Page 102 of Map of Pain
Owen’s fingers tangled in Nick’s hair, yanking his head up to expose the throat scar that Luka had kissed the night before.
“Look at you,”Owen mumbled with a smirk.“Back where you belong. It took you long enough to remember your place.”
Nick’s response was afrightened whisper:“I’m sorry. I forgot myself. I’m sorry.”
This was the broken, grateful victim from Nick’s worst memories, the one who thanked his abusers for their attention. Protective fury exploded through Luka, desperate to tear Owen apart with fangs and claws, but his limbs remained dead weight against the van floor.
This is my fault,Luka realized with growing horror.I let him do this. I let him sacrifice himself.
“Oh, you forgot a lot more than that,”Owen continued, his grip tightening until Nick winced.“You forgot who made you. Who kept you alive when that freak in Chicago was done playing with his toys. You forgot that you belonged to us long before some silent monster got his claws in you.”
Owen’s eyes flicked to Luka with malicious pleasure, seeming to delight in having an audience for Nick’s humiliation. Red tears leaked from Luka’s eyes, frustration and rage overwhelming him as he watched the man he loved being degraded.
“Look at that,”Owen laughed, noticing the bloody tracks on Luka’s cheeks.“The monster’s crying. Do you see that, Nick? Your monster is weeping for you.”
Nick choked back a sob, but he didn’t look toward Luka.“I’m sorry,”he whispered again.“I’m sorry I disappointed everyone.”
“You did more than disappoint, you pathetic little bitch”Owen snarled, backhanding Nick across the face hard enough make his lip start bleeding again.“You murdered Henderson. You betrayed everything we gave you. You ran off to play house with a monster like some kind of deviant.”
Nick’s head snapped with the impact, but he returned to his submissive posture. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouthas he spoke,“I wasn’t thinkingclearly. I’m sorry. Please stop hurting me.”
“Tell me about your vampire, Nicholas,”Owen commanded, his voice taking on the tone of someone conducting a therapy session.“Tell me about the feelings you think you have for it.”
“I...”Nick started, then stopped, his voice cracking.“I love him.”
Owen’s mouth curved into something vicious.“Present tense? Even now? That’s adorable.”
“I’m sorry,”Nick whispered, tears starting to track down his cheeks.“It’s just... confusion. Trauma bonding. Like with…the other one...”
Luka felt something die in his chest at those words. He knew—intellectually—that Nick didn’t have a choice, but hearing the person he loved reduce their connection to trauma and delusion was devastating.
Owen laughed, a sound like breaking glass.“There’s our smart boy. I was wondering if you’d figured that out on your own or if we’d need to beat it into you again.”
Luka tried to move his fingers, his toes, anything, but the nails in his spine continued to block the connection between his mind and his limbs.
“But first,”Owen continued, his free hand moving to stroke Nick’s cheek with mock tenderness,“we need to discuss Henderson.”
Nick’s entire body went rigid at the name, and for a moment Luka thought he saw something flicker in his expression—anger, maybe, or recognition. But it was gone soquicklyLuka wondered if he imagined it.
“My partner. My friend. The man you murdered,”Owen said, his voice dropping to a whisper.“You shot him in the face like a coward and ran off to play house with your pet monster.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick breathed, the words barely audible. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. Marcus Graves was there—”
“I know it was,”Owen said, his grip shifting to Nick’s jaw.“That’s why we’re going to fix you. Properlythis time. Shaw has some new ideas about how to ensure loyalty.”
Luka caught what might have been movement in his peripheral vision, but when he focused on Nick’s hand behind his back, it appearedperfectlystill, gripping his elbow.
Owen stoodsuddenly, beginning to pace in the small space.“You know what I think happened, Nick? I think you started to like it. The vampire’s attention. The way it touched you.”
Nick’s face flushed with shame, his head dropping lower.
“Did it make you feel special?”Owen continued, his voice taking on acruellytherapeutic tone.“Did it tell you sweet lies about love and protection? Did you forget that’sexactlywhat Gianmarco Nicoletti used to do?”
“Yes,”Nick said, his gaze locked on the ground.“I forgot.”
“Of course you did. Because that’s what you are, Nicholas. A victim who falls for the same tricks over and over again. A broken toy that thinks affection means something.”
Each word was calculated to wound, and Luka watched in horror as Nick seemed to fold in on himself further with every syllable. This was psychological torture refined to an art form, designed to strip away every piece of self-worth Nick had rebuilt.
