Page 12 of Brutal Empire

Location: Mexico

I was sure I was going to die. It had been four days without food, two without water, and seven days and eight hours, give or take, without sex. I was about to fucking die a born-again virgin—I could feel that shit deep in my gut.

The cell I found myself in was dirty and outdated, and the bars on the metal were rusted. I was sure that a good kick would make them loose enough for me to escape, but I was currently biding my time.

Damian hadn’t betrayed me, but the fucker was testing me. Well, not me, but my relationship with Daphne. He wanted to see just how cold her heart was and if she would drop everything to come and save me.

I didn’t think that was the case, but I fucking hoped she didn’t, and I didn’t need G to come to my rescue either because they were one and the same at the moment.

Sekten was full of people ready to kill you off, all while smiling at your face and telling you they had your back.

So, for now, I was alone on the Mexican border. Damian was off doing the thing he’d come to do here in the first place, and if I knew anything, it was that he didn’t want me to know about it.

Instead of trying to bargain, I lay down on my bench and closed my eyes. I needed my energy because as soon as I was at my limit, this place would be flooded with blood.

The desert was dry, and if the fuckers kept denying me, I was more than ready to bathe in their blood.

“Agua,” I called out, because what these bastards were doing was inhumane. They ignored me and kept on talking. Not like I expected them to, but I was keeping a mental tally of the number of times I had asked the fuckers for some human decency.

My privileged background had been a double-edged sword in getting used to this lifestyle. A lot of times, we didn’t sleep on memory foam mattresses with Egyptian cotton sheets. Sleeping on the floor or in the dirt was an adjustment.

One thing I could thank Daphne for was her top-notch preparation.

Regarding linguistics, I was doing okay since the education my parents threw at me was the best. I spoke English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Latin, and American Sign Language. Nothing stood out more than a rich boy with an extensive pedigree. Now, my Russian was still tricky, but submerged in the fucking palace a few times in the past years, it was getting easier.

My body was fit. I was a young hot billionaire with expensive tastes and hobbies, and I was a black belt in various forms of martial arts. Anything smaller than a jet I could ride. As any good Texan would, I put my Second Amendment right to good use, but the thing I didn’t know was how to kill.

Now, that was some getting used to.

“Es la ultima chance que tienen para darme agua,” I yelled, even though it hurt my throat. The words were raw, and I immediately started to cough.It’s the last chance you have to give me some water.

After I got myself under control, I heard footsteps coming. It was one of the soldiers keeping an eye on me. This base was legit, but the soldiers here were all corrupt, and they served Mexican traffickers.

“Quieres agua? Aki esta.”You want water? Here it is.He smiled and then proceeded to throw a cup of water at me. The cup hit my cheek, and it stung. Then the water dripped down my face to my neck and soaked up my shirt.

My tongue peeked out and licked the droplets on my cheek. There was some moisture, but mostly I felt my beard coming in, and I hated it. Sometimes it felt like I stayed clean-shaven as a form of rebellion to not lose who I was because with a beard I was unrecognizable.

Then I looked up at him and forced my foggy brain to take his features into account. And lastly, my smile wasn’t anything like his. It was that of the monster I kept locked in.

I saw the way his Adam’s apple bobbed. The danger was something you felt. If Mexican people were in tune with one thing, it was their spirituality.

They believed in demons.

Too bad for them, they were currently housing one.

He walked away, and I continued to stay on my bench.

Someone had to come here sooner or later, and when they did, that would be my time to escape. I needed a car, something that wouldn’t draw attention. It was all desert until the first checkpoint into the United States.

Now I just needed to hold on for the perfect opportunity. The bad thing about being locked up in this place with nothing to do? All the things that haunted me roamed free. My mind was their new playground, and they loved to remind me of my sins.

Just as they called showtime, the lights all became blinding. A man was recording the other one who had the mask on.

“This world is full of monsters.” I could hear the anger in the woman’s tone. My eyes were starting to burn from where I was refusing to blink. I didn’t want to miss a moment. It was hard to think in these circumstances, but I was somehow keeping it together even if my insides were in knots, twisting and churning; while my blood was boiling, I felt like I was coming undone from the inside out.

“Do you know how to kill a monster?” She whispered the words so low, but they brought a chill down to my bones, and I knew I wasn’t going to like her answer.

All I could do was watch as she pulled out her phone and held it up to me. It took a moment, and the screen went black. Shortly, a red alarm popped up, and it was blinking on and off. Then, when it was all red, a door opened. As soon as that happened, a circle appeared with a countdown starting from three.

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