Page 9 of The Homecoming: The Island

“Alexander Kane is finished and he knows it,” Ardan spoke in a flat, cold voice. “Even if he managed to escape or if I released him, the monster has nowhere to go. The bastard who kidnapped and hurt his sons is probably waiting for him to come out in the open, so he can eliminate him once and for all. No,” the man continued after a short pause, “he just waiting for me to decide what I’m going to do to him.”

“I hope this time you are not going to show mercy to that scumbag…or will you?” Xavier stared at Ardan with disbelief. “Do you really intend to let him go? Because this would be…”

“I’m going to pay our special guest a visit, and I invited Fergus to join me. Why don’t you come, too, and see for yourself what I have in store for the beast?” Ardan smiled mysteriously, gesturing to Alexander Kane’s improvised prison.

CHAPTER 7

Alexander woke up shivering. Too fucking cold, he mentally cursed, making a mental note to talk to the head of the maintenance crew and remind the sub-moronic creature not to spare when it’s about his personal comfort. He couldn’t care less about the boiler giving out under pressure and blowing up, he wanted his room properly heated. It was winter, goddammit.

Raising a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes, Alexander noticed he was wearing a buttoned-down shirt. He frowned; never, no matter how drunk or stoned he was, did he go to bed in day clothes—not even over the past few nights, when he was so worried about Elias and Abernathy he barely slept. At that point, realization hit Alexander hard, and his blood ran cold.

Ardan MacNamara, his former fuck toy, rescued his sons from wherever they were held prisoners by whomever kidnapped them. He brought all three of them from the goddamn fortress Alexander built in the middle of nowhere. Alexander clenched and unclenched his fists in helpless anger; he was in the hands of hismortal enemy.

The old man raised his head when the door across the room cracked open with a sinistercreak.MacNamara let himself into the room, silent and discreet like a shadow, followed by one of the long-haired, tattooed bikers who put him in that fucking prison cell. A third man joined them seconds later.

“No, it can’t be, this is not real,” Alexander almost yelled, vehemently shaking his head in shock and disbelief. “But then, I suppose it makes sense.” He let out a humorless laugh. “The only way you could stay a step ahead of me and win every time was to use a doppelganger. You pathetic worm!”

“You are talking with the wrong person,” Ardan replied in the calm, flat voice Alexander detested so much. “That is your domain, so to say. I’d never stoop so low. Anyway, I came to inform you Elias is stable now, and fortunately there is no brain damage. Abernathy is physically all right, but still very shaken, which is understandable. Being a father myself, I understand how hard this must be for you right now.”

“Elias is no longer of use for me.” Alexander shrugged, the coldness of his words taking Ardan, Fergus, and Xavier by surprise. “Was that boy more careful, he wouldn’t have ended up with half a brain, not to mention how his recklessness put little Abernathy in danger.”

“Good thing you are not going to see those poor boys again.” Anger simmered in Ardan’s voice. “Your cruel words would have broken their hearts.” The man stopped for a moment, examining Alexander with disgust, then continued in his usual, flat voice. “My Pater, who is also your older brother, will raise them properly. Speaking of brothers, the one you called a doppelganger is my twin, Fergus.”

“I was curious to see what a monster looked like, so Ardan brought me here.” Fergus shook his head, turquoise eyes filled with sadness. “My brother’s and our Pater’s stories don’t do you justice, you are even worse than I imagined.”

“The hell he will,” Alexander managed to articulate once the shock produced by his enemy’s revelation dissipated a little, ignoring Fergus’s words. “That pathetic excuse of a man is only good at taking my thick, long, cock up his greedy ass. I won’t allow him anywhere near my innocent Abernathy.”

“Please, don’t insult our Pater,” Ardan’s twin said in a voice that made his brother and life partner turn to him, eyes wide, “he’s more of a man than you will ever be.”

“Insult? No, I’m telling you the truth, boy, ask your dear brother here. By the way, he was way better at cock-sucking and fucking. No one could ever give me the pleasure I got from him, except sweet little Tarrin.”

