Chapter 21

SCARLET

21

He set the bowl down before closing the distance between us, and my heart lurched to my throat. Although the look in his eyes now, it was so broken, so defeated, and I couldn't break my gaze away. It was like the insane, chaotic side he reveled in had slipped away, a tired, shattered man now in his stead.

"Those we love are the ones who hold the most power. The ability to completely destroy us. And some of us are stupid enough to still love them," he said darkly, his hand snapping out to catch my wrist.

I held my breath as he lifted it up, inspecting my engagement ring.

"You deserve more than this pathetic rock," he tutted. "Guess Tommy boy was just a waste of space."

"You're not wrong there," I muttered, my gaze glued to his, waiting with bated breath for his demeanor to shift.

I was not expecting him to break into a wide grin. "Want to bake brownies with me? I was making them."

I nodded slowly, knowing I looked confused as all hell at his sudden shift once more. Maybe he was bipolar or some shit? Split personalities? "Sure, why not? Baking is...therapeutic."

He grinned wickedly at that. "Excellent. We'll make a mess of this place."

He released my wrist and spun around, marching back over to the bowl, pausing only to beckon me over like an excited child. He then pulled out a small baggie of green herbs from one of the drawers that immediately had my nose wrinkling.

"A special ingredient," he said with a wink. "Gotta embrace the chaos, right kitten?"

I rolled my eyes but didn't protest as he mixed the pot into the batter. We took turns stirring, not that it was a two person job, but he continued to thrust the bowl my way after some whisking, and I humored him. It was like he had reverted to a cheery little child, and I couldn't help but just go along with it. It was better than the alternative. The thick chocolatey mixture was soon poured into a pan and shoved into the oven, and I leaned on the counter, the slightest bit eager for some pot brownies. Pot mellowed everyone out, and I wondered if it'd do the same to him.

As it baked, filling the air with a rich aroma, Cristian flicked a clump of the batter at me after he'd licked the spoon clean.

"Real mature," I deadpanned, though I couldn't stop the tiny smirk tugging at my lips. He grinned like a damn child, and I glanced around, reaching for the nearest thing. I laughed as I retaliated by chucking an egg at him, and he barked out a laugh as it sailed past him and smashed on the floor.

It devolved into an all-out food fight, our laughter echoing through the kitchen as flour and batter remnants went everywhere. For just a few unguarded moments, it was like we were just two people being silly and stupid - not captive and captor. When the timer dinged, we were both streaked with batter and giggling breathlessly.

I had absolute problems if I was willing to let go with the man who'd slipped a knife into my little lady, and the thought sobered me up.

"Eat some with me, Scarlet?" he asked, offering me a genuine smile, like what he'd done to me earlier had just been a bizarre nightmare and not reality. How could he think I'd truly be fine with being normal with him?

He was truly fucked up, but then again, that meant all the more reason to just go along with it, keep him content and relaxed.

The brownies were still warm as we devoured them, the herbal undertones making my head swim pleasantly as we sprawled out on the couch.

I wasn't sure how it happened, but he managed to wrangle me onto his lap, his chin resting on my shoulder as I sat on him.

"It's nice to let go sometimes," he murmured. "To let the chaos rage instead of fighting it."

I tensed instinctively, but then forced myself to relax back against his chest. He was right, there was a strange freedom in embracing the pandemonium, it was something I'd done all my life.

"You burning down that bar, now that, my little kitten, was bold and wild. True chaos at its finest," he chuckled. "Good for you though, not giving two fucks about the consequences. Showing that cheating prick what happens when you hurt someone, especially someone you love."

My breath caught at that, and I slowly turned to face him. He shifted me so that I fully faced him, straddling him now instead. I stared into those dark eyes, a strange contentment in them that didn't deserve to be there. "You've been hurting me this whole time."

To my surprise, he didn't even attempt to deny it. He simply shrugged, utterly unapologetic.

"I never said I wouldn't, kitten. I'm not gonna make false promises like Tommy did. I keep my word - even the ugly parts."

