Professor Cline Revealed (The Professor #1) (21 page)

His arm tightened around me and I could feel his heart beating against my back, making me feel sated and content as exhaustion took over my body and everything turned to black.

Mason – Seventeen years old

I was at the point of not knowing who I was anymore. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see the person I was the year before.

After the visit with Donicko, I was forever changed.

I knew I was being blackmailed. I’d said I’d never get involved, but they figured out a way to wrap me in a neat web of lies and deceit, and I’d agreed to all of his terms. There was nothing else I could do. Sophia’s life was on the line, and I would do anything to protect her. He said she’d eventually be let go, that she was just a pawn, and I made myself believe it was true. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to do something.

John had filled me in on what I’d have to do in order to keep Sophia safe. I had to help them get girls.

And not just any girls.

Donicko had a business to run and I was going to be his most prized possession. My job? Get the description of a girl they wanted and lure them to a specific location. What happened to them after was out of my hands.

At first, I’d laughed at the notion that it was what they were after. I didn’t understand what made them think I could pull it off. How would I lure them? How could I get away with doing something like that? And how could I, mentally, be okay with doing it?

But John had it all figured out for me. There were plenty of avenues I could venture into in New York. There were plenty of call girl services, prostitutes, and homeless women to choose from. John suggested scouting out joggers in the mornings. He made it seem so easy. And I was reminded almost daily that every girl I delivered promised another day for Sophia.

It was the hardest decision I’d ever had to make.

Ruin hundreds of lives in order to save one.
I couldn’t justify it, but I knew that even if I weren’t helping Donicko, hundreds of lives would be ruined anyway. He would find someone else to do the dirty work. One way or another they’d get what they wanted, so I agreed.

It was easy at first. I went to the parts of town known for prostitution. Picking up women from there was easy.

It was the leaving them part that was the hardest.

I never let the thought cross my mind of what happened next until the job was already done. I knew where they went. I’d seen it on news channels like CNN or in movies about the places where women were tied to beds and drugged so men could have their way with them. I never once imagined it was real and right under my nose.

I was supplying those women. They were sex slaves in every sense of the word, and I was the grim reaper who delivered them to their final days. I was the darkness that swallowed their lives, and I did it all to save
one
.

One I’d grown to love.

She was my friend, my confidante. We grew closer every day. She’d told me once I was the reason she still had hope, and I’d stared into her eyes and told her I’d get her out. I’d do everything I possibly could. I was her anchor in that sick world, but she’d also become mine.

Being in that life did things to me. I became a person I didn’t like. I lost friends because I was too focused on trying not to hate myself. Going directly to Sophia’s room was the only reprieve I had.

Her Hell was my Hell.

I tried to find out several times how long it would continue to go on. How long I would have to do it until they’d finally let her go. I didn’t want her to leave, but being with me was no longer an option. She deserved better. I wasn’t worthy of her after everything I’d done, even though I’d done it all to save her.

I was never given an answer. I was told to do my job and that was it.

I knew deep down it was all just a ruse and it started to mess with my head. I started questioning myself. Was all of it worth it? Sophia would never get out, so I’d have to find a way. Donicko was too much of an asshole to let her go. I’d ignored the idea for so long, but I couldn’t any longer.

I stopped doing my job. I stopped being a puppet. I stopped pretending everything would be okay.

That was my mistake.

“Come in,” John answered after I’d knocked on his office door. I’d received a text earlier in the day telling me to go directly to his office when I got home from school.

I walked in and closed the door behind me. John was sitting at his desk and I was not too pleased to see Donicko was there yet again.

“You said you wanted to see me?” I walked to the chair in front of John’s desk and took a seat.

“
He
didn’t want to see you,” Donicko interjected. “
I
did.”

He walked away from the window and sat down in the chair beside mine.

I was annoyed and anxious all at the same time. I knew why he was there. I hadn’t been delivering girls. I knew it wouldn’t take long for word to get back to him, but I played it off like I didn’t know. “What do you need?”

John sat back behind his desk as Donicko pulled out a cigar from his suit jacket.

