Page 65 of Slaughtered Firefly
“Just tell me,” he begged.
“It was a party, you’ve heard of them I am sure,” I started.
“The infamous Midas parties, yes I have heard of them,” he replied, hanging on to my every word.
I began telling him the story, omitting the parts that didn’t pertain to his brother.
Eight years ago
“I will make the arrangements,”Cole’s words made it reality. The enforcer. Cole’s position in our twisted criminal organization. A switch would flip, and he would be that cold stone. Detached even from me. I stood there, my eyes neverleaving Shaw’s as Cole dragged Scott out of the room. The door slammed closed, and then it was Shaw and me.
“So tell me, are you still the little spoiled princess?” Shaw asked as he began circling around me. I didn’t understand it at first. The question seemed so familiar, but buried under years of memories.The funeral.I thought, one of the boys that bullied me. God, that was so long ago, I don’t remember much after my head slipped under water.
“Are you still the big bully with a loud mouth?” I retorted. It had been years since he tried drowning me at Mom’s funeral; clearly, it was something he never forgot.
“Oh it’s going to be fun to break you,” he commented as he came to face with me. I just smiled. I wasn’t going to give him my fear. He gripped the back of my hair and spat in my face.
The smile died on my lips. I was so screwed. “Do you want a pretty scar to remind you of how much I fight?” I suggested with mock innocence.
“Oh, that is not necessary we will have plenty of time for that later,” he cooed.
“Oh that’s a shame, it — ” The main door opened and my spirit died, my sentence left unfinished.
Midas looked between my naked form and Shaw, a heavy sigh, he loosed, “Oh.”
“Midas — ” Shaw started but Midas cut him off.
“Usually in these situations rule breakers would die, seeing as she is my only daughter I ask that you forgive her carelessness, I will offer you anything but her death,” Midas clasped his hands together, never showing his true anger. I knew he was enraged, the slight tick of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders. He wouldn’t openly admit it, but it was there.
“Death would be too easy, I never intended to kill her instead I want to teach her a lesson, one that she will live with for therest of her life,” Shaw’s darkened expression as he spoke caused goosebumps to rise on my already chilled skin.
“That can be arranged, will this be a public or private setting?” Midas’ voice was too calm. I held my tongue; it was my punishment to endure, and Midas already agreed. If I made a scene now, they would kill Scott. Pin the blame on the stock? I couldn’t do that to him. Something stirred in me at the idea of Scott being treated like garbage; he was so pure of heart. Cole, on the other hand, we’d been fighting lately, at odds with each other ever since I ran from him. He asked too much of me; I would not split my loyalties.
“Oh a private audience, I think we should keep this between the families. Wouldn’t you agree?” Shaw’s voice dripped with venom. I was shaken with unease, my arms wrapped around myself in an attempt to comfort myself.
“That would be the for the best,” Midas agreed as he came to grip my arm.
“Oh there is no need to escort her, she will not need clothes and we have much to discuss on the walk to the study,” Shaw took hold of me, and Midas dropped my arm and made a swift exit.
“What are you going to do to me?” my voice was shaky as we left through the open door. Shaw’s nails dug into my arm in a vice grip. I couldn’t run even if I wanted, he was much stronger. It was like that at Mom’s funeral too, his grip around my tiny body as I beat and kicked against him. I couldn’t breathe as we walked down the hall. My heart hammered in my chest, my legs protesting the walk. My feet still pushed me in the direction despite the protest in my mind.
“Oh I plan to treat you exactly as you’ve acted tonight.Little whore,” he practically vibrated with excitement. I didn’t like the sound of his happiness towards the pain I was surely about to suffer; the door to the study was up ahead. I straightened myself,putting on a brave face. I knew of Shaw’s reputation; it was hard to miss as he rose through the ranks of the Obsidian mafia, a nobody but yet so determined to make his mark. You wouldn’t have guessed that he was the son of the late Sartori Sawtooth. The circumstances of the disappearance of the Sawtooth family and Shaw’s allegiance to the Obsidians still raised questions in my mind. I had no reason to suspect that he was with the Obsidians all this time, but I was too young and too naïve to know the truth. Laughter tumbled out of me; it was probably the worst time. I mean, that’s what started this all. He jerked us to a stop, and I turned towards him still in a fit of giggles. “What is so funny?” he bit out. My laughter died as I stared at him defiantly.
