Page 31 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

His eyes grew angry. There it is. “You fuck. You can’t?—”

Smiling wide, I interrupt his angry rambling. “I can and I am.” Stepping closer, I ran the needle over the wounds on his neck. “Want to know what this is filled with?” When he sniffles while shaking his head no. “No?” I mock. “Let me tell you anyway. Scorpion’s venom. A” I smile when his angry stare turns frightful. “When I stab you with it, the venom will need fifteen minutes, give or take, to kill you.” I click my fingers, bringing his attention to me while he swallows hard. Tilting my head, I study his face. His eyes are red just like every part of him that’s covered in blood. “I’m being generous don’t you think?” Instead of appreciating my generosity, Elliot starts to scream and hurls insults my way. So ungrateful. What is it about Americans and their dramatics and ungratefulness? Maybe I should end his life and save myself the headache of listening to his endless cries and screeches. I should push the fucker back and let the metal bar that’s nailed to the wall behind his head do the job for me. But that’s a quick death and not that painful. At least not as lethal as the venom.

Frowning, I tip my chin with the back of the syringe, because the idea doesn’t seem satisfying at all. I want him to die a slow death as the venom curses through his system until it reaches that ugly little heart of his, stopping it dead. I want to witness his fear as the venom slowly strips him of everything. “So many choices…” I mutter and then pull out the photo from my back pocket once again and I dangle it in front of him. “I’ll give you one last chance.” I pause before I continue. “Do you recognize her?” His red eyes are glued to the photo and when he says nothing I place the needle on his neck where his pulse is and he whimpers, but this time it’s a different sound that my ears register. A pitiful sound. One that disgusts me. Begging. Something I learned pretty early in life is that begging rarely helps you. It sure as fuck won’t have any effect on me. How ironic that Eliott of all people hasn’t learned that lesson. “Ah… you do recognize her. Her beautiful face will be the last face you see before I send you to hell and you’ll go knowing you and your sick family lost and she won. Think about that, Eliott. And maybe your life in eternal hell will be less… difficult,” I tell him before injecting him with the venom right into his neck. He screams, but I hardly hear it. I allow the venom to spread for a few minutes enjoying the way he starts to convulse and his eyes roll to the back of his head. How fun. Then I twist the needle inside him, pull it back, and before he can blink, I grab his face muffling his screams of agony as I wait for the venom to take his life and when his body goes limp and the light leaves his eyes, I know the cockroach is dead.

And just like that, the momentary pleasure his pain brings me vanishes as the familiar boredom comes back. But then her image flashes in front of my eyes and an unusual calm settles over me.

Peace.

Ironic that a woman who was born to raise hell and start wars can bring me so much peace.

Now

Sunlight brightens the window, nudging me from a deep, restful sleep and away from the pleasant memories of the past. Memories of one of the many lives I’ve taken in the name of divine justice. In the name of her.

All for her.

With a peace I’ve never felt after I’ve been gunned down by a faceless enemy, I slowly get out of bed ignoring the pain shooting from the wounds that are still healing. Shit.

Once I’m up, I walk towards the floor-length mirror that’s close to the bathroom door. I take my time looking at my reflection. My naked chest is covered in bandages but apart from that, there’s nothing different. Turning, I look at my surroundings and a sinking feeling takes over my chest as if I’ve been here before. Black walls, black decor, and black furniture. Only black. The only pop of color is the red from the curtains.

Moving towards the window, I cover my eyes when the sunlight hurts my eyes. Fuck. What day is it? How long have I been out? How easy it is to lose track of time when you’re coming in and out of consciousness while someone else tends to your wounds.

Then the image of an angel with long dark hair hovering over me flashes in my mind. Her sweet whispers and the gentle look on her face as she sat in the corner reading to me. “Kadra…” I whisper reverently while turning to look at the black-wooden chair she sat in every night when she thought me unconscious. Yes, I’ve been coming in and out of it and most of the time under her roof, sadly I’ve spent it asleep. During the day I’ve been tended to by a blonde man who enjoys listening to himself talk more than any sane person should and other times an Asian man whose name I didn’t quite catch brings me food and changes my bandages but at night it was her who came into the room when she thought no one was looking and kept me company. I remember her. How could I forget? A woman like her is unforgettable.

After she tended to my wounds, she sometimes read a passage from her favorite book, and other times she would just sit next to me in bed and watch me sleep. And when she thought I was lost in sleep, I would feel her delicate fingers brushing my hair back before she left the room, and every time I had to hold myself back from opening my eyes and taking her in my arms and kiss her senseless but I know better. My perfect angel would just push me away and finish the job of killing me herself.

Turning to the window once again, I look out and notice the view is quite haunting. It’s drizzling outside and the sun is nowhere to be found hidden by gray clouds. Various men can be seen outside of the gates with gun straps to their chests guarding the premises.

Her kingdom.

Smiling, I think of that word again… fate.

My kotyonok set her fate in stone the moment her little claws wrapped around my cold heart years ago and now there’s no going back to a life where she’s not the center of my world. Now I’m in her territory and I don’t plan to leave without winning her heart and getting all I’ve ever wanted. All she deserves.

A happily fucking ever after.

With purpose thrumming in my soul, I headed out of the room in search of them. Barefoot and shirtless. I don’t know where I’m going, I just know that today is the start of forever for all of us and I know it’s going to be one hell of a fight but it’s worth it. She’s worth it.

I’m tired of holding back.

She’s no longer an angry and sad kid.

She’s a woman.

Mine.

I walk through a few long hallways where the decor is the same as the room I’ve been in for the past three days with black walls and floor-length mirrors in every corner. There is more haunting art and a dark vibe with soft touches of red here and there. Not a lot but it is there.

I pass a few doors not sure where I’m heading. A tall, dark-skinned man who’s as big as I am stands outside a door guarding it. “Where’s your boss?” I ask, staring him down the same way he’s doing me.

I don’t know how I feel about her being around men who look like she picked them out of a fashion week in Paris instead of the streets like I know for a fact she did. All her men are rescues who got a second chance at life because of her.

The man looks me up and down, probably trying to decipher if I’m a threat to his boss before he opens the door and steps aside. Once inside what seems like a home gym the door is shut closed behind me capturing the attention of the two people that mean the whole fucking world to me and don’t even know it. “We meet again, Vitali Solonik,” her sultry voice runs through me like a shot to the heart. “I must say… I’m still not impressed.”

Thump.

Thump.

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