Chapter 20 Lila
The sound of a car door slamming made me jump, and I closed the book I’d been reading.
Niko had been gone for two hours, and during that time I’d contemplated on leaving. Every time I tried to open the door, panic wrapped its claws around my heart and squeezed, the thought of leaving him making my chest ache.
I stood from the couch and walked over to the window, seeing Niko standing at the trunk of his car.
He leaned over and pulled something from inside.
My heart stilled as I saw a body fall to the ground.
I ran over to the door and pulled it open, watching as he lifted the body up and turned toward the house.
“What the fuck, Niko?” I gasped. “This was your errand?”
He looked at me and I saw blood splattered across his face and chest. I stood back as he entered the house, dropping the body onto the living room floor. When he stepped back, I saw the man’s face, and the concern I felt only moments ago turned to anger.
“Niko,” I breathed, leaning down to see his face more clearly.
I knew who it was the minute I laid eyes on him, even through all the bruises, swelling, and cuts.
It was my father.
My hands clenched into fists as memories of him shutting the door in my face flooded back. The way he’d look at me with sheer disgust, how he’d hugged his wife closer to his side. It all came crashing down as I gazed down at him.
I turned to Niko, my anger threatening to boil over. My hands slammed into his chest as I pushed him back, his feet barely moving. Tears welled in my eyes as I continued to pound my fists into him.
“Why the fuck did you bring him here?” I snarled.
The look in his eyes made my skin tingle, as something dark and cruel slithered its way into them. I pushed him again when he didn’t answer, his silence only fueling my anger.
“Answer me!”
He grabbed me by the wrists as I pushed my hands into him, his grip tightening while I struggled to pull away. A low moan sounded from behind me, and I turned my head to see my father trying to stand. Niko released me and stepped forward, pressing him back down to the floor with his boot.
“Don’t move,” he growled as he pinned him down by the throat.
My father gasped, clawing at Niko’s leg, trying to get him to move, but that only made him bear down even more.
I stepped forward, gazing down at the man I held so much anger for, the fear in his eyes sending a jolt of excitement straight to my stomach.
I moved Niko’s foot and helped my father to sit up, his eyes darting between us.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
His lip trembled as he shook his head, tears falling down his swollen cheeks. I looked up at Niko, and his brows knitted with confusion.
“Get him some water,” I told Niko, his face turning up in a scowl.
When he didn’t move, I stood up, pressing my body against his.
“Now.”
He nodded and turned toward the kitchen, mumbling something incoherent under his breath.
When I looked down at my father, his eyes were locked onto me.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to see those eyes—my eyes—every day in someone else.
To see them light up with every achievement, to see the pride in them as I graduated from college, got my first job, got married, and had children.
Pain filled my chest, a deep longing tugging at me.
“Why did you leave?” I whispered.
He averted his gaze, staring at the fireplace beside him, the fire crackling and filling the room with warmth.
“Answer me. I deserve to know.”
He closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
“Your mother had… problems,” he said, his voice shaking with every word. “I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I had to leave, to get away from her. Every day, I’d come home from work, and it was a fight.”
He looked up at me, his eyes glassy with tears, and reached his hand out. I slapped it away, and his face fell in defeat.
“So, because she had problems, you just abandoned me? Because I deserved that?”
“You have to understand, Lila! Nancy didn’t want to be a stepmother. If I wanted to keep her—”
“You had to give me up?” I said, cutting him off.
His face fell in shame, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“I had always hoped to persuade her. Maybe even bring you to meet her, but she always refused. She said she wasn’t raising a child that she didn’t give birth to.”
I scoffed, the anger I felt sinking deeper into my bones. In my periphery, I saw Niko standing in the doorway with a glass of water in his hand. I ignored him, continuing the conversation.
“Do you know the shit I went through because you decided having some bitch by your side was more important than protecting your daughter?”
He stayed silent, refusing to look at me, so I crouched down and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet my gaze.
“She blamed me for you leaving. All that anger and pain she felt was taken out on me. While most kids were off having fun at sleepovers and making memories with their friends at summer camp, wanna know what I was doing?”
Tears welled in his eyes, and I huffed.
“I was taking care of her. Cleaning her up when she came home so drunk she threw up all over herself, making sure she slept on her side or stomach so she didn’t choke on her own vomit, forcing her to get in the shower so she didn’t stink up the house.
I was too busy being an adult to have fun or make memories. To enjoy my life.”
A sob tore from his chest, and a dark laugh escaped me.
“Don’t cry for me now, Steven. I don’t need your tears.”
I released his chin, flinging his head back, and started pacing the room.
Niko came up beside me, and I felt his hand press into the small of my back.
When I turned around, he was holding out his knife, the way it glinted in the light sending a chill down my spine.
There was a softness in his eyes, like he was letting me know he understood my pain.
We didn’t speak as I took it from his hand, my body shivering with anticipation. I turned back to my father and his eyes widened when he saw the knife. The smell of urine filled the air as I stepped toward him.
“No, please,” he begged. “I-I-I’ll make it up to you! I swear!”
“It’s a little too late for that, Dad.”
He shuffled backward and tried to stand, but before he could, Niko was on him, pushing him back down to the floor.
Niko lifted his foot and then slammed it down onto my father’s knee.
Bone cracked, the sound of his agonized cries echoing in the room.
I smiled down at him as I watched him writhe in pain, the monster in me rising to the surface.
