ELIO

“No one can save you.”

The words echoed as the silence took root from the screams that had been echoing through the room splattered with the blood of my victims. Those four walls had seen more than any of Russia’s worst prisons. Fresh blood slowly dripped into more dried blood that would take weeks to scrub off. The air was clogged with the smell of urine, blood, and stool but I did not mind. I grew to like such smells because they meant I was doing my work right. A frown pulled on my face as I stared down at the man whose skin was peeling off with each split second.

He and I had such fun. It was going for three hours since we'd begun. I never rushed it, I always took my time and made it last.

His body was a bloodied mess and littered with holes where my worms had eaten away at him bit by bit. I adored my little beasts. They looked harmless when bottled but as soon as I brought them out to play in my homemade chamber of torture, that was when the music began.

I liked to put my victims in, strapping them onto an adjustable stainless-steel table. I'd pour my little beasts on their naked skin then close the small chamber right after. The darkness added to the fear of my victims before the real torture begun as the bloodthirsty worms dug in from every direction. Each victim would feel the worms wiggle through their body, there being no way to get them out.

My eyes ran back to Victor. I did not know why Victor found himself in my chamber and I did not care. All I did was read a list, find, and kill then go home to commit more sin. A shiver ran down his body in every second, pain running through his fragile frame yet he was too tired to even whimper anymore. His head hung heavy, his voice having abandoned him. My dick twitched, and I rolled my shoulders to ease the fatigue that was starting to set on them. Forty-two hours I had been in that room. I never left work hanging, seventy-two men having been dealt with through those hours. Those that I warned left more ghosts than alive and I was sure they would never cross us again.

I let my eyes flutter closed as I gently rolled my stiff neck. Not a single word had been uttered in these hours. The blood had wrapped around my body into a conti-suit to hide away my tattooed skin. My hair was heavy from all the congealed blood that dried over the hours. There was nothing to play with anymore, the grim reaper having grabbed Victor by the balls. His body tittered on the edge of oblivion. I slowly trudged over to the right corner of the room, pulling a knife from the tool table before walking back to him. I could barely recognize my victim. He barely had any skin left. He was mostly just blood, tissue, and muscle.

The knife was brought up, slitting his throat just as fast with barely any blood dripping out. The body fell limp, a life that could have been lived longer, cut short. I angled my head, deciding to leave him there for a while. I turned to my workstation, slowly clearing my tools to the sinks where I began washing them with much care. Each one was sterilized and cleaned thoroughly before hanging them in their stations. The tables and walls were next before I moved to take all my little beasts out of the chamber to their jar bottles. Scars littered my hands from emptying that very same chamber. The little worms were never satisfied, picking at my skin as I scooped them out.

A calm washed over me, a calm after the shrill screams that had gone on for hours. I enjoyed the ritual of getting my playroom clean after I'd had my fun. I moved to shower. Pink water drained away, my thoughts on the past hours doing the same.

I scrubbed my body until my skin burned red. I loved the feeling, holding the groan back in. The water tempered off and I walked out of the shower. I pulled on a pair of boxers after I'd generously moisturized my skin. I slipped into a pair of suit pants, followed by a crisp white shirt. A pair of cufflinks were next with socks and black formal shoes. I ran my fingers through my sleek black wet hair, pushing it back before I draped the suit jacket on my shoulders and walked out from my chambers.

Men stood on all corners of the floor just as they had forty-two hours ago when I walked in. The silence was thick you could cut it. Their heads were bowed in respect, minding their business and doing their work. My personal guard slipped from the corner wherever he had been hiding and made his way behind me. I did not need him. I hated him with every cell in my being but he had Salvatore’s protection and order of work thus I could not kill him no matter how much I craved for it. Just thinking about it nearly had me burst a vein but I kept strolling through.

The warehouse door was opened for me. I stepped out into the darkness of early dawn. Even with it, my eyes still flickered a couple of times to adjust.

The air seemed foreign, clean, fresh and I hated it. I wanted my air heavily tinged with copper and misery.

My car was idle by the entrance and my driver was quick to open my door. He knew better than to talk to me as I passed him and slipped into the backseat. The door was closed after, the two men hopping into the front.

