Chapter 39
The Monster
T he comfort of my mask covers my features, making me anonymous as I walk into the unsuspecting house. Enzo received the details of the auction this morning, and called me right away, giving me plenty of time to prepare for the hell I’m about to break loose.
Tonight won’t be easy, but all that matters is getting Ainsley to safety, even if she has to go without me.
“Are you ready, boss?” I hear a voice ask through my earpiece. Jonah couldn’t come with me, as much as he wanted to. If my father has been watching us, he would recognize Jonah as the man that’s been protecting Ainsley, and my cover would be blown. I couldn’t risk it.
I’m sure every other man in there will have their personal bodyguards with them in case something goes wrong, but I’ll just have to be different this time. My skin itches with anxiety, and I desperately wish I had my knife so I could calm the burn in my lower abdomen, but that’ll have to wait until after Ainsley tells me she never wants to see me again.
“I’m ready,” I answer, sounding more confident than I feel. One little misstep and this could go horribly wrong. I have to tread carefully, Jonah has to stay hidden, and Ainsley can’t give me away. “We’re going to get her back.”
“You’re damn right we will,” Jonah answers, his voice loud and confident in my ear.
With his confidence filling me, I step out of my rented car and stride toward the house where my little one is waiting for me. As soon as I received the address from Enzo, I sent it to my tech guys and had them do some digging. Apparently, the house is used as a vacation rental, and he had it rented under an old friend’s name for the week.
I have to give him credit. I never thought he would be smart enough to go to such lengths to keep Ainsley from me, and because of that, he nearly won. Luckily, I still ended up one step ahead of him, and he still has no idea.
“Enzo Costa,” I announce to the doorman letting people in. He looks on his list, sees Enzo’s name, and motions for me to enter without ever speaking a word.
The front door leads directly into a large living room, already filled with men in masks. I’m in a room surrounded by my enemies, all of them looking to hurt me, and they don’t even know I’m right here. A devious smile passes my lips as I think about getting all of their names from that list and making sure they never cross the Reapers again.
As I move further into the room, pushing through the crowd, I see her. Kneeling on the floor with her head bowed and my father’s hand on her shoulder to keep her down, Ainsley looks like the good girl I know she isn’t. Beneath the obedient mask she’s been forced to wear tonight, I know she’s seething with rage and waiting to be released from her cage.
I watch as a man in a white mask, painted to look like it’s covered in cracks, approaches with his bodyguard close behind him. He walks a circle around Ainsley, inspecting every inch of her gorgeous skin as if he thinks she’ll belong to him.
His fingers run through the long ponytail falling from the top of her head, and I clench my jaw under my mask. “Your hair will look beautiful when I wrap it around my fist and fuck your face.”
Without missing a beat, she says, “Then I’ll make sure to shave it all off the first chance I get.”
My father glares at her as his grip tightens on her shoulder, but she doesn’t lift her eyes. She keeps them glued to the floor, her little act of defiance.
Minutes pass as we all stand, waiting for another brave soul to approach. Movement from my right makes me turn my head. A man wearing a purge mask approaches, and circles Ainsley just as the first man did. He stops behind her, too, and I watch his eyes trail across the top of her back.
“Your attitude is cute, but will you still feel brave when I cut his name from your back?”
Her jaw tenses at the thought of losing that piece of me. “Just make sure you cut deep enough so I never have to feel your tiny dick inside of me.”
“And why would you assume I have a tiny dick?”
“Because if you didn’t, you would have plenty of women around you instead of having to buy one from another man,” she retorts.
I can’t hide the chuckle as the reprimanded man walks away from her, but I’m not the only one laughing in the room. My turn. I’m not going to give one of them another chance to say something degrading to her without making sure she knows I’m here.
As I approach her, I copy the other men and walk a circle around her. The outfit she’s in barely covers her, making me want to rip off my shirt and give it to her so they have nothing left to look at. My name on her back has turned mostly to scar, making it look less painful than the last time I saw her. I want to reach out and trace the letters, but stop myself.
Once I’m in front of her, I crouch down and lift her chin with my finger, forcing her to look at me. She resists at first, but as soon as I have her chin lifted enough that she sees me, her eyes widen with surprise and I see tears welling up. I inspect the bruise on the side of her face, clenching my jaw as I see the black fading to yellow covering her skin.
At this moment, I’m grateful it took me so long to show Ainsley my face when we first met, because I know she can read the warning in my eyes. She can’t give away that it’s me under this mask. She can’t show recognition, or hope, or happiness. But, I’m here for her, and she’s safe.
“Tell me something, little one,” I start, making my voice deeper so my father doesn’t recognize me. Despite the difference, Ainsley relaxes as the sound of my voice soothes her nerves. “Have you ever been fucked by a gun?”
She smirks, remembering the night she found me in the basement. The night I wanted to break her and make her fall in love with me at the same time. The night that started it all for us.
“I’ve read about it in some of my books. Do you think that means I would enjoy it?” she answers, trying to stay close to what she said to me that night.
