Chapter 5: Scarlet

5

SCARLET

" Y our parents were monsters, Scarlet," Julian muttered, pulling me from the heart-breaking memory which I relayed to him. It was the last time I'd ever seen my parents.

"Yeah," I said with a sharp laugh. "But it is what it is."

"Who was he?" Julian asked.

"Hmm?"

"The man who did that, did you know his name?" Julian asked, his voice oddly quiet, a stranger undertone to it.

"Ian Dutton," I hissed. I'd never wanted to utter his name again. I wanted to burn away every memory of him and my life before this city.

"Right." Julian didn't say anything else, just sat in silence with me as I cried without a sound.

"So yeah, I get nightmares," I spat as I wiped my eyes harshly before patting Kenny, who had now squished himself in the tiny spot between our legs.

"I would be concerned if you didn't," he said after a moment .

"Yeah." I gave a sharp laugh, knowing that expecting any sympathy or even a hug had been too much from him.

"Go back to sleep, pyro, if you can. I'll keep watch," he said as he stretched his legs out. "Lay down here."

I frowned at his lap, and he just sighed. "You need rest."

"So do you."

"Someone needs to keep watch."

I swallowed, a numbness having set in after sharing my horrid tale with him. I was spent, emotionally drained and tired, and I didn't argue as I laid down on his lap.

I closed my eyes as he started to stroke my hair in a rare show of human understanding and tenderness. I wasn't going to say a thing and ruin it, because right now, it was something I needed. I didn't want to feel alone here, locked up and awaiting death. It was not something I wanted to do by myself.

I flinched as a door opened somewhere out of sight around the corner, and voices reached us.

"Great," Julian muttered. "My headache was just starting to ease." He turned to me, his voice low. "Don't say a word, stay out of their way."

I stiffened as two men came into view, sneering at us as they came to a standstill before our cell. I sat up, Julian's soft touch vanishing before they even stepped into view, and they cocked their head.

"She is a pretty little thing, isn't she," one man said. Mr. Compensating. Wonderful.

"I wouldn't expect anything less. Amazing what kind of women will throw themselves before a man with money and power," his companion stated, and I gritted my teeth.

"I think we should skin the cat though. It'd make a nice pair of shoes or gloves," Mr. Compensating said with a scoff, and I instantly reached down to touch Kenny by my feet. I wouldn't let him touch him, I'd die for my little furry friend.

"You just going to stand there and talk shit?" Julian snapped. "Where's Angelo? Or is he not man enough to deal with his own messes?"

"You want me to break your nose again? Seems Romeo did a number on you," Mr. Compensating sneered.

I frowned, wondering just who Romeo was.

"At least he can hit, doesn't overcompensate for everything," Julian shot back.

"You know what, I think I might have a little fun," Mr. Compensating smirked.

"They said to wait." His companion's face fell, and I wondered who he was. He wasn't the driver from earlier.

"Just a little fun. He's already cut up and shit. I won't kill him," Mr. Compensating said as he unlocked the cell door.

Julian tensed beside me, and I ran my fingers through Kenny's fur to soothe myself in some small way.

As soon as the door swung open, Julian was on his feet, launching forth like a bat out of hell.

Too bad both men charged in, and Julian was no match as they dragged him to the floor.

I watched, frozen in place, knowing there was nothing I could do as they beat him. He'd told me to stay out of it, but seeing them pummeling into him as he threw his hands up to shield himself, it pained me. He didn't deserve this.

I gasped as an opening revealed itself, and he shot out a fist, hitting Mr. Compensating in the face hard.

"You fucking prick!" Mr. Compensating snarled, and the pair of men wrangled Julian onto his stomach.

The companion pulled out some cuffs, and the next thing I knew, Julian had one wrist cuffed to the cell bars.

"There. I'm not getting involved. Don't need the boss ripping into me," the companion said as he rose to his feet. "You can do this on your own."

"So be it," Mr. Compensating said, his gaze not moving from Julian, who had now twisted so he was sitting, baring his teeth at Mr. Compensating.

The companion left, closing the cell but not locking it, casting me an uneasy look before he disappeared.

"You try anything, princess, and I'll skin you. I only need him alive right now," Mr. Compensating snapped as I stared at the cell door, debating my chances.

There wasn't a chance in hell I could escape. There were likely men outside and all over the place. Escaping this cell would only be the first step in a long list of them to get free. No, whatever small chance I had of survival, it was by playing nice.

I nodded as he glared at me, and once he was happy I wasn't going to try anything, he turned his focus on Julian.

"Look at you, nothing but a filthy dog," he said as he spat on Julian's leg, and I curled my lip. My fingers clung to Kenny's harness, not wanting him to stray too close to this monster. The last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt.

"Rich coming from you," Julian shot back, which earned him a punch to the jaw.

I winced at how his head smacked back into the cell bars, and then my blood ran cold as Mr. Compensating turned his attention back on me.

"Tell me, is she really all that special? You shielded her, that's intriguing for a Silvestri," he said as he gave me a sickening smirk.

