Page 34 of Sadistic Retribution (Rise of Phoenyxx #2)

Phoenyxx

I'm so refreshed after a full night of sleep. Hunter has warmed my heart, at least part of it. I honestly don’t know if I can ever forgive the others.

Shrugging it off for now, we’re on our way out, back to the guys’ apartment. He fed me a full breakfast and coffee, so I'm ready as ever to face them.

I don’t know if Valley is there, and if she’s not, I will go find her. We walk up to their door, knocking once. It flies open, my best friend smiling a dazzling smile, rushing us inside.

“Nyx! I missed you.” She hugs me so hard, it pushes air out of me.

“Oof, Val, I missed you, too. So much.” I’m so awed by her. Even with Bryan still unaccounted for, she looks so damn grateful. Her sunshine is infectious, helping to improve my mood.

Movement behind her alerts me to the guys’ appearance. Synn is the first one to get to me. He tries to touch me, but I dart backwards. Trikk and Ghost make it to me, like eager puppies. They both try to hug me, and I shake my head.

“Look—no one is touching me. I do not forgive any of you yet.”

Razor scoffs, strolling in with Purge and Frost. “Looks like you forgave Doc just fine.”

“He didn’t make me think my bestie was dead,” I snap back. “Not even close to being the same.”

Hunter leads me over to the sofa, pulling me down into his lap. Valley sits to my left, and Synn rushes to take the spot on my right. The others pile onto the sofa opposite me.

“Before any of you say anything, I have a question,” I start.

“When I was down there, I was shown a lot of video clips. There were a bunch where you were all saying Valley was who you really wanted—you were just fucking using me to get to her. You all hated me...” I choke on the last part, emotion clogging my throat.

Frost is up and over to me in a blink. He kneels down, looking me in the eye. “Killer, that is the biggest, bullshit lie I’ve heard. I don’t know what they showed you, but none of it was true. Look at me, see what I'm telling you is true...”

His eyes swim with tears, and agony. Wait...emotions? Frost? What?

“Are you... feeling now?” I ask. “What happened? How?”

“You happened, Killer. You brought me the gift of emotion. I feel everything now, because of you. I love you, Phoenyxx. So fucking much.”

My eyes widen, my back going stiff. I get up off Hunter’s lap, kneeling with Frost on the floor. “You mean that, don’t you?” I pause, collecting my thoughts.

“Every single word, sincerely,” he whispers, looking at me reverently, like I hung the moon.

I force myself to stand up again. I can’t forgive and forget, I just can’t.

Like a guard in a prison surveying the prisoners, I stand with my arms crossed. “Well? Anyone else?” They all rush to assure me it was all lies. I wonder what else those fucking masks lied about? “Okay, I'm going to tell you all everything. You might want to sit down.”

Ghost comes up to me, putting his hand on my arm. “Malishka, you know how much I love you. I’m sorrier than you will ever know. Please, please forgive me. I'm drowning without you.”

“Dammit! Fucking listen up—all of you! How the fuck do you expect me to forgive you? You made me think you killed my best friend! You ripped my fucking soul out! I wanted to die. You all fucking smiled—SMILED—while I broke! Then fucking laughed! And then… they put me in The Morgue.

“They fucking tortured me horribly. They drugged me, beat me, raped me! Made me fucking fight in a damn ring! Tore Bryan away from me too, getting sent to who the fuck knows where.” I stop to inhale, then continue my rant.

“You want to know why they sent me back? I was too strong to break the way the masks wanted me to. They told me I was working for The Retreat if I agreed to it. My emotions shut off after all the videos they forced me to watch. So, fuck you all!”

Hunter gently says from the sofa, “Pretty Girl, take a few breaths. I understand completely.”

Tears have streaked my face, dripping onto my chest. I’m shaking. The pain in my chest is like an iron fist, it hurts so fucking much. The deceit, the lies!

Purge pales, opening his mouth to speak.

