Page 72 of Beautiful Chaos

He let out a high-pitched scream as he fell to his knees cupping himself in a fetal position. I couldn’t help the smirk that crossed my face watching him lay there whining like a baby.

Malice took a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. The click of a Zippo lighter opening and the rasping sound of the flint wheel as his thumb rolled over it made me flinch. For a brief instant, I was taken back to a time I’d struggled hard to erase from memory. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead and my breath hitched as I closed my eyes and could smell the mildew of the room, they had me trapped in years before now. For a moment I was back there tied to a bed begging them to stop, begging them to have mercy on me as they laughed at the pain they inflicted, but I pushed past the bile that threatened to spill. I shook my head trying to clear my mind of those awful memories that I had fought so hard to suppress. I tilted my head back to stop my tears from falling. I would never, ever let these assholes see my tears again.

“Get up zasranets.” Malice snarled with his cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. He grabbed Havoc by the collar dragging him to the other side of the room, where there was a small rickety table and two chairs.

Walking back towards where I was chained, his eyes fixed on mine, his face unreadable. I stared back glaring with my lips tight. He stopped directly in front of me leaving space between us, obviously learning from what happened to his buddy.

He took a dramatically long drag of his cigarette and then slowly released it straight into my face. I immediately start choking on the smoke. He didn’t move or react he just stood there staring and smoking. Every drag brought the same outcome, directly impacting my lungs each time.

He took the final drag and dropped it to the concrete floor stepping on it with his alligator boot. His eyes locked on mine.

“You’ve grown some testikalys,” he said matter of factly, excitement glistening in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes and grinned because he didn’t realize just how accurate his statement was, assuming my interpretation of the word he chose was correct. The first chance I had, I would be taking that stupid piercing he had on his eyebrow in my fingers, and I’d rip it straight from his stupid little face.

“That’s good koshechka, I like it when you fight back.” He licked his bottom lip and reached out grabbing the loose strands of my hair that had fallen, framing my face, rubbing them between his fingers. I cringed at the nickname.

His phone started to vibrate in his pocket when he turned sharing a puzzled look with Havoc who was still nursing his balls.

“I hope you have come to your senses.” he cooed into the phone in a taunting tone.

There was a long pause. Malice must not have liked what he heard, his jaw tightened as he grounded his back teeth audibly.

“You aren’t in charge here Jasper.” he spits out Jasper’s name like it was poison. Something wasn’t adding up.

“I’ve already told you how this was going to work. Sign the papers or else you’ve signed her death warrant. And I promise you it won’t be quick.” he whispered the last part turning to glare at me.

“You have one hour,” he said, ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket. He then reached down, grasped Havoc by the forearm, and hauled him to his feet, dragging him toward the stairs that led to the main part of the building.

talking to Havoc, making certain I could hear, he said, “Come on, zasranets, Harper darling needs a timeout in the dark to contemplate her actions.”

He helped Havoc up the stairs, reaching the top step. As the door flung open, the lights flickered out, followed by the echo of metal scraping against metal as he locked the door behind them.

I pulled and tugged at the chains I was bound with and thrashed about praying something would give. After I didn’t know how long, I finally gave up. My wrists were burning from the metal Digging into my flesh. The warm blood burned my lacerations as it slowly trickled down towards my elbow. I closed my eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks, reflecting on the people who have been important to me.

I thought of Aster, my closest friend, almost a sister. Then there’s Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, who’ve been like parents to me over the years, and old man Frank, who’s been a sanctuary since my move to Miami. And then there’s Jasper, who barged into my heart, making me feel in ways I never imagined, even if he ended up being everything, I hoped he wasn’t.

This can’t be how my story ends.

My head fell in defeat.

Chapter 50

JASPER

We turned down a dirt road and pulled off to the side. As badly as I was itching to get to Harper, we had no idea what we were walking into. Going in without backup wasn’t an option. Joseph sent over several of his guys right after we left the city, and he assured me they weren’t far behind. I jumped out of the vehicle anxiously waiting. Pacing, the gravel crunching under my feet.

A few minutes later there were headlights in the distance.

“Be ready for anything!” I hissed.

Hector nodded. Max pulled his Glock from his waistband and pointed it toward the approaching vehicle, where he was positioned in the backseat, hidden from view.

We couldn’t just assume it was our guys, especially when we were vulnerable meeting so close to where Harper was being held.

The blacked-out sedan came to a stop behind us. The engine turned off, and the headlights went dark. All four doors opened swiftly, and five large men emerged.

“Those are Josephs new guys,” Max announced. I’m glad he recognized them because I didn’t. A couple more steps and one of them may have ended up with a bullet hole in their chest.

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