Page 26 of Sadistic Obsession (Rise of Phoenyxx #1)

R azor

I am pacing, feeling weirdly empty without Synn by my side. He and I are tighter than the others. We share the same anger and rage. We get each other's minds, mostly.

“Synn! Where the fuck did you go, man?” I huff out, annoyed I’ve had to walk all the way around the property looking for his ass. I turn a corner, heading towards his pool house. We party there every chance we can get. Alcohol, weed, pussy—it's the life, man.

“In here!” he calls out, proving I should’ve just come here first. It's hot as shit outside today, the butthole of summer in New Jersey. The humidity is so thick you can see it.

I head into the small building in the back of his mansion. He's sitting on the leather sofa, legs outstretched, head back. “What’s up?” I ask, concern furrowing my brow.

“Old man,” he groans. “I had to deal with a fucking an innocent woman today. I'm serious, bro. It’s a damn nightmare..”

“Fuck,” I fall back next to him on the sofa. “What did he make you do? Torture?”

“You got it....for the piece of shit that’s buying her.”

“Fuck me. That's fucked up, man. Want to go fuck some shit up?”

“Hell, yes, I do! Who deserves a beatdown today?”

I flash him a toothy grin. “I’ve got just the right person in mind. He fucked around...let’s make him find out.”

He stands, the tease of upcoming violence hyping him up. I'm pretty pumped, too. Blood and broken bones—that's our love language.

We barely reach the clearing when Ghost pipes up.

“No more bullshit. Tell me.” My brows raise in surprise.

Ghost is quiet most of the time, he rarely raises his voice.

His seemingly shy personality covers his sick side.

He is capable of the most depraved of things. He is arguably the worst of us all.

I sigh heavily, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Ask Frost—he knows more than I do.”

“Well?” he bites out, whirling to look at Frost.

“It’s a lot—just a forewarning,” he replies.

After a beat, he continues. “I walked into the apartment, hearing hysterical screams coming from Trikk’s bathroom.

Killer was sitting on the toilet seat, eyes dead and empty.

Valley and her boyfriend, Bryan, were there in the room.

I tried getting through to Killer, but there was no one home in there.

I finally told those idiots to calm down and checked out Killer for myself.

It was—bad. She was already naked. I told her to stand up, and she complied.

She had blood all over her ass, thighs, and back.

There were bloody fingerprints on her hips.

I did see her asshole was tore the fuck up horribly.

I tried to get her to talk or respond, but her eyes were so dead.

She'd obey simple commands, but she was just not there. I took her the fuck out of there and into my room. She snapped out of it the next morning. He hurt her—bad. He...”

Ghost paled, spitting out, “Ass-raped her? He motherfucking raped her? I'll kill him!”

“Whoa, bro,” Trikk intercedes. He is also clearly shocked at the outburst. “We need to figure out how to handle this. Beating the fuck out of each other is not going to help.”

“I already rearranged his face,” Frost adds.

Purge turns and punches the tree, over and over. He shreds his fist on the bark, blood dripping onto the ground. “He defected! He walked away from US! Cowardly piece of shit!”

I shake my head, questioning the extent of their anger. “Why are you guys so pissed? We are supposed to take her down, remember? You can’t get emotionally involved! The Doe is not long for this world!”

Ghost calmly walks closer, and out of nowhere, he knocks my head sideways with a brutal right hook. Frost has to pull him off me. I lean over and spit blood. “The fuck, Ghost? You, of all people?”

With his fists balled up, he snaps, “Never speak of her like that!”

Fuck my fucking life. I shove my hand in my pocket, twirling my razor through my fingers. “Do we try to talk to him? Give him time to come to his senses? Or call his damn dad?”

Trikk speaks up, “I say give him a bit of time. We can make sure Bambi is protected in the meantime. If he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass soon, though, we may have to consider...less savory options.”

Frost nods in response. “I agree. Give him a couple of days, then we’ll handle it, if necessary. I want someone with Killer at ALL times. Yes, even in her dorm room. I will personally knock someone out if she’s left unguarded. Clear?”

We all agree. “Who’s first, then?”

“You,” Frost answers. “You’re the least likely to do something stupid right now. Trikk, you for tonight. I'll take her tomorrow during the day and night. Purge, you get her the following day. Ghost—you get her that night.”

We all grumble our agreement. “I’ll go now,” I say, walking away back towards the girls’ dorm, hands in my pockets.

Hunter

I stir in my chair, the voice of the student droning on.

My attention is on my next appointment. I have tried to avoid interaction with The Six, but it’s unfortunately impossible.

Somehow, those boys managed to stay out of my office until now.

I'm not sure what changed, but I was notified to expect the ringleader, Synn.

The alarm on my watch buzzes, signaling the end of my current session. “That’s it for today, Sam,” I address the student. He’s one of the younger ones, almost eighteen. The Retreat houses teens to young adults—thirteen to twenty-six.

Not a bad kid, but he is a huge self-harmer and struggles with depression.

“Okay, Doc, thanks,” he mutters, standing quickly, ducking his head to avoid my eyes. His short, blonde hair hangs in his eyes, which he uses to shield himself.

“Hang in there, Sam. I am proud of your progress. One day at a time, okay?”

