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SEVEN

BLOODY HEELS

KILL 4 U—MANIC KAZZY

CALISTA

T he look Dom gave me in the hallway continues to haunt me, even though it’s exactly what I wanted. I could tell how hurt he was to see me in that state; the same pain in his eyes lingers in mine daily. Seeing the three of them at the party tonight shouldn’t have been too much of a shock for me, but it was. I had hope that they had gotten away from their fathers and that they finally escaped the darkness that engulfed us all. But that hope dwindled severely when I walked into the basement and saw them. I knew they didn’t want to be there. I knew they didn’t have a choice. But I still felt let down by all three of them.

I don’t know what I was expecting. I knew they couldn’t save me, just like they couldn’t save themselves, but I had still secretly hoped for it. I didn’t have much to hold onto while I spent my years locked away in the attic, but I managed to hold onto the thought of one day reuniting with them. Even now, I still hope for it, even though it seems like a fucking pipe dream.

Guilt ate at me all night, knowing what their fathers did to them. I knew back when we were all best friends, when they opened up to me one night. I prayed their torment would end, but judging by the look on his father’s face when my mother told him about Dom sneaking out to see me, I knew they were still being abused. And fuck, it broke my fucking heart.

We were all damaged—all broken in our own way—but that’s what made our bond so special. As fucked up as it is, abused people flock to each other, like a form of comfort. Nothing needed an explanation; the look in our eyes told our stories, so we didn’t have to. And even though I was incapable of helping anyone—even myself—I vowed to take away all of their pain. I’d find a way, even if it killed me. I wouldn’t stop until every last one of those men was dead, their blood on my hands.

But I didn’t know where to fucking start.

“Calista.” My mother’s evil voice cuts through the wild thoughts inside my head, snapping me back to reality.

Sitting on the couch in the showroom in the basement, I nervously pick at my nails while she talks to another councilman just feet away, using hushed whispers so I can’t hear anything that they’re saying. From the looks on their faces, I don’t want to know what they’re saying anyway.

I notice my father sitting at the bar nursing a drink, his head hung, almost in defeat. If this was years ago, I would’ve run up and hugged him, but that was then. Now, I don’t feel bad for him anymore.

Looking around the empty room, I watch as Gunnar walks over, holding a backpack in his hands. He walks right up to my mother, leans in, and whispers something in her ear. I shiver from the twisted look he gives me, remembering the night he ruined my life when I tried to escape. My mother takes the backpack from him and hands it to the councilman, slowly making her way over to me.

“Stand up,” she says, tucking her perfect black curls behind her ear.

I stand up, shaky on my feet, and smooth out the tight, black dress she forced me to wear, making sure my shoulders are straight and my chin is lifted to her satisfaction. I know the councilman won the bid tonight, but the way they’re going about things is completely different, and I don’t fucking like it.

“Calista, this is Mr. Brown.” She smiles, gaging my reaction as he reaches his hand out for me to shake.

I had never seen him at one of my birthday’s before, so I only assumed that he was newly elected. Being polite, I reach out and shake his hand, holding in a shiver as his clammy skin touches mine.

“Congratulations, Mr. Brown.” I force myself to say, holding back a gag as my hand burns, as if it were pressed against a hot burner, searing pain spreading all throughout it.

I’m reminded of the first time my mother crushed my fingers with her high heel when I went against what she had asked of me, and the pain seems to grow even worse.

“Thank you. I feel extremely lucky tonight,” he says, sweeping his eyes over my barely clothed body.

“Calista,” my mother begins, giving me a look I know not to go against. “You’ll be spending the night with Mr. Brown at his estate. And just in case you get any ideas, Gunnar will be accompanying you.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, I know that tonight is my opening.

I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to escape, so I know that no matter what, tonight I have to fight my way out.

Gunnar stands beside my mother with a look on his face that tells me he thinks he’s won, but I ignore it, returning it with a devious grin of my own. He doesn’t know what I am planning, and I want to keep it that way.

