Chained Desire

Chapter |14|

C A I T L I N ' S P. O. V

I brace myself as the metal cage is flung across the room. My head hits the bars, causing blood to trickle down the side of my face but it's my ankle that's the problem - caught between two bent bars, twisted in place.

Placing my hands on the floor, I try to push myself up. It's useless, I collapse within seconds, cheek whacking the floor.

The entire place has been blown up, or at least this part of the club. Whoever that man was that set off the bomb, said something to Knox. He was talking to him, which means that the son of a b***h is still alive, thank god.

When Geneva told me he was going to have Knox killed, part of me broke inside, knowing I've still been keeping my feelings towards him buried and he would never understand how much he truly saved.

Not just physically but my soul, my capacity to be human again. I'd almost forgotten what else existed and was capable of being experienced beyond the limitations of my fake life.

But then I also knew that it was my fault. He was going to be killed because of me and there wasn't a damn thing I could have done to help him.

Sapphire isn't here, which I'm thankful for given the current circumstances but I know she's still in the club somewhere. f**k, I have to find her, find Knox and get the hell out of here. Suddenly facing Aaron back in New York doesn't seem so bad.

After Sapphire told me everything about how the other girls were complaining about me again, talking behind my back, and she finally snapped, only she said Caitlin instead of Lilliana. I knew it would be a matter of time before Geneva found out. Then it would be easy to put two and two together since Knox, Aaron Romano- former Black's - right hand man, had taken an unusual shine to an escort.

It's easy to look up Caitlin Black. Everything is splayed on the internet, all my connections to the Romano's and the supposed ties to criminal organisations.

So I decided we had to leave, then and there. We were in the middle of packing when Geneva's men came for us. I took down the small handgun I had hidden beneath my bed in an old shoe box and managed to kill three of them, unfortunately the other two didn't take too kindly to that and beat the s**t out of me.

Hence, the bruised ribs and the ache that riddles my body every time I attempt to move.

I was stuffed into a small cage used for customers with a pet fetish, and Sapphire was taken elsewhere. Apparently this is Geneva taking care of me, feeding me stale crackers and small sips of water a few times a day because keeping me alive and well is what benefits him in this. Otherwise he would have blown my head off a while ago which makes me suspect a large sum of money is involved.

The ringing in my ears finally dissolves and the chaos of the world comes rushing back in. I turn my head slightly, noticing the hinge of the cage door that hangs off loosely. Gripping it with both of my hands, I push forward.

The door creaks open and it takes all my strength to pull myself out. I cry out when my ankle refuses to budge, bloody and swollen. I shift so I'm sitting on my ass, and reach forward to try and pull it out. I can barely touch the skin, my body refuting against the stretch.

"f**k," I mutter, tears leaking down my blood stained cheeks. Even breathing hurts with every inhale, the smoky air chokes me.

I force myself to look around, and duck as a chunk of the ceiling comes crashing down before me. The place is burning, and I'm being cooked alive in this sadistic oven. "Knox! Knox!" I can barely get the words out before I'm choking on a violent cough. I try again but my voice comes out rough and hoarse, barely a whisper.

It was a long shot anyways, I doubt he's even here, probably long gone by now.

Maybe it's time to give up now Caitlin. Death would come easily but painfully here, better just to let it happen.

I collapse back onto my elbows and then fall onto the hard ground, coughing lightly. Frowning, I turn my head at the weird shuffling. I gasp, looking at something out of a damn horror movie.

"Geneva?" I try to murmur.

"Don't you..." He gargles, word straying off into an anguished groan. The entire left side of his face is burnt raw, hair singed off, and he's just staring at me. Staring with an intense rage that is enough to set fear into my heart forever.

"Caitlin? Caitlin? f**k, please be alive, please be alive damn it."

Panic flares in Geneva's eyes, "Knox, Knox..." My voice barely carries itself and I can hear him becoming more distant.

Pushing up on my elbows, I try to reach for a piece of piping to my left. My body strains against everything as I struggle to clasp it, a desperate cry ripping from my chest. I sigh in relief as my fingers curl around the metal, and slam it into the floor. The sound echoes once so I do it again and again and again until my muscles become numb and the pain dulls.

"Caitlin? Caitlin oh thank fuck." I feel his hand first. Those familiar scarred hands that bring such warmth and joy to my soul.

Letting go of the pipe, I clasp one, trying a smile that only pains me. "Hey I've got you." He cradles my body beneath and then reaches down towards my ankle. Instead of yanking it out, like I prepare myself for, he grunts as he snaps one of the bars in half.

The relief almost makes me cry, and he gently guides my ankle out, wrapping his arms beneath me. I finally look up, and seeing his face makes me want to smile and laugh and cry because I never thought I would see him again. I rest my fingertips against the cut on his cheek and trace up to the bruise forming. "I'm sorry," He murmurs, dropping his forehead to mine. "I'm so sorry."

