Page 85 of Love and War

“Oh no darling, go ahead. Scream, yell, cry. I love when they cry,” he whispered.

Glancing to the side the best I could with whatever was holding my head in place, I got a glimpse of brown shaggy hair, something so familiar about him.

“Wh—who are you?” I asked. I needed to know.

I was going to die.

“Well, some know me as Devil, I imagine you’ve heard about me. You know, Killian knows it all, but I believe you and him know me as…” He trailed off, letting me wonder who it could be. I couldn’t think, my brain was rattling against my skull. “Zander.”

I stopped breathing.

Zander.

Zander was Killian's childhood best friend. How, how could he do this? I’d known him since I was six. I couldn’t wrap my head around why he would do this.

“Ah, I can see your brain is confused. The way your eyes are flickering all around, wondering why I took you. Why am I going to kill you.” He laughed. “Let’s go back, way, way back. See I was angry when Zion and Killian got attached to you, you took them away from me. But when a little friend of ours came to me, offering me a job, I just couldn’t resist. I loved it even more when that mutual friend of ours told me exactly who you were. AzizaRusso.”

No. No. No. No.

It couldn’t be. No one knew he was my father; no one knew the truth. I’d hid the truth since I was six. I was smart, I changed my last name, I gave myself a new background. Holly was the only one who knew, but she wouldn’t tell anyone.

No, no he was lying.

“See, it was wonderful when Luca went to Killian and made him leave you. He left you so quickly, no one could find him. But we watched you and imagine my surprise when you never figured it out. Unfortunately, for that bitch that was killing all of them off, it’ll be her time soon. She’s going to die; it’ll just be after you’re already gone.”

“Wh—why?” I blurted out. If I was going to die, it would be with the truth.

“Luca wanted you dead long ago. I don’t know why he held off. He chased everyone you loved away. Hired me to kill you, and it just helped I have a little incentive since you took my best friends away from me.”

I barely had a chance to register his words before the splitting plain shot from my leg. I don’t know what he hit me with, or where it even was. But my body burned.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. My cries filled the room, which only encouraged him more. I felt the whip against my chest, lacing down my right breast. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I screamed for help.

But there was no help.

Nothing was coming anytime soon.

***

“Wake up, wake up.” Someone was shaking me. “Please, wake up,” they whispered.

I barely opened my eyes when the pain shot through me. Everything burned and was aching.

“Come on, please. Wake up, you need to get out of here.”

That woke me up. My eyelids hurt to open, but if I could get out of here, I was doing it. I needed to get out,

“Come on,” she said, grabbing my hand. I almost ripped it away from her until I finally got a good look at her. Her face was black and blue, bruises littering down her face and to her neck. She forced my feet off the table, basically dragging me to a door I hadn’t even noticed.

“Are you listening?” she whispered as she opened the door, dragging me out. I could barely keep up with her steps, I had no idea how I was supposed to keep up with her talking. “Just try, you’re going to get out of here. Just run, I know it hurts. I know, but you need to run, and run as fast as you can before he realizes you’re gone.”

I might have been broken, bruised, and most likely bleeding out but I couldn’t leave her.

“Come with me,” I mumbled, my voice raspy and raw.

“I can’t, but it’s okay.”

“What’s your name?” I don’t know why I asked, but suddenly the urge to know her was overwhelming.

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