Chapter 32
“I’m very lucky to have hired him before someone else snagged him,” Rizwana is saying, but just like the last few minutes, I zone her out and stay alert as I lead her towards the dining room.
Now that I have her, things are starting to feel realer. I’m literally leading this woman to her death, but still, I don’t feel an ounce of sympathy towards her, or hesitation in doing what I’m about to do.
My heart is thudding so fast that I can feel it at the base of my throat, and my hands feel slightly clammy, making it hard for me to keep a consistent grip on my clutch.
“Where are we going?” Rizwana asks, and I think I hear suspicion in her voice. “There’s a perfectly open spot for air just behind us.”
I let go of a calming breath through pursed lips, then put a bright smile on my face before turning around to face her.
“That?” I gesture towards the divan I’d sat on earlier. “Well, it’s too public for me. I’d rather no one disturb us while we talk.”
Her eyes narrow as she assesses me, then something in her demeanor changes, and she gives me a smirk. “I’m fine with the idea of having some privacy, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
Oh, dear Lord. She thinks I’m into her. Well, if it works in my favor, why the fuck not?
“Now you get it.” I wink at her, then jerk my head towards the hallway.
“Follow me,” I say, then practically rush in the dining room’s direction.
Once inside, I don’t stop until I’ve crossed half the room, and when I turn this time, I find Rizwana glancing around the quiet, dark expanse with an impressive look on her face.
“I like it,” she praises, then eyes something over my shoulder. “And it’s got a view.”
I follow her direction, and find a beautiful archway on the furthest wall, that not only showcases the violet sky and shimmering stars, but also Imperia’s illuminating entrance.
Hands cup my waist, and I feel the heat of Rizwana’s breath against my ear, which makes me stiffen.
“You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” she says a bit hoarsely. “Wanting to sneak into an empty room with me like this.” Her hands travel up and cup my breasts. “You want me to touch your pussy, princess? You want my fingers inside you, fucking you till you’re coming all over them?”
I close my eyes and will myself not to shiver. I wanna jerk away from her, but in doing so, I might provoke her to leave.
All I have to do is wait; bide my time. Dorran will be here soon, and then, all of this will be over.
Rizwana parts the opening of my dress and brings her fingers dangerously close to my underwear, and I swallow the dryness in my throat in order to avoid coughing.
“If I slip a hand inside you right now, will I find you wet for me?” she whispers. “Will you beg me to put my mouth on that cunt of yours?”
My body fails me and starts trembling a little, but I stay rooted and wait.
Patience – I have to have patience.
“Look at that. You’re turned on, aren’t you?” Rizwana misreads my body language, and it only spurs her on. She starts pushing her hand in through the waistband of my underwear, but a sharp bang of a door slamming shut makes her stop abruptly.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” comes a voice that immediately slithers itself over me; wraps itself around me. “You’re touching a woman who’s mine.”
Rizwana pulls back, and I promptly step away from her before pivoting on my feet.
Dorran is standing a short distance from us, with his hands in his pant pockets, and his crew by his side. He gives Rizwana a look that’s laced in flesh-tearing ice, and I can’t help but admire him for the way he looks right now.
Dorran is night personified – a blanket of darkness that overpowers everything in its path.
“Ledger,” Rizwana all but spits his name. “Fancy meeting you here.” She appears both shocked and terrified, but it’s impossible to say which of the two emotions takes precedence over the other.
Dorran tilts his head and gives her a smirk. “Hey, Riz; sup?”
She scoffs. “Didn’t know you’d recruited a posh bitch in your group of fuck-ups.” She glances sideways at me to emphasize her point.
Dorran starts reducing the space between us by taking slow, deliberate steps in our direction.
“I’ll repeat myself to you, but just this once: I’d be careful if I were you, Rizwana.
Using slurs on Cignette isn’t exactly going to work in your favor.
” He stops directly in front of her, then looks at me and lifts a brow in silent question.
I nod, letting him know I’m okay.
“As if I have a chance,” Rizwana says.
Dorran grins at her. “You’re right, you don’t.”