He nods his head, then turns to leave. Once the door opens, Synn stomps in, pushing Sam aside. “Mr. Franco! Be mindful of others! And KNOCK!” I bite out.

Sam pales, slipping past, and hurrying away. Synn stands there, both fists clenched, his jaw rigid, fire in his eyes. “I was fucking summoned. Let's get this over with, DOC.”

I sigh heavily. “Sit down, please.”

He plops his ass into the seat across from me. Folding his arms, he looks past me.

“What’s going on, Joseph?” I always address students by their given names.

“I’m good.”

“No, you are clearly not. Just tell me what happened, it’s my job.”

“I walked away from The Six, and the bitch, too.”

“What?” I gape, dumbfounded. “Don’t call Phoenyxx names, Joseph.”

“What-the-fuck-ever,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m solo now, the way I should be. Can I go now?”

“Joseph...you need to reevaluate your choices. Those boys are like your brothers, correct?”

He scoffs. “WERE maybe. They took HER side. They're dead to me.” He stands abruptly, making to leave.

“HOLD ON,” I call out. He stops, then whirls around, stalking to my desk. His big fist crashes down, splitting knuckles.

“Enough! I'm done, and I am leaving!”

Wonderful. My bosses have told me to stand down to them when it’s necessary. I have to let him go right now. It seems the rules are changing rapidly. My orders keep changing. Right now, I have to be closely monitoring all six of them.

But I am extremely concerned about Phoenyxx’s well-being. I cannot get her out of my head. She is the star in my dreams every night. It's getting harder to avoid her and not take what my body is screaming for. That sweet, supple body...I have to get a handle on this!

Before I burn a hole in the carpet in my office, I decide to go get some fresh air.

A nice walk will help me get my thoughts in order.

I snag my keys, locking up behind me. I take the front entrance out of the building.

The sun is shining, which feels great on my skin.

This time of year is my favorite. Almost fall, the leaves are starting to change colors.

I pick apart that odd visit from Synn. All the while, worry for Phoenyxx dominates every cell in my brain. I look up as I hear students coming my way. Phoenyxx is walking with Razor, looking angry. She jerks her arm away from him, glaring. I speed up, confronting them.

“What is going on here? Do you need to get away from him?” I ask her.

“I’m fine, he’s just an asshole,” she replies, sneering at Razor.

“Mind your business, DOC. She is NOT your concern!” Razor snaps.

“She is very much my concern. She is my student...” I trail off and frown, noticing how stiffly she’s moving. She tries to hide a wince, but I see it. I step forward, gently taking her chin to have eye contact. “Who hurt you, Pretty Girl?”

She blushes, jerking away from me. “I....” she starts, but Razor interrupts. “Look motherfucker—back off!” He reaches in his pocket, brandishing a silver old-fashioned razor.

She is hurt...I just snap. I grab him by the front of his shirt, dragging him towards me. “Spill it!”

He laughs, blurting out, “She was just fucked in the ass, DOC.”

“NOT with my consent!” she adds.

I see red. I let go of his shirt, and he attempts to swing the razor around to slash me, but I block it easily.

I grab his arm and twist, the razor clattering to the ground.

I am highly trained, having learned Krav Maga, karate, and even Tai Chi.

The mercenary group that hired me also trained me with weapons. I can take anyone down.

He fakes a punch to my jaw, which I clearly see through. His leg sweeps out, but instead of getting a kick to the knee, I easily connect with my leg, bringing him down instead. Once he hits the ground, I straddle him. I pull a direct throat chop, showing him I could end him right now if I wanted.

“Stop!” a horrified Phoenyxx yells.

It instantly sobers me, and I scramble off Razor. I am disgusted with my lack of control. I know better! I’ve never put my hands on a student until now.

He sits up, spitting at me. “Pretty Girl, huh? What the fuck is up with that?” He laughs maniacally. “I’m watching you, Doc.” He pulls himself up, grabbing Phoenyxx by the hand. “Let’s go, Little Doe.”

She reluctantly takes his hand, looking over at me. “It wasn’t Razor,” she says softly. “The head asshole is to blame for it.”

He bends down to pick up his razor, shoving it back into his pocket. He steers them both away without another word.

I fumble my phone out of my pocket, scrolling through my contacts until I find the one marked “Tom.” I hit dial, lifting it to my ear.

I was hired by an elite, private mercenary group to unravel this place. It's an interesting mixture of ex-military, ex-government, and even street thugs. My current orders are to observe the adult staff and to look for suspicious documents in the director’s office.

It answers with the first ring. Nothing is said, which is the protocol. “There are complications,” I report, speaking low so no one overhears. “It seems the six boys are more of a problem than we initially thought.”

“What about the director or other staff?”

“Not much yet,” I admit. “The director is very suspicious.

I'm working on hacking his computer. I've only interacted with the female doctor. The nurse in charge of handing out patients’ medications, I haven’t spoken to yet.

I've heard of other doctors, which I have no idea where they are, or who they are. I am planning to look more into it.”

“Do that. We need all the ammunition we can get. This beast MUST be dismantled.”

There is a small pause, and he finishes with, “Keep an extra eye on Nikolai, Purge as he calls himself.”

“Why?” I question.

“I don’t have all the details yet. Just relaying this forward.

“Alright. I will keep you updated,” I respond, then hang up. I shove it back in my pocket, pondering this whole, fucked-up situation.