The Monster's Fury

CHAPTER SEVEN

Adrienne POV

“Hey! Wake up. Are you okay?” My eyes strain to open but when they do Ryan is standing over me. I look around and notice that I’m still in Cole’s office. He isn’t here and the TV is turned off.

“What happened?” I ask as he helps me stand up.

“I told you to stop fighting.” His face is stoned like always.

“Let’s go.” He continues before I can say anything. He lets me go once I’m stable and walks to open the door.

I stand there, my mind still fuzzy from what had just happened. Tears well in my eyes as it all starts coming back to me. Agonizing pain hits me like a freight truck. She’s really gone. I scream until my throat burns trying to relieve some of the pain that’s constricting my heart but to no avail. Ryan tries to grab me and pull me towards the door but I’m just dead weight. None of my body parts want to move.

“Come on, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” His words are overpowered by the hard heavy pumps of my heart beating in my eardrums. He tries to pull me again but my body is still frozen in place. He grunts knowing this is a battle he’s going to lose.

He cups his arms under my knees and back and carries me out the door. I don’t fight him. I couldn't even if I wanted to. My body is weak, my mind is fragile and my heart is broken– leaving my willpower to fight for anything slim to none. Ryan continues to make his way back down to the basement. We pass Miranda on the way. I can’t even muster up a snarky look to give her, but that definitely doesn’t stop her.

“Oh Ms. Santana, is there anything I could get you?” She asks, causing Ryan to stop in his tracks and turn around.

“Food? Maybe some tissues for your room? You look like you’ve had quite the day, my child.” My expression is blank, eyes soulless– which is exactly how she likes to see me.

“Has Mr. Sullivan returned Ryan?”

“No.” He turns around and continues to walk down the hallway before she can say anything else.

It doesn’t seem like he likes Miranda too much but that doesn’t surprise me. She’s a miserable old b***h who thrives on the pain of others. Last I checked those kinds of people didn’t get picked first on the playground. We walk into the four enclosed walls they call my room and Ryan sits me on my springy mattress. I sit there motionless.

“Look, just give him what he wants. You know he’s not going to stop and you have more people out there that you need to protect.” He doesn’t wait for me to respond. I don’t think he wants me to. He just straightens himself up and walks out the room.

I lie down and stare up at the ceiling while Ryan’s last words play in my head. People I need to protect? My thoughts run wild with happy memories of my mom and dad back in Florida.

My dad playing his guitar while I sang along. His smile was infectious. I could always feel how proud he was of me and how much he loved me just from that smile. My mom in the kitchen making the best empanadas you’ve ever tasted– definitely my favorite food. I could eat empanadas anytime, anywhere.

Papi was never able to last long before he trailed in and tried to steal a few before dinner– I was always right behind him. The consequences when we got caught sucked for him but not so much for me. She always tried to give me a stern look but she couldn’t keep it. Her lips would twitch up into a smile and her stern look would be replaced with a look of so much love that I could feel it in my bones. She would bring me into her arms and hug me as tight as she could before kissing my forehead and both my cheeks.

“Mi niña, I love you so much but if you continue to follow your father I will disown you.” Then she would smile as if she just said the nicest words you could ever hear. I laugh at the memory which quickly turns into a hard cough. My throat is on fire but I ignore the pain and fall back into my memory bliss.

Thoughts of Hunter flood my mind now. The first day we met when I punched him in the face, I thought he was a creep– a very good looking creep but they said the same thing about Ted Bundy, so punching him in the face was well warranted.

Then he showed up at Chris’s gym which even furthered my suspicions, but turns out he was the only right decision I made in my entire life. It was mostly his doing, but hey a girl always has a choice as Taylor would say.

Wet tears coat over the dry ones on my cheeks as Taylor creeps into my thoughts again. Images of her lifeless body blur my vision. How could I let that happen? How could I let that monster beat down and kill my sister? I could feel my anger rile up again but it’s quickly diminished by my helplessness. It’s this same attitude that got her killed in the first place.

I roll over and tuck my knees into my chest. The song I used to sing to Taylor plays in my mind and I begin to hum it out loud.

‘Sweet baby girl

Please open your eyes

I know it hurts and I’m sorry

But you don’t have to worry

I’ll be by your side’

I weep knowing that I will never be able to sing to her again. My biggest supporter with everything in my life is no longer there. Ryan’s right. He’s not going to stop no matter how hard I try and fight. The more I fight the harder he strikes me down. If I can’t kill him then the only way to stop him is to kill whatever he’s after– me.