I’m nervous to leave the mansion, only because I haven’t seen the outside world in over five years. Will I remember my way around? I sure as fuck hope so.

We begin to walk out of the basement, and my nerves grow with each step. Still, I listen to her ramble on about her expectations of me and threats of what will happen to me if I disobey Mr. Brown in any way.

“All of your medication is packed, too, and I tossed in the bottles in case you need to take more,” she laughs, making a crazy gesture with her hand as we step into the night, the fall air wrapping around my body like a glove.

Looking around, I think about all of the friends from my past who I haven’t seen in years. The pain of their abuse is still etched on their faces, but I’m determined to fix it all. I can’t fuck tonight up. The pressure is overwhelming, but I’m ready.

As I say goodbye to my mother and slide into the back of the limo, I remember my journal upstairs—the one with all the names written on the back cover. I don’t ever want to go back in that room, and I don’t need to. I memorized all twelve names on the list, and counting the one from tonight, all thirteen. There’s no fucking way I’ll ever be able to forget them.

I keep a smile on my face as Mr. Brown joins me, shutting the door to my past behind him. In a way, I’m grateful for this man, even if it is fucked up to admit. If it weren’t for him and whatever deal he made with the amount of money he paid, I’d still be trapped in the attic with no way out in sight.

I’ll make his time worth it. I’ll make sure he gets everything he paid for and then some.

And as we drive away from the house that held so many horrors, I begin plotting silently in my head, a smile on my face the entire drive.

* * *

Pulling up to another mansion—his mansion—I begin to wonder if his walls hold sinister secrets like my parents’ mansion did.

“We’re here,” he says, breaking the silence that we sat in ever since we left my parents house.

He helps me out of the limo, holding my hand tightly. I notice Gunnar parked behind us, waving at me with a cunning grin on his smug face. I wave back and blow a kiss as Mr. Brown leads me up the steps to the front door. Wondering if Addy came with me, I nervously look around before we walk in, hoping she didn’t abandon me when I need her the most. But as soon as we enter his house, I see her sitting on the white leather couch, a smile on her face that matches mine.

“Take your meds,” she says, nodding to the backpack in his hands.

“Mr. Brown, may I have my bag, please? I need to take my medication,” I ask sweetly, batting my lashes at him.

He hands me the bag without question, already giving me more freedom than my parents ever did. “Sure, why don’t you go get freshened up and meet me in the bedroom?” He points to a bathroom at the end of the hall on the bottom floor, removing his suit jacket and slinging it over the back of the couch.

“Okay.” I keep a smile on my face even as I walk away, my eyes frantically searching for cameras.

“If you change, leave your heels on,” he yells, just as I close the door, and as soon as it clicks shut, I cringe, bolting to the toilet to throw up.

I collapse on the cold tiled floor, trying to catch my breath after dry-heaving, shivering from the sweat coating my burning skin. Right away, I unzip the bag and pull out my medication, popping them like candy just so I can feel better. Thoroughly searching the bag’s contents, disappointment floods my systems when I realize there’s nothing inside that I can use as a weapon.

“Drug him,” Addy says randomly, obviously reading my mind.

“Great minds think alike.” I pour out two of the tranquilizers and tuck them into the hidden pocket in my dress, deciding to keep it on instead of changing into the leggings that my mother packed.

I pull myself together and stand up to brush my teeth and fix myself until I’m comfortable enough to leave the bathroom.

“Can we do this, Addy?” I ask, looking at her as I look into the mirror.

“Of course we can. This might be our only chance, Cali. You can’t fuck it up.”

“Thanks for the pressure.” I shake my head, splashing cold water over my face. Sighing, I grab my backpack and open the bathroom door, walking straight into Gunnar.

“Whatever you’re thinking, I wouldn’t even try it, Little Psycho,” he sneers, grabbing my throat and forcing me to look directly into his dark, evil eyes.