I want to tell him how sorry I am, how none of this was my fault but I know the words would fail me. Instead, I brush my lips against his. So soft and tender it's almost as if they're not touching, but I can feel the kiss so deep within my soul that it connects to his.

Glancing up into his glassy eyes, I brush away the tears that fall from them and nod. A sign to finally take me home. "I've got you sweetheart," He presses his lips against my head, almost as if he can't believe that I'm real.

"Kill me," Geneva croaks out.

Both of us turn our attention towards him, and Knox grimaces, seeing the gruesome burns for the first time. "Jesus, I kind of hoped the blast didn't kill you. I wanted that pleasure for myself but death seems too easy for you now. Living like Freddy Kruegar on the other hand, that'll be the ultimate punishment."

He steps over debris, carrying me away from the man who's tormented me for so long. "Wait Knox, shouldn't we kill him? End it now?"

Sighing, he glances back at Geneva's deformed figure. "It's up to you sweetheart." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a gun. "You could put a bullet in his head and we'll walk out of here, but personally I think that's too easy for that bastard. He deserves to suffer more for what he did to you."

I think about the very first time I met Geneva. He branded me with a tiny scar just above my ass, his signature tramp stamp as he liked to call it. I remember screaming as his men held me down and yanked down my pants, thinking this was it. This is the moment I'm r***d.

Then he left me there with his card and nothing more, forcing me into believing that working for him was my only option. He stripped me of my freedom, my dignity and my pride. He moulded me into someone I'm ashamed of being and now each time he looks in the mirror, he'll feel the same.

"I've already called the cops but we gotta get out of here fast. I may have offered a tip for forced p**********n charges and have some guys tied up outside that could confirm that but we need to get out of here."

"Saph! We can't leave without her."

"f**k where is she?" I point down, but I guess we're already there. The dressing rooms are the only place he would keep her, secure enough she can't escape if left alone in there.

Knox perches my ass on the edge of a broken down wall. He slides down first, jumping to reach the main floor and offers out his arms for me. My ankle burns slightly as I push off, closing my eyes with a slight yelp as he catches me.

"That way," He carries me over his shoulder, bounding down the intact hallway. The sprinklers douse us from above, and the fire alarm is screeching against my ear drums.

Setting me down, he tries the doorknob first but of course, it's locked. "I think the main key should be posted under the DJ box...oh." I watch as he kicks it open, the wood splintering at the hinge. "Saph!"

I rush in, ignoring my throbbing ankle as I see her familiar strawberry blonde hair peeking from behind the couch. Relief dulls the pain as I sink onto my knees, reaching to pull her towards me. "Saph hey, it's okay Knox found us and..."

Her eyes are rolled back, bright red and unmoving. "Saph?" I reach and touch her skin. Cold, clammy and the weight of her hand...dead weight. Shuffling to my knees, I grip her face between my hands, forcing her head upright. "Sapphire. Hey, stop f*****g around, okay? Hey it's me, it's Caitlin please, Saph,"

I see the track marks all over her arms, the handprints that form bruises above them. The bastards made her overdose, they killed her with drugs. Her biggest accomplishment was escaping that s**t and they-

These tears are unfamiliar to me, grief and pain and anguish all fused into one. It's ripping me apart from the inside out, the only person I've truly been able to care for these past few years, the only person that made this suffering worth living and she's... she's dead.

A scream rips from my throat. "Caitlin what's wrong?" I feel the presence of his body besides me, caring, and soothing. "Caitlin look at me, look at me, let me see... s**t. I'm sorry, I'm so f*****g sorry."

Knox wraps me in his arms, but the rest of the world seems to fade away. All I can see is Saph, her laugh and her smile and all the wonderful things she did that made me feel whole again. I see the future we used to plan, the freedom she craved more than anything and suddenly it's all leaving.

All that hope for a better future is dissipating because she's gone. My best friend is dead, and now I have to live in a world where she no longer exists. It's a new form of cruelty, of torture I've never experienced.

Sirens invade my silent agony. "We have to go now Caitlin." His arms are around my waist, dragging me back.

I watch as Saph's body flops away from me. The realisation that she'll be alone forever dawns upon me. No-one else cares for her, there's no-one to claim the body or give her a funeral. There's no-one but me to fight for her. "No! No!" I push back against Knox, clawing and scratching at him to let me go. "Stop, please! She needs me, she needs me Knox. Don't..."

I sob against his back as he flings me over his shoulder, my efforts to escape proving futile against his strength. "Stop, stop." My voice becomes meek, drifting into nothing but blubbers and tears.

"I'm sorry," I can hear his murmur, but it's too late. The damage is already done, my heart that was glued back together by Sapphire has become tragically broken again.

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A/N: Please don't hate me for killing off Saph. It was needed for the book.

Thoughts on Geneva? Should they have killed him?