I wince from the pain as I slowly try to sit up on the bed. The answer to my problem has always been there, I was just too much of a coward to actually see it. Everyone is getting hurt because of me. Taylor dying is the last straw. I put my entire family in danger when I got involved with Cole and that’s something that I should’ve always shouldered alone. I was scared before– scared to lose everyone I loved, scared to leave Hunter. I was scared to lose the happiness that I just found after not having it for so many years. I stand up from the bed and walk to the mirror hung above my small sink.

“You couldn’t help Taylor but it’s not too late for everyone else.” I say to myself before punching the mirror as hard as I can. I watch as the glass shatters and my blood drips into the sink. I’m numb to the pain being that I’ve had worse things happen to me here.

My face reflects off of one of the glass shards. I grip the sides of the sink as I contemplate my next move. I remember Ryan telling Miranda that Cole is out and hasn’t come back yet. So that gives me enough time to do what I have to do without someone looking at my every move through the cameras. I only have one shot at this so it has to work.

My breathing becomes sporadic as I let go of the sink and pick up a glass shard. My hand shakes uncontrollably as I try to put it to my wrist.

‘Come on Adrienne, stop being a coward.’ I scold myself. ‘Mom, dad, Hunter– they all think you’re dead already, no one is coming to look for you. All the things you were scared of losing, you already lost.’

I was hoping that my little pep talk to myself can help and make this easier to do but it doesn’t. I can’t control the tremor that’s running through my body. The glass falls out of my hand as I back away from the sink.

The four walls feel like they are closing in on me. I look around at what would soon be my permanent hell, if I don’t go through with this. The thought of being stuck here and being Cole’s personal slave is worse than death. There’s a heavy weight on my chest that’s making it almost impossible to breathe. I’ve never felt so trapped before.

Small sobs escape my lips as my harsh reality sinks in further. I’m not going to get through this. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. This is it. I muffle my sobs and pick up the glass shard again.

There’s a cold sharp sting against my flesh as the glass punctures through my skin.The pain is immeasurable. I want to scream but I bite down on my shirt collar instead. I watch as the blood oozes out of my veins. I switch the shard into the other hand. I tear and whimper as the glass slices through this wrist. There’s blood everywhere, on my clothes, the sink, the floor. In less than a couple of minutes my room looked like a crime scene.

I try to swallow my sobs so I wouldn’t bring any unwanted attention. Cole isn’t here but that doesn’t mean Ryan doesn’t watch occasionally. A wave of immense pain hits me again. I can barely think straight but one thought keeps screaming out to me. Cole can’t hurt anyone else if I’m no longer around.

My breathing becomes shallow and I start feeling lightheaded and dizzy. I stumble over to the bed and lay down. “He can’t hurt anyone anymore. He can’t hurt anyone anymore.” I repeat this over and over to distract myself from the pain and regret that starts to consume me.

Did I jump the gun again on this? Will this even work? What if he gets so pissed off and goes and kills them anyway? Then all of this is for nothing.

‘No. I can’t do this.’ I close my eyes and try to calm my thoughts. It’s already done, it’s useless to think about what if’s now. Another wave of pain hits me and I grit my teeth.

Every minute feels like hours, eventually I become numb. Pools of blood soak into the mattress underneath me as my blood continues to drain from my body. I turn to the wall and lift my blood-stained hand. I want to leave Cole a little message before I go.

I turn on my back when I’m done writing and close my eyes. I think about Hunter. I think about his piercing blue eyes, his smile that shows those dimples that always stopped my heart for just a second. I want his face engraved in my memory. I don’t know what happens after this but whatever it is I want to make sure I bring just an inkling of him with me. I smile as I imagine another life with Hunter. A house with a white picket fence, a dog running around in the backyard.

‘That would be nice right baby?’

Cole POV

I look down at my watch and see that it’s almost 10:00pm. I’ve been out longer than I'd wanted to. If it wasn’t because Ron Tully wanted to meet in person I wouldn’t have left my Little Butterfly at such a crucial time. Afterall, I am all that she has left.

“Is there somewhere else you need to be Cole?” Ron questions as he squints at me. Ever since Connor died he’s been very wary of me, which was to be expected but as long as I have my nephew and nieces, Kayla will continue to do everything I ask her to.

“Actually, I do. I didn’t expect this business meeting to take this long.”

“Well you know what they say “Time is money”. It’s best you keep that in mind if you want to keep this newly acquired position.” His words drip with judgment and doubt which just pisses me off. I grip my armchair to ease my anger. The last thing I need right now is a feud between the families.

“No one knows about money more than I do.” I smile knowing that he can’t rebuke what I said.

Everyone knows my mind in business is the best out there. Between my clubs and the shares I have in the top five companies in the US. My worth is never up for question. He scoffs as he stares me down. Ron isn’t intimidated by anyone and he’s an intelligent man– but so am I. We continue to stare each other down waiting for the other to back down.

“I’m flying back to New York at the end of the week. I want Kayla and the kids to come with me.” I raise my eyebrow.