My guard turned to give me my second dose of the anti-viral drug which fought off any viruses I would have caught from all the blood that had been coating my skin for days. You never know the diseases people carry with them. I for one liked being cautious as I bathed in their blood. I took it in hand, sticking the pointy end of the syringe into the bottle to draw the liquid, then I worked the needle into my arm. I had done it too many times, it was life to me. I took the pills that came after, chewing them down despite the bitterness I'd come to enjoy.

The fatigue hit me hard but I would never admit that even under the pain of torture. I pulled out my phone, checking my notifications. Salvatore knew never to disturb me when I was at work. The only thing that stared back at me was my daily reports. My body warmed up, not helping the restart of my heart which could only beat so much when she was involved; il mio fiore, la mia rosa, il mio cuore. My flower, my rose, my heart. As always, she was being a good girl, my perfect flower.

The car was moving slower than I would have liked, my hands clenching as painful as they were. I pulled up live footage of her then just sat back to watch. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I grew painfully hard against the zipper of my pants, and forced myself not to fidget, not to adjust myself.

Too much time had passed without my fingers running through her silky skin. She would have to forgive me, work always gets in the way. My driver knew me too well, hitting all the red lights and pressing the accelerator with much urgency until he pulled up to the quiet neighborhood. We slowed down, driving through the narrow streets until we turned into the driveway. The lights were off in the house, dawn a few hours away.

I could not help myself, could not wait any longer. I felt as if I would combust so I jumped off as soon as the car stopped. I slammed the door shut, walking straight to the main door. I pulled out my key. I did not like the security system in the house but it would do. Besides that, my men were not far, they were always making sure nothing happened to her. I closed the door after, slipping my key back in my pocket to quickly rush up the stairs. Nothing would stop me from getting to her at that point. I craved her, my brain not able to function anymore until I could breathe her in, until I could hold her in my arms.

Her bedroom door was cracked open. I smelt her before I even reached it. How more perfect could this day get? She was all I needed after all the work I had done. She made everything insignificant because nothing I did would ever bring me the happiness I got from laying my eyes on her.

I closed the door, walking across the space to stop right before the bed. My little angel covered herself with a thick blanket, clutching her large stuffed bear for dear life. Was it cold? I was not sure. My body did not react to many things.

I pulled off my shoes and suit jacket. Only she could make my heart race with such need. My shirt was tucked out, unbuttoning it to drape it over the armchair by the bed before I turned and pulled the blanket from her. My breath hitched, her bare legs staring back at me.

My zipper would soon rip, barely holding the groan in. My eyes closed, wanting to rip her legs apart and bury my dick deep in her as she cursed my name for making her sin so greatly. A groan bubbled in my chest, nearly heaving. I slowly pulled the stuffed bear from her arms. It was work at first but after a few tugs, she loosened. Mr. Bubbles was lowered to the floor before I lowered to the bed, shifting through her sheets. All the things I wanted to do to her, all the things I wanted to teach her but all that could wait. I would not taint my piccola in such a way. I pulled the blankets back, waiting for her body to react.

Her scent drove me insane, my demon hungry for her.

Six years now, six full years it had been since she'd become my obsession. Her father used to worry when he worked night shifts nearly every night but if only he knew that Lethu was the safest then. At first, I would watch from a distance but that did not last long. When it comes to her, my self-control is absolutely zero. I made my way into her room in a space of a month, watching her curled up in bed and wondering if one day I would be all she dreamt of. Just watching could drive any man insane, inching closer every day until I slipped right under the same sheets that caressed her skin. Nothing felt like it, nothing would ever feel like that moment. Her scent caressed my nostrils, teasing me, her warmth on the sheets seeping into my skin. Without her by my side, sleeping was not possible. I got addicted and I have tried, trust me, I tried but I could never get her off my mind. She seemed to be embedded in my DNA, mine to hold.

Lethu’s body realized something was missing, turning over and over until she found me. My eyes closed, arms opened and I was high from the feeling. Her arms hugged me as hard as she had been hugging Mr. Bubbles. Closer she shifted until she was comfortable, right where she belonged, home. I tucked the blanket around us, my arms slowly closing around her with my body quivering. I bent my head, placing kisses on her hair over and over.

Amore mio,

My heart.