Page 65 of Corrupted

"Absolutely not," Gianni said. "We wouldn't kill him without you knowing about it. No, we've gone to great lengths to ensure he enjoys his time with us for as long as we want him to. And when I say enjoy, I mean… Why don't we show you?"

Gianni stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

Damon nodded at me to close my eyes, and put his hand on the door handle.

I exhaled playfully, as though annoyed with them, but closed my eyes and let Gianni steer me forward, one step at a time.

The first thing I noticed was the tang of blood, mingled with sweat. The rattle of something all-too-familiar. A soft, pained groan.

"Okay, open your eyes," Damon said.

I hesitated for a moment, before opening them and staring at the sight in front of me.

On the floor, in the corner of the basement was a cage. It was big enough to fit a large dog, but not big enough to comfortably fit a large human.

Kurt was hunched up inside, both ankles circled with manacles attached to chains on the wall behind the cage. His hands were free, gripping the bars of the cage as he stared at us.

"Surprise," Damon said blandly. "I figured he could use a taste of his own, sour medicine."

"You did this?" I looked up at him.

"It's been in the works for a while." He shrugged. "But yes, I did this."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "I love you. This is the perfect surprise. You knew exactly what I wanted, when I didn't."

It hadn't occurred to me to do to Kurt what he did to me. Although, in retrospect, it should have. He deserved exactly this.

"Damon is so thoughtful," Gianni enthused. "I have to admit, I was just thinking chains. The cage is…" He mimed a chef’s kiss.

"It was inspired," Reuben agreed. "We should have had one of these down here already."

"No one else has quite fitted one as well as he does," Damon said modestly. "I'd suggest it's because he's a dog, but that would be an insult to dogs."

"It certainly would." I stepped closer to the cage. So, this was how it felt to look at someone the same way he looked at me for so long. He looked sad and pathetic. Scared, but still with a hint of defiance. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was still convinced he was in the right. That maybe I came to let him out and we could live our lives together.

He must have been out of his fucking mind.

"Mina," he said softly. "I was hoping you'd come to me. I know you missed me as much as I missed you. You and I, we belong together."

I crouched down in front of him. "You must be delusional. You have been for a long time. I'm sorry you never got the help you clearly needed. If you had, we might not be here now."

"You can help me to get help," he said. "I can get better and we can be together."

They were just words, he seriously didn't think anything was wrong with him. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of what he did to me was fucked up. Had Terry hit him so hard he'd broken something in his brain? He was always a little unhinged, but this was new, even for him.

"I don't want to be with you, Kurt," I said bluntly. "I never have. That was why you had to cage me, remember?"

He frowned. "Cage you? I would never do that to you, Mina. I love you." He reached his hand out towards me.

I shifted away and glanced back at my guys. They all looked as doubtful as I felt.

I turned back to Kurt. "What was the last thing you remember?"

He looked even more confused. "I remember… We practised this morning. You're getting so good at throwing me over your shoulder." He actually looked proud. "Then we went to… You had a job. I waited outside. I shouldn't have been there, I know that. I just like watching you sneak in and sneak back out. You're incredible to watch. Oh, I was thinking about this the other day. I think Fiori is the perfect name for you."

I stood and stepped away, my blood cold. "I remember that conversation. My father was trying to encourage me to choose something else." I shook my head as I thought back. "Fiori. It's Italian for flower. My mother was obsessed with flowers."

"Right," Kurt said. "Fiori. But he didn't like it. He said it was the name of a car."

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