“Why is that my concern?”

“Well her husband is dead. There’s nothing keeping her here but yet leaving is the last thing she wants to do.”

“What are you getting at Ron? I grow tired of guessing games rather quickly.”

“I don’t think you would happen to know the reason for this– would you?” His eyes bore into mine looking for any hint of something that might give me away.

“No, I don’t, nor do I care about your daughter’s living arrangements. As you said my time is precious because of this “newly acquired position” as you so put it. Kayla doesn’t really fall on the top of my newly acquired priority list.” His jaw clenches and I can tell he’s trying extremely hard to hold his composure. Knowing that I’m getting to him just boosts my ego.

“Your sister-in-law, the mother of your nephew and nieces–”

“I’m going to stop you there Ron. Your daughter married my brother, not me. I have no responsibilities to her or to you for that matter, except to be the leader of this clan. It would do you some good to remember that and only open your bloody mouth about Clan business. Am I clear?” I don’t wait for his response, my question is rhetorical anyway.

“Good. This meeting is over.” I stand up from my chair and gesture at the door. I would have walked out myself but I don’t want him following me out of here. He doesn’t get up. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink. He’s tense and I know he’s contemplating his next move.

“Are we going to have a problem Ron?” He doesn’t say anything. He stands up and walks towards the door. Before he opens it he turns around.

“She’s family Cole.”

“Family is such a fickle thing.” The ends of his lips twitch up sinisterly after hearing my words. He walks out the room, closing the door behind him.

In a fit of rage I push off the papers and glasses of water on top of the table. Does he know something? I swear if Kayla opened her mouth she’s f*****g dead.

I pace around the room trying to cool off. Ron Tully is the last person I need snooping around right now. A corpseless casket of a Clan leader, holding another Clan leader’s daughter and grandchildren hostage–

“s**t!” Anger continues to course through my body with no intention of stopping. I slam my hands on the table. I can’t afford to have a fight between the Clans right now. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm my mind.

Looks like my Little Butterfly is going to have to wait a little longer for me. I have to pay my dear sister-in-law a little visit. I walk out of the room and Sam is standing there awaiting my next order.

“Clean up the s**t inside then meet me by the car. Change of plans, we’re going to the Sullivan house.” He nods and is out of my sight before I can even blink. Sam is no Ryan but he’s quiet and efficient– thank bloody hell for that.

****

“Sir, we arrived.” Sam announces as he pulls into the long Sullivan driveway. I roll my window down as we continue to drive up. I can see my men doing their patrols and the cameras following my car.

I haven’t been here since Connor died and the clan was turned over to me. I’ve had Ryan handling all the minor business that doesn’t need too much of my attention while I dealt with my Little Butterfly.

Speaking of, I should probably check to see how she’s doing. If killing her cousin didn’t break her, then I’m not sure what will. Maybe I should put someone on her parents just in case I need reinforcements. I pulled everyone off them once we faked her death.

‘How’s she doing?’ I text Ryan right before we enter the garage and Sam opens my door. I stuff my phone in my pocket before waiting for a reply and walk into the house. Maids busy pass me as they clean up the dining room. I don’t see Kayla and the kids, they might be upstairs.

“Good evening Sir.” A woman’s voice sounds from behind me and I know exactly who it is. I turn around and there’s Carmen, my sexy assassin in all of her glory. My d**k twitches as I think about her signature kiss of death from earlier today.

“Carmen. You look–” My voice is husky as I take her all in.

She has on a long black dress that fits every curve of her body. There’s a slit on both sides showing off her bare thighs. The top of the dress curves each breast perfectly showing just enough cleavage for the imagination. She saunters towards me. Her finger glides up my palm, to my arm, before resting on my shoulder.

“It’s been a while since you’ve seen me out of those dreadful nurse scrubs.” She leans in closer to my ear and blows on it slightly.

“Actually, it’s been a while since you’ve seen me out of anything…Sir” She nibbles on my earlobe making my c**k stand at attention. f**k, this woman is going to drive me mad. It’s true, I haven’t seen her or any girl for that matter since I’ve been with my Little Butterfly. My d**k throbs against my pants, letting me know this is an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up.

“Meet me in my office.” She looks at me and smiles as she bites her bottom lip. I turn around and watch as she walks up the stairs. Every bone in my body wants to follow her but as dear old dad always says, “Business first, p***y later”.

I walk through the house until I hear a little girl crying in the study room. I know it has to be one of Kayla’s bastard kids. I follow the sobs until I see the youngest crying in the middle of the floor with books all over the place. As I walk closer I notice she’s grabbing on to her ankle.

“Did you take a little tumble?” I kneel down to her level. She looks up at me and her eyes widen with panic but she stops crying.