I knelt beside him and ran my fingers along his cheek. His skin felt warm and clammy as sweat beaded along his forehead.
“I’m s-s-s-s-s-orry,” he stuttered.
“Sorry doesn’t fix anything,” I whispered before plunging the knife into his stomach.
He let out a strangled sob as I pulled it free, then stabbed it back into him again.
For the first time in my life, I let the darkness creep in and take me, feeling everything I’d ever tried to hold back. All the anger, the pain, the disappointment fell off me in waves, slithering its way into my hands as I plunged the knife into my father repeatedly.
Blood pooled beneath me, creating a large puddle, my knees sliding across the floor as I gave into the rage.
With a feral scream, I let my monster free.
I gave it all to him, the man who was partially responsible for it all, until my hand cramped and my chest ached, until tears spilled down my cheeks and obscured my vision.
I watched as his blood continued to spill, spreading across the floor to meet the cream colored rug beneath the coffee table.
My chest heaved as adrenaline rushed through me, and I felt the warmth of Niko’s body beside me.
I turned to him, seeing that dark glint in his eyes, and pressed my mouth against his.
Arousal pooled in my core, and I fell back as Niko grabbed my waist. His hand slid down, his fingers grazing my sensitive clit, and I gasped at the sensation.
I reached up and undid his pants, sliding my hand down to meet his erect cock.
He slipped two fingers inside my entrance, my back arching as he pumped into me.
He pushed me back against the floor and removed my pants, gazing down at me with lust-filled eyes.
My heart raced as he undressed, the length of his cock springing free.
He grabbed the knife from the floor and cut off my shirt to reveal the hardened peaks of my nipples.
He leaned down and pressed into me, our bodies sliding across the floor in the growing pool of blood. His fingers teased my entrance, the need to have him inside me rising with every touch.
"What do you want, Lila?" he asked, grazing his thumb along my swollen clit.
Only days ago, that question had filled me with dread, the answer never seeming quite so clear. Now, I answered without hesitation, feeling a tingling sensation spread through my body.
“You, Niko,” I whispered. “I want you. I want your darkness, your pain, your love. I want it all.”
In one violent thrust, he entered me, a broken scream tearing from my lungs as sparks ignited across my skin.
Our bodies melted together, a knowing look passing between us, as we gave in to our carnal desires.
His thrusts were brutal and unforgiving, his fingers digging into the flesh of my neck as he held me down.
I whimpered as he pulled out, flipping me onto my stomach.
The metallic scent of blood filled my nose as my face pressed against the soaked floor.
He grabbed the knife from beside my head, pressing it hard against the skin of my back.
With a savage thrust, he fucked into me again, the knife gliding across my skin in shaky movements.
White spots filled my vision as I climaxed, the pain of the cuts he was creating pushing me over the edge.
He dropped the knife beside us and wrapped his hand around my throat, squeezing it tightly.
“Now everyone will know you—” thrust “belong—” thrust “to me.”
He pounded into me ruthlessly, my body sliding across the blood-soaked floor with each thrust. My fingernails bent as I dug them into the floor, and I peered over to where my father’s body lay, his eyes hollow and devoid of life.
His mouth was agape, stuck in a silent scream.
Niko’s hand tightened around my throat, cutting off my air supply.
I gazed into my father’s dead eyes, and another orgasm hit, sending me into a bliss-filled haze.
His arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer into him, his cock sliding further into me. I moaned as he slowed his pace, the feel of his lips against my shoulder sending a shiver down my spine.
I whimpered as he pulled out, the tip of his cock resting against my entrance. I squirmed underneath him, needing to feel him inside me. He chuckled darkly, and I peered up at him, seeing blood smeared across his cheek and lips.
“Please,” I begged, rubbing against him.
“Please, what?”
“Fuck me, please,” I panted. “I need you inside me.”
“Good girl,” he whispered as he slammed back into me.
Instantly, my walls clenched around him, my orgasm hitting as waves of pleasure rolled through my stomach. His pace was merciless, ripping an animalistic cry from my throat. I met each thrust with my hips, riding the wave of euphoria that seemed to never end.
His body shuddered as he came, a deep growl rumbling in his chest. The grip on my throat loosened as he filled me with rope after rope of cum, a shiver rippling through me as I felt his cock twitch.
He pulled free and fell beside me, his eyes gazing at me with a look of contentment. I reached over and pressed his hair behind his ear, running my fingers gently over his cheek.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked.
His arm slid under me and pulled me into him, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “but we’ll figure it out.”
We lay there for what felt like eternity before deciding to get up. I looked down at my father’s lifeless body, his skin pale and streaked with blood. Relief flooded through me at the sight of him, and I smirked.
“What do we do with him?” I asked, pointing to my father’s body.
He shrugged as he slipped on his pants, not sparing a glance toward him.
“Bury him, I guess.”
“Is that what you did with Daniel?”
He smirked as he pulled me toward him, his fingers grazing softly over my neck.
“Sort of.”
“What did you do with him exactly?” I pressed.
“Chopped him up, put him in trash bags, and buried him in the back yard,” he said with a shrug.
He said it so nonchalantly, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“We’ll figure him out, but first, you’re gonna need clothes,” he said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
He walked upstairs to get me another pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt, my heart feeling full and content for the first time in my life.
I didn’t know where we’d go from here, or how we’d fix my situation with Casey and the police, but there was no doubt in my mind… If anyone could fix it, it would be Niko.