“You know their death was your fault right? Your reckless act of drowning me was the reason Midas killed them. Just because you hide behind the obsidian’s hag doesn’t mean you are any less Sartori. It’s pathetic, the Sawtooth’s were one of the greats and now the last dwindled to serving some Blackett bitch. Poor Micah must be rolling in his grave at what became of his son,” I clicked my lips in disapproval. Shaw backhanded me so hard I fell to the ground. My jaw throbbed, and my teeth rattled. I spat blood at him, a grin appearing on my bloodied lips. “Now you understand,” I stood, wiped my mouth and laughed bitterly. If I were going to pay for a punishment, I wanted it to be a punishment worth the price. Now I knew that it was worth it. I knew that Shaw would break me. I had already accepted it when I agreed. I just hadn’t realized how he would do it.
My cheek throbbed as I entered the study, which held everyone of importance. The warmth in this room was overwhelming. It made me claustrophobic. It wasn’t the bodies. It was the space. The room is too small, an intimate area. I remembered a little girl playing at the hearth, a mother’s laughter and Daddy’s warm embrace. I blinked back tears. My eyes scanned across the faces. They blurred together until myeyes locked with Scott, bound and gagged to a steel chair. Muted screams escaped him. Cole stood with a hand gripped on Scott’s shoulder, a dejected look on his face, and eyes that wouldn’t meet mine. Regret cascaded off him; it was my fault. I knew he regretted his agreement to my plan.Why save this boy?I couldn’t answer him then, too afraid to admit my infatuation might be more. Cole would understand one day … I hoped.
April Blackett sat in the middle of the room, a front-row seat to my misery. Midas sat a few chairs away from the obsidian head but was still just as deadly with his gaze. The others in the room, puppets and strings not yet moved and cut. The accountant who would die for greedy hands and the guards who would clean the mess. It was a private show, of course. A family show.
Shaw gripped my waist from behind, and I shivered. Disgust rolled through me as he led me to the bench next to the fire. I stood in front of the wooden ledge, my knees resting against the edge, my back exposed to the room. I heard the shuffle of clothes and the thud when they hit the floor. Silent tears slid down my face. So fucking scared, I turned to look at Shaw, his shirt gone, knife scars lined his broad frame, mostly his rib-cages and shoulders, and right under his heart was the phrase ‘Pain is only the beginning.’ The tattoo is old, worn and imitate. A child-like scrawl to print, like someone gave the tattoo gun to a kid. Shaw shoved my head forward again. Every hair on my skin stood on end. Terrified of what was to proceed, I shook with anxiety.
“As you have gathered, we have a little rule breaker amongst us. A spoiled princess that doesn’t play fair. Seeing as this is a union of our families I think the rules should be followed not disobeyed. It will bring me no greater joy than to punish the rule breaker,” Shaw’s announced. Rope bound my wrists. He tightened until a wince broke free from my lips. When he turned away and I tested the knots, I couldn’t move my arms freely.Bent in that awkward position, ass hung out and was so terribly exposed to the one person that scared me in life.
Muffled screams sounded as Shaw finished his address.Scott.Oh, I wish you didn’t have to watch.I never realized how loud cotton sounded as it dropped to the floor, not until that moment. I was too distracted, too caught up in my thoughts about cotton hitting the mahogany.
With the sawtooth knife sunk into my left shoulder, I screamed as it ripped flesh. My body bent in an effort to pull away from the slice of skin. Knees crashed onto the ground as I jerked against the binds. It wasn’t a sharp blade; it was dulled. It felt like a used razor blade, but with serrated edges. Blood trickled down my backside as he directed the blade. I arched in protest, desperate to pull away. “Ahh!” I wailed as he forced his dick into my dry pussy. Tears streamed down my face. “No,” I protested. My body slammed against the bench edge as I tried to escape Shaw’s penetration. A bruise formed on my pelvis from the force with which I slammed forward.Please don’t do this.His dick scraped against my wall as he sank deeper. The blade was pulled just enough for the tip to still be embedded. He twisted it, then snatched it out. Blood dripped onto my butt, and I whimpered, “please.”
He laughed, “Please what? Treat you like the little whore you are? You like it, you’re so wet for me.”