She steps back and starts running towards the dining room’s entrance, but as soon as she reaches it, Varsha tackles her and drops her to the ground.
Alex hops onto a nearby table, and starts swinging his legs as he watches Varsha punch Rizwana in the face.
Dorran sighs and rolls his eyes, then lifts my chin. “You look a bit shaken, Little Swan.”
I swallow and shake my head. “I’m alright.”
He runs the back of his fingers over my jaw, then leans in to press a long kiss on my lips. “I’m glad,” he whispers, then moves behind me before wrapping his arms around me. “You wanna watch as Jayce ends her?” he asks, then gestures ahead. “Or do you wanna get outta here?”
I swallow again and look at Rizwana. Jayce has a thick chain wrapped around her throat, and she’s struggling fruitlessly against it. Something about the strain on her face, and her mere helplessness, intrigues me, and I want to see where it all leads.
“I’ll stay,” I tell Dorran.
He chuckles. “Good girl,” he says. “Jayce?”
He looks up at us. “Yeah?”
“Bring her closer,” Dorran orders.
Rizwana continues to struggle as Jayce drags her over to us with a hand on his chain, and the other in Rizwana’s hair.
Dorran places his chin on my shoulder, then parts my dress enough for my underwear to show.
I suck in a breath. “Dorran…” I whisper. “What are you–”
“You trust me?” he asks.
“Of course, but–”
“Good.” He cups my pussy, making me arch against him.
Alex and Jayce seem unfazed by what’s happening, but Varsha’s face flushes pink. She averts her gaze, but I notice a slight smirk on her face regardless.
“Dorran, your crew is watching,” I rasp, then bite my bottom lip when he presses the heel of his palm to my clit.
“You’re still so wet from the orgasm I gave you earlier,” he says. “Or…is it Rizwana’s touch that’s done this to you?”
“Fuck you for assuming that,” I sneer. “I–”
He laughs – a beautiful action that sets me on fire. “So quick to defend yourself, sweetheart.” He starts rubbing my center. “Your clit is so fucking hard right now,” he states. “Does it hurt when I do…this?” He circles my bud, and I let go of a sharp cry.
“Mm…” He hums. “You seeing this, Riz?” he addresses Rizwana. “This is what you wanted, didn’t you? This is what you hoped you could have.” He strokes me with fervor, and my stomach knots as my orgasm builds.
Rizwana claws at Jayce’s chain, her face now red. “You two deserve each other,” she croaks. “Messed up little sluts, both of you.”
Dorran laughs again, but this time, there’s no warmth in it. His movements between my legs stop as well. “Too bad you can’t ship us off somewhere to be whores, though,” he says. “We’re already too screwed up for your standards.”
Her eyes widen, and what happens next is a blur, because I can barely keep up with the chaos that ensues before me.
Rizwana digs her long nails into Jayce’s wrists, who groans and steps away from her, his chain falling to the floor with a heavy clink.
She then pulls out an unusually-thick, strange-looking hair-stick from her bun, and makes to stab Jayce with it, but Dorran slides away from me and rushes in front of Jayce with such speed, that I realize a little late that it’s him who has taken the brunt of Rizwana’s attack.
“Dorran!” I scream, just as Rizwana pulls her hair-stick out from his left side and stumbles to her feet.
“You bitch!” Alex rushes at Rizwana and kicks her in the gut, twists the arm in which she’s holding the supposed weapon, and pulls it out of her grasp.
I run towards Dorran, and catch him before he can trip, ignoring the pain that shoots through my ribs as his weight presses against me.
He’s breathing a little unevenly, and his shirt is stained red with how much he’s bleeding.
He groans and presses a hand on the wound, then leans on me for more support.
Jayce and Varsha are at his side, and the shock on their faces matches the one I’m experiencing right now.
Chairs screech as Rizwana tries to get out of Alex’s hold, but he knees her in the face, making her fall to a crawl.
He heaves a breath and spits at her. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he tells her. “You shouldn’t have fucking done that.” He bunches her hair and tilts her head all the way back, raises the hand in which he’s holding the hair-stick, and brings it down, stabbing her in her left eye.
