Wicked Games by Jarica James

Otsana

My head felt like I’d just survived one of Keir’s torture sessions and I didn’t want to open my eyes, the bright sun hitting my eyelids already sending my head spiraling straight into migraine city.

The rest of my body was in so much pain, especially my neck, that I didn’t even bother to take stock of it all. My memory was too hazy and I tried to reach out to see who or what was next to me, but my arm wouldn’t move.

That startled me enough to bring me out of my head and my eyes flew open. The regret was instant as the light stabbed into my eyes and nearly melted my fucking brain. But I was on too high of an alert to not fight past the grogginess.

Was I drugged? The effects were lingering too long to not have been.

When I could finally see properly, I noticed I was tied to a wooden Saint Andrew’s cross, though from the blood stains on the floor it was used for anything but kink.

“Ah, the princess is awake,” a familiar voice called out and my eyes went wide as I took in my cousin as he walked closer.

“Little Tony? What the fuck?” I asked and he went from casual to pissed in the blink of an eye, coming closer and swinging his fist into my stomach. I let out an oof, as all the air in my lungs was knocked out of me. The pain didn’t phase me, I was already in so much that it was more of a surprise than anything.

“Don’t fucking call me that. I’m not little, I’m your future boss!” he screamed and I couldn’t even find it in me not to laugh.

“You aren’t my future boss,” I bit out, the next hit was expected but I was helpless to do more than close my eyes and brace myself for impact. The zip ties dug into my skin as my body slammed back, the hit on my eye causing it to swell immediately. The man was fucking unhinged, though it wasn’t surprising. All of us who grew up under Eros’ watchful eyes were.

“I am going to kill you with pleasure when this is over,” I promised, taking a deep breath so I could keep my words even. I wouldn’t give him the rise he was trying to beat out of me. In fact, I was already working on finding a way out of this.

“Oh, cousin, I won’t be here when you get off this cross. But I did warn them to not be too rough on you. I need my future wife alive,” he laughed, now his voice was full of amused exasperation. He stalked forward and leaned in so our noses touched, his eyes softening as he took me in and my stomach rolling at the implications of what he just said.

“That’s incest,” I said, and he chuckled again like I was just a cute little child.

“Not in this Family, it’s my way to the top. With you by my side we will rule the Priamos Family with an iron fist. We’ll be the envy of all of those around us, our children will have the strongest of Families to take over one day.

Children? Oh hell no.

“I’d rather cut out my own uterus with a rusty knife,” I said, crushing myself into the cross in an attempt to give us space. But instead of getting mad, he followed my movement, pressing his wet, thin lips to mine. I locked my mouth shut and my heart slammed in my chest.

What the actual fuck?!

Visions of castration and torture ran through my head, taking my focus off of the disgusting assault.

When he continued to make out with my face, despite my lack of participation, I finally pressed a kiss to his lips in an attempt to catch him off guard. When he gasped in surprise, I took his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down. His girlish screams were so fucking loud my ears were ringing. But I didn’t let go until he slammed a knee into my groin. I may not have had a dick, but it hurt bad enough I let go and tried to curl into a ball, the unforgiving ties wouldn’t allow it.

“I’ll have fun breaking your spirit, Sana,” he promised, before walking away. “Don’t worry, I have business and will be back with you tomorrow. We can go home together and I’ll punish you for this little stunt, and you’ll be unable to do anything other than allow it. For tonight, the Lachs will keep you company. Bye, wifey,” he sang out as he turned and walked away, swiping the blood from his mouth as he practically skipped up the steps. My stomach turned as his tongue darted out and he cleaned the blood from his fingers.

When I was alone again, I finally let my emotions fill me. Disgust, anger, loathing, self-deprecation, grief. There wasn’t a moment that went by in the last few years that I didn’t remind myself that my freedom was fleeting, but now that it was here, I finally had something I wanted to fight for.

But the truth?

I was still scared of Eros and that made me so fucking angry. He’d taken enough of my life from me and I was more than ready to take my control back, even if that meant taking his biggest ace out of his hands… me. He had power beyond anyone’s realization, though I had my suspicions that allies were starting to wear thin. Something I’d thought for years after he’d taken over more Families than necessary.

“There she is,” a voice echoed through the quiet, dragging me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see a man sauntering forward, his muscles bulging out of his open vest and a gold chain tangling with his excessive chest hair. Who the fuck even dresses like this?

