Chapter 16

Cruz

She looks so beautiful like this. Trails of tears stain her tan cheeks, the shine of wetness making me want to lick her tears up to see if I can taste the emotion. She cries out and reaches out blindly with a swing of her fist. She's so broken and defeated. A bird with clipped wings, unable to fly away ever again from me. I'll keep them disfigured for the rest of her life so she can't run away. I'm all she needs, and all she'll ever want.

"Shh. Shh. Little bird. None of that now. I'll take care of you. Don't you want me to love you?" I ask her, grabbing her wildly swinging wrists and trapping them between her breasts as I lean over the lip of the trunk into her space.

I skim my nose along her jawline, taking a deep breath, and grip her wrists tighter as she struggles harder in my grip.

"Eat shit! You can't love, Cruz. Go to hell." Tillie curls her upper lip as if disgusted by me; I think she really is, and that only causes rage to consume me.

I don't say a word as I lift her roughly out of the trunk, ignoring her pained yelp as her ankle smacks into the hood. Her fists beat weakly against my back the moment she's thrown over my shoulder. Walking down the docks, I keep my pace slow as we pass million-dollar yachts and their sloppy, rich owners who turn their backs on me the moment I make eye contact. No one cares that I have my little bird thrown over my back, her weak pleading whimpers and cries of help ignored. The wealthy mind their own business, not giving a shit if someone is being kidnapped right in front of them, just so long as their expensive, precious money is left alone. I whistle in a jolly tune, hardly feeling any pain as Tillie bites my bicep in a pathetic attempt to hurt me, which only causes me to laugh loudly.

My voice echoes back to me, being heard over the minor slaps of waves against the boats. My laugh has always sounded hollow and empty, missing something, and I think one day I'll find it with my little bird. She's the key to making me feel emotions—maybe to understand sadness and happiness. The only time I've ever felt something related to joy was fucking Tillie in the ass and hearing her cries of pain. Even now, my lip is twitching as I remember carving my knife into her shoulder blade.

"I'll kill you. I promise," Little Bird whispers into my back, a vengeance evident in her tone that makes me believe her.

"You can try, though that will never happen. I'll break every bone in your little body and still use your cunt, even if you're on the brink of death. You are mine," I threaten, grinding my teeth as she whispers no repeatedly under her breath while she kicks her feet into my thighs.

Finally, I see my yacht at the end of the dock and walk faster because I want my dick inside her tight cunt to teach her a lesson she'll never forget. It's been a week since I've used my knife, and I plan on carving my name all over her body. My boots make the boards under my feet creak and groan as I jog up the ramp and finally onto the boat. I've been staying here for months, living like the filthy rich with Jin's money. I couldn't give a shit where I stayed, but it brought some sort of good feeling, knowing I was making Jin cater to my needs. I was eating his food, sleeping on his bed, and staining his carpets red as I sliced up his staff. He had to keep sending replacements, probably not knowing or caring why, but still. It gives, well, it gave me a thrill when he was alive.

Poor fucking bastard.

I smirk to myself as I let Tillie fall the moment I release my hold on her. She lands ungracefully on the plush, white carpet at my feet. I stand her over like her god, master, and savior as she looks up at me with wide, brown, scared eyes.

"Shh, shh, Little Bird. All will be okay once we are far away from here, so no one can take you away from me again. You won't run, will you?" I question her, startling a yelp from her as I grasp her long hair and shake her head roughly.

I can't help it. I get so fucking mad when I think of her running away again. Making me chase after her. It's as if she wants me to hurt her.

"Tell me you won't leave and that you love me." I grind my teeth, shaking her head once more as she cries out in pain and scrambles to wrap her fingers around my wrist to ease the pressure.

"No." She stubbornly lifts her chin, glaring up at me as if she has a choice.

Oh well. I'll have her kissing my feet very soon enough and telling me she loves me after every other word that comes out of her fuckable mouth.

"No? We'll see about that. It's a real shame that I'll have to keep you on a tight leash for a while until you learn your lesson. You'll be seeing my face everywhere, Little Bird. From the moment you wake up, when you have to take a piss. And when I feel like feeding you, you'll take the food I give you from my hands with this disobedient mouth." I grip her chin harshly, squeezing as tears fill her eyes and caress her bottom lip. "You and I are going to be tied together for a long time. You'll get used to my face between your legs and my cock fucking your pussy every day whenever I feel like it."

