RYAN
The smirk vanished. The air in the room shifted, thick with tension. Ricardo wiped the corner of his mouth, checking for blood. Then, slowly, he looked up at me. And then, he grinned. “Well,” he mused, cracking his knuckles. “Now we’re talking.” I clenched my fists at my sides, my pulse hammering. Every instinct screamed at me to stay on guard, to be ready for whatever he had planned next. But instead of lunging at me, Ricardo leaned back against his desk, “I like it,” he said, lifting his head. “Didn’t know you had that in you.” I gritted my teeth. “Don’t try that stunt with me again,” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. “I’m here to help, not to be your damn punching bag. I’m your damn doctor, and you need me.” Ricardo’s smirk didn’t waver. If anything, it widened. “Need, huh? That’s a strong word.” I rolled my shoulders, pushing down the frustration bubbling inside me. “Well, if you don’t, why did you ask me to stay?” Ricardo didn’t reply, instead he studied me for a long moment, his gaze dragging over my face like he was looking for something. Then, out of nowhere, he laughed. “Why the hell did you bring that bitch here?” My vision went red. Before I could stop myself, my fist connected with his jaw. Ricardo barely flinched. His head snapped to the side, but when he turned back, his grin was still there… just a little wilder this time. “You shouldn’t have said that,” I growled. Ricardo chuckled darkly. “What? That she’s a bitch?” I swung again, but this time, he was ready. His fist crashed into my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. Pain exploded through my side, but I didn’t stumble. Instead, I threw another punch, my knuckles slamming into his cheek. He grunted. Then, without hesitation, he retaliated. We went at it, fists flying, our bodies crashing against furniture. The room blurred around us, the only thing grounding me was the sheer force of the fight… the way our hits landed, the way neither of us was willing to back down. Then suddenly, we were too close. Chest to chest, breathing hard, our faces inches apart. I could feel his breath against my lips, hot and uneven. My fists were still clenched, but I wasn’t throwing another punch. Neither was he. My mind screamed at me to move… to step back, to break this moment before it turned into something else. But I couldn’t. And then, his lips brushed mine. It was the lightest touch, but it sent a shock through my system. I should’ve pulled away. I should’ve shoved him off. But I didn’t. I tried to resist. God, I tried. But ever since that night… since the first time we crossed that line, I hadn’t been able to get it out of my head. And now, with bruises marking our skin and our bodies pressed together, I stopped fighting it. I kissed him back. I didn't know what was happening. One second, we were at each other's throats, fists flying, rage burning through me- and the next, his lips were on mine, hot and demanding. The kiss was rough, desperate, like we were still fighting, just in a different way. My hands, still clenched from the punches, found their way into his hair, gripping hard as he bit down on my lower lip. A sharp thrill shot through me, and I groaned into his mouth. Then his hands were on me, tugging at my shirt, his fingers skimming over the bruises he'd just left on my ribs. I didn't stop him. I should've. But I didn't. I pulled at his clothes too, my fingers fumbling with his belt, my mind screaming at me to think, to stop this, but my body wasn't listening. The last time we did this, I was the one in control. I was the one who had him beneath me, panting, cursing, gripping the sheets. But now? Now, Ricardo spun me around, pressing me against the edge of his desk, his mouth trailing down my neck. My breath hitched. Oh God. He was going to… I tensed. "Ricardo, stop…" But his hand slid between us, slick with lube, and I shuddered as his fingers brushed over me. His other hand wrapped around my dick, stroking slowly, and a broken moan tore from my throat. "Relax," he murmured against my ear. "I'll be gentle." Gentle. The word shouldn't have made my stomach flip. But it did. I should've pushed him away. I could've. But when he pressed a finger inside me, I just gripped the desk harder, my jaw clenched. "You want me to stop?" he asked, his breath hot on my skin. I swallowed hard. "No," I gritted out. Ricardo chuckled. "Good boy." Fuck. Why did that make my chest tighten? Hated how much I didn't hate it. Hated how my body was betraying me, arching into his touch, heat coiling low in my stomach. Then he was pressing against me, and I braced myself… A sharp gasp escaped me as he entered. slow and it burned, just for a second, before the pain melted into something else, something deeper. My fingers dug into the wood of the desk, my breath coming in ragged bursts. Ricardo's hand slid around my hip, gripping me tight as he moved. Every thrust sent a jolt through me, pleasure and friction and pain, but I didn't tell him to stop. No. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. I gritted my teeth, forcing my voice to steady. "My turn." Ricardo stilled behind me, his breath hot against my neck. "What?" Before he could react, I shoved back hard, knocking him off balance. He stumbled, and I spun around, gripping his shoulders and slamming him against the desk. "You don't get to call all the shots," I growled, my fingers digging into his skin. Ricardo smirked, but it wavered when I dropped to my knees in front of him. His breath hitched as I yanked his pants down further, and wrapped my hand around his cock. He was still hard, still slick from before, and I stroked him once, twice… just enough to make his hips jerk. Then I stopped. His jaw tightened. "Ryan…" "You want to cum?" I tilted my head, my grip tightening just enough to make him groan. "Then you'll wait." His chest rose and fell rapidly, his fingers twitching at his sides like he wanted to grab me, to take back control. But he didn't. Good. I stood, shoving him back onto the desk. I didn't hesitate. I pushed his legs apart, my fingers