Damon’s POVI watched as the muscles on her back contracted, tension folding every single one.“Pretty much everyone that works here should know I don’t like to repeat myself, love. So you’d better answer the fucking question while I’m asking nicely.”Luciano came up behind me, his cautious gaze on the girl that was just giving him a blowjob minutes ago. “What’s this, man? You know her?”“I guess we’re about to fucking find out—look, you better ask her to turn around before I lose my shit.”Sighing, Luciano crossed the room to where she stood and tapped her shoulder. “You should turn around now unless you’re willing to see red.”But this girl, whoever she was, was obstinate. She still didn’t move an inch, although I knew she was scared.Seeing that she was still unwilling to make a move, Luciano gripped her shoulders with a gentle force and turned her around to face me.Even with her eyes squeezed tightly shut, I recognized her right away, that deceptively sweet face very much impossi
Iris’s POVThe clinking of glass drew my gaze away from the boy at the far end of the hall. He was looking at me in shock like he wasn’t expecting me to be here.“Everyone, can I get your attention, please?” The silver-gray-eyed woman called out, gently pulling me by the wrist to the center of the small podium.“We have a new member here with us today,” she announced, looking back at me with a smile, “a pretty girl has to come to learn with us, and I urge every one of us to treat her with love, kindness, and respect, so we can all thrive in the same environment. Understood?”“Yes ma’am,” the floor chorused back, and she pulled me forward. I felt a bit shy standing here in front of all these people, so I kept my head down.“Come, introduce yourself,” the woman urged, “don’t be shy.”With great difficulty, I lifted my head to look at no one in particular, clearing my throat. “Hi,” I started in a small voice, “my name’s Iris Paulman.” That was all I said, and the silence that reverberate
Iris’s POVI stared at the back of the stranger’s head, wondering if I’d somehow fallen into a trance.“Say something, will you?” he prompted, and I flinched.I sort of knew that voice.I stared into the rearview mirror, immediately recognizing his hazel eyes. It was him. The trespassing neighbor. Luca.I gasped audibly. “What are you doing here?” I queried, shrinking towards the car door, and he scoffed.“Oh you mean, what are you doing here?”“I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying.” I am getting frustrated now.He caught a hint of my frustration, and the mischief disappeared from his eyes. “This is my car, okay?”My eyes widened even more in shock and confusion. His car?“So what are you doing getting in my car? Do you need a ride home? You can just say it, you know. I don’t bite—““Just…stop!” I interrupted, lifting a hand in the air. “Stop with the silly games, okay?! Or are you just being a thief and a liar right now? This is the car I came in!”It was his turn to look
Iris’s POVI whirled around to see a girl my age, with an impassive look on her face.Blond hair. A pair of green siren eyes. Thin lips.I gasped as it slowly dawned on me. I was looking at Sarah, the same girl that had been held captive with me at that mansion.“Oh my god, Sarah!” I cried, half-sprinting to where she stood and reaching my arms out for a hug. “I’ve missed—“The words were stolen from my mouth as she deftly dodged my arms, stepping out of the way, causing me to almost trip.I turned to her in shock, my mouth hung open. “What the—““I miss you too, Iris, but let’s stay professional,” she interrupted her tone ice cold.I flinched, completely taken aback by her reaction. What was going on here? Why was she even here in the first place? Had she succeeded in escaping her captor? I had so many fucking questions, but the look on Sarah’s face forced it back down.“If you would come with me, please,” she said, gesturing forward, “there’s a ton of clothes to try on.”“Clothes?”