“Please, stop.” The edge in Fergus’s voice became even more noticeable, but Alexander missed it. “Don’t insult my family, or there will be consequences.”

“I like it when you beg.” Alexander evilly grin. “You sound so desperate, so helpless…listening to your broken voice is a pleasure. Fabian. Bloom. Is. A. Pathetic. Whore.”

“Shit,” Xavier whispered in Ardan’s ear, “I’ll go get Mister Bloom to come and stop Everly. That crazy motherfucker just signed his death warrant.”

“I would like you to wait a couple more minutes. I really want to enjoy the show,” the Base’s boss replied, giving Alexander a cold, mysterious smile.

Everly put both hands around his enemy's neck, squeezing until the man's face turned blue and he gasped for air in quick, short breaths. He studied Alexander's face with undisguised interest, like a child would have done with some kind of science project or a weird beast caged at the zoo, then suddenly released him from the iron grasp, sending him stumbling on the floor.

Without a word, Everly started kicking Alexander, aiming especially at his face and between his legs. There was no trace of anger, hate, or any other emotion in those unusual, turquoise eyes hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses, so much like those of his twin brother. The kicks came regularly, with the precision of a machine, and there was no sign he meant to stop.

This is the day I am going to die, Alexander thought, trying to rise from the floor. His desperate attempts were doomed to fail, a strategically placed kick sending him back on the carpeted surface. He wanted badly to taunt his attacker, to make him lose that calm composure that scared him more than the man's rage. But each time he opened his mouth, all that came out was a fit of coughs and bloody spittle, which dribbled down his chin.

Alexander was frustrated with himself for offering such a pathetic sight that, although he wasn't showing it, offered Ardan great satisfaction. That hurt him more than the pain his former sex slave’s brother inflicted on him. The worse part was that the little bitch, how he continued to call Ardan in his head, didn't show any emotion; he just stood there, towering over his enemy.

At some point, Ardan told Xavier to call his adoptive father there, and now Fabian watched the scene with a mix of detachment and disgust. The man remembered all the times when he was terrified at the thought that Alexander—who lay in a pathetic heap on the floor, whining—would leave him, and he wouldn’t have anyone to care about him.

I’ve been such a fool, Fabian said to himself, imperceptibly shaking his head and wondering how he could ever take the cold, humiliating treatment that heartless bastard subjected him toas love.Was it not for Lance, to pull me out that sea of lies and deceit, my soul would have been dead by now, maybe my body as well.

A sickeningcrackingof bones, followed by a long wail coming from Alexander's direction, pulled Fabian from his thoughts, bringing him to the reality of Everly smashing the face and crushing the bones of the monster. A little shocked by the intensity of the attack, he wondered what the sick fuck did to make Fergus’s alter-ego react so violently.

Fabian wrinkled his nose in disgust when a rancid stench filled the air. Moments later, he discovered the source of the odor and felt a strange, evil satisfaction; Alexander pissed and shit himself.He really was a filthy bastard, Fabian thought, jubilating on the inside. He turned to Ardan, who, although didn’t want the monster dead yet, was enjoying the show and didn’t show signs of stepping in and halting the assault by his twin’s alter-ego.

Everly continued the attack on his enemy, totally unimpressed by the pathetic sight he was offering. He changed the target area, aiming at the man's stomach, shins, and ribs, kicking with the same precision as earlier, showing no signs of exhaustion. Alexander stopped screaming as his throat burned, raw from all the effort, the vocal cords giving out. He curled into a ball of pain and fear, waiting for everything to end.

He is going to kill him, Fabian said to himself, a little worried at the thought. Just like Ardan, he didn’t want the one who ruined their lives to die quickly; on the contrary, the two men wanted him to die a slow, painful, agonizing, humiliating death. They intended to enjoy every minute of the monster’s degradation, until he was reduced to a pile of human garbage.

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