Chapter 30
T he acrid stench of blood and fear permeated the air of the dimly lit warehouse. I inhaled deeply, savouring the metallic tang that clung to the back of my throat. This was my element, a place where the lines between pleasure and pain blurred into a delicious haze of power and control. My eyes flickered to the man chained to the metal chair bolted to the concrete floor. His face was a canvas of bruises and cuts, testament to the "conversations" we'd already had. A thin trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his swollen mouth, and I felt a familiar stirring of excitement in my core.
Logan stood a few feet away, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp and calculating. He was the brains of this operation, the one who knew exactly what information we needed to extract. I was just the weapon, the blunt instrument used to break down resistance and draw out secrets.
"Mr. Daniels," Logan said, his voice deceptively calm. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is the evidence you've collected against my father's operations?" The man in the chair, Daniels, spat a glob of blood onto the floor.
"Fuck you," he growled, his voice hoarse from screaming. "I'm not telling you shit." I tensed, ready to spring into action, but Logan held up a hand to stop me. I forced myself to relax, but my fingers twitched with the desire to inflict pain. Logan sighed, as if dealing with a particularly stubborn child.
"Mr. Daniels, I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation. My associate here," he gestured to me, "has already cleared out your bank accounts. Every penny you've stolen from my father's organisation is back where it belongs." Daniels' eyes widened slightly, a flicker of fear breaking through his bravado.
"How... how did you..." he stammered. Logan's smile was cold and predatory.
"We have resources you can't begin to imagine, Mr. Daniels. Now, about that evidence..." Daniels shook his head violently.
"No! You've already taken everything from me, why the fuck should I tell you anything?! I hope your bastard of a father rots in a fucking jail cell. And you can go with him, you jumped up piece of shit!" Logan didn't even blink as the man ranted on.
"Everything?" he asked, and the man stopped mid-sentence.
"What?" The confusion was clear in his voice.
"You said, we've taken everything, But what about your family?" The colour drained from Daniel's face, and I smirked as he stuttered.
"Y-You don't know where my family is. You can't touch them!" I huffed a laugh and Logan's eyebrow arched.
"Are you sure about that?" He tapped the screen of his phone, then held it up for Daniels to see. I caught a glimpse of the screen, a live video feed of a woman and two children, clearly unaware they were being watched. Daniels went berserk, thrashing against his restraints and screaming obscenities.
"You fucking bastards! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill all of you!" I stepped forward, eager to silence him, but Logan's voice cut through the chaos.
"If you give us the information we want, Mr. Daniels, I'll tell the other team to stand down. Your family doesn't have to be involved in this. They don't have to know what a bad boy you have been." Daniels' chest heaved as he glared at Logan with naked hatred.
"You're lying," he spat. "You'll kill them anyway." Logan shrugged, his face a mask of indifference.
"Perhaps. But right now, you have a chance to save them. It's more than you gave those women at Lexington, isn't it?" The mention of Lexington sent a chill down my spine, memories I'd rather forget threatening to surface. I pushed them aside, focusing on the present. Daniels had gone very still, his face ashen.
"How... how do you know about that?"
"We know everything, Mr. Daniels," Logan said softly. "Every woman you kidnapped, assaulted, sold. Every bit of evidence you thought you were cleverly gathering against us. Did you really think you could take on my father's organisation and walk away unscathed?"
I watched the fight drain out of Daniels, replaced by a bone-deep weariness. He slumped in his chair, defeated.
"What do you want to know?" he whispered. Logan nodded to me, and I felt a surge of anticipation. This was the part I lived for, the moment when hope died, and pain reigned supreme. I selected one of my favourite knives, a wicked curved blade that gleamed in the dim light. Daniels' eyes widened as I approached, panic replacing resignation.
"Wait!" he screamed. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" I paused, the tip of my knife hovering inches from his face. My body thrummed with pent-up energy, desperate for release. I looked to Logan, silently pleading for permission to continue. Logan's eyes met mine, and I saw the same dark hunger reflected there. He gave an almost imperceptible nod, and I grinned.
"Please, I mean it! I will tell you whatever you want to know."
"I know you will," I purred, and plunged the knife into Daniels' shoulder. His scream was music to my ears, a symphony of agony that sent shivers of pleasure through my body. I twisted the blade, relishing the way his flesh tore and blood welled up around the wound.
"Where's the evidence?" I growled, leaning in close. The scent of his fear was intoxicating, and I found myself growing hard. Daniels sobbed, his words coming out in a rush.
"Storage locker! Unit 17 at Riverside Self-Storage. The key... the key is hidden in a fake rock in my backyard by the swing. Please... please stop..." I withdrew the knife, disappointed that he'd broken so quickly. But as I watched the blood pool on the floor, an image flashed through my mind.
My sweet Poison, her pale skin streaked with crimson, her eyes wide as I fucked her in the blood of the man who would no doubt take his last breath soon. My cock twitched at the fantasy that was so vivid, I could almost taste it.