With a smile I hope she can see through my eyes, I lift my finger from her chin and trail it down her cheek gently. “Would you like to find out?”
After the words fall from my mouth, I stand up, not wanting to linger and look suspicious. It nearly breaks me to turn my back to Ainsley and walk away, but when I turn back around, I find a new sense of bravery painted on her face. Knowing I’m here for her was exactly what she needed.
One by one, the rest of the men in the room approach her as I watch. They all walk around her, inspecting her like a horse they’re intending to buy. Some of them speak to her, making degrading comments only for her to come back with a snarky comment of her own. Others prefer to look and walk away, not wanting to be humiliated by the small girl meant to be silent and obedient.
“We’re in position,” I hear through my earpiece. Silently acknowledging Jonah, I keep my eyes focused on the front of the room, waiting for the moment when I can intervene.
“Gentleman,” my father announces with a wide smile on his face, looking proud about what he’s planning to do. “This girl once belonged to Cain Ryker, leader of the Reapers, as you can see from the scar on her back. As revenge against him, I’m offering her to you. You can use her however you choose, if you’re willing to purchase her. If you are no longer interested, please, leave the premises. If you choose to stay, we will begin bidding.”
I watch as a few men leave with their bodyguards, deciding they no longer want to be a part of this. They don’t give their reasoning as they leave, and I want to believe it’s because they decided against crossing me. Any man that lays eyes on Ainsley would want her for their own, so it can’t be that they’re no longer interested in her.
Once the crowd has settled and the remaining men stand their ground, ready to throw whatever money they have into the ring, my father starts again.
“Who would like to make the first bid?” he asks, his voice loud enough to fill the room. My heart pounds in my chest as adrenaline floods through me. This is my cue, as well as the cue I told my men to wait for.
As I step forward, separating myself from the crowd, my father’s eyes skate from me to the front door where I know my men are filing into the house, ready to defend me and Ainsley against whatever is to come.
As I reach the spot in front of Ainsley where I crouched for her so she would see me, I forcefully remove his hand from her shoulder and pull her away from him. Once she’s far enough away that he can’t grab for her, I push her behind my back and remove my mask, letting everyone see the mistake they made by coming here tonight.
“There will be no bidding,” I announce. Some men shift uncomfortably on their feet, while others try to walk for the door, only to find it blocked by my men. “The beautiful creature you seek tonight is already claimed.”
I look around the room, making eye contact with everyone wearing a mask to show them how serious I am. Every instinct in my body is telling me to shoot them all before they can escape. After all, they came here as revenge to me, making them a threat to Ainsley.
But, I can’t do that. That would bring a war to my doorstep, and while I could handle each of them individually, my numbers aren’t strong enough to win if they all band together.
“I invite you all to go back to your homes and forget this night ever happened. For those of you that have another idea in mind, I’d like to remind you of what happened to Carlos Guerra and his cartel. Guerra is buried six feet under, his corpse mutilated from the torture he endured before I murdered him for touching what’s mine. His men are gone, and his cartel is nothing but a ghost left to be forgotten with time.”
Wheels are turning in their eyes as they look at me, processing every word I just said. It’s well known in our community that Carlos is dead and his cartel no longer exists, but no one knows why. They assumed he went against the wrong person and paid the price, and they were right, they just didn’t know that person was me.
One brave soul steps out of the crowd, facing me with steel in his eyes.
“And if we choose to shoot you now and steal the girl anyway?”
Ainsley grips the back of my shirt out of fear, probably for what could happen to her if I’m shot right now. She hasn’t seen Jonah standing in the back of the room, waiting to make his move if something happens.
Reaching to my back, I pull out the gun hidden in my waistband and shoot the man between the eyes of his red devil mask. Blood leaks from the hole as he falls backward, standing out from how dark it is compared to the red of his mask.
His bodyguard rushes forward on instinct, but it’s too late. The man is dead, another threat to Ainsley taken from this world by my hands.
Men panic, turning their backs to me and rushing to the door.
“Let them leave,” I shout to my men. I proved my point; the message was received loud and clear. This is between my father and me now.
“Cain!” Ainsley screams from behind me. I turn around as her hands lose their grip on my shirt, making it snap into my back from how hard she pulled on it.
As I turn around, finding her trapped in the arms of the man I’m supposed to call father, my mind goes into a panic. He has one arm wrapped around her neck and another around her waist from pulling her away from me. She’s kicking and struggling, losing energy quickly as she tries unsuccessfully to escape his hold.
“Ainsley,” I call to her, trying to keep my voice steady to calm her. It doesn’t work. She continues struggling, my voice not being heard as her wide eyes meet mine. As she looks at me, seeing the pleading in my eyes for her to calm down, she stops her struggle and waits for me to save her.
“You’re not taking her back,” he spits at me once she stops screaming. He’s holding her close to his body, too close for me to intervene.