I release her with a shove, the vein throbbing on my forehead as she shakes her head continuously and wraps her arms around her stomach.

She'll learn quickly. I'm not a patient man, and if I don't have use for something any more, I dispose of it.

"Fuck. Stop crying, you cunt. Get up." I growl in annoyance, grabbing her wrists impatiently and dragging her to her feet when she fights me every few inches.

"No. Fucking stop! I won't let you—never again," she cries out, trying to yank her arm out of my hand as I walk out of the gallery of rich mahogany and gold accents decorated on every surface.

Fucking rich people.

"Get used to living like the rich for a few days while you can. Once we get to Russia, I will teach you why you should never run away from me again," I tell her, my voice sounds unhinged and obsessive to my own ears.

"Rus-Russia?" she stutters, fear evident in her tone, which gives me a rush of endorphins.

"No one will help you, especially where we are headed. Step out of line, and I'll freely let men destroy your pussy before you come crawling back to me." My facial expression remains blank as I stare down into her huge pupils that keep shrinking and expanding in terror.

"What about the rest of the Demon Jokers?" she asks with a shiver, climbing on unsteady legs behind me as I continue walking out onto the side deck of the yacht and leading us to the stairs to the captain's cabin.

"They are a joke. I've never cared one way or another about the club; it was never my end goal. Being president to a bunch of Neanderthal fools wasn't part of my plans. Since the moment I met you, I knew I had to have you," I confess, furrowing my brows as an unhinged giggle escapes her.

I only ever speak the truth, so why would she think that's funny? Did she think I shared her with the club brothers to be cruel? No, I did that to teach her a lesson that, in the end… I'll be the one who has her last. It never matters who her first is; I'll be right there to set her straight every time she's bleeding on the floor.

"You're sick. Fucking delusional," she hisses between her teeth, her arm practically vibrating in my hand as I tighten my grip until I know it will leave bruises.

"I might be sick, but that's because of you. It's your fault I'm this way. I love you!" I swirl around once we reach the top deck and grab her shoulder to shake her as I yell in her face.

"You plan on throwing her overboard before you get to fuck her?" Nix asks behind me in amusement, his cigar clouding the air around us.

I realized I had backed her into the railing, shaking her roughly enough that her head snapped back as her upper body was draped halfway over the ledge.

"Fuck! Look what you do to me!" I release her, running my hands through my hair as I pace back and forth in front of her, and she collapses with a gasp to her knees.

"Fuck you," she rasps out, her chest heaving while narrowing her eyes with rage, taking over her features.

My fists clench at my sides, distantly hearing Nix chuckle behind me as she talks back to me. I turn around and look at him, half emerging from the shadows near the captain's pit. His bearded face split in a grin, the cut running over his right eye making him look menacing as he stares at Tillie while licking his lips.

The sick fuck. He doesn't love her or want to live mentally in her mind like me, but he does want her body. He taught her how to ride a bicycle, watched her grow up, and fucked her at the first chance he got.

"You know what? Let this lesson be one to remember, Little Bird." I curl my lip in a sneer as I look down at her, still on her knees at my feet, almost pathetic except for the fire burning in her gaze.

"Need some help, Prez?" Nix asks, his tone laced with dark intent and desire.

I keep my gaze on Tillie as I answer him, feeling my cock harden as she pales to the point of looking like she's going to vomit.

"You know what? I think I do need some help with Little Bird. She's already on her knees, so you might as well use this to your advantage."

"Oh, you got it, Prez. She has a wide mouth. I want to stuff it full," Nix says with a chuckle and walks over to stand right in front of her kneeling position, causing me to step back and watch her suffer at another man's hands.

It's different seeing her pain than pleasure. At least I know she's getting so traumatized from this that she'll practically be begging for me to take her instead of any other man.

I can handle my rage, obsession, and wanting her heart for myself as long as she doesn't enjoy herself. I'll lose my mind if that happens. Her moaning for another man and begging like a whore would send me over the edge. I know this, and I think she does too, as she stares around Nix with a hateful glare in my direction.

I'll kill her and keep her heart locked in a chest forever.

She'll never leave me, no matter what.