She screams, and it’s a cry filled with so much pain and terror that one would want to look away or flinch against it. But I don’t. I watch it; watch her. I watch as she’s given what she deserves.
Alex stabs the same eye again, and again, and again, and a sick, wet, crunch-like sound fills the air, making me feel nauseous.
But I don’t look away, though. It’s like I can’t.
Rizwana’s body slumps on itself, but continues to jerk violently each time Alex stabs her eye.
She’s dead – just like that.
So fragile is a human life. So easily breakable. Erasable.
Alex roars and moves onto her next eye, leaving the previous one a pulpy, bloody mess. He’s in a different kind of zone now, unaware of everything else but his task. He keeps on stabbing – his hand coated in blood and skin.
“Stop,” Dorran pants, and tries to stand up straighter, but ends up losing his balance and falling back against my arms.
“Stop,” he says again – to Alex, who doesn’t seem to have heard him.
“Fucking stop!”
Alex finally, thankfully, listens, and lets go of Rizwana. As her lifeless body all but drops to the floor, he throws the hair-stick on her corpse and steps away from her.
Dorran groans again. He’s sweating a little, and his complexion has paled. “Text Eddie for cleanup,” he tells Jayce.
“I’ve done that already,” Varsha says. “And I’ve sent Solo an SOS, letting him know you’ve been injured.”
Dorran nods, then straightens again. “We need to…get out of here,” he grits out. “All that noise could have attracted unnecessary attention.”
My eyes sting as I notice the exertion on his face. I glance at his hand on the wound – now covered in his blood – then look at Jayce. “Hold him.”
He immediately switches positions with me, and as I step away from them, I hear Jayce say, “I’m sorry, Ledge; I fucked up,” to Dorran, who grunts and replies, “Just don’t let me bleed out, and we can call it even.”
I walk over to the nearest table, grab its white tablecloth, and place my clutch on one of the chairs. Dorran and his crew watch me as I tear the tablecloth into two long pieces, fold those pieces into thick rectangular blocks, then walk back to them.
“Take your hand away from the wound,” I tell Dorran, then glance at Alex. “Grab another tablecloth and tear it in half for me.”
He nods and gets to work.
I look at Dorran’s left side, and, because his hand isn’t covering it, I can see the wound quite clearly. The outer shell is swollen, and the hole is as wide as a bullet wound would be, but in his case, there’s no actual bullet to stop him from bleeding out.
I swallow and press the cloth pieces over the wound, and Dorran cries out – a sound that’s so sudden it makes me jolt.
“I’m sorry,” I say, then glance at him. “I’m so sorry.”
“This won’t be enough, Cignette,” he tells me.
“I know. But it’ll be enough to get you out of this place without losing too much blood.”
His eyelids droop a little as he scans my face. “Thank you,” he whispers.
I cup his jaw and kiss him once. “Don’t. I just want you to be okay.”
“I will be.”
I move back. “That better be a promise.”
He chuckles – tries to, more like – but ends up hissing in pain.
“You’re so damn corny, Little Swan,” he muses.
“Fuck you,” I counter, then roll my eyes.
“Here.” Alex comes to stand next to me, and offers the requested tablecloth pieces.
“Wrap one of these around Dorran’s waist,” I tell him.
Varsha lifts Dorran’s jacket from behind, and Alex starts wrapping the cloth around his waist. Jayce steps closer and support’s more of Dorran’s weight on himself.
With the folded pieces still covering his wound, I pull my hand away, just as Alex secures Dorran’s left side with our makeshift bandage.
I take the other piece from him and wrap it over the first one, tightening it overall.
Dorran grunts again, but says nothing.
I tie the ends of both the pieces into a knot, then sigh and take a step back. “This’ll do for now.” I then look up at Dorran, and when he gives me a lazy smile, I swipe the sweat off his brows, fix his disarrayed hair, button-up his suit jacket, and return his smile with one of my own.
“Let’s get you outta here,” I tell him, then grab my clutch and brace myself as I start making my way towards the door.