Sociopath's Revenge (24 page)

I now understood what. They shared the same eyes. And mostly I saw him naked, through the haze of smoke and closed my eyes to disconnect. We'd never shared a conversation, and it was my mistake. My greatest enemy was right under my nose, and I never knew it.

How fucking brilliant.

Richard stood in front of him, one of them pointing the gun at me, and the other held one to Sapphire's head as Kristina cried in her arms.

My family.

They had my family and threatened them. A silver knife still in my hand, I took a step toward them, but they stopped me with an upheld hand. "I'll kill her without remorse, boy toy," S said, and my hands fisted.

"I'm no fucking boy to you."

He smiled disgustingly, scanning my appearance as a glimmer of lust shimmered in his eyes. "Yes, you turned out fine." Three massive men barged in, holding gasoline containers in their hands, as S commanded, "Spread it everywhere; don't leave a dry corner. Burn this fucking shit to the ground."

Sapphire kicked him, and she tried to turn to me, but he hit her with the gun and snatched Kristina from her arms. Sapphire fell to the ground, unconscious, and I roared in outrage, not caring about the guns pointed at me.

"Help us," the brothers ordered. One of the men took a swing at me, but I ducked my head and kicked him instead, and then I disarmed another one while the third one grabbed a knife. He swiped it at me as I kept stepping back and shifting to the side, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't get hold of me.

I noticed my blade under the table, and I took the first steps to get it when Kristina screamed in horror. "Don't touch me."

My head spun in her direction. Noticing Alfred's hand on her neck, a red haze of rage overwhelmed me. Unfortunately, because of my shifted attention, it gave the third man an opening to wrap a metal chain around my neck and choke me while the other two pummeled my stomach, face, and legs.

My head was dizzy, my legs weakened as the metal dug into my neck, and at some point, my eyes shut and the world faded away.

Connor

Racing my car to Damian's dungeon, I cursed my department and everyone involved in this fucked-up strategy that put Damian and his family in mortal danger. Dominic gave them the location last night in the gala to gain their trust per my instruction, along with information about who Damian was. As fucked-up as it sounded, Damian and Sapphire became bait. Since no photos were attached, they couldn't make the connection of Dom being the other twin. I prayed I wouldn't be too late to save them, and even if none of them ever spoke to me again, at least they would live happily ever after.

Dominic

The dungeon burned from every direction as I noticed S along with Richard getting away with a sobbing little girl, their bodyguards hurrying along with them.

Kristina.

Since Connor hadn't shown up yet, I didn't have a choice but to run at them, knocking them down as Vitya followed me closely.

"What the ever-loving fuck are you doing, Konstantinov?" S asked suspiciously but then groaned in pain as my fist connected with his abdomen. This allowed me to quickly take the child away from him and throw her to Michael, who was running just behind us. He caught her flawlessly and cradled her to the crook of his neck, patting her back gently.

Richard pointed his gun at me. "He is the fucker's brother. Just look at them! The other twin. Tasty twin." He licked his lips and repulsion threatened to get the better of me, but I shoved it back down and kicked the gun away, utilizing the distraction. Vitya handled S, as I pointed the gun at Richard and shot his leg, feeling no remorse as sirens were heard in the distance.

In a few minutes, Connor raced toward us, cursing. "You couldn't wait for me?"

Shaking my head, I gave him the gun. "Take care of the kid," I said to my men. "They are trapped inside. I need to help them. Call an ambulance and the fire department." Not waiting for his answer, I rushed inside, praying for the first time in a long while that my brother and his woman would be okay, and I'd be able to help them.

Losing them was not an option.

"Damian, come on!" Dominic whispered, shaking his brother awake. "We need to go now." Damian murmured something and turned to his side, covering his face with a blue blanket with car prints on it. Dominic exhaled heavily and tried again, with the same result. With no other choice, he shouted louder right into his ear. "Wake up." Jolted awake, Damian breathed heavily. He scratched his head, confused.

"Dominic, what are you doing?" Dominic's eyes watered.

"Something is wrong. Mommy and Daddy are screaming." Only then, Damian heard the sound of breaking glass and loud grown-up voices, not all of them belonging to their parents. Dominic grabbed his hand and pushed him under the bed, murmuring along the way. "Let's hide, like Daddy taught us. Remember what he said?"

Damian nodded. "Always hide if strangers are in the house unannounced." They both settled on their stomachs under the bed, breathing heavily as their small hands tightened into fists.

"Damian." His brother looked at him with fear in his eyes, biting his lip. "What if they don't leave?" Damian placed his hand over Dominic's, and they connected as only twins could. Without any words, Dominic rested his head on their joined hands as they waited for the hell to pass.

Suddenly, everything became quiet, and they stilled as smiles started to spread on their relieved faces. "Let's go check on Mom and Dad," Dominic said excitedly, and before Damian could stop him, he slid out of hiding. The minute he stood up, their door opened, slamming against the wall loudly. The light from the hallway lit up Dominic as two men entered the room. "Well, well, if that isn't Jake's little bastard." Dominic screamed and tried to get away but was quickly grabbed up. "We could sell you." His brother yelled, calling for Mom and Dad.

"Weren't there two of them?" another male voice mused.

"Maybe we got the wrong information. Let's get the hell out of here before that stupid bitch wakes up." Damian saw their feet move toward the door, and he clenched his eyes shut.

