “Don’t worry. You’ll enjoy everything I do. Unfortunately, you’ve tied my hands and I’m not patient enough to wait any longer.”

As he kisses my ear, I try hard not to throw up, but refuse to stop moving against him, trying to dislodge his hold on me. “Now understand this. If you act up again, you’ll be getting the same treatment as Espresso. I expect you to behave.”

His words make me stop. Everything around me is crumbling down and my blood pressure skyrockets. My field of vision shrinks to pinpoints. I can’t see. I sway, trying to focus, but it’s not working.

Vincent pulls back and snarls at me. “You’ve messed up your blood pressure again. Lie down, mi reina .”

Touching me softly, he helps me to the bed. I resist as he tries to get me to sit down. “I’m not going to do anything,” he whispers as he pulls the covers back for me to get in.

My head throbs at the possibility that he might be lying to me. I can’t get my eyes to see anything but a massive blob, so I don’t fight. I’m too far gone to try to save myself.

Getting into the bed, I pray he won’t touch me if I pass out. “There now, deep breaths, Aribella. It’s going to be alright.”

Questions swirl along my brain as Vincent pulls the covers over my body and strokes my face. Why is he all of a sudden being nice to me? It doesn’t make sense. He’s cruel and… and he killed Espresso. Whimpering, I close my eyes because the lights hurt my head.

Perplexed, I don’t say a word as Vincent kisses my forehead and turns out the lights. Before the door closes, my thoughts begin to fade.

“Vincent, I realize that you change your mind a lot, but are…” Mossimo stops for a moment and I wonder why. “I know I’m not supposed to question you Vincent, no one is when you change your mind, but are you sure?”

There’s a long pause and I blink, wondering what is going on. “I realize I change my mind often, but you know full well sometimes it’s in the best interest of everyone.” Vincent sounds perturbed, but I’m kind of glad that Mossimo isn’t afraid of Vincent.

“The cat?”

“He’s fine, Vincent.”

I must be dreaming. My cat is gone. Or is there another cat? Blinking my eyes open, I look around and see Vincent and Mossimo standing at the door. Quickly, I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. If they know I’m awake, Vincent will probably want me to talk or sleep with him. I’m sure he’s mad at me because of my health getting in the way of me obeying his orders.

Maybe if I do talk, I’ll find out if Espresso is alive. Or worse, really dead; my brain fires back at me. I decide to stay quiet. In the back of my mind, I think about the fainting spells I keep having.

There’s no doubt in my mind I have to get out of here. Besides, Vincent will likely end up killing me when he gets bored of me. Or if I continue to push his buttons and he decides I’m not worth all this trouble. “Thank you, Mossimo. We shall discuss it more later.”

Vincent closes the door and turns back toward me. Alright, so my eyes are almost all the way closed. I think I’m more worried about what he might do to me if he thinks I’m asleep.

My mind won’t shut off, making the panic flow through me as the questions keep coming at me. Am I trying to catch him in a bad act? Or do I want him to touch me? The uncertain way I feel about my situation is disheartening.

“ Mi reina , I know you’re awake. Go ahead and open those pretty eyes for me.” There’s humor in his tone. That’s a good thing, right?

Opening my eyes, Vincent stands there in sweatpants and no shirt. His body is sexy, but I know better than to let myself go down that train of thought. Instead, I watch him walk over to me and sit down on my left side. I’m on my right side facing him, but I scoot backwards, afraid he might take my covers off.

“How are you feeling?” He reaches out and pushes my hair off my shoulder. Leaning down, he kisses my lips.

“I’m fine.” That’s hardly the truth, but I’d rather not tell him how weak I feel. Or that I’m baffled by the way he’s been acting.

I’m torn between the two versions of Vincent’s I now know. He’s a beast, The Beast . But then he seems so caring and nice. I can tell he is concerned for me. How can he be so opposite sometimes? Do I want to see who he truly is? A caring, considerate man, or the violent beast. Can I console the part of me that doesn’t trust him? That knows he is a murderer?

“Look at me, mi reina .” Instantly, my gaze falls upon him as he pushes a hand through my hair.

My obedience earns a smile from him. “If you promise to behave, I won’t hurt you.”

“It’s unrealistic of you to expect me to behave.” At least I’m honest. That has to mean something to him.

Watching the anger flicker on his face has me swallowing. I really do need to keep my mouth shut. And maybe not be so honest.

The hand in my hair squeezes and I whimper. “Do you want to die, Aribella?” To prove his point, his other hand grabs my throat and I cough. “I’ll do it right now and we can end this.”

My breath quivers out of my lips. “No.” I don’t want to die. I’m just not sure I want to live under his command. “But I also don’t want to be treated like property.”

He gives me a side smirk and shakes his head. “Ah, but you’re mine. I’ll do as I see fit and you will learn to take it.”

There’s anger and what I think is lust in his eyes. “I’m not a pet, Vincent.” I frown, wondering why he can’t see that he’s a beast. That no human being wants to be treated unfairly.

“How can you not see that I’ve given you comfort? I could have made you stay in the dungeon. It’s a dingy, dark, and horrible place.”

This conversation is going south quickly. “I’d like to go to my room now.” I gulp and meet his eyes. “Please.”

My words are barely audible, but I know he hears them. Instead of letting me up, Vincent moves on top of me. The way he looms over me, I can see how sculpted his chest is.

My mind growls at me to remember that I shouldn't care how hot he looks.