Allison's POV
Can anyone truly describe the feeling of being sick to your stomach? I'm curled up on the small bed in what I'm supposed to call my room, replaying the moment Darius and his not-so-friendly maid manhandled me. It could have been worse—he could have stripped me completely—but he didn't. He just scared me enough to ensure I'd obey him. Even Rebecca was gentle afterward, feeling a twinge of sympathy when she saw me shivering, clutching my torn shirt like it was my last shred of dignity.
She'd been kind while bathing me, telling me stories about my parents and what they did to her family. Especially my mom. Apparently, my mom once worked as an assassin for several mafia organizations before ending up as a bodyguard. Rebecca swore my mother killed her brother or something. I don't know what to believe anymore. All I know is that I'm trapped here.
"Hey, child. Would you like to eat with the other girls, or alone?" Rebecca's voice comes from the other side of the door, accompanied by a rude knock meant to wake me from the sleep I never had.
I pretend not to hear, pulling the duvet over my head and squeezing my eyes shut, just in case she opens the door. But she doesn't. Instead, she mutters something in Spanish and drags her feet away from my door.
I wish I had answered her. I'd like to meet the other girls. Maybe we could fight Darius Hunter together and escape. Or maybe it's best I stay alone for now, keep my business to myself, and observe so I don't get into trouble.
Eventually, I drift into a deep sleep, plagued by feverish dreams. Terrible nightmares of being abducted, sucked into a vortex, captured by the devil disguised as a handsome face. Then, my mom saves me from the devil, only for me to stab her, and she dies. My dad snatches me away from her angrily, blames me for her death, and condemns me to hell with the devil.
When I wake up, tears are streaming down my face. I caused all of this. If I hadn't acted in self-defense, my mother would still be here, terrorizing me with her paranoid stories and forcing me to train. But now she's in the hospital, and it's my fault she has cancer. I broke my dad's heart. Maybe I do deserve this.
"Awake, are you, my little kitten?"
I don't know how, but I sit up in a flash, spinning to face my intruder. The devil. Darius Hunter. Oh, how he haunted my dreams! He's the reason I woke up in tears, and now he's here to terrorize my reality too.
He's seated on the lone couch by the door, legs crossed, hands interlaced over his stomach. His dark eyes are cold, staring into my soul, watching me in my unworthy state.
"This is... weird," I manage to say, unsure of what else to say.
"Yeah, it is. Waking up at noon is really weird, which tells me you didn't sleep last night."
I frown at the sarcasm, knowing he's the one who stole my sleep with his terror. He's so ingrained in my memory that his imprint on my subconscious turned my dreams into nightmares.
"Sorry," I mumble, hoping he'll just go away.
"Hmph. I've picked a store for you to rob. You'll wear a body cam, and I'll hack into the store's CCTV. I want to experience your first crime. It'll be so much fun..." A strange smile spreads across his lips, cementing the fact that he now owns me.
"Why?" I blurt out, utterly confused by his demand.
He raises a dark brow and chuckles. "Because I own you. Will you keep asking this question? Why? Why? Why?"
I want to throw up, to wipe that smug look off his face. But something tells me to proceed with caution. My mother warned me about this man—how he enjoys breaking his prey, making them submit to him. I have to pretend to submit. I have to manipulate the manipulator.
"I hate you," the words slip out before I can think them through.
He pretends to be hurt, clutching his heart with his hands. "I don't care. You're my toy. Get that into your small head."
"Small head!?" I really need to shut up, but my mouth keeps running ahead of my thoughts.
"Yes, you heard me..."
"You think you're some scary monster, right? But I'm not afraid of you. I'm not scared of you, Darius Hunter! I won't let you break me!" Oh god! What's with my mouth today? Why am I doing the opposite of what I've just resolved within myself!?
Darius's eyes narrow, piercing into me like a thousand needles, unnerving me, opening me up like a peeled banana. "You're not scared of me?"
Oh no, I can feel the disgust in his voice, the interest, the desire to destroy me, to scare me, to horrify me.
"I'm not..." I lie. Even my mother was terrified of Darius Hunter. Where is this bravado going to take me now? I'm pretty sure he'll find a million ways to torment me, to break me. What am I thinking? That this is one of my books? That I'm the protagonist in the story, that I'm an outsider, the author? This is real life, Allison! Real life!
