Page 131
Story: The King of Hearts
He slumps down on the cushiony seat and releases a long breath.
I stuff my clenched hands in my pockets and stare at him. “You don’t have a brother. Or I don’t remember you ever mentioning him. Only your sick bitch of a sister, Rosa.”
His brows pinch together. “What do you mean by that?” he asks in a weak and frail voice.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but that cunt came to live with us when you disappeared. For five years, I lived with that woman as she groomed me as her little sex toy.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” someone mutters.
Antonio’s face pales even more. “Where was your mother?” he croaks.
“In a fucking catatonic state because of whatever happened that night. She’s been that way since you disappeared.”
Anger adds a bit of color back to his cheeks. “Where’s Rosa now?”
“Dead,” I remark. “I was twelve when I killed her.”
My father doesn’t say anything else, but I don’t miss the hint of satisfaction in his eyes at that news.
“Now tell me how you have a brother that I knew nothing about.”
“I cut ties with him years ago, before you were born. I haven’t claimed him as blood since then, so there was no reason for you to know about him.”
There’s more to the story, a lot more, going by his expression, but we’ll get to that later.
“Where the fuck is my wife?” I demand.
He wipes a wrinkled hand down his gaunt face. “There’s a place in the center of the island. Only your mother and I know where it is. Or rather, we used to be the only ones who knew. That’s no longer the case. It’s a bunker that Miles Ellington had built when he first bought the island for his wife. I used to take your mother there when we wanted… privacy.”
“Exact location,” I snap.
He sits up straighter in his seat. “You drive. I’ll give you directions as we go.”
I scowl. “You can barely sit up in that fucking chair. You’ll be dead before we get there, and then Savina will be lost to me for good.”
“And you’d be okay with that. Me dying, that is?” he asks.
“I don’t give a fuck either way,” I growl. “Now give me the fucking directions.”
I’m two seconds away from snapping his fucking neck. The only thing that stops me is his knowledge of Savina’s location.
“It’ll be faster if I show you, Matteo.”
“Don’t call me that.” No one has called me that name in years, and hearing it now grates on my nerves. “My name is Ryker.”
“Ryker,” he murmurs.
“Jesus, fuck,” I grunt. “Let’s go,” I order.
If taking him with me gets me to Savina faster, then so be it. But I’ll mutilate his body if he dies before I get there.
He’s slow in getting up from his chair, and I’m disinclined to help him.
“With me,” I tell Marcelo as I pass by him.
The group follows me out the front door. Cassio, probably the nicest of the bunch, stays by my father’s side as he walks down the steps. My patience is hanging by a thin thread as I wait for them to approach the car. Marcelo gets in the front passenger seat, with my father taking the back seat with Emo. Alexander, Bishop, and Cassio go to Bishop’s car that’s parked behind mine.
The doors are barely closed before I’m hauling ass out of the driveway and through the opened gate. I turn left out of the driveway, heading toward the center of the island.
I stuff my clenched hands in my pockets and stare at him. “You don’t have a brother. Or I don’t remember you ever mentioning him. Only your sick bitch of a sister, Rosa.”
His brows pinch together. “What do you mean by that?” he asks in a weak and frail voice.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but that cunt came to live with us when you disappeared. For five years, I lived with that woman as she groomed me as her little sex toy.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” someone mutters.
Antonio’s face pales even more. “Where was your mother?” he croaks.
“In a fucking catatonic state because of whatever happened that night. She’s been that way since you disappeared.”
Anger adds a bit of color back to his cheeks. “Where’s Rosa now?”
“Dead,” I remark. “I was twelve when I killed her.”
My father doesn’t say anything else, but I don’t miss the hint of satisfaction in his eyes at that news.
“Now tell me how you have a brother that I knew nothing about.”
“I cut ties with him years ago, before you were born. I haven’t claimed him as blood since then, so there was no reason for you to know about him.”
There’s more to the story, a lot more, going by his expression, but we’ll get to that later.
“Where the fuck is my wife?” I demand.
He wipes a wrinkled hand down his gaunt face. “There’s a place in the center of the island. Only your mother and I know where it is. Or rather, we used to be the only ones who knew. That’s no longer the case. It’s a bunker that Miles Ellington had built when he first bought the island for his wife. I used to take your mother there when we wanted… privacy.”
“Exact location,” I snap.
He sits up straighter in his seat. “You drive. I’ll give you directions as we go.”
I scowl. “You can barely sit up in that fucking chair. You’ll be dead before we get there, and then Savina will be lost to me for good.”
“And you’d be okay with that. Me dying, that is?” he asks.
“I don’t give a fuck either way,” I growl. “Now give me the fucking directions.”
I’m two seconds away from snapping his fucking neck. The only thing that stops me is his knowledge of Savina’s location.
“It’ll be faster if I show you, Matteo.”
“Don’t call me that.” No one has called me that name in years, and hearing it now grates on my nerves. “My name is Ryker.”
“Ryker,” he murmurs.
“Jesus, fuck,” I grunt. “Let’s go,” I order.
If taking him with me gets me to Savina faster, then so be it. But I’ll mutilate his body if he dies before I get there.
He’s slow in getting up from his chair, and I’m disinclined to help him.
“With me,” I tell Marcelo as I pass by him.
The group follows me out the front door. Cassio, probably the nicest of the bunch, stays by my father’s side as he walks down the steps. My patience is hanging by a thin thread as I wait for them to approach the car. Marcelo gets in the front passenger seat, with my father taking the back seat with Emo. Alexander, Bishop, and Cassio go to Bishop’s car that’s parked behind mine.
The doors are barely closed before I’m hauling ass out of the driveway and through the opened gate. I turn left out of the driveway, heading toward the center of the island.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153