“You know, Mason,” he started before lighting his cigar and taking a few puffs. “I thought you were smart.”

He stared through me with his dark brown eyes as the words left his lips. Dread filled my veins instantly.

People talk about how they knew when something bad was about to happen, like intuition, but you never understand it until you get that feeling yourself. And I was having that feeling right then. I knew something bad was about to be thrown my way, and I was hoping it had nothing to do with Sophia.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying not to fidget in my seat.

“Do I seem like the kind of man who goes against his word?” He gave me a curious expression, as if he really wanted an answer, so I shook my head. “I didn’t think so.” He got up from his chair, walked over to the TV mounted up to the wall and turned it on.

I looked at John to get some kind of read as to what was about to happen, but he didn’t look at me. He just kept his eyes forward as he stared at the TV. And just as I was turning to look back at the screen, I heard the moaning.

My head snapped up and my body filled with rage. There was a man…on top of Sophia.

My body reacted without thought. I leapt out of my chair, ready to charge Donicko, but I stopped as soon as I saw the gun pointed directly at me.

“Sit back down in the fucking chair, boy.”

He said it in such a calm tone it was frightening. I knew what kind of man he was, so I knew what he was capable of.

I walked back to the chair and sat down, my eyes drawn back up to the TV. Sophia lay on her back, her arms tied to the bed, and a man I’d never seen before was pounding into her.

Fury built in my core as I watched the woman I loved being violated.

“Do you hear that?” Donicko asked.

I glared at him as I tried to ignore the moans coming from the speakers.

“No?” He laughed. “I hear money, Mason. Lots and lots of money.”

I gripped the arm of the chair and my anger grew, but I knew there was nothing I could do. I was just a seventeen-year-old boy who got sucked into a trap and used until I was no longer needed.

I was nothing in his eyes.

He turned the TV off and I averted my eyes to the floor.

“What did you do to her?” I asked in a small voice.

“She’s no longer your concern, Mason.” I closed my eyes as his words seeped in. “You did good. Not the best you could have done, but good. You were starting to find excuses to not do your job, which is fine because it was time for her to go anyway. You were building too much hope for her. She was a lost cause, Mason. You should have seen that.”

I felt like I was being suffocated.

No longer my concern? It was time for her to go?

I dove from my chair and barreled my way out of the office, running directly to the door that led down to the basement. I ran down the steps, skipping some as I went, and hurled myself at her door before flinging it open.

The room was empty.

I ran to her bathroom. Empty. Checked her bed. Empty. I dropped to my hands and knees to look under the bed, but there was nothing there.

Anxiety and fear surged through my body and I could feel my heart trying to pound out of my chest. I tried to take some calming breaths, but I couldn’t breathe at all. I grasped at my chest and fell to her bed as the tears fell from my eyes.

They took her. They took her away and I’ll never see her again. I failed her. I failed everyone. I ruined so many lives including my own
.

I was a monster.

I curled into a ball on her bed and cried. I’d lost someone else I loved and I wasn’t sure I could deal with it.
How do you deal with knowing you’re the reason two people no longer lived?

Mom’s gone. Sophia might as well be dead.

And I’m the murderer.

Mason

I woke up in a cold sweat with my heart racing. I rubbed at my eyes and flung my legs over the side of the bed, disoriented and nauseous as I stumbled my way to my bathroom. I had no idea what I was doing in the spare bedroom, and I didn’t have time to think about it as the contents of my stomach started to make their appearance.

I made it to the bathroom just in time to hug the toilet. I moaned as I sat back against the wall, tilted my head back, and closed my eyes.

Flashes of the dream came flooding back. Memories I’d put behind me that never seemed to stay away. My life was still haunted by my mistakes, by all the things I’d done wrong that I wished I could have changed.

It was useless, though. Wishful thinking.

I’d never be the man my mother dreamt I’d be. I was ruined, floating in darkness, and I’d let it consume me. I’d let it consume me every fucking time.

I grasped onto the doorframe, hoisted myself into a standing position and slowly walked to the sink. I turned the faucet on and rinsed my mouth out. The light over the sink was too bright and making my eyes hurt, but every time I closed them the images flooded my mind. But in that memory it wasn’t Sophia’s image on the TV, it was Emma’s.