His heart beat faster, tears slid down his cheeks, and he tried as much as he could not to make any noise. But sounds of Dominic crying couldn't be ignored, and despite fear running through his trembling body, he slid out too. One of the men who wore masks and gloves noticed him, and his lips curled up in a sleazy smile. "Here is the other one."

They were taken away from their home and sold to a human trafficking ring within twenty-four hours.

Life as they knew it was over, but Dominic's guilt never went away. Because through all those years, his brother was the one who saved him and sacrificed himself.

He just hoped that one day he could return the favor, even if it meant him dying instead of his brother.

Damian

Pain.

Agonizing pain burning through my body woke me up, and my lungs immediately filled with the smoke surrounding me.

Fire.

Shaking my head from the fogginess, I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't move. No matter what I did, they didn't respond. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the haze around me, I spotted a huge piece of wood pinning my legs. I sat up and tried with all my strength to push it away, but it was useless.

Blood slowly dripped from my forehead to my cheeks and lips. My callused hands were covered in blisters. How could this happen?

Sapphire.

My eyes searched for her as the fire spread more rapidly. I saw her silky black hair lying across the bench. She appeared unconscious. The orange flames surrounding us moved dangerously closer, heading toward her body.

No!

"Sapphire." Her name came out as a hushed whimper. No matter how hard I tried to clear my throat, I couldn't speak any louder. After the accident five years ago, talking with more volume was a luxury I couldn't afford. How I wished to shout just then to make the woman I loved open her eyes so we could run with our little one.

Then the terrified scream filled the air, and my body froze in fear.

"Daddy!" Kristina cried out somewhere from my right. "Daddy, help me! He wants to take me away." She started crying and kept on screaming my name. A man's laugh echoed in the warehouse, and the familiar sound of flesh being slapped created burning rage inside me. My hands fisted and once again, with a loud cry, I pushed the wood, but it didn't even budge.

He couldn't have her.

He wouldn't have her.

My little girl.

"See, boy? You can never win with me. Now your precious daughter will know what it's like to make me happy."

Kristina whimpered, and in a second, I heard the door shut loudly, trapping us inside.

My child.

S had my child.

No!

"I'm sorry, baby girl," I whispered. "Daddy is so sorry."

No matter what I did, she'd have those nightmares for the rest of her life.

And unfortunately, I was powerless to stop them.

My eyes started to close again when a figure in black appeared out of nowhere in front of me and kneeled near the wood that had me pinned. He grabbed it, and with all his might pushed, breathing heavily. "Okay, Damian. Listen, I'll push it up as much as I can, and you have to move your legs back quickly before it falls down again. This shit is too heavy." I didn't recognize his voice, yet somehow he sounded familiar to me. And how the fuck did he know my name? I couldn't ignore his help though and pointed at the far end where my woman lay.

"Help her first; the fire is spreading to her hair."

The stranger shook his head. "She's fine. If we don't move your legs now, you might lose them or the use of them. We need you to walk, even if slowly."

I didn't want to agree with what he was saying, because protection of my woman always came first, but if I wanted to get my daughter back, I needed my legs.

His hands grabbed the wood again, and he asked, "Ready?" I nodded. "On three. One, two, three." He lifted it with one loud cry, and with my hands, I pushed my lower body back, but my legs hurt like a fucking bitch. "Move faster, Damian." He spoke through gritted teeth, his voice indicating he would lose his grip soon. Gathering all my strength, with my family on my mind, I rolled over, dug my nails in, and crawled, pulling myself forward. I got my feet clear right before the beam collapsed on the floor with a loud boom, and unfortunately, it brought more problems. It created a domino reaction among the other wooden studs supporting the structure. They had been weakened by the fire, and one by one, they started to fall. "Try to sit up, man. I'll get her." He rushed toward Sapphire, allowing me to see the open door I hadn't noticed before. Through the smoke, I could see the second doorway he came from and it was closer to me. I watched as he picked up Sapphire and carefully stepped around the spreading fire.

I sat up and cried in pain, as my legs throbbed excruciatingly. My right leg was broken. "I can't walk. Get her out of here." The stranger probably worked for Connor, and if this rescue proved anything, it was that he was capable of handling S and his tricks. "I'll slow you down, and this shit could collapse any minute now." As it was, the ceiling already burned and it was harder to breathe with each second. "Fucking go!" I shouted, although my voice was more of a fucking whisper. Instead of listening to me, he put her in a standing position, pressed a certain place on her neck, and Sapphire sprang awake with a loud gasp and cough.

The man held her head between his hands. "Hey, Sapphire." She screamed and tried to get away from him, probably mistaking him for one of S's men. He shook her hard. "Listen to me. Damian is sitting there." He pointed at me, and she spun her head toward me and gasped again. "Walk toward the door and I'll help him out." She started toward me, but he stopped her. "If you want to help him, go to the fucking door." She hesitated for a second but then ran in the direction he showed her. He then came to me, kneeled, and helped to place my arm over his shoulder. We stood up, both breathing heavily.

The wood around and above us cracked, and several flaming timbers fell down, but the man was quick enough to shift us from danger. "Come on, just a little more, Damian." Why did he sound so familiar? His body was the same size as mine, not to mention his whole demeanor. Part of me felt already dead, imagining someone like myself saving us in my dreams.