Page 79 of King of Obsession

“I won’t say what we both know.”

“Thank you. You’re too generous,” I grumble.

He chuckles and jams his feet against mine. “We have things to do.”

Right, the promise of screams and blood. I won’t hear hers, but at least I can entertain myself with others.

As I drive away in my car, the compound gets smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror. I should have told my men that she’s untouchable, but I am more afraid for them. She has to earn their respect. At some point, they will serve her as well.

When we reach our destination, the warehouse on the outskirts of town, ten bikers wait for us. They hang from metallic hooks, their feet suspended above the ground to increase the discomfort. They swing, trying to regain their footing.

There will always be those who try breaking into our territories. People are forgetful like that and desperate enough to come after what we’ve built. Our kingdom is ripe to pluck the fruits, not caring that we made it into that.

And with thoughts of her invading my brain, I roll my sleeves to the elbow, then move toward the metal table where various torture devices are laid out.

The bikers remain silent but spit and glare at us as if daring me to do my worst.

I chuckle, loving a good challenge. They will cry and piss themselves as they bleed to death until nothing, but hacked limbs remain of them before the acid eats their remnants, eliminating any trace that they were ever alive.

I jerk my chin to one of our men. He knows what he has to do. He frees the prey and locks us inside with them. I pick a machete, and Mika chooses his spiked steel baton.

They look at each other, not understanding what’s happening before coming at us. Running around as we chase them, we engage in a deadly hunt. Between me and Mika, the ten men fall one after the other. The sounds of cracked skulls and bones echoes in the empty warehouse as blood coats the floor into a grotesque image of carnage.

This violent outlet should appease me, giving me some peace of mind for the next few months. It’s a bloody endeavor not only gaining the power, but staying on top. You’re either cut out for this life or you’re not. I have embraced the monster in me, knowing I am a sinner who will never be able to atone for his sins.

This world is ours and as I watch the blood painting the floor and hear the screams fill my ears, I realize I don’t even want to stop. I am who I am, take what I want, do whatever I want.

I might not be immortal, but I am untouchable.

By the time Mika and I are done, I don’t wash the blood from me.

We own the police. We have people in all the right places. What better advertising and warning not to cross me than to see me in all my monstrous glory.

Driving back home, I am painstakingly aware that when it comes to Luciana, I am more bark than bite.

The bulky, surly man watches me from his side as I follow him down a paved road towards a two-story building surrounded by trees, secluding it well.

It’s a vast compound. In the distance, an impressive white mansion rests in the middle, surrounded by gardens, lush greenery and impeccably mowed grass, a pool and even a pond that you can see from every point complement the luxurious estate. Two roads split from the main entrance until they meet by the exit of the property, becoming one long road.

The mansion is where his sister and mother must live. I have so many questions, but I guess I lost the right to ask them. Enzo put a collar on me, and I still don’t know what to think about that. I postpone that for later, just like him watching me pee, but I am not as appalled as I should be. It was strangely intimate.

I need to shower and fast. My thoughts are a scrambledmess, but I focus on the fact that I am alive. I don’t know where that confidence comes from, but it’s the only thing I have going for me.

“There are rumors, Luciana Rossi, that you tried to kill the boss,” my guard says in a deep, gravelly voice.

Fuck. I am fucked.

“You shouldn’t listen to rumors.”

“But are they simply rumors? I think the fact that you are here now when a while ago we all were getting ready to welcome you as the boss’s wife says a lot.”

The reminder swiftly cuts my heartstrings, causing it to fall lifeless into my barren chest, just like how I feel. I shouldn’t care about what these men believe, but I do.

I should be thinking of ways to escape, but I am the safest here in this den of vengeful men.

My heart shrivels just at the thought of being apart from Enzo—the weak organ refuses to believe he’d cut us out of his.

“I guess we’ll never know.” I shrug, pretending for nonchalance.

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