I rip myself out of his grasp and keep my head held high, refusing to show him how scared I truly am. “I’m not thinking about anything, Gunnar. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I flip my hair in his face and walk away from him, hoping I can make it to the bedroom before he reaches for me again.

And I do.

“There you are,” Mr. Brown says as I step in the threshold, sprawled out on his bed in just his suit pants. His smile fades slightly when he sees Gunnar behind me, and I take the opportunity to get rid of him.

“Sorry, this one won’t leave me alone.” I point behind me, rolling my eyes, and trying to play it off the right way.

“Gunnar, do I have to call Mrs. Harlow to remind you of your job?” His temper shows through his threat, reminding me that he’s just another powerful man set out to hurt me, not help me.

“No, sir. I’ll be in the car right outside if you need anything.” I can hear how pissed and humiliated he is as he walks off, which only makes me smile more.

Mr. Brown pats the bed, motioning for me to join him, but I have other plans in mind.

“Before I join you, do you mind giving me a tour? Your place is beautiful and pretty big; I don’t want to get lost in here,” I giggle, trying to play the part as best as I can.

“Good one,” Addy whispers, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.

“Of course, Doll,” he says flirtatiously, getting up from the bed. I can’t help but notice how built he is—every muscle on display with tattoos covering a large portion of the parts of his body he usually keeps hidden in a suit.

During the walk-through of his mansion, he holds my hand like it’s fucking normal for us, but I go with it, feeding his ego so I can get what I want. He shows me the top two floors, even the basement, and all of the exits without realizing what he’s doing—that he’s actually helping me plan my escape. When the tour is over, I notice a bar on our way back to the bedroom, and another idea strikes me.

“Mr. Brown, may I make myself a drink?” I don’t even recognize the voice coming out of me, but it appeases him, so I continue with it.

“Of course you can. Mind making me an old fashioned? If you know how, anyway.” He winks, leaning against the wall in the hallway, anxious to get to the bedroom so he can have his way with me.

“I know how to make one, so tell him yeah,” Addy whispers again, so I nod, biting my lip in a teasing manner as I look at him.

“Of course. Why don’t you go lay down and make yourself comfortable? I’ll be in to take care of you as soon as I make our drinks,” he growls before walking off.

As soon as he’s out of sight, I drop the smile and the act, looking for the strongest liquor he has. Finding a rare bottle of Everclear, I pour myself a generous glass, never even having it before. The first sip I take is horrendous, even harder trying to keep it down. The burn is so intense it makes my eyes water, but I push through and take another long sip while I get to work making his drink, discretely opening the capsules from my pocket and dumping them into the glass. Using a tiny black straw, I mix the powder into the liquor, stirring it until every last spec dissolves.

“I don’t know if this will work,” I mumble to Addy, my hands slightly shaking as I walk back into his bedroom with the liquor bottle and hand him his drink with a smile.

“Why thank you, Doll.” He accepts the drink and gently tugs me onto the bed beside him.

“Trust me,” Addy replies with a smirk, and I bite my lip anxiously as I watch Mr. Brown take a sip.

He drinks it down easily, his eyes never leaving mine, and it makes me shiver. I can feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead as I wait for his reaction.

“Got another?” he asks, handing me his glass to fill up again.

So I pour him another glass, a sense of dread lingering in my stomach as he eagerly drinks it down just as fast.

The pills mixed into it don’t take long to kick in, turning him into even more of a monster. Out of nowhere, he pushes me onto my back and climbs on top of me, lifting my legs onto his shoulders. I let him kiss me and grind on me, only because I knew it wasn't going to last long.

“You’re going to be a good little whore for me tonight, aren’t you?” He growls, glaring at me with a venomous look in his eyes.

“You’ll see soon enough, Mr. Brown.” I wink at him as his movements become more forceful and intense.

