Page 37 of Twisted Cage

The tension between Nikolaj and Vlad had been fed and stoked every day, a game of sorts for my father’s entertainment. Maybe that’s why our father had insisted we live with him full time. To amuse him.

I never quite figured out if Vlad had been born a demented fuck or if over the course of time, little by little, this relentless, poisonous competition bled into a normal heart and turned him into the complete monster he’d become.

Faith’s eyes lit with excitement listening to every sordid detail as though being read a dark fairy tale before bed. My experiences created an almost innocent fascination. Her distance from my harsh reality, the impossibility of it all, lulled her into a sense of safety.

Despite what her father and brother had done to her, she’s lived a sheltered life. She’s never had to live within a gruesome game of chess where the pieces on the board have heartbeats, and removing the defender means spilling real blood, leaving behind stains impossible to scrub clean. She’s never lived bound by the twisted power constricting her year after year, until it becomes impossible to fill her lungs.

I should have prepared her better for this. For what is to come.

“Faith…”

With a hand on the newel post and her first foot on the bottom stair, she turns.

“When they get here, follow my lead. Don’t say anything.” I have no idea who will lead the charge. It should be my brother, Nikolaj. Accepting my fate will be a whole hell of a lot easier if it is him.

But I know Konstantin. He’ll go to great lengths to take the lead on this. To be the first one to get his hands on me. I’ll only know how to play it when I lay eyes on him again, his face telling me everything I need to know.

My gut plummets, as though shoved over the first drop on a roller coaster, at the thought of seeing him again. Looking him in the eye after I told him every vulnerable truth about my feelings for him. Only to have him lie, tell me what I wanted to hear, and take what I offered.

And still the look on his face, the absolute wonder and possession I can’t get out of my head softens the sharp edge of betrayal and sets butterflies fluttering through my stomach.

Oh, fuck him. Fuck him all the way to hell for taking me so fucking completely, there is no way another man can touch me without my comparing the two. Only to have anyone other than Konstantin come up severely lacking every single time.

She nods and gives me a soft smile. Maybe the last soft smile I’ll ever see grace her face. Because my world devours goodness like hers. It tears a huge chunk away at first… a warning of what is to come, shocking the naive out of the safety of the life they knew before. Then it gnaws bit by bit, tearing every bit of innocence and hope.

Soon… very soon, she’ll learn firsthand the bitterness of raw poison flowing behind the shiny veneer. And all evidence of the fairy tale she’s built in her mind will disintegrate before my eyes.

NIKOLETTA

An hour later, with the last of the dishes put away, I walk Regan up to our room where we have kept her since Elijah raped her. With a promise to be back in just a few minutes, I head for the kitchen and begin gathering hand towels, linen dishrags, tablecloths, and oven mitts to run through the wash.

It all seems so foreign to me now, the chores I’ve grown used to, knowing this will be the last time I’ll do them. They’ll come tonight. My brother will never risk leaving me here until dawn. He’ll know that using his card is an absolute last resort and time is of the essence.

My ears prick for the slightest unfamiliar sound. Goosebumps rise on my skin as my sense of hearing heightens until even the most quiet hum turns into a loud buzzing in my skull. The sound of the refrigerator compressor kicking on makes me jump to the point my hand shoots straight to my thigh where I keep my knife.

I listen for a few more seconds and shake my head. I’m being stupid. My body is already on edge, preparing me for the transition from this formerly peaceful, secluded life to a violent world bathed in greed and blood. Ice drops into the bin from the ice maker, but this time, I take a deep breath, holding on to a sense of calm. I’ll need my senses soon enough. I sure as hell don’t need to waste them on the hum of appliances.

Fresh mountain air blows through the open windows facing the hillside. The subtle breeze carries the chorus of crickets, giving a sense of peace I’ve grown to appreciate. The sound is foreign compared to years of my life living in estates with hundreds of staff on the grounds with occasional stints in the sophisticated cities.

Rustic floorboards creak charmingly with every step, in direct opposition to the luxury I grew up with. This is real. No striving for perfection, just simple beauty with rich history.

For a second, just a second, I know what it feels like to be small in the world.

I know peace.

A hand curls around my hip as a lewd hiss echoes next to me. “I knew you’d wait down here for me.”

Elijah’s smug voice floats over the shell of my ear, his fingertips digging into my skin so hard I know he’ll leave bruises.

I bite back my initial reaction, ignoring the itch in my fingers to draw my knife and take a chunk out of him. With him at my back, the swipe will be weak. Virtually meaningless.

No. I’m Bratva. We bide our time and strike when we can inflict the most damage.

Elijah will not get off that easy. Not after what he’s done. Not after what Regan will carry for the rest of her life.

His pathetic cock presses up against my ass and I meet the force with pressure of my own. Luring him in. Making him think I want this—that I’m helpless but to chase after more contact.

When his fingers slide between my thighs, making their way higher, hesitating just short of my underwear, I shudder as disgust sweeps through me. Cocky fucker he is, he laughs, then hums in my ear, mistaking my disgust for lust.

---