"Good luck on your first crime, Allison Martins." He says, storming off without bolting the door. I've made him angry, and now I'll have to pay.
An hour later, I'm waiting in the compound, guards scattered around in different corners, on alert for a possible enemy. I wonder how many enemies Darius has. I start chewing my nails out of anxiety. Why would Rebecca tell me to wait in the compound? There's no sign of Darius or his brother... Just me, and the guards staring ahead, ignoring my presence as if I don't exist.
"Ah, she's here... Oh, they cleaned you up!" Zain approaches me with a smirk, chewing a toothpick and bouncing with a faded swagger. I don't really understand this guy, and I don't like him. He's too fake, living in his brother's shadow.
"Zain..." I acknowledge him, instantly realizing my mistake.
"Zain? Zain? Did you just call me by my first name like you've earned it?" He challenges me, shaking his head in amusement. "You've got some confidence, little kitt..."
"Only I can call her that, brother... You call her by her name." Darius joins us in the compound, dressed like a billionaire CEO. A black Italian three-piece suit, a red suede hat on his head, and a long, unlit, fat brown cigar in his mouth.
Zain immediately shrinks in his brother's presence. "Hi... Brother."
"She rides with you today. Drop her at the shopping mall; we need to get stuff for Dora."
Zain looks confused but seems to enjoy the idea of me riding with him. "May I ask what we'll be doing at the store, brother?"
Darius gives him a stern look before succumbing to a proud smile. "She'll commit her first crime. She'll steal stuff."
Zain's confusion only deepens. "Steal stuff? Will an exchange be going down in the store? You want her to steal from... Oh my goodness, brother, are you trying to get her killed?"
I should be grateful to Zain for his concern, but his expression is too comical for me to think in that direction.
"Too many questions, Zain. Just drop the girl at the store and fix a body cam to one of the buttons on her jacket. I don't have time for explanations."
Embarrassed and angry at his brother for speaking to him like that, especially in front of me, Zain transfers his aggression by roughly pulling me into his Benz truck by the collar of my jacket and slamming the door with such force that my soul freezes for a moment.
"You're both mad..." I mutter under my breath as he starts the car. He ignores me completely, his face contorted with stress and annoyance.
Suddenly, he stops at a mall—a kids' mall. He parks in the garage, lining up with hundreds of other cars. I glance in the side mirror and notice Darius's Lambo truck pulling up behind us. He's parking too. So this is my reality now—stealing for someone's entertainment. The thought makes me cringe and shudder at the same time.
The car's speaker crackles to life. "Take her to the store, and make sure you're both smiling." Darius's voice commands through the speaker, amusement clear in his tone. He loves this—he's a control freak, a sick man.
Zain bites his inner cheek. I wouldn't be surprised if he draws blood; he's beyond frustrated. "Yes, brother," he grits out, his nose wrinkled, giving me a glare that nearly stops my heart.
We find ourselves inside the mall, a massive place that both frightens me and fills me with a sliver of hope. I'm pretty sure there's a camera hidden in one of my jacket buttons, though they all look the same. And I know Darius is connected to the store's CCTV system; that's how he'll watch me in action. Zain is just a few feet behind me, pretending to shop but really monitoring me closely, ready to pounce if I so much as think about running.
I will not make that mistake here, but I'll definitely make an effort to escape, a smart effort.
Briefly, along the aisle of rubber dolls, Zain's eyes meet with mine, giving me a very unnoticeable nod to steal one of the dolls. The aisle is empty, lucky me. Yet I take a good survey of my surroundings, I mean I've seen people steal in movies, I've read about the activity in my books. It can't be that hard.
My right hand is shaking violently, my heart thumping wildly and I steal the carton with the doll, hoping it somehow fits into my jacket. This is stupid, and there's a ninety nine percent chance that I'll get caught, yet I keep on, giving Zain a quick glance that tells him I'm done with the first item.
He nods unnoticeably again, and stylishly tilts his head to the other aisle.
The bend. That's my escape, the moment I'm around the corner that leads the other aisle, I'll scream my head off.
Not very smart, but there's a woman with her kid here, she can help me, and with the opportunity in my lap, I prepare myself for the life changing scream.