Faking more calmness, I laugh at him and relax my posture, showing him I’m unbothered. “You think she’s going to want to come back with me? I’m the reason she was almost sold, again . Just let me give her to Jonah so she can go back to her normal life, without me.”
Her eyes widen from my words, but I don’t turn my attention to her. I can’t lose my focus for even a second here.
“You think I’m going to believe that?” my father asks. Sweat beads his brow as his eyes dart around the room, seeing that he’s drastically outnumbered. He’s never going to make it out of this alive, and from the look in his eyes, I can tell he doesn’t plan on going down alone. But it’s not my men he wants to bring with him. “You’ll keep pursuing her. Your obsession with her will destroy everything I worked for, and I refuse to let that happen.”
As he speaks, he unwraps his arm from around her waist and reaches around to his back. The second I realize what he’s doing, my gun is already trained on his head, as is the gun of every man watching him.
He doesn’t fear death. That much is obvious from the manic gleam in his eyes.
Ainsley is in a full panic now as he raises the gun and points it at her head. A maniacal grin is plastered on my father’s face, making him look like he’s had a psychotic break.
“I wonder what’s running through your mind right now. He forced you into this life, and here you are, about to die for something you never wanted,” he laughs into Ainsley’s ear.
Tears slip from her eyes as she squeezes them shut, looking away from me for the first time. The fight in her dies as she realizes there’s no way out. Even if I shoot him now, he’ll pull the trigger on the gun pointed at her temple, and she’ll die with him.
“Little one, look at me,” I command her. Her eyes snap open, red and puffy from the tears she’s trying to keep from falling. I rack my brain, trying to think of what to say to her. My words can’t be too obvious, but they need to be obvious enough to her. “Nice try, little seductress, but your words won’t work every time. You’ll need to try again.”
I plead with her through my eyes, begging her to remember what I’m trying to tell her. She returns my stare, but hers is full of questions. She doesn’t understand what I’m trying to tell her.
“You need to see me as the monster if this is going to work, baby. Do I need to make you mad?”
The words I said to her that day dance through my mind, tearing a hole through my heart. Never would I have imagined that this would happen all over again, but here we are. It’s my fault, again.
Recognition colors her eyes as my words finally strike home, but she doesn’t react yet. She doesn’t have the opening she needs.
As I step forward, my father’s attention is drawn to me. He’s nervous, especially as I move closer, which makes him take the gun away from her and aim it at me. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing this is the opening she needs. If he shoots me in the process, it will be worth it.
My eyes scream at Ainsley, Now . But she doesn’t listen. She shakes her head slightly, telling me she won’t do it. Not while the gun is pointed at me.
I need to stall.
“Shoot me, I dare you. Then what will happen to your precious cartel?”
His gun stays steady, but I watch as his finger becomes lighter on the trigger. Shooting me would go against everything he was trying to accomplish here. But, with his gun now on me, I don’t have to worry about him shooting Ainsley if I shoot him.
He realizes it at the same time I do. Ainsley is pulled in front of him, blocking the clear shot of his head I had. Cursing under my breath, I keep my gun pointed in his direction, but it’s useless. I’m not going to take the shot if there’s even a chance that I could hurt Ainsley.
“Now, baby,” I command her through gritted teeth, waiting to be part of the collateral damage. I can already feel the sting of the bullet biting into my skin, but I don’t let it show on my face. “Be a good girl and escape. ”
As I say the last word, the back of her head slams into his face. The sound of his gun going off rings through the room as the arm that was wrapped around her throat reaches for his face, wanting to hold his nose to stop the blood from gushing out.
As soon as she’s free, she runs from him. Somewhere behind me, Jonah is gesturing for her to come to him, just as we planned. He’s going to get her out of here while I make sure this never happens again.
As I’m lowering my gun, ready to torture the man that raised me for thinking he could sell her again, I watch in horror as he holds his own gun with a steady hand and aims it, pulling the trigger before I have a chance to react.
The scream that fills the room when the ringing is done shatters my heart into a million pieces. My gun raises quickly, and before I can change my mind, the bullet lands directly between his eyes. He falls back as blood and pieces of his brain splatter against the wall behind him, but by the time he hits the floor, I’m already turned around and running to Ainsley.
“Little bird, answer me,” I hear Jonah pleading through my earpiece.
My eyes refuse to believe what they’re seeing, but it’s clear as day. Ainsley is lying in Jonah’s arms, blood quickly spreading across the white fabric strip barely covering her stomach.
“Ainsley, stay awake,” I hear him say just as I fall to my knees next to her, pulling her from his arms and into my lap.
“Open your eyes, baby. Fucking open them,” I beg her, screaming as my heart freezes over, refusing to feel the pain of this moment. My entire body is numb.
Ainsley’s eyes crack open and try to focus on me, but they quickly fall shut as sleep tries to claim her. “You should’ve tortured him,” she whispers.
A small smile spreads on her face before dropping. As her eyes close and her body grows heavier, blood trickles from her parted lips.