“It’s okay. Do you know who I am?” She doesn’t respond. She tries to lift herself up but she struggles. I stand up and hold her so she can stand but she jerks away from me instead and falls again. I’m sure Kayla fed them some horror stories about me.

“I’m your Uncle Cole–” I fumble as I try to remember her name but for the life of me I can’t.

“Ava.” I turn to see Kayla and my other niece standing at the doorway.

“Mommy!” Ava’s sobs begin again almost instantly.

“What are you doing with her?” Kayla frantically races to Ava’s side, almost knocking me out of the way.

“Come on get up baby.” She tries to pick Ava up but she just cries more.

“She hurt her ankle when she took a fall.” Kayla looks at me with daggers in her eyes as if I was the one who hurt Ava. Can’t say that I blame her.

“Emma, take your sister to Nanny. I’ll be up in a minute.” Emma rushes to her little sister and picks her up. She keeps her head down and doesn’t even glance my way.

“Wow, what kind of stories have you been telling your kids about their Dear Old Uncle Cole?” She glares at me.

“Only the true ones. What do you want?”

“What do I want? Did you forget that this is my house?”

“I didn’t but I thought you did. You haven’t been around since you got the Clan.”

“New positions, new responsibilities. I’m a very busy man.” I shrug.

“What do you want Cole?” I smile. I can tell she’s getting frustrated.

“Your father had a lot to say about you and the kids today.”

“What did he have to say?” Her tone is calm but her body tensed up once I mentioned her father.

“He wants to take you home but we both know that’s impossible at least for now.”

“What are you getting at?” I angrily slam my fist on the table.

“Find a way to convince your father that nothing’s wrong and you just want to stay here for the kids or something.”

“Did you come here just to tell me that?”

“No, but that’s all that concerns you.” That was a lie. I also wanted to see her reaction when I told her this in person. Now I know for sure that she’s up to something and I could prepare.

“If that’s all you want then consider it done. I’ll give him a call.”

“Good. Wasn’t that easy? Isn’t it better when we’re both on the same page?” Once again I get that deadly glare of hers.

“If there’s nothing else I need to go check on my daughter’s ankle.” She walks by me on her way out the room. I grab her arm before she can leave.

“If you don’t make that call, her ankle will be the least of your worries.” She yanks her arm back and rushes out the door. Once I no longer hear her footsteps I close the door and call Sam.

“Sir?”

“Prepare the CCTV for the last month of the Sullivan house. I want to know who’s been in and out of here. I also want you to keep someone on Kayla and Ron Tully. I need this before we leave here tonight.”

“Will do, Sir.” After I hang up the phone I start wracking my brain trying to figure out what Kayla has planned but I won’t know anything until I see the CCTV footage.

I take a deep breath to try and put my mind at ease. There’s no better way to do that than to dive deep inside Carmen’s p***y. I loosen my tie and make my way upstairs to my office.

Carmen is sitting on my desk already naked. Her legs are spread wide open showing me her dripping wet entrance. Her fingers circle around her c**t as she bites her bottom lip. I take off my blazer and start to unbutton my shirt as I continue to watch her play with herself. Her moans are like music to my ears, making my c**k as hard as a rock.

She brings her two fingers up from her clitQ to her mouth, tasting her juices. Bloody hell she is sexy. She curls her finger back and forth, calling me over and I’m more than happy to oblige. I hover over her as her hands rub up and down my shaft. I bite my bottom lip from the sensation. She unbuckles my belt and unbuttons my pants, freeing my erection.

Her soft fingers wrap around my length and slowly move up and down. She gets off the desk and lowers to her knees before taking me in her mouth. I close my eyes and let my head fall back as she continues her sweet assault, my d**k grows longer the more she sucks. I clutch my hands in her hair and push myself deeper into her mouth. In and out each thrust harder than the last. I wasn’t satisfied until I saw her tears stain her cheeks.

“f**k,” I hiss as I continue to skull f**k the hell out of her. I look down and watch as my sexy assassin gags on my length but never loses her rhythm. Her watery eyes meet mine as her saliva coats my shaft over and over again and I want to explode. I pull my d**k out of her mouth and stroke it a few times until my seed blasts onto her face. She opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue to taste me.

One taste isn’t enough for her. She moves my hand and brings me back into her mouth and swallows the rest of my load. My body shivers as I unleash. f*****g hell this woman can give a damn good blow job. She stands up and licks her lips.

“I’m going to go clean myself up.” She says seductively. I can’t take my eyes off her face as my semen trickles down her cheek and onto her lips. She turns around and I watch as she bends over the table to grab the box of tissues. My man downstairs stands at attention, letting me know that my Little Butterfly is going to have to wait until morning because my sexy assassin needs all of me tonight.