Page 32 of Sadistic Retribution (Rise of Phoenyxx #2)

Phoenyxx

I strip down to my bra and panties once locked inside my room. My body needs sleep. I've been ignoring it, letting the adrenaline-filled rage push me forward. Now, though, my body is loudly demanding it.

I slip under the covers, letting my limbs relax. After a few even breaths I close my eyes. Images flash behind them, but I still manage to fall asleep within a few minutes.

I strain to see who the new person is who came in is, seeing a lone figure in a hoodie.

The people here are too busy “celebrating” with each other to notice the new person, as they writhe all over each other—naked.

The hoodie-wearing person brandishes something shiny. I gasp when I realize it’s a gun.

It's pointed at the others. A low voice orders, “Move back! Don't make one move!” It’s the man. What's he doing here, and why pull a gun on these awful people?

The people don’t even seem to hear him. They put on loud music, and moans fill the air.

He turns to me, keeping his head down. It's so dark, I can’t make out much, anyway. “Let’s get you down,” he whispers, attempting to console me with his voice.

He reaches up, loosening my restraints. He lifts me easily in his arms, carrying me outside. He walks with me a couple of blocks. There's a car idling there, and he brings me in that direction.

He stoops down, and the car door opens in the back. There's a sliver of moonlight that hits the side of his face. All I can see is a chunk of dark hair falling in his eyes—and the grey, stormy color of the one eye I can see.

He pushes me into the backseat. “Who are you?” I try to ask, but he’s gone before I can finish the question.

I startle awake hard, heart pounding out of control. Was that another memory? It had to be—it was so real. Hoodie Boy looked familiar somehow, but I never saw enough of him to place him.

I just shrug, not feeling anything about it one way or another. I stretch languidly, leaning to the table by my bed to check the time on my phone. I've been asleep all day. It's seven pm now.

I'm starving, so I pound on the door. “Hey! I'm hungry!”

Trikk's voice filters through the door. “Check your desk, Bambi. There's food there.”

I stomp over, seeing a plate piled high with pasta, chicken, and more. A bottle of water sits next to it. I sit, eating voraciously. I clean my plate in no time, taking a long drink of my water.

Now I have to pee. Fuck. Before I can yell again, I hear voices and a scuffle outside my door. I listen, not able to make out the words. Then all is quiet.

“Malishka, I need you to open the door. Please. There's something I have to show you,” Ghost begs.

“Who all is out there?”

“Just me and Ghost, everyone else is busy,” Trikk answers. “It’s important. You need to see this.”

“Oh, fuck you... ugh! You better take me to the bathroom before I piss myself!” I throw open the door. “What’s so damn important?”

Tears swim in Ghost’s eyes. Trikk steps up next to him. “Bambi...”

I'm about to snap at them again, when they both step aside. I blink. Once. Twice. And just stare. What am I seeing? This can’t be... it isn’t real...

A sniff and a wail, then—“Nyx? Oh my God, Oh my God, I’m so sorry... I didn’t know!”

I freeze in place. Pictures fly through my mind. Hugs, tears, laughs... my—“Valley?”

She nods frantically. “It’s me—I'm okay, Nyx!”

A strangled sound leaves my throat, and I hurl myself forward at the same time that she does. We collide, sliding to the floor. A broken sob bursts from me, and just like that—I feel again. Everything.

I can’t fucking breathe, the overwhelming number of emotions suffocating me. My girl... how?

We cling to each other, both crying hard. Ugly crying. “Val... my bestie ...how? HOW?”

“They will explain, just know I had no idea. I didn’t know. Please don’t hate me!”

“I could never hate you—I love you so much!”

I look up at Ghost and Trikk. They’re both openly crying. I slowly stand, disentangling myself from my best friend’s arms. I walk to stand in front of them, and shove them both in the chest, shoving them backwards. “What the fuck? How could you do that to me? I thought you both loved me!”

Valley comes up to my side, in silent support.

“We do, Malishka,” Ghost swears.

“My Bambi—we had to,” Trikk says.

A screech of footsteps on tile announces pounding footsteps. Synn, Frost, Razor, and Purge careen around the corner.

Synn beelines my way, picking me up. “Pazessca, my baby...”

“Put me the fuck down. All of you—explain!”

Frost steps up, tipping up my chin to look deep into my eyes. “You’re back. You feel.”

“And you apparently do now too.”

He pulls back slightly, Synn standing next to him. It’s Synn who starts speaking. “My father—well, all our fathers—ordered us to do it. We had no choice.”

I go to open my mouth, but Frost cuts in. “Mine, Purge’s, and Ghost’s families are Bratva—Russian mob. Synn’s, Razor’s, and Trikk’s are Mafia. We're all heirs to the throne.”

“Yeah, Iskra, we were commanded to destroy you. We tried to say no, but they threatened to do it themselves. They are a type of ruthless and vicious you wouldn’t believe,” Purge explains, wringing his hands in nervousness.

“They set the whole thing up. All of it,” Razor says.

“And Val? What did you do to her?” I demand.

“She was slipped a paralytic drug. One that made her appear dead, but she could see and hear. We set up the scene from there. It was animal blood,” Synn explains.

My jaw opens, then slams shut again. “It was fake? Do you have any fucking idea what you did to me? To Bryan? The fucking torture we were subjected to?”

Valley makes a choking sound. “Bryan! Where is he? Is he okay?”

My eyes fill with tears as I say softly, “Last time I saw him he was alive. They took him away, though. I don’t know where he is, or how he is.”

She whips her head around, glaring at the guys. “Find him! Promise me! You owe me!”

Before anyone can answer, arms come around me from behind. “Pretty Girl? Valley? What the hell? Are you alright?”

My tears pour down my face fast now. “Hun... Hunter? You... you came back? I thought you left me!”

He turns me around to face him. “I never left you, my love. I had to temporarily leave the premises, but never would I leave you.”

My lip starts to tremble. “Answer me one thing—did you know about this... setup? It being fake, and Valley being alive?”

He holds my gaze, and I drown in his soulful eyes. “I had no idea. None whatsoever.”

I cry out, throwing my arms around him. “I love you, Hunter. Take me away from here, please?”

He scoops me up bridal-style, walking me away from everyone. “Val! Wait for me, please?”

“Yes, yes, always, Nyx!”

“Wait a fucking minute,” Synn bellows from behind us.

Hunter pauses, just long enough to say “No, Synn—you wait. You broke her. Now, I’m going to heal her.”