Grinding on me, his cock presses against my stomach as grunts of desire boom from his chest. He eventually kneels between my thighs, taking one of my legs off his shoulder and kissing his way up my calf. He licks the top of my foot, still refusing to take off my heels, obviously due to some sort of fetish or something.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Calista,” he grunts, grabbing my hand and placing it over his cock. “How tight your pussy is. How much you love fucking older men. How you’re such an obedient little slut who will let anyone do anything to you.” He looks at me, making me feel so ashamed, even though I haven’t had a choice.

I haven’t had control over my own life or decisions for as long as I can remember. Now pissed off, I lose the smile I was already faking, not giving a fuck anymore if it makes him mad.

“What are you waiting for? Start stroking my cock like a good girl—my good girl,” he demands, reaching under the pillow my head is on and pulling out a pistol, making my blood run like ice through my veins. “Don’t make me have to fuck your ass with my gun, Doll.” Evil flashes in his eyes for the first time all night, making me quickly push his pants down and start jerking him off.

Even though I do what I’m told, he lifts my dress over my ass and plunges his gun inside me anyway, causing a piercing scream to escape my lips and tears to run down my cheeks. He quickly captures my throat like Gunnar did and squeezes as tightly as he can, almost instantly cutting off my airflow. Of course, I begin to freak out, flailing wildly beneath him while still trying to push him off of me. But he puts his body weight on top of me, preventing me from moving. Each thrust of the gun is more brutal than the last, ripping the tight ring of muscle in my ass until I feel warm blood running down my legs.

“Now, Calista, kill him,” Addy orders, knowing there’s a chance that he could kill me right now by strangling me.

So it’s me or him.

But I can’t slide out from underneath his heavy body. So I manage to get my leg up between our bodies, breathing through the searing pain throbbing in my ass as the gun rips deeper inside of me. Aiming my sharp heel at his throat, I manage to deliver a forceful kick that plunges my heel into the center of his throat, causing blood to spurt out of the deep hole. I kick again, jabbing the heel into the side of his neck, hitting an artery, which prompts him to grab his throat in utter shock, blood oozing through his fingers. Within seconds, he collapses on the bed beside me, and I sit here and watch as his body goes limp and his eyes cloud with death.

The room is spinning from the drinks and adrenaline, but I push through, kneeling by the bed and grabbing his phone off the nightstand. I quickly turn it off, not wanting or needing any distractions, unable to rip my eyes off of his dead, bloody body.

I begin laughing, dancing manically around the bed, still wearing my blood soaked heels.

Addy gags him with his own tie, laughing as she becomes just as unhinged as me. “What now?” she asks, examining our work.

“We delete the camera footage, for one.” I get up and run over to the security system, erasing all of the footage with one click of the computer mouse. “And now we get the fuck out of here,” I say firmly, getting my bearings together and grabbing the bag that holds both of our escape routes. “We run and don’t look back.”

Addy nods, and we run around, gathering any money we can find, a few burner phones still in their plastic packaging, and anything and everything else we might need before hurrying out of the mansion and into the night, making sure to use one of the exits that isn’t visible to where Gunnar is still parked in the driveway.

As we are mere feet from the back of the mansion, I stop dead in my tracks, realizing that we’ve made it out—we’re finally free. The weight that has been on my shoulders for years feels like it’s been lifted, and now I can finally start over.

But Mr. Brown was only one of the men on my list; there are still twelve more. And I won’t be able to rest or move on completely until all twelve are dead.

I’ll make sure every single one of them pays for what they fucking did to me—to all of us. I won’t stop until every last one of those monsters is dead, their blood on my hands. They’ll perish in the flames of my revenge, and I’ll watch them burn, their bodies turned to ash, bathing in the scent of their melting flesh until it’s soaked into my skin—a reminder of what I did to them for all the shit they put me through.

As we run into the dark, cold night, I can’t help but feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

I survived.

And now I need to make sure no one else ever has to go through the shit that I did.

The night is filled with endless possibilities as we make our way to a new beginning. And as I think about what’s to come, I know that I’m ready for whatever the fuck it is.

It’s time for me to finally be free...