He thought he was going to take her?
He was going to have to go through me first.
And he was going to lose.
Missy
The sounds of footfalls make me look up from the nightmare that surrounded me. A tall, reedy man approached me, the look on his face making my blood run cold. I had only seen a grainy image of him, but I knew who he was.
Zander.
And he was here to get me.
I stood, the bag of ice cream lying at my feet, the top having broken open, the sweet custard melting on the floor.
He stopped a few feet away, his height imposing. His face was expressionless, the sharp angles and thin lips giving him an emaciated look. His eyes were green—flat and stony. Empty and terrifying. Bottled rage rolled off him, his long, skeletal fingers stroking the barrel of the gun he held. Blood was spattered on his jacket, and I wondered which of the men he had killed around me had dared to splash him. Which one of Marcus’s men had killed the stranger on the floor before dying themselves.
“I’ve been waiting,” he said. I had only heard his voice once, but any doubts of who he was fled as he spoke, the icy, removed tone making me shiver in memory. “I don’t like to wait.”
“Too fucking bad,” I spat.
A smile split his mouth, looking odd on his thin face. It was cold and unfeeling. “Such language. I shall soon cure you of that.”
I stepped to the right. “You won’t have the chance to cure me of anything, asshole.”
He laughed, the sound frightening. It was a sound of lunacy, high-pitched and eerie. He matched my movements, drawing closer with his longer legs. I shifted again, needing to put as much distance between us as possible. I had to give Marcus a chance to get to me.
Unless—
I put a stop to that train of thought. Marcus would be here in a moment.
We circled each other, me trying to figure out an escape route, him staring with those soulless eyes.
“Ah, Xyla,” he murmured. “I have been in purgatory without you.”
“I’m not your dead sister, you sick fuck,” I hissed. “You’re crazy.”
For a moment, he said nothing, simply stared at me, his soulless eyes unnerving. I refused to let him see my anxiety, glaring back at him with all the hatred inside me for him plain to see.
“I am well aware you are not her,” he replied calmly. “My sister, although perfect on so many levels, lacked one thing.”
“A decent brother?” I snapped, hoping to make him angry. Force him to make a mistake.
He shook his head. “Mental strength. She was never able to see the big picture, to understand what we could have together. She fought what should have come so naturally to her.” His smile twisted my stomach, making it queasy. “But she sent me you. You are her gift to me to make up for that weakness.”
I gaped at him. He was even more deranged than I thought.
“I shall enjoy breaking you. Then once you accept your role, we’ll move on to the next step.”
“Which is me killing you?”
He lifted his arm, rubbing his chin with the barrel of his gun. I tried not to show my fear as he moved yet again, and I stepped back toward the long counter at the back wall. I needed to get there.
“Which is my seed in your womb. My son growing inside you. Xyla knew I needed someone stronger than she to carry on my legacy. She gave of her life so I could have it.”
“She killed herself to get away from you, asshole.”
For the first time, I saw him react. A visible shudder of anger raced through him, and his grip tightened on his gun. He lifted it, pointing it at my head.
“It was an accident. A tragic accident.”
“Like your parents?” I said, sarcasm dripping from my mouth.
“They had to die. They were keeping us apart.”
“She died to get away from you. She would rather have ended her life than give you want you wanted. She didn’t want you,” I sneered.
“You will shut your mouth.”
“Or you’ll kill me? I would far rather that than ever let you touch me. Just like Xyla,” I mocked, knowing I was starting to anger him.
“I am going to do more than touch you. I am going to break you,” he repeated. “You will feel my love as I beat it into your skin. The darkness of the cage you fear so much will become your friend, Melissa,” he promised, his alarming words and low voice sending fear tearing through my body. I hated how my name sounded coming from his mouth. “There will be no one to save you this time. Your mind will bend, and you will bow to me. My wishes. You will forget anything else in this life but me. That is how I will honor Xyla. How I will fulfill the legacy I shared with her.”