“They’re going to kill you all,” I said, not a threat, simply stating facts.

“You clearly don’t know who I am,” he shot back as he stopped right in front of me, crossing his arms. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you will by the end of the night.”

“Why do men like you always go straight to the fucking me threat?” I asked. “Frankly, it’s barbaric.”

“You’d like it, princess,” he laughed, running a finger over the side of my face before he reached out on either side of me, pressing his fingers into the ties that held me up, digging them further into my shredded wrists. Even I wasn’t strong enough to stop the scream that escaped me. “But, that’s not what I was insinuating, sorry to disappoint. I deliver the pain and Eros doesn’t have the same feelings about you that he once did. Your cousin won’t be coming back to you alive and neither will those triplets of yours.”

He stepped back, a smug smile on his face as he let his words fully sink in. Without another word, he left the room and I slumped against my restraints, the pain searing through me but I couldn’t seem to hold myself up anymore.

“Do you know the Adrostos bosses?” a voice called out, the sound muted from the rasp in his voice, but I startled, thinking I was alone. I scanned the room, nearly missing him in my search. He was chained to the floor like a dog, the chain thick and secured in a metal collar around his neck. He was dressed in tattered, disgusting clothes and looked halfway to death.

Jesus.

“Yes,” I said, not giving anything away. He crawled out of the shadows and I gasped. I’d know those eyes and features anywhere. There was no way he wasn’t one of Keir’s men. But there was only one unaccounted for now as far as I knew. “Seth?”

His eyes lit up at his name and a broken sob escaped instead of words. He must have been down here for weeks and now that I could see him, the tatters in his clothes were covered in blood and the bruising on his face was fresh. He’d likely been tortured every single day just for the fucking fun of it. The Lachs clearly didn’t value life.

With not just my life on the line, determination bolstered my half broken soul. With nothing better to use, I scrunched my chin down until I was able to hook my shirt into my mouth, biting down on it before I started to work my wrists in the zip ties. The beauty of using such thick ones was that they could only secure them so tight around the oddly shaped board. They’d even made it themselves, the edges rough and sinking in from the pressure of the ties. Using that to my advantage, I shifted my wrists back and forth, screaming into my makeshift gag when each movement was pure, raw agony.

Pain was a familiar friend and I gave myself over to that state of numbness I used to escape to. My body worked on autopilot, each twist of my wrist sending me further into my mind until I wasn’t in the compound anymore, but my past.

“Sorry, princess, but I have orders,” Vincent said as he tied the zip ties around my wrists and the hooks embedded in the concrete walls. “But I will tell you that if you hesitate… you’re dead. And I’d hate to never see those smiles again.”

With that, he walked away, leaving me alone in the wet, cold prison he’d tied me up in. I was blindfolded when I was brought in, but I took mental stock of each twist and turn, embedding it in my mind. Some fourteen year olds memorized dances to do with their friends, I memorized escape routes.

Knowing his warning was serious, I didn’t hesitate to start working my hands out of their ties. Vincent’s reputation with my grandfather was on the line, so he had put them on properly, meaning this wouldn't be easy. The sharp edges of the plastic ties cut into my skin, but the blood only made it easier to get out. Since my hands weren’t bound together, dislocating my hand wasn’t going to help, I’d have to rely on pain and luck.

Time passed by slowly as I worked through it, taking even breaths and lulling my mind into a state of blissful numbness that put pain at the back of my mind. It was still there, but I was able to focus on my task more clearly.

When my left wrist slipped free, I heard movement in the tunnels and knew time was up. Using my free hand to assist, I worked the other free and took off at a run, kicking my shoes off to muffle my footsteps. Rocks and trash dug into my sock clad feet but I didn’t slow, this was my chance to get out of here alive and I was fucking taking it.

I quickly realized he’d taken me to the sewers below the city. One side was a walkway and the other side was a drop off where the water ran through. It was fairly low since there wasn’t a lot of rain lately, but I kept away from the edge just in case. If I got stuck in that icy water, I’d likely freeze to death and I was too short to pull myself out.

At one point, I ran past a slew of broken pipes and worked a thin one off for a weapon, clutching it in my hands as I ran. I felt a lot better having a lifeline. My run came to a halt once I reached the end of the tunnel, sounds coming from both sides now. Son of a bitch!