“Iskra, I think we all understand. We really had no choice. Our fathers—Mafia fathers—gave us the order and provided us with everything we needed to make it look real. They told us if we didn’t do it, They would.

Our fathers are terrifying. They would have done far worse to you than The Morgue did. ”

I struggle to wrap my mind around that. “Explain.”

“Me, Ghost, and Frost are heirs to the Russian Bratva...”

“And me, Razor, and Trikk are heirs to the Italian Mafia,” Synn finishes.

“I get what you’re saying, but I cannot forgive you- yet.”

“Okay,” Trikk says. “I love you, Bambi. Best thing to ever happen in my life.”

I look to the others. Razor and Purge speak at the same time. “We fell in love with you, too. Figured it out once you were gone.”

“And me, I fucking love you, Pazessca. Never loved anyone like this,” Synn says with conviction.

That leaves Frost. “Killer, I am head-over-heels in love with you. I have never felt anything, but I’m sure what I feel for you is love.”

Are they actually being honest? Do they love me this much? My gut is telling me they’re being truthful. I do believe their explanation.

“Who the fuck are the masks?” Synn’s gruff tone breaks in.

“I don’t know. There were four of them—Demon, Jester, Skull, and Horns. Their heads were completely covered. Demon seemed to be in charge. Jester was crazy as fuck.”

“The fuck?” Razor says. “Are they the ones who hurt you?”

“Yes. They did everything I told you.”

Synn yells, driving a fist into the wall next to him. He’d risen from his seat, standing off to the side. “They will all die!”

Hunter, ever the voice of reason, breaks in. “Is there anything else you haven't told us? Any information could be helpful. We're trying to bring this place down.”

“And our fucking fathers too,” Purge sneers, spitting it out like a bad taste in his mouth.

“There were levels,” I say. “The first place I was kept with Bryan seemed to be a lower level. They took me up a level for the torture and drugging. Then up another level to the cell block I was in before I came back. There were multiple torture rooms.

I take a deep breath, getting the rest out. “In my cell block, there was a fighting arena, and spectators. We were made to fight one another. As for the we… the other prisoners. We were called numbers—not names. I don't know anyone else’s actual names.

“The girl near me, patient 6, was crazy as fuck. She was adorable, though. Then there’s patient 10.

One other woman, built like a guy, but is decently nice.

The absolute worst one is patient 9. He’s a literal fucking cannibal.

Then... patient 3. No one knew he was there.

I found him. He's feral and mute. He took a liking to me and responded to me. My heart hurts for him.”

“Damn, bro,” Trikk says softly. “So much worse than what I thought.”

“Agreed,” Purge says, face still pale. “Listen, Iskra—we'll fix it all. We’re working hard on busting shit wide open.”

“As am I, which I already told you about,” Hunter adds.

“We need to update you on what we have found out,” Frost tells me. “We got proof that our fathers are involved in trafficking and... selling people to cannibals.”

I jerk at that, jaw dropping to the floor.

Purge continues. “There is mention of a possible seventh family, but we’ve never heard of that before. Augustine has files on all of including you. There were photos of you as a child in yours. Even a file on the Solomons.”

“The actual fuck? I vote we storm that fuckers' office and take every single thing we find!” I declare, with a sureness in my voice.

“On the same page,” Synn agrees.

“This needs planned out well, though,” Frost interjects.

“I need to help too. Please. I just want my Bry back,” Valley’s small voice joins in. The poor girl is shaking violently, arms wrapped around herself.

I immediately go to her, wrapping my body around hers. “There’s no way I would ever leave you out, bestie. Okay?” I turn to glare at the guys. “It is not up for negotiation or discussion. Valley stays with us and helps with everything we do.”

Shockingly, no one argues.

“We need to plan this,” Hunter says. “Trikk, go make some food, please, for everyone. We've got a long day ahead of us.”

“Yeah, bro, on it.”

At least we’re all together, even though I'm still so angry I could cry.