"Sorry, guess I'm just a gentleman willing to shield a woman from a drive-by shooting. Not everyone is a piece of shit like you," Julian said with a mocking smirk .

"I think she's more than that. Got yourself some fun little tail?"

"She does the job," Julian muttered. "Let me guess, you can't even pay to get a woman to suck you off?"

"Think your little remarks can keep her out of the line of fire?" Mr. Compensating scoffed. "I think she might be fun if you're keeping her around."

Julian shrugged, although he shot me an odd look as Mr. Compensating's gaze trailed over me like that of a wolf surveying its next meal.

Fuck.

"I think you should suck my dick, little one. I want to see what the big deal is," he said after a moment of eyeballing me like candy.

I looked to Julian with wide eyes, and his jaw set.

"C'mon, he can't help you. Do this, and maybe I'll let you go," Mr. Compensating said as he cupped his dick.

I swallowed down the disgust rising, knowing his words were a lie. Then again, I'd believed the Silvestri brothers. But he was covering himself by saying maybe.

I knew there wasn't a chance in hell he'd let me go, even if I gave him the best blow-job of his miserable life.

I stared at Julian, and he gave me the slightest nod. Great, even he knew it was best for me to go along with this.

I was sick of men shoving their dicks down my goddamn throat.

"On your knees, bitch," Mr. Compensating ordered.

I slid off the bed, falling to my knees as disgust and hatred flared in my gut. This fucker would pay. I hoped Cristian flayed him.

"That's right, be a good thing," he said as he undid his pants, his dick bouncing free.

At least the brothers had nice-looking dicks. This thing was a pencil dick, although it had length. Guess he had been compensating for something.

"Wow, looks like you were compensating," Julian remarked with a laugh, and Pencil Dick shot him a filthy look.

"I'm going to make her swallow me, then I'm going to fuck your little whore. Taint her for you," he snapped.

A part of me wondered if Julian was trying to goad him to get him away from me. Either way, it wasn't working.

Julian's eyes locked with mine as Pencil Dick positioned himself before me.

"Open wide, little slut." Pencil Dick caught my head, tilting it back so that I was in the perfect position for him. I ground my teeth together, and he scowled.

"Don't make me force you, bitch."

I flicked my gaze to Julian, whose dark eyes bored into mine. He gave that small nod again, and I opened my mouth.

It wasn't like he was the one taking this filthy dick into his mouth.

"That's right," he grunted as he slid into my mouth. "Maybe when I cut your head off, I'll save it. Fuck your body and pretty little mouth long after you've gone cold."

Well, that confirmed my beliefs. He'd lied, not that I'd believed him for a second.

"Just so you know, she bites," Julian smirked, winking at me as I stared at him in an effort to ignore the cock in my mouth.

Did he really mean… then again, I was going to die more than likely.

He'd wanted to hurt Kenny too.

I didn't even think as I crunched down with all my might, the coppery hot blood flooding my mouth as Pencil Dick screamed, hitting notes I'd not thought possible. He yanked back instinctively, and I didn't release, shocking myself as his body stumbled backwards, his length still in my mouth.

Holy fuck.

"Fuck!" he shrieked, crumpling to the floor as he pathetically tried to cover the spurting wound between his legs, his pants around his knees.

I coughed and spat out the bloody, mangled cock, spitting out the blood that was threatening to choke me. I hadn't expected so much to flood my mouth, then again, biting off dicks wasn't my usual everyday piece of fun.

"You fucking bitch! I'll kill you!" he roared, his face twisted in horrid agony and pain as he rolled on the floor.

I stared, frozen with blood dribbling down my face as Julian seized his chance, launching forward and wrapping his free arm around Pencil Dick's neck and tugging him close.

He choked and clawed at Julian's arm, but Julian used his legs to lock him in place, twisting his body as he choked Pencil Dick out. Blood pooled around his thighs and spread across the floor, his strangled grunts and chokes fading as he turned blue.

Julian didn't release him until the light had left his eyes, shoving his now still body aside as blood continued to pool.

"Good job, pyro. Remind me never to piss you off too bad," Julian said with a wicked grin.

I stared at the body, knowing I should've felt something. But I felt nothing, save for a slight relief and devilish delight at his demise.

Kenny meowed as he rubbed up against my leg while I remained kneeling on the floor, and I instinctively stroked him.

"Guess we'll both die for that, huh?" I said, and Julian sighed as he glanced at Pencil Dick with disdain .

"We were already dead, love, at least the fucker got to join us."

"So much for everything is going to be fine," I said, but I couldn't even force a wry smile with the remark.

"Didn't need us panicking."

"Yeah, panicking solves nothing," I stated as I finally wiped the blood from my chin, staring down at the red smear on my hand.

I'd actually bitten a man's dick off. Guess I could write that off the bucket list.

That thought made the slightest smile touch my lips before it fell.

I didn't want to die. I scooped Kenny up and moved to the bed while Julian repositioned himself against the cell bars.

"The door is still unlocked, love. Could try your luck. Only one of us needs to die today," Julian said as he gave me an odd look.