slick with lube as I prepped him. He hissed, his muscles tensing, but he didn't tell me to stop. "You feel that?" I muttered, pressing a finger deeper, watching his face. "That's what you did to me."RYAN ONE WEEK LATER The stench hit first, then the smell of rotting flesh and disinfectant. I instinctively raised the collar of my shirt over my nose, but it didn’t help. Nothing could mask the decay. Ricardo stood beside me, his face pale but composed, one hand resting on the wall for balance. I told him he shouldn’t have come, not yet, but he insisted. Said he needed to see. So here we were. Staring down at the man who once made our lives hell. Rafael. If you could even call him that anymore. He looked like a shadow of what he once was. Bones jutting out beneath thin, papery skin. His face was gaunt, his cheeks sunken in. There were wounds on his arms, some stitched, some festering. Tubes ran in and out of his body, the machines beside him working overtime just to keep him breathing. He looked… dead. But he wasn’t. Not yet. “They’ve been passing fluids through him every day,” I muttered, unable to look away. “It’s the only reason he’s still alive. He hasn’t had solid food
RYAN“What…?” I whispered, stumbling back a step. “Oh God. Oh God.”I pressed my hand to my chest, like it could steady the riot inside. My heart was pounding, thundering so hard it felt like it was trying to escape.That wasn’t Ricardo.The body in the drawer… whoever it was, wasn't my Ricardo.He wasn’t dead.My knees almost buckled again.I staggered to the counter, bracing myself against it.The morgue attendant blinked at me, awkward now. “Sir? You okay?”Before I could speak, the door opened and a doctor in navy scrubs walked in, holding a clipboard.“What’s going on here?” he asked, eyes flicking from me to the drawer to the attendant.“I… I came to see Ricardo,” I choked out. “Ricardo Dantes. They said he died. But that’s not him. That’s not the man I came here for.”The doctor narrowed his eyes slightly, then stepped closer. “You were here yesterday, right?”I nodded quickly. “Yes. Yes, I was here to see Ricardo. But when I came back today… his room was empty. And they told m
RYANI watched him twitch in the chair.Still breathing.Good.This wasn’t supposed to be quick.Death was too kind for someone like Rafael. I wanted him to feel it. To live every second of it before the end came. He didn’t deserve a bullet. He didn’t deserve sleep. He deserved this… fire in his veins, bones cracking from strain, and the sound of my voice dancing in his ears like a lullaby to hell.But not yet.Not the end.That wasn’t mine to give.That would be Ricardo’s gift.The last torture. The final act. The moment Rafael would look into the eyes of the man he destroyed and realize he hadn’t even begun to pay for it yet.I wanted Ricardo to see him… raw, broken, stripped down to his last layer of pride. I wanted him to press the final switch. To look Rafael in the eye and return the favor.So, for now… I’d pause the performance.“Be right back,” I whispered near Rafael’s bloodied ear. “Don’t die on me yet.”He groaned faintly in reflex, and I gave him a pat on the cheek, then s
RAFAELI was pissed.Not scared, not confused.Just… pissed.I remembered the car slowing. Voices. Officers.A checkpoint.My heart had damn near leapt out of my chest when I heard them ask Ryan to open the trunk. For a moment… a sweet, breathless moment, I thought I was finally going to be saved.Freedom.That word danced in my head like a miracle.They were going to find me. Pull me out. Get me away from this psycho.But then…Nothing.No hands unzipping the sack.No flashlight blinding my eyes.No voice shouting, “We got a live one!”Just silence.And now I was here. Still here.With him.My mouth was dry, my limbs weak, and my body still recovering from the venom that had nearly stopped my heart.I didn’t know what he was going to do to me next. Didn’t know what twisted plan he had buried in that calm face and steady voice.But whatever it was...I was ready.Because I’d already been through hell.What more could he possibly do?He’d already broken my body. Already sliced me open
RYANI smiled as I slid back into the driver’s seat.The door shut with a satisfying thud, and I turned the key, the engine rumbling back to life beneath my feet.With one flick of my fingers, the music resumed, the lyrics pouring from the speaker.I cranked up the volume.Started singing along.Off-key. Loud and alive.“I hope you’re happy now,” I crooned over the lyrics, one hand on the wheel, the other drumming against the dash. “That I’m drowning you in everything you gave.”I couldn’t stop smiling.Fulfillment buzzed through my veins like static. That man in the trunk? That whimpering pile of ego and rot?He used to make people like me tremble.Now he was trembling. Because of me.He broke me.So this… this ride, this pain, that beautiful viper bite still simmering in his bloodstream… was justice. It was art.And I was the damn artist.I laughed under my breath, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. “You’re not even ready for what’s coming next, Rafael.”Then…Up ahead I saw red
RAFAELI was shaking.Profusely.Not from the cold… no, not from that.It was fear. Raw, primal fear that dug its claws into my spine and refused to let go.I never thought Ryan could be like this.Not him.Not the Ryan who used to flinch at the sight of blood… who once looked at me with something close to admiration.But this? This was a different man.I still didn’t understand how things had turned so quickly.How he’d survived. How Ricardo had found him… how they turned the tables.I remembered bits and pieces… flashes, maybe. The sound of my men screaming, something sharp sliding into my skin.Then nothing.It was like my memory had been shredded and thrown into the wind.Was I dreaming?Or had I gone mad?I was in a bag. Trapped. My body was burning, sore in ways I couldn’t describe. The venom from the first dose still made my limbs feel like molten iron, and my brain like mush.And then…I felt it. Something cold. Something alive.Slithering.A slow, coiling movement across my l