Logan's voice snapped me back to reality. He was on the phone, relaying the information to another team. "... yeah, unit 17. There should be a key hidden in a fake rock in the backyard, by the swings. Get everything." He hung up and turned to Daniels. "Well, Mr. Daniels, it seems you've outlived your usefulness." Daniels began to struggle again, his voice rising in panic.
"Wait! You said... you said if I told you, you'd leave my family alone!" Logan's smile was devoid of warmth.
"No, Mr. Daniels. I said I'd tell the other team to stand down. And I did. But I never promised your family would be safe." The look of utter despair on Daniels' face was exquisite. I savoured it, committing every detail to memory.
"Please," Daniels begged, tears streaming down his face. "They're innocent. They don't know anything about this. I'll do anything... anything you want. Just let them go." Logan regarded him coolly.
"You should have thought about their safety before you started raping women at Lexington. Before you decided to betray my father. Actions have consequences, Mr. Daniels. It's time you learned that. Or would be, if your time hadn't just run out." He nodded to me, and I didn't hesitate.
In one fluid motion I slashed Daniels' throat, the blade slicing through flesh and arteries with practised ease. Blood sprayed in an arc, splattering my face and chest. I grabbed a fistful of Daniels' hair, yanking his head back to watch the light fade from his eyes. His mouth worked soundlessly, gurgling as he drowned in his own blood. I held him there until the last tremor passed through his body, until his eyes glazed over, and his muscles went slack. Only then did I release him, letting his head loll forward onto his chest.
The rush of power that flooded through me was indescribable. I closed my eyes, savouring the moment, committing every sensation to memory. The sticky warmth of blood on my skin. The copper tang in the air. The lingering echoes of Daniels' final gasps. When I opened my eyes, Logan was watching me with a mixture of amusement and disdain.
"Enjoy yourself?" he asked dryly.
I grinned, not bothering to hide the fact that my cock was hard as fuck.
"Always do."
Logan shook his head, but I caught the ghost of a smile on his lips.
"Clean this up," he ordered. "I need to make some calls.” As Logan stepped away to handle the aftermath, I set about the task of disposing of Daniels' body. It was routine by now, dismember the corpse, dissolve it in acid, scatter the remains where they'd never be found.
The sound of raised voices pulled me from my thoughts. I tensed, my hand automatically going for one of the knives I hadn't put away yet. Logan was similarly alert, his fingers brushing the gun holstered at his hip.
The warehouse door slammed open, and two familiar figures strode in. My bastard of a father, Aaron Purcell, his face set in its perpetual sneer. And beside him, Nicholas Bale, Logan's father and the man we ultimately answered to.
I felt my mood instantly sour. My father had that effect on me, his very presence enough to set my teeth on edge. I turned my back on them, focusing on the task at hand with perhaps more force than necessary.
"Well?" Nicholas Bale's voice rang out, sharp and impatient. "Did you get what we needed?" Logan stepped forward, his posture straight and respectful.
"Yes, sir. We've recovered all the evidence Daniels had collected. Our team is securing it as we speak." Nicholas nodded, his cold eyes sweeping the warehouse. They lingered on the bloodstains on the floor, the smell of chemicals in the air.
"And Daniels?"
"No longer a problem," Logan assured him.
"Good," Nicholas said. "One less loose end to worry about. Now, about this Consort of yours..." I stiffened, my grip on the garbage bag tightening until my knuckles turned white. I could feel my father's eyes boring into my back, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence.
"When can I expect to meet her?" Nicholas continued. "I need to assess whether she's truly suitable for the role." I spun around before I could stop myself.
"Why does she need to meet you at all?" I demanded, my voice tight with barely contained anger. My father's lip curled in disgust.
"Mind your tone, boy," he spat. "You'd do well to remember your place."
I took a step towards him, my hands clenched into fists.
"My place?" I snarled. "My place is right here, doing the dirty work you're too fucking cowardly to handle yourself." My father's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Watch yourself, Ryder," he warned. "Or have you forgotten why I dragged you from that place?" A chill ran down my spine, memories of stark white walls and screaming patients flooding my mind. I pushed them away, focusing on the rage burning in my chest.
"You can't touch me," I growled, even as a part of me quailed at the threat in my father's eyes. "I'm too valuable to your plans. You need me."
My father's laugh was cold and cruel.
"Are you? Because from where I'm standing, you're nothing more than a rabid dog. Useful for now, perhaps, but ultimately replaceable, if needs be."
He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "If you don't fall in line, boy, I'll see you back in Lexington where you belong. And this time, I'll make sure you never get out. And then I will need to work on your replacement. Would you like me to claim my right to her?"