“Princess… found you,” one of my father’s mercenaries said as he caught up to me in my hesitation. I heard movement behind him, but he was alone. He was also new, so I put on the scared, helpless girl act, letting my body slump and tears to slip out. He stepped closer and leaned down, not realizing that I was gauging each move. As his right foot was in the air and the drop off was to his left, I took advantage. Lifting the pipe swiftly, I slammed it into the side of his bald head with a sickening, wet crunch. He was thrown off balance and fell into the dirty water below.

Now it was even more dire that I escape, and I ran until I finally found a ladder, dropping the pipe so I could climb it. I ignored the approaching footsteps and used every ounce of strength I had to push the grate free. Thankfully it gave way and I climbed out, the gasps of people around me horrified as they took in my bloody state, but I ignored them and started toward home. The police were on our payroll and wouldn’t come for me anyway.

My mind was flung back to the present when my hand slipped free. Seth’s cheer of encouragement rang out, though thankfully muted enough to not draw attention. The moment my other was out, the door to the basement we were in, creaked open. Cursing, I dug the dagger in my boot free and cut the ties. Afraid it’d be too hard to reach if I stuck it back in my boot, I quickly tucked it in my back pocket this time, placing my wrist back in the ties and shifting until they looked like they were still intact. Seth scrambled back quickly, using his shadows as a shield to stop the attention from shifting to him.

“Now that you’ve had some time to think about all the ways I could possibly end you, let’s begin,” the same man as before called out as he joined us.

“You never said what your name was. How can I call it out if you don’t tell me?” I asked and he froze mid step, a wolfish smile spreading on his face.

“How about master?” he asked and I didn’t even give him the benefit of an eyeroll or raised eyebrow. “Ah, the stoic game. Well, I’m Beckett Lach, head of the Lach clan.” This time I did raise my eyebrow, but not because his reputation preceded him, but because I was shocked he was so young. “See, you know exactly who I am.”

“Nah, I’ve heard of your Family, but not you. You just surprised me. I figured you’d be older… more impressive,” I said, giving an exaggerated wince that had his nostrils flaring like a bull. His anger was turning his shiny, bald head purple and it made it so much more funny. Now that I had a semblance of freedom, I wasn’t afraid to poke the bear a bit.

“Something fucking funny to you, bitch?”

“Oh, we’ve moved past princess? Shame,” I taunted, his hand cocking back to hit me, but he was letting his anger slow him. I had already reached for my dagger and slammed it into his arm, letting his momentum work against him. His answering wail of pain was like music to my ears. Spotting the gun in it’s holster, I snatched it off of his hip, which was a stupid place to put it. Amateur move. But I didn’t get a chance to tell him that, as I’d already put a bullet through his skull. The warm splatters of his blood covered me and I closed my eyes and mouth against the onslaught. Gross. But it did the trick, grounding me until I reached that state of numb calmness that would get Seth and I out of here alive.

Knowing our time was even more limited, I rifled through his pockets, finding his extra gun and a set of keys.

“Sorry, Seth, but you gotta do this part,” I said as I slid them over, stepping behind the cross before making sure the safety on his other gun was off and getting into position. Just as I suspected, the moment he’d snatched the keys up and started working the lock, a crowd of men were coming down the stairs, freezing at the sight of their fallen leader.

“Let’s talk this out, I told him it was stupid to leave you down here,” one of them called out, but the slight inflection to his voice told me he was excited, not worried like he should be.

“Or, I kill you all and dance in your blood like a crazed witch?” I offered, peaking through the parted boards and aiming for the front men, hitting one after the other with the glocks in my hands.

Seth and I had dropped at least four before they jumped into action. The adrenaline was moving swiftly through me as we continued our game of chicken, using the furniture in the room as shields as we jumped out and back behind our cover.

Three to go.

“Come out, girly, we just want to hurt you a little,” one called out, probably trying to throw me off with his taunts. Just as I moved into view to shoot him, he dropped. The remaining guards and I turned to Seth, who looked like an avenging angel now, only retribution on his mind. Well, if he wasn’t emaciated.

Using his distraction to end this, I took out the last two before listening for more movement upstairs.

“You good?” I asked and he gave me a smirk that made my heart ache for my guys, who were likely burning down the whole fucking place to get to me.

“I am now, thank you,” he said, already rushing forward and stealing shoes for his bare feet and sliding phones my way.

“They’re all locked,” I growled after trying each one. It would take way too long to try and figure out passcodes. “Keys?”

“Got ‘em,” he said, holding them up and tossing a set my way. I caught them before kicking another gun his way.

“Let’s move.”