I knew Donicko was fucking with me. I knew he was riling me up, but why? What was his purpose? It had been almost thirteen years. What could he possibly want from me?

I splashed cold water on my face and patted my cheeks with my hands. I felt drained, but I could still feel the anxiety, fear, and loneliness creeping inside, the darkness burning, itching under my skin.

I reached a shaky hand out and opened the drawer. I stared at the razor willing the feelings to go away, but I knew they wouldn’t. I knew it was the only way to get it to stop. It was the way my mind was programmed. Nothing would ever change. I’d be that way forever.

Grabbing the razor, I immediately brought it down to my hip, dug it into my skin and pulled. It wasn’t a surface cut.

I groaned out in pain as the razor pulled at my skin, tearing a chunk away due to the remnants left on the razor I hadn’t cleaned off from the last time. It was a stupid mistake and the pain made me queasy, but I still felt that sense of relief.

I looked down at my hip, at my torn flesh, and dropped the razor to the floor. There was no other way to describe me other than to say I was a monster.

Everything I’d done had led to it, even the scars I’d put on my body.

I watched as the blood ran down to the floor, my penance for all my wrongdoings. I was the spawn of a monstrous man, so I was bound to be a monster, as well.

I looked up into the mirror and stared into my eyes, eyes that didn’t belong to my mother or John. I never questioned why I was the only one with eyes the shade of the sky, why I was granted my handsome looks. Maybe it was all a test. Maybe I was meant to look pleasing to gain the trust of others. Looks were, after all, deceiving.

Rage built in my chest and I lifted my hand and roared as I punched the mirror. I punched it until every shard of glass was spread out around me. I hated my life and who I’d become.

I didn’t dare look at my knuckles and fingers as I sat down on the floor among the glass. I knew they would be a mess, but I deserved everything I could do to myself.

I was nothing and I would stay nothing until the day I died.

Emmalynn

I woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed as my heart pounded in my chest. Something woke me, but I had no idea what it was.

Looking around the room, it took me a moment to figure out where I was, but then a smile crept up on my face. Thoughts of the night before played in my mind, his actions saying everything I’d needed to hear. I knew he was a complicated man, but this was turning into something. I could feel it with every touch. Mason was an amazing lover and he took me to heights I’d never been to before.

Glancing to my right, I noticed he was no longer beside me. I knew he didn’t do sleepovers and I didn’t have any intention of staying, but I had no control over the exhaustion of my body.

Getting out of bed, I stretched my worn-out muscles before going to use the restroom. After I was done, I picked up my discarded bra and thong and put them back on. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep so I set out to search for Mason.

I was walking toward the door and stopped short when I heard a shrill yell followed by the sound of broken glass. My eyes widened in fear and my body froze in its place. I
knew
it was Mason. It had to be.

Without thinking, my body moved and I was walking in the direction where I continued to hear glass break. It was coming from a room at the end of the hall. The door was wide open, but barely lit by the sun just beginning to rise.

My heart was beating wildly as I walked past the threshold; I could feel the pounding coming out of my ears. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in and in the back of my mind I was telling myself to hightail it out of there, but it was being ignored.

I entered the room and looked around. The bed was still made, but the light to the bathroom was on with the door partially opened.  The noises stopped and I held my breath, thinking I would be less conspicuous if I wasn’t heard breathing so heavily.

I should stay in the room, or better yet, I should go back to the room I was in and wait for him to come find me.
But I couldn’t. After hearing the glass break, I wanted to make sure he was okay. It was the caring bone in my body that wouldn’t let me walk away. I had to make sure everything was all right, and deep down I knew it wasn’t. I had that gut-wrenching feeling it was going to be bad…really bad.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom door and let out a slow, easy breath as I got closer. I was scared. That bellow had gone straight to my bones, causing the hairs to stand on end, and I could hear broken glass being moved around which only put me even more on edge.

Taking one final step, I was close enough to look into the room without making it obvious I was there. I peeked around the door and the sight I was met with was beyond anything I could have imagined.