I felt the blood drain from my face, my bravado crumbling in the face of my deepest fear. Lexington. The mere thought of that place was enough to make my skin crawl. The endless white corridors, the screams echoing through the night, the feeling of being trapped in my own mind... That wasn’t what sent my blood running cold. My father had already fucked my mother up so much that she was a permanent resident at Lexington Institute, but his threats against my sister was enough to keep me trapped under his thumb and her in the dark about the life he was so eager to drag her into. I would do anything to avoid that fate for her. My eyes flickered to my knives and an impulsive, reckless thought crossed my mind. I would do anything. The actions were beginning to form when Logan stepped between us, his voice calm but firm.
"That won't be necessary," he said. "Ryder knows his place, don't you, Ryder?" His face was guarded enough, but I saw the resolve in his eyes. I nodded stiffly, unable to trust my voice.
Logan turned back to Nicholas, smoothly changing the subject.
"As for the Consort, I assure you she's being properly vetted," he said. "In fact, she mentioned that her grandfather knew of Bale Construction. I was looking into it. If he is aware of the company, he could be aware of more." Nicholas narrowed his eyes.
"What's his name?" he asked. Logan didn't seem concerned as he answered.
"A man named Bruce Turner. All I've found so far is that he is a retired construction worker, so it could be something and nothing." Something flickered in Nicholas's eyes at the name, a look passing between him and my father that set my nerves on edge.
"Turner, you say?" Nicholas mused. "Interesting. I want to meet this girl, Logan. Soon." Logan nodded, his face a mask of calm deference.
"Of course, sir. I'll arrange it." As Nicholas and my father turned to leave, I caught Logan's eye. There was a promise there, an assurance that he had everything under control. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we were walking a dangerous line.
The warehouse door slammed shut behind them, leaving Logan and me alone once more. The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken tension.
"What the fuck was that about?" I finally asked, my voice hoarse. Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Politics," he said simply. "My father's getting impatient. He wants to make sure Cadence isn't going to be a liability." I felt a surge of possessive anger at the thought of Nicholas Bale anywhere near Cade.
"She's not meeting him," I growled. "I won't let that happen." Logan's eyes met mine, a mix of understanding and warning in his gaze.
"Relax, Ryder. I've got it under control. My father won't get anywhere near her." I wanted to believe him, but the threat of Lexington still loomed large in my mind.
"And what about my father? You heard what he said."
"Your father is all talk," Logan said dismissively. "He knows he can't touch you without my father's approval. And right now, you're too valuable to them." His words should have been reassuring, but they only served to heighten my anxiety. I was useful now, but for how long? And what would happen when I wasn't anymore?
We finished cleaning up in tense silence, the events of the night weighing heavily on both of us. By the time we made it back to Covenant House, it was nearly 3 AM. I felt grimy and on edge, the adrenaline from the kill long since faded.
"Get some rest," Logan said as we entered the house. "We'll deal with everything else tomorrow." I nodded, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind.
As Logan disappeared into his room, I headed for the shower, desperate to wash away the blood and sweat of the night's activities. The hot water pounded against my skin, but it did little to ease the tension in my muscles or the turmoil in my mind.
Clean and dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants, I found myself drawn to Cade's room. I needed to see her, to reassure myself that she was safe and untouched by the darkness of my world. But when I pushed open her door, I found her bed empty and undisturbed. A flash of panic shot through me before I remembered that she was with Cole tonight. My cock twitched at the thought of them together.
I quickly made my way to Cole's room, pushing the door open silently. The sight that greeted me stopped me in my tracks. Cade and Cole were curled up together on the bed, both fast asleep. Cole's arm was wrapped protectively around Cade's waist, her back pressed against his chest. They looked peaceful, innocent, everything I wasn't.
For a moment, I considered waking them, claiming Cade for myself and maybe Cole as well. But something held me back. Instead, I sank into the chair in the corner of the room, my eyes fixed on the sleeping pair.
As I watched them, my hand drifted to the waistband of my sweatpants. I pulled out my already hardening cock, stroking it slowly as I drank in the sight before me.
In my mind, I could see it all so clearly. Cade writhing between Cole and me, her body slick with sweat and blood. Cole submitting to my every command, his hands on Cade, his mouth on me.
The fantasy built, fuelled by the darkness that always lurked just beneath the surface of my mind. I imagined Cade begging, pleading for more even as tears streamed down her face. I saw myself marking her, claiming her in ways that would leave no doubt who she belonged to.
My hand moved faster, my breath coming in short, quiet gasps. In my mind, I was fucking Cade with Cole, our cocks sliding against each other in her wet pussy, no doubt tightly wrapped around us both as she cried and told us it was too much. I was hurting her, protecting her, loving her in the only way I knew how. As I neared my climax, reality and fantasy blurred.
Cade stirred in her sleep, pressing closer to Cole, and it was enough to push me over the edge. I came silently, my body shuddering with the force of my orgasm. The haze of pleasure faded, and I found myself staring at Cade's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, so untouched by the darkness that consumed me.
A part of me wanted to wake her, to drag her into my world and never let her go. But another part, a part I didn't fully understand, wanted to preserve this moment of innocence.
I cleaned myself up and settled back into the chair, content to watch over them for the rest of the night.