His thumb stroked over my cheekbone, an almost tender gesture at odds with his words. Then he leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to my forehead before slumping back, his eyelids growing heavy.

"That's the beauty of chaos," he slurred, already fading out. "Never knowing what'll happen next..."

I stared at him, at how his throat was on full display, and a part of me wondered if I could bite deep enough to make him bleed out. Unlikely, but the thought was tempting.

I sighed as I wiggled free of his arms around me, a soft snore escaping him.

He'd really dropped his guard tonight.

I moved to the kitchen, eyeing the mess that had been left, my gaze shifting to the knife block. It would be far too easy to kill him, and I wouldn't mess it up this time. The thought was tempting, to just end this nightmare once and for all. But his brothers would never have let me go free. This wouldn't be over, but his craziness would never plague the world again.

I would be on the run forever, always looking over my shoulder if I did such a thing, and I sighed. I had only had another two weeks left of this hell. I could do this. I had been holding my own so far, staying strong despite everything they put me through.I glanced back over at Cristian, his head lolled back over the couch, the gauze on his pec now harboring a bloody mark. I guess his stitches had split or something. I'd take some delight in that.

I tidied up the kitchen, waves of contentment washing over me as the wicked brownies got to work on my senses. My mind whirled as I cleaned. Who was Tess? The name had lingered, making me curious despite knowing I shouldn't have let it bother me. But I had been getting so bored here, day in, day out, doing nothing but staring out the windows and pondering my life and the shit-show it had become, binging TV shows and snacking.

What would I do once they finally set me free, like they promised? Move in with Noms probably, but would she even keep her job here knowing what had transpired? I wanted to leave this damned city altogether, to put it in my rearview mirror and never come back to the place that had brought me so much trauma.

I was sure she'd go with me, that we'd leave Starwin behind, move to the other side of the world even, and start fresh. Forget this hell, bury it.

By the time I finished cleaning, Cristian had now curled his arms across his chest, having slumped onto his side as he slept on the couch. I sighed, knowing I was going to kick myself for it later, but I fetched him a blanket and tossed it over him anyway. He stirred briefly but then stilled, a soft snore leaving his lips. Like that, you wouldn't have thought he was a raging psycho with a tendency for mutilation. He looked peaceful, almost innocent.

And fractured by the death of Tess. Just who had she been to him? His partner?

Now I had a mystery to keep me occupied here.

I wandered to my room, picking up the puzzle book Tyrone had gotten me along with some puzzles. I wasn't tired, so doing a few crosswords and word-searches sounded like a good idea as I snuggled into my bed. Besides, I was still trying to wrap my head around the enigma that was Cristian. Kenny joined me as per usual, hopping up onto the bed and purring softly as I absently stroked his fur. After an hour of mindless puzzles, where I was stuck on one damn crossword word that was killing me but I refused to google, the door opened and Tyrone appeared.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

I shrugged. "As good as possible for a sex slave, I guess." I wasn't about to beat around the bush. That was essentially all I was here.

That seemed to rub him the wrong way as his jaw tightened, but he didn't rebuke me. "I got some proper food for dinner, it's late, but it's something. Chinese."

"Do any of you actually cook?" I found myself asking curiously.

"Julian and I do on occasion," he said after a moment. "Not Cristian though. No, he just bakes."

My brow furrowed at that as I recalled the pot brownies earlier, the effects of which had long since worn off. I'd hoped they'd put me to sleep, but I hadn't had enough of them to get that sleepy high apparently.

"Come, eat," he said, not leaving room for refusal as he strode out.

I sighed, stroking the now curled up Kenny before rising and heading after him. Sure enough, Cristian was still passed out on the couch, snuggled under the blanket I had draped over him.

I slowed to stare at him, and Tyrone noticed this but didn't comment as he popped open the takeaway containers, dishing up two plates.

We ate in silence at the table, but it was strangely...comfortable. Which unnerved me in its own way. Finally, I broke the quiet, not liking the silence right now, not with what was burning in my mind.

"Who was Tess? And how did she die?"