Iris’s POV“Pick this one out. It’s coming home with you.”Home.When was the last time I had a home? Have I ever really had a home? The orphanage wasn’t it. Mimi’s house wasn’t it. The church.I still came up more clueless each time I had these thoughts.Now the way he said the word ‘home’. So normal. So effortlessly. So meaningful.Made me kinda wish it was true. But. You don’t keep your family hostage.I stepped back instinctively, and he quickly pulled me back in, his cold hand going to my lower back, cupping and burning the skin there.“I don’t want to,” I argued, “it’s not my taste exactly.”“Shh,” he whispered, his dark gaze burning into mine. “Like I always say, you don’t know what’s good for you. If I can have my way, I wanna see you in this every fucking minute, hour. Although I know it’s going to be a hell of a disaster. Imagine looking at something exquisitely beautiful, and you can’t have it the way you want it. Think about it. How’s that feel?”His hand pressed harder in
Iris’s POVI was held captive in his arms, the proximity distracting.I swallowed hard. “W-what wedding?”He looked down at me, his eyes narrowing in slight confusion, and then they rounded again like he’d just realized something. “Relax,” he mumbled, a hint of a smile on his lips. “It’s not our wedding.”And my racing heart slowed down a notch.“Remember the engagement party we attended some time ago?I nodded. “The one where you almost punched a man to death because of me?”He winced. “The actual wedding is tomorrow, and we’re attending. I was saying that the dress is going to be perfect for the wedding.” He snickered, “Although the fucking dress is going to draw a lot of attention to you,” then he shrugged, “but I don’t care. Since we can’t help it, it’s alright if they look but don’t touch. That’s where we’re gonna have a problem.”I swallowed again, absently running my tongue across my bottom lip, and I saw his eyes darken at the movement.“So coy,” he mumbled, leaning in closer
Damon’s POVMy reaction to her had only heightened in the time that had passed.She still fucking affected me. It was a mystery to me because no girl had ever had me in such a chokehold. Down bad.I dragged my feet apart to adjust the bulge in my pants, which was still a little swollen. She had looked so fucking good in that dress, much more than I had expected.I fleetingly considered what Luciano had said to me back at the club. “You should get her wine drunk and do your thing, man. I bet she will be crazy for more when she wakes up.”I shook the thought away from my head. I wanted this captive doll of mine so badly that it affected me daily, but I also wanted her to be fucking aware when I eventually take her. I wanted her to be mesmerized with how much pleasure I could give her.But I was running out of patience. Seeing her in that dress and having her so close by. It almost turned me into an animal. I sighed, bringing out the pack of backwoods from my pocket. And her fierce tongu
Iris’s POV“Wha-What’s this?”I stared mouth agape at the sleek engine in front of me. I blinked twice, trying to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.I opened my eyes again to see the same shiny black motorbike sitting pretty—no, handsome, on the terrace of the huge department store.Damon scoffed as he brushed past me and started to unlock the helmets attached to the handlebars. “What do you think?” he asked, side-eyeing me as he handed me one of the helmets. “My new baby, that’s what.”“Woah.” The exclamation of amazement was already out before I could stop it, and I clapped my palm over my mouth.“That was the same reaction I had when I first saw her,” he said, running his fingers over the sleek body of the motorbike. “Such a beauty, this one.”I stared at the helmet in curiosity. “What do you want me to do with this?”“What else? Get on. We’re going for a ride.”My jaw hit the ground. “W-What?” A ride in this? Holy shit.My inner child wanted to jump around in glee, but I was forced to com
Damon’s POVThree months earlier“So, you got a new tattoo?”The voice of the therapist pulled me out of my thoughts, and I pulled my gaze away from the window facing the garden, looking down at the still-fresh tattoo on my arm.“Yeah..” I murmured, tracing a finger across the face on the tattoo, lingering around the eyes that stared back at me.“When?” The female therapist asked, and I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the tattoo.“Just a few weeks back, I guess.”“Really? Can I see?”“Sure,” I mumbled, heaving a sigh.She rose to her feet and moved around her desk, coming over to where I sat and leaning forward behind me.“Wow,” she exclaimed quietly, a little amazement in her voice. “That’s a unique face. A pretty one, at that.”“Yeah, I know right?” I replied, the corners of my lips tilting up in a small smile. “It’s a face I keep seeing in my dreams, Andrea.”Andrea, my therapist, stood back then and observed me closely, almost lik
Iris’s POVA year laterI stood at the floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony of the condo, admiring the beautiful night view, my mind a melancholic mess.It had been that way since that night after Damon had fallen off that cliff.And we hadn’t seen him since.There was nowhere we hadn’t looked.But Damon was nowhere to be found.I’d cried and cried for months, but to my greatest despair, that was all I could do.Sometimes I wished Luca hadn’t showed up with Gary when he did, because then I’d have been killed too, and I wouldn’t have to deal with this pain.At least I’d be dead and buried, probably alongside him.It was as I’d seen him falling off that cliff that I knew I was in love with Damon Vyon, my heart falling right out with him.And I never got a chance to tell him how I felt…“What are you thinking about?”I whirled around to see Luca standing at the balcony door, watching me with a sober expression on his face.He too, had not remained the same ever since Damon disappeared
Iris’s POVThe gun fell out of my trembling hand, clattering to the floor.Did he just ask me to shoot Damon?No, no. I couldn’t.Sighing and pushing his fingers through his hair, Zach bent down and picked up the gun, approaching me menacingly. “Don’t piss me off, pretty girl,” he snapped, his tone laced with derision, as he pressed the gun into my hand again. “Shoot him, I said.”“No!” I screamed now, intentionally throwing the gun far from me, and as it tumbled over the cliff, Zach let out a deep growl and whirling around, he struck me heavily across the cheek.“Fucking bastard!” Damon yelled, struggling viciously to break free of his chains, and tears blurring my vision, I stared down at him, knowing very well that this would end badly.How could we possibly get out of this?What miracle could happen?“Hey you,” Zach snapped his fingers at one of his men, “get me another gun.” They quickly came forward, presenting him with a new gun, and he took it, observing it closely.“Now,” he