I had to hold back the gasp begging to leave my lips.

He was sitting on the floor among shards of glass. The mirror that had been above the sink was completely obliterated. The larger pieces lay on the sink, but most of it was on the ground and he was sitting directly on pieces of glass…and he was nude.

But what had me cringing in pain for him were his bloodied knuckles. The top of his right hand looked like it had been through a shredder, and I knew he had to be in pain. He needed to go to the hospital, but he just sat there holding his head in his hands. I couldn’t imagine what would make him do something like that, but something had obviously happened.

Lifting his head, he wiped at his eyes as if he were crying then ran his left hand through his hair. That was when our eyes locked and for a brief moment, it was as if we were on some faraway planet trying to figure out what species the other was. Like we were seeing each other for the very first time, but then reality hit and his awed expression turned to anger.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” he yelled as he pushed up on his legs to stand up.

‘Fight or flight’ kicked in, but I pushed past my instinct to run. All I could do was stare at him. I didn’t even know what to say. My feet were frozen to the floor and my vocal cords no longer worked. He was standing there completely naked and he had blood smeared all over his chest, which I assumed was from his knuckles, but then I saw his hips. There was a huge gash with blood oozing out and I could see white, puckered scars on both sides of his hips.

Is he cutting himself?

“Get the fuck out,” he demanded.

I kept my eyes diverted as I continued to stare, watching the blood run down his leg. The thought to go forward and help him crossed my mind, but my body wouldn’t move.

“Do you like what you see?” he spat. “Get a good fucking look,” he said as he held his arms up in order for me to see all of him. “This is the man you want to get to know. Do you want to get to know this side of me, Emma?”

I looked over his body, my eyes filled with tears at the thought of him hurting himself on purpose.

“W-wh-why?” I stuttered. I had no idea what else to say and that was the only word that came out.

He laughed. “Why?” He shook his head and took a step toward me. I backed up, closer to the wall. “I told you I was bad for you. I told you there were things about me you wouldn’t like.”

I back-stepped into the bedroom as he ascended on me. I didn’t know what to do. He was freaking me out. The tears of sadness that streamed down my cheeks switched to fear as his eyes turned cold. Something in him had changed, or maybe it was there all along and I just didn’t want to see it.

I looked down at his hip again, at the blood caking on his thigh and calf as it ran down.

“You need to get to a hospital, Mason. I’m not a doctor, but that looks really bad.”

“Get the fuck out of my house,” he said through gritted teeth. I looked at him in shock because it wasn’t what I was expecting him to say. “Get the fuck out of my house!” he roared.

I gasped and fled from the room. I was in full-on panic mode as I got the rest of my stuff, and I didn’t think about anything other than getting away from him as I ran down the stairs. I stopped in his study and quickly put on my dress before I flew out of the house. I ran until I made it to the corner of the street and broke into sobs. It felt like I was stuck in some kind of dream. Did all of that really happen? I was so distraught that all I could do was sit there on the side of the road.

It was still very early in the morning, so I couldn’t call Melanie to come get me.
I’ll have to call a cab, but first I need to settle down.
My heart was about to pound out of my chest. I had to take a moment and let my mind register exactly what I’d seen.

He had scars all over his hip, bad ones. A
lot
of bad ones, from the looks of it. And they didn’t appear accidental.

I wiped under my eyes, freeing them from tears. He was right. He would ruin me in more ways than one. I didn’t know how I’d be able to show my face in class. I knew the little fling we had going on was over. I wouldn’t ever be able to look at him the same way, and it was all stupidity on my part. I should have known better.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed the closest cab service and asked for a pick-up. I’d have to wait almost an hour until I’d get home, but that was okay. It would give me time to think.

My future was my main focus and I couldn’t let myself get so easily distracted again. I’d only met him not even two weeks prior and he was all I’d thought about after that short amount of time.

I couldn’t do that again. It wasn’t me.

But then again, he’d made me do things I wouldn’t normally do.

After arriving home from the best and worst night of my life, I made the decision to talk to Melanie about it in the morning. I should have told her from the beginning; then maybe she could have saved me from another heartache.