Page 55 of Obsession (Dark Revenge)
“Okay, now you cousins truly pissed me off,” I growled, standing upright and approaching Michael.
I straddled his waist and began delivering punches to his face until his mask was knocked off, leaving him bloodied and battered. While I couldn’t kill him, I was fed up with their taunts, and Vince’s advice echoed in my mind—I needed to assert my dominance.
I halted my assault when I broke his already crooked nose, causing it to bleed profusely. Despite the pain, Michael groaned, indicating that he was still conscious. Leaning closer to his face, I grabbed his jacket with both hands, pulling him nearer.
“Tell me again whose bitch I am?” I demanded, but he could only manage a cough in response. “No? Nothing?”
I allowed him to fall to the floor, snatched his mask, and pocketed it before using my sleeve to wipe off the spots of blood on the floor. Although I contemplated leaving him behind, it wouldn’t serve any purpose. I picked him up and slung him over my shoulder, then turned toward the elevator. However, just as I started to move, I heard the elevator ding. I swiftly turned around and hurried down the hallway leading to the guestroom, concealing myself in the darkness with Michael hanging over my shoulder.
Carefully, I peeked around the corner and saw Rick guiding his companion toward the kitchen. Rage boiled within me as I realized the woman’s fate was sealed. She would end up like the other one, but not as a personal slave to one man. She wasdestined to be used by hundreds, if not thousands, of men. The urge to kill Rick right then and there surged through me, but I knew Michael was right. Taking them all down was the best course of action. I would have to bide my time, just as I did with the ones I saved from Kyle and his friends. Retribution would come, but not yet.
I slipped around the corner silently, listening to the voices emanating from the kitchen. I pressed the button for the elevator, and it opened with a soft ding. I froze, waiting to see if they had heard, but their conversation drowned out the sound.
I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. By the time we started descending, Michael began stirring a little. I put him on his feet, but his eyes still couldn’t focus. However, carrying him over my shoulder through the lobby would attract unwanted attention.
As the elevator doors opened, I quickly dragged him outside into the dark night. Finn surprised me by waiting further out in the parking lot. When he saw us approaching, he walked toward us, but he halted when he saw the state his brother was in.
“What the fuck did you do to him?” Finn snarled, advancing toward me. However, I retrieved my gun and pressed it against the side of Michael’s face, demonstrating that the balance of power had shifted. It made Finn freeze in his tracks.
“I think we need to make some things clear between us,” I said darkly. “If you believe that because Astrid made me kneel before her once, I somehow serve all of you, you’re mistaken. Your cousin will learn her place too, just as Michael did tonight. I’m going to be the head of our families, not you three. Not Astrid. She will be my wife, but she will not be my boss. I serve one man, and when he is no longer here, I will only serve myself. Do not think you have any fucking say in what I can or cannot do. The next time either of you steps out of line, it will be the last thing you do.”
Finn seemed to swell in size, but he didn’t move. He remained in his spot, eyeing his stumbling brother with a gun pressed against his face.
“Are we clear?” I asked calmly.
After a moment’s hesitation, he responded, “We are clear.”
“Good. Then I’m going home. I have someone waiting.”
Chapter 23
-Alison-
My heart pounded relentlessly in my chest, threatening to burst. Despite my attempts to regain control—deep breaths, happy thoughts, even talking to myself—nothing could quell the relentless fear coursing through me. Every second that passed brought with it the dread of the stranger's potential return, and this time, he might succeed in his sinister intentions.
The uncertainty gnawed at me. What did it feel like to die? I pondered that terrifying question, desperate to avoid such a fate. My life, though imperfect, was still mine, and I clung to the hope of returning to it. But as I remained bound, doubt crept in. Perhaps this was to be my final night on this earth.
Strangely, this situation felt even more terrifying than the night those men attacked me at Jared's house. The waiting was agonizing, and the fear of confronting death while bound and naked was a torment I could hardly bear.
Time seemed to stand still, suspended in an agonizing limbo. I couldn't sense its passing, as if it had ceased to exist. Then, a sound shattered the silence—footsteps approaching. The door creaked open, and an involuntary, uncontrollable whimper escaped my lips. He had returned to finish what he started, and this time, escape seemed impossible.
I heard him walking around the room as fear clouded my mind. His movements were different from the last encounter, but my mind remained imprisoned by terror. When the floorboards creaked with his approach, my chest ached with the rapid rhythm of my pounding heart. The weight of the bed shifted between my legs, and dread crept over me. There was a horrifying possibility he might violate me before taking my life.
This thought intensified the terror, and as something warm and wet grazed my most intimate area, I couldn't contain my anguish. A scream tore through the gag, though not born of pleasure. Instead, it jolted me into a state of complete shock. I writhed in panic, futilely yelling into the gag. I had to escape, had to get away from this nightmare. Tears streamed down my face, soaking the blindfold. I had believed I was done crying, but my reactions remained beyond my control.
The bed shifted further, and then the blindfold was lifted. I screamed once more as a figure came into view. At first, my bewildered mind couldn't quite identify Jared, but as he removed the gag as well, my vision began to clear, and I finally recognized him.
“Jared?” I whispered.
“Yes, who else?” he asked me, looking confused.
I breathed a deep sigh of relief, allowing my head to sink onto the bed as I attempted to regain control over my racing heart. In my confusion, I had been convinced that my end was near, but it turned out to be just Jared. Perhaps calling him "just" was thewrong word to use, but in that moment, I much preferred his presence over my stalker.
“Alison?” he called, and I focused on him. “Who else?”
I shook my head, not wanting to have this discussion again, as I knew he wouldn’t believe me.
“May I have my hands freed, Master?” I asked, trying to sound as calm as I could.