Tyrone's chewing ceased as those dark narrowed eyes met mine. "How do you know about her?"

"Cristian mentioned her name earlier when we were baking, said she died two years ago."

He sighed and sat back, his meal disregarded as he ran a hand over his face wearily. "She was his ex-girlfriend. Fiancée, actually. I have no idea why he would have brought her up to you."

I found it hard to believe anyone could have been in an actual relationship with Cristian of all people. "She was crazy too then, I'm guessing?"

His brow furrowed as he studied me, his hands resting on the table.

"You ask a lot of questions. Things you don't need to know."

I scoffed at this. "So he can rape me and bring me harm, but god forbid I ask about his past and the woman who had him all over the place today on the anniversary of her death."

He let out a heavy sigh before reaching for his trademark whiskey and sipping it.

"My brother is...a unique person," Tyrone said carefully. "He has his reasons for the way he is."

"He's ruthless and brutal," I snapped. "Messed up in more ways than me, and that's saying something." I folded my arms, noting the way Tyrone's mouth quirked at the statement.

"He isn't entirely terrible," Tyrone countered, his tone firm. "You don't know him, the real him. The way he was before everything went to shit with Tess."

"Why? Was he all sunshine and rainbows?" I said with snark.

"In this line of business, being ruthless and brutal is necessary. He was always unique though, a bit…" he glanced over at his sleeping brother, his expression suddenly weary, "crazy, in his own way, but things changed after that mess."

"I know you're all killers," I retorted flatly. "That much is obvious with your family business. I know mafia men are bad news, so saying I just don't know him or the old him means jack shit to me. He's done things to me that I can't…" I gritted my teeth as Tyrone's brow furrowed, his gaze dropping to my two bandaged arms.

"You're indebted to us, a little rough sex and use is nothing compared to jail time."

"Getting a knife shoved up my vag isn't exactly a little rough!" I barked.

Tyrone's face darkened as he cast his brother a strange look. He sighed and shook his head before taking another swig of his whiskey, polishing it off in one go.

"What did you expect from us? You're aware of who we are, what we do," Tyrone said dismissively, his mask going up, like he realized he'd softened too much with me by conversing like a civil human being. It was the most he'd ever spoken to me.

Defensive, that's what he was being, not wanting to speak ill of his brother. Why had he even opened up and chatted with me? It was unlike him.

"I'm still a person," I hissed. "The things he's done, they're cruel."

"You know who we are, Scarlet. The things we do. You should be mindful to remember that, and be grateful you're still alive," he muttered as he stared into his empty whiskey glass.

"Grateful," I scoffed. "I never really signed up for this, and you know it."

"You still wound up with our help, we could end all this now, have you disappear," he threatened nonchalantly, like he wasn't talking about murder and rather a simple misunderstanding.

I bit my tongue, those dark eyes now locked onto mine with a strange challenge.

I was causing him issues, and he was getting tired, I could see it in those nearly black depths.

"Or, you can hold out. You're past the halfway point. Play your part, and my brother won't kill you. Rough you up, sure, but you'll live."

"Yeah, but with trauma and nightmares that'll plague me forever," I muttered.

"Is that all that different from your past already?" He arched a brow as he still held his empty glass up, and my heart skipped a beat.

Did he know…

No. He couldn't. Maybe he'd dug up the files or reports on my parents, read about how fucked up they were. But he wouldn't know the other stuff, the only person who knew that shit was Noms, and she'd carry that secret to the grave for me.

There were reasons people became who they were, things that shaped them, molded them into the messes they were.

I slid my gaze to Cristian. So Tess had been a factor for him, his ex. But how did she fuck him up so much? And surely there was more to why he was such a sadistic bastard.

"Finish your food, then go to your room." Tyrone's voice was flat as he rose from the table and headed to the kitchen, where he poured himself another drink.

Whatever moment of civility he'd granted me was over. He'd spoken too much in his mind, and he wanted me gone.

I wasn't about to try my luck any further, not with his threat. I'd almost thought he was a normal guy I could talk to.

Almost.