"Let's be real, how far do you think I'll get on my own?" I scoffed. "I don't have the strength to fight grown men, nor a weapon. He sure as shit doesn't have one," I said as I flicked my head to Pencil Dick. Well, Dickless now. There was no knife on his belt or gun tucked into his waistband.

"Well, you could try to make it outside. Take Kenny. Could give him a fighting chance," Julian said after a moment.

"True, he doesn't deserve to be in this mess," I mumbled as I stroked his fur with my clean hand.

"Nor do you."

I frowned as I met those dark eyes, seeing an odd flicker in them.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to leave you here to die. Maybe I'm a fool," I said with a dry laugh .

"Yeah," Julian said with a scoff. "Only a fool would condemn themselves."

"I never did make the best decisions in life," I muttered. Sure, I could try to escape, but the chances were slim. " Could try to find a key or something?"

"Nah, that other prick will have them. He'll be back soon. If anything, you could wait here, pretend to be dead or something when he comes. Catch him off-guard, get him close to me, and I'll deal with him. Gives us a better chance," Julian mused as he shifted, Dickless's blood pool now getting quite close to him.

I nodded, survival mode now kicking in. I could do that. It was a rash move, but it was all we had. Julian had proved he could kill with just one arm, so I'd rather chance it with him than try to jump the other guy when he entered the room. I had no weapon, save for the bucket in the corner, and that was risky.

A loud rumble erupted somewhere outside, the building trembling as I planted my hands on the bed to keep steady, while Kenny cowered down on the floor, his fur on end.

Just as quickly as it came, it dissipated, and I stared at Julian with wide eyes.

"What the fuck was that?" I hissed.

He smirked, a mischievous fire igniting in his eyes. "I think that was our rescue."

"Rescue?"

Another boom sounded off, closer than the last, and the entire room rocked, the cell bars rattling as Kenny yowled and scrambled under the bed.

"It'll be okay now, Scarlet. We're going to get out of here," Julian said with confidence as he looked over his shoulder. "Keep Kenny close."

I dropped to the floor, reaching under the bed and stroking Kenny as he tried to hide as far back as his leash would allow.

"Stay low," Julian said as he strained to see over his shoulder.

As if that wasn't damn instinct with these tremors.

This time, the explosion sounded far too close, and I shielded myself instinctively as the entire room shook like an earthquake.

Shouts rose up, along with gunfire outside, and I cowered down.

The splintering of a door reached my ears, and voices rose up nearby as Julian grunted to see outside the cell.

My heart lurched as SWAT looking men appeared outside our cell, barking orders.

Who the fuck were they?

"Silvestri is King," one of them stated as he shoved the cell door open and crouched down by Julian.

"Damn straight. Get her," Julian said with a sharp bob of his head in my direction. "And Kenny."

Another man moved in, offering me his gloved hand, his black armor covering his body, even his eyes hidden behind a tinted visor on his helmet.

They weren't fucking around.

I allowed him to help me to my feet, watching as another man checked Dickless, then paused when he spied the severed appendage on the floor.

"Is that a dick?" he said, his tone horrified, while I pulled Kenny out from under the bed by his leash and swept him up in my arms.

"Yep. Don't piss off a strong woman," Julian said as the initial SWAT man undid his cuffs. I had no idea if it was a universal key or if he'd done something else—I didn't care .

"Fuck, that'd hurt like a bitch," the man muttered as the one who'd helped me up hissed with the imagined pain.

Damn straight, I'd done that shit.

"Let's go," the first man said as he helped Julian to his feet.

Julian nodded, but didn't move as he turned to me and offered his hand.

I didn't hesitate as I reached out to take it, clutching Kenny to my chest with my other arm.

"What does Silvestri is King mean?" I asked as we began getting herded out, the SWAT men shielding us on all sides.

"Just code used so we know they're our men," Julian stated as he squeezed my hand. "I told you everything was going to be fine."

"Right," I said dryly as we were guided out of the building.

Gunfire surrounded us as we stepped into the open, the early morning light shrouding the area in eerie glow.

Our SWAT guards fired off rounds as they moved us around the building, barking orders. I clung to Julian's hand, following him through this nightmare, allowing the professional men to handle the situation.

It wasn't until we were herded into an armored van that I finally let out a shaky breath, stroking Kenny like he was my sole savior in all of this.

Julian sat beside me, still holding my hand tight as the guys loaded in and the vehicle lurched into motion.

"We made it," I whispered to Kenny, sharing a relieved look with Julian.

This was it, we'd survived by some sheer miracle. Of course Tyrone and Cristian had come through.

Julian smiled at me, a sincere look that warmed my heart, those dark eyes relieved as he squeezed my hand .

I had no idea why, maybe it was this shared kidnapping, but things had changed. I knew it.

Hopefully, it would be for the better.

I closed my eyes, willing my pounding heart to let up now that we were safe.

Too bad it was a false sense of security.

A thunderous boom lurched the vehicle to the side, and I screamed as I was thrown from my seat, my head slamming into the other side of the vehicle.

Julian's voice was the last thing I heard as the darkness swallowed me up.