Page 32 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)

Chapter 31

Player 173

Enzo

I van didn’t stop beating on the door, but Enzo paid it no mind. He was preoccupied. Enzo took a few breaths, facing the door and away from Raven. He had never spoken that truth out loud. He so desperately didn’t want to that he tried to severely wound Ivan instead.

That hadn’t gone according to plan.

Raven remained silent, and Enzo finally gained the courage to face her. He was aware Raven knew at least bits and pieces about Violet. Hell, he had spoken to her about it himself. But did she know the extent of Levi’s love for the dead woman? The look on Raven’s face confirmed she did.

“I don’t know what to say,” Raven admitted as she shrugged her petite shoulders. “But I think it’s best you explain why you blame yourself.”

“A circle of violence. A life of circumstances. A country that makes us choose daily. Every choice, every decision we make is what led us to this moment in time. You know how we grew up outside of a Government facility?” he reminded her of their prior conversation.

The lights in the room illuminated Raven in an angelic glow, but they also shone the bruises on her neck.

He held in the possessive urge to claim her. Enzo wasn’t a good man, and he would not be gentle with her. He had certain proclivities that he had long since accepted as part of him. He needed to always be in control. He needed to cause pain. He couldn’t get off without it. He pushed down the intrusive thoughts. Enzo turned to his memory and one of the worst decisions he ever made.

Raven jerked a nod.

“It was a double-edged sword. We weren’t abused and used as so many in the facilities are, but we weren’t truly happy either. That’s where the Factions started and when the victims in the facilities heard? That is when they gained traction when people like Nightingale decided enough was enough. I don’t agree with her methods, but I understood the sentiment. It was during that time that the Brutality Faction remained overwhelmed. As a trusted member, Levi would be away for months at a time. Violet would come and stay with me. I thought nothing of it. At first.” Enzo flexed his arms, clenching his fists.

“I thought she was just being friendly with all the neighbors. That she was an innocent girl that was lonely without Levi around.” He paused and watched Raven’s face closely as he continued. “She was never untoward to me, but George mentioned there was something off and requested I keep her away from his private quarters. I trusted my brother, and decided to follow her for a few days just to see if he was being paranoid.” A wry smile grew on Enzo’s face. “She would visit a number of the neighbors when she left. She seemed, dare I say, freshly tossed .” He laughed humorlessly.

Raven’s face contorted in indignation. “Please tell me you were wrong. That she didn’t do that. Not to Levi!”

Enzo’s face darkened. “That was bad enough, but I found it wasn’t even the worst of it. Those neighbors? Quite a few went missing. Unfortunately, during this same time, I knew something big was going to happen with the Factions; we all did, and I lost focus. But then, one day, when she came over, she started acting off. ” Enzo unclenched his hands, and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

“I let her think she was getting what she wanted. We fucked. I don’t know how these sick assholes knew any of this, but obviously, they know every one of our darkest secrets. After we screwed, she prodded me for answers. I could see how others fell for it, she seemed so sweet, so scared of what might happen. But I knew. I lied to her. And when she left? I followed her,” Enzo exhaled, and the familiar tension in his stomach tightened. The shame and guilt were unwanted guests that never left him for long.

“I thought maybe she was coerced, or they had something over her, but no. She did it for money. I watched her walk right up to a guard, and he greeted her like an old friend. When she left an hour later, she was ladened with the money she had made from our lives. I decided then that I needed to rid myself of her.”

Enzo finally met Raven’s eyes. They were swimming in the agony he felt.

He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. Their ridiculous masks stopped him from fully seeing her face, but she was perfect as she was. She leaned into his touch, and he did everything he could to restrain himself. It was bad enough that every man in their circle had their paws on her, but now even his stoic brother had tasted her. He remembered the feel of her silky skin against his, as they trained. Her yielding but capable body as he stretched her past the limits she thought comfortable. She was exactly what he needed. Did he love her? No. But he was self-aware enough to admit to his obsession.

“I planned on killing her,” Enzo finally admitted. He needed Raven to know the rest of it before he crossed any lines with her. “But I didn’t have the chance. That’s one thing about the Officials, you give them faulty intel that leads to deaths, they get pissed. While I might not have personally ended her life, it was my doing.” He paused. “If I knew what my actions would cause? I would have let her kill the rest of our neighbors.” His voice cracked right at the end. He made numerous rash decisions because why? To prove himself to George? To himself? All he did was cause another cycle of heartache.

Enzo needed a distraction, and there was one he still had his hand on. He lifted his other, cupping her face gently. His large hands covered all her available skin. How could she trust him to touch her like this? If he so chose, he could end her life in seconds. The power she allotted him was rousing, and his blood shifted south. She was a dangerous hive that he was going to take the stings of, if only for a single drop of her sweetness.

“Tell me no,” he demanded. Enzo wasn’t sure if he would be able to control himself to not hurt her, but he would try.

Enzo and Ivan weren’t so different. Except Enzo tried to control his impulses, he did his best to seem and be a decent man. Even as everything in him repelled and commanded him to rip into her body and take what she had to offer.

He hoped for her sake she would stop him, because he wasn’t sure how far he would take this. It had been a very long time since he had been with a woman in any capacity and his self-control slipped in every passing beat.

Raven remained silent. Instead, she dragged him closer.

He growled, enraged. This was her fault.

He let go of his grip on Raven’s face and crushed his lips to hers. He savored her flavor as he took everything she offered. She didn’t fight him or cry. Even as he crushed her soft curves in devastating holds. Even as he pinned her to the bed. Even as he ripped down her sweatpants and then his. Even as one of his hands wrapped around her throat.

The only noise she made was a stuttered gasp of surprise as he pushed hilt deep in one single thrust, impaling her.

“You did this!” he growled at her. He fucked her frenetically into the bed, using it as an assuage to his pain. He wished he’d relieved them of their shirts. He needed her velvety skin on his. He imagined the feel of her tits in his hands. “I can keep this side locked away, except when it comes to you!” he barked out harshly.

After an especially hard thrust, she moaned, and the noise vibrated through his palm on her neck.

He eased up and changed the rhythm entirely; now he was offering her long, deep thrusts, and he leaned down, kissing her again. He would never get enough of her pliant body. She was accepting everything he did to her, and what’s more, she seemed to be enjoying it.

“Enzo,” she murmured fervently.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer and reached down, finding her clit. He played with it until he felt her quivering.

He felt the familiar static begin to build, and he pinched down hard. She screamed and pulsated around him. The feeling set him off, and he came, slamming into her as hard as he could.

He didn’t pull out. He wanted his come to stay deep inside of her. He contained the fresh wave of anger at her bruised neck. Enzo wanted to leave his mark on her. In her.

She began to move beneath him .

“Stay still.” He wanted to take her again and again.He realized she still hadn’t spoken except his name. “Are you okay?” he asked gruffly.

She looked up at him with those beautiful frosty eyes and long lashes, and he once more refrained from rolling his hips into her.

“I didn’t expect that,” she finally admitted. “But if I am going to die in this game, then I guess I might as well do whatever I want before then.” She pushed her hands up between them, “Now get off me and get me something to clean up. Who knows what’s next in this house of horrors.”