Page 9 of Scarred in Silence (The Twisted Trilogy #2)

Lucien

I dropped off her lunch and dinner yesterday by simply dropping them through the open door. Fuck her. She thought she was going to get away with that bullshit? Little does she know I would know immediately, considering I watch her on the cameras all fucking day.

Na?ve bitch.

I have a job today with Dante and the guys. I can’t miss it. So she is getting all of her meals in the morning. She will just have to ration.

I open the door and drop down the food.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call down to her.

She doesn’t answer. I know she is pissed off. She ruined her only chance of freedom. Little does she know, she will never be free. No matter what she does. Even if she gets out of the cell, I will always own her. It’ll be official tomorrow after I meet with her father.

I shut the door and get on my bike. I know today is going to be rough, so I put on “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones and head to the compound.

* * *

Dante, Ronan, and Jared stand in the gravel driveway, awaiting my arrival. They look bored as fuck.

I kill the engine and slide off my helmet, shaking out my hair.

“Am I late or something?” I joke.

Dante and Ronan stand stoic, and Jared lets out a chuckle. He quickly silences himself when Dante fixes an annoyed glare in his direction.

“We need to discuss details,” Dante says flatly.

I nod. He pulls out a rolled-up paper from his back pocket and opens it against the hood of his Mercedes.

“This is the map of the area. There are two larger buildings and one smaller building. The drop off is scheduled in this warehouse.” He points to a warehouse past the three buildings.

“The guy we are delivering to is Enrique Martinez.” He throws down an image of Enrique. Doesn’t look familiar.

“The reason we all need to go is that a few years back, this exact location was used for sex trafficking. I took out an entire squad by myself. If this is a sex trafficking ring, we take them all down.”

I nod, and Jared is the fucking idiot who speaks up.

“Why? It doesn’t interfere with our business?”

Dante turns and crowds Jared’s space.

“Because I fucking said so,” he says through gritted teeth.

Jared swallows thickly and nods. He knows he crossed a line. Dante will do anything to make sure that other women don’t end up like his sister.

I get into Dante’s car, and Jared and Ronan hop in the back.

“Let’s fucking do this,” I say to my best friend with a sadistic smile.

He smirks back as he speeds away from the compound.

* * *

The abandoned buildings lurk to the side of us as we pass them on our way to our destination. A couple of trucks sit parked near the warehouse up ahead. There isn’t an entire operation here, but more of a pickup spot.

Dante puts the car in park, and I nod to him. He pops the trunk and takes out the duffle bag. The bag contains about 60 lbs of Xanax, roughly a $150K deal.

I walk up first and nod to Enrique, who sits in the bed of one truck. A few voices can be heard from further into the warehouse. He has a glock strapped to his waistband.

Dante holds the bag at his side. Enrique whistles, and two men approach from inside the warehouse.

“Tony, take him to the back and count it.”

He walks into the warehouse, and Dante follows. I nod to Ronan to follow him in, just in case shit goes sideways. I stay back with Jared.

“Nice to see you boys took over for your father’s. It’s a shame what happened.”

My jaw clenches at the topic. My father only cared about my brother. It’s like I didn’t even exist after he fucking died.

“Yeah. What a shame,” I state flatly.

“Who’s the new guy?”

“Jared,” he says. Jared steps forward and puts his hand out. The slimy fucker shakes his hand as if he holds the power right now.

“Pretty odd to have four of you show up for a simple deal, ain’t it?”

I shrug. Not giving him any answers.

After a few more minutes of brutal silence, Dante and Ronan emerge from the warehouse holding the duffle, only this time, it’s full of cash.

“Good doing business with you.” I nod at Enrique and stride over to the car.

Dante places the bag into the trunk and slides into the driver’s seat. He looks like he saw a fucking ghost.

“You good?”

He nods, clenching his jaw. He speeds away from the site.

He’s hiding something from me, and I need to know what the fuck it is. I’m the last person anyone wants to cross right now.

* * *

My little Siren lies on the bed, mouthing to herself. It looks like she is counting. Her boredom must be extreme, but at least she’s not using drugs.

I might supply drugs to thousands of people, but I don’t partake. I don’t need drugs to feel alive. I prefer to be in control of my actions.

There is no need for me to see her tonight, but a part of me feels like giving her something to cry about. I grab the letters Evelyn gave me off the dusty counter and open up the door. I slide the ladder down, joining her in solitude.

She snaps her head in my direction, eyes raking over my body. Fuck. I shouldn’t want her, but the look in her eyes always makes me fold.

“Evelyn brought these for you.”

I hold the envelopes up in front of her. Her eyes brighten, and her smile glows.

“I don’t think you deserve them, though,” I admit.

She pouts.

“You see. You still haven’t remembered who the fuck you belong to.”

I slip my lighter out of my pocket and I conjure the fire to life, hovering the envelopes above the open flame.

“It’s a shame. I would have loved to know what she had to say to you.”

I set the envelopes on fire, and she stays still. Like a good fucking girl. Her knees are to her chest, and tears roll down her beautiful cheeks. I’ve always loved how she looks when she cries.

The smell of burnt paper fills the cell, and the ashes fall to the cement in front of me. I drop the corner and let it burn. Fuck what she had to say. All Astra needs is me.

I step over to the bed, and she buries her head further into her knees. I fist her hair, holding her head back to look at me.

“Such a good fucking girl.” I plant a kiss on her forehead. She presses her eyes shut, unable to look at me.

That will all change soon enough. I climb up the ladder and slide it up, locking my Siren up, yet again.

* * *

The engine vibrates as I pull up to the notary’s office. I have no dou bt he’s a shady guy who is used to doing business with Gideon, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m here to claim what’s mine… legally.

I hop off the bike and walk into the prestigious office building. It is mainly black, with beige accents. My boots squeak against the marble floors. I make it to suite 109 and I enter.

Gideon waits in a chair, smiling big. Across from him is a smug, arrogant prick. I don’t know him, but I can tell.

“Gideon,” I nod.

“Lucien,” he nods back.

“Please take a seat,” the prick says.

I don’t. I do whatever the fuck I want. I just want to get this over with, so I can put my plan into effect.

“Well, then…. Let’s begin,” Gideon says cheerfully.

I slide my pen out of my pocket and get to work. I know Mrs. Crowe will be so elated to hear the news.