Damon’s POVI stared up at the chief coward—Zach, was it?—my vision blurring.Ah. So it was him? The one I’d replaced?This story he recounted.. triggered the memory of a day I’d kept buried and locked up, unconsciously, the pain coming right back and whipping me emotionally.That little boy from back then. I stared at the scar on his chest, remembering how I’d felt seeing him bleed out on the floor that day.“You seem to be getting your fucking memories back, don’t you?” Zach spat, his eyes growing darker than they were already.Of course, that day had been a fucking bloody day. So how could I forget?*****Fifteen years ago“W-what are you doing here?” The man who called himself my father stuttered, staring at me with a fear I’d never seen in his eyes before.We stood facing each other on the rooftop of his new law firm, a stick of cigar in his hand, dark circles underneath his eyes.Had he even been sleeping? Well, how could he sleep, after he sold me off to that maniac of a mafia
Damon’s POVHe glared at me for a long time, saying nothing, his eyes taking on a distant look. Then rising to his feet, he cleared his throat.“It’s your money, quite alright,” he started, shoving his fingers in his pocket, alongside the flash drive, “but this money is nothing compared to what you stole from me, Damon.”What the heck was he talking about? What exactly would I steal from a stranger like him? Someone I knew nothing about?He stopped pacing for a while, staring down at me. “You might have forgotten,” he scoffed, “seeing how fucking clueless you look right now.”“Look,” I started, frustration climbing into my tone, against my will, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, or how you got your hands on that. But if it’s the money you want, you can keep it.” “Just let her go,” I added, nodding in Iris’s direction. “She has nothing to do with any of this.”He looked back at her for a moment, then threw his head back in a maniacal laughter, shaking his head.“Who sai
Damon’s POVThe slap of the wind on my face was what woke me up this time. Slowly, I peeled my eyes open, every part of my body aching, my head throbbing painfully.Where was I now?Fuck…Iris..There was no time, and here I was..lying around, letting that weird woman keep putting me down.Looking around, I slowly realized where I was. On a cliff? How come? How did I get here? That weird woman couldn’t have carried me here all alone, right?This was a cliff..had to be. That was one explanation for this much breeze and open space.Grunting, I tried to move around, and I was a bit disappointed to find that I was still bound by wrists and ankles. What was I expecting?I tried to turn around then, and someone’s foot pressed into my back, pushing me back to the ground.“Well, well,” an unfamiliar voice rang out from behind me, cold and rusty, and excited, “look who we have here.”I tried to turn around, to see who had joined us, but the person that had their stinky foot on my back pressed i
Iris’s POV“Where the fuck have you been?”I was jammed in the backseat of the moving car, between a woman who smelled heavily of putrid blood, and the man who had slapped me earlier, my hands and feet still bound very tightly, the ropes cutting into my flesh.I had no idea where we were headed.“Well,” the woman cleared her throat, “is that how you thank me for making this fucking easy for you?”Sighing, the man leaned back in his seat and pulled the woman into his lap.“Unlock the windows, Dante,” he ordered, twisting his nose upwards, “it smells so fucking rotten in here.”Then he turned his attention to the woman in his lap. “I’m sorry, my beautiful Anna,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “I was just carried away with all that’s happening, you know. Everything’s happening all at once, and I mean, it’s good. Trust me.”She smiled, reaching into her pocket and retrieving a pack of cigarettes. “Okay..” she murmured, “what do you have to say about my performance?”“I’m duly impressed,
Iris’s POVI’d thought this vile-looking man could be bluffing when he’d insinuated that he had Damon, but from the way his eyes sparkled right now, I feared it wasn’t just an insinuation. He’d meant it.And what was that he said? He wanted me to kill Damon? Why would I do that? Why would he want that? I mean, it was clear now that this man was an enemy of Damon’s, but why would he want me to kill Damon?As I glared up at him, my eyes burning, my heart ramming hard against my chest, I tried to regulate my breathing. Tried to mask the fear that now clouded my senses, making my tongue as heavy as lead.I swallowed hard, wincing from the pain of my hair being pulled right down to the scalp. “You want me to do what?” I demanded, my tone laced with that same fear I tried so hard to mask.Scoffing, he let go of my hair and rose to his feet. “You try to hide it,” he started, “but you seem to be quite distressed by what I’d just said.” He paused, shoving his palms into his pockets and glaring
Zach’s POV“Anna did all of that?”I stood with my back to Dante, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window, the corners of my lips turned up in a satisfactory smile.“Yes, boss,” Dante replied. “We were just on our way to send a message across to Damon Vyon when she called with the information.”Throwing my head back, I let out a small chuckle, clapping my palms dramatically. “She’s a real vixen, isn’t she?” I muttered, shaking my head. “It baffles me, you know, how very alike we seem.”“So,” I continued after a few moments of silence passed, “we have Damon Vyon in our hands right now? Is that truly so?”“Yes, boss,” he replied. “He’s currently at the warehouse we’ve prepared. We await further instructions from you.”“Great,” I murmured, thumbing my beard.I didn’t think it would be so easy to capture Damon Vyon. I’d spent all these years planning, envisioning, dreaming, wishing. Seeing how deadly he was. And now, Anna had pulled it off like it was a fucking walk in the park.I was dul