Madness: A Dark Revenge Romance

She’s lying. I don’t think she’s as innocent as she’s acting, but she sure as shit isn’t what she’s leading on to be now.

“I’m not here to talk about me, Haidyn.” It’s her favorite line to say. She always tries to divert my attention from herself to me. “We’re wasting time.” Charlotte pretends to look at her watch. I’ve never paid attention to it until now. It’s a Pave Diamond white gold DateJust—woman’s Rolex. I’ve never guessed if she was part of the Lords world. She was sent to me by them. But now I’m questioning everything about her. I notice she has it high up on her wrist so as not to rub the bruise. “Where would you like to conduct your session for the day?” she asks, pushing the sleeve down to cover them up.

I gesture toward the living room, and she makes her way to the couch. My eyes drop to her black heels and look over the back of her tan legs. I wonder if she lies in a tanning bed, gets a spray tan, or uses a self-tanner. I’ve fucked enough women to know they always have a preference.

She sits down, opens her large Saint Laurent purse, and pulls out a small notebook. It’s not her usual one. I can tell she’s wearing more makeup than usual as well. She did a shitty job at covering up the situation from yesterday that she doesn’t want me to know about.

I’m still waiting for the information I requested, and until I get it, I have to play along with her game. But I know I’m right. My little doll face isn’t who she’s been pretending to be, and depending on what I’m told will depend on how I handle her.

I mean, I guess she could be telling the truth, and maybe she and some little boy toy were out for a midday drive and got horny and decided to play around. They pulled over, and he chased her into the woods, where he fucked her while the car just sat there waiting for them to return. When you’re in the mood, you’re in the mood. But I’m not buying that either. The way her SUV was left there had too many similarities to what happened all those years ago.

“I want to see your notebook.” She lifts her eyes to meet mine. “The one I gave you to log your sleeping hours.”

Reaching up, I grab either end of the towel that’s draped over my shoulders and just stare at her.

She sighs. “Haidyn⁠—”

“It’s blank.” No reason to lie.

She slams her pen onto her notebook and lets out a frustrated sigh. She’s usually good at holding back her annoyance, but I like this side of her. She’s unprepared. Does it have to do with me or the situation she was in last night? “Where have you been, Haidyn?”

Her question surprises me. She’s never so bold. Why does she all of a sudden have confidence? What has changed that she thinks she has the upper hand? Maybe she’s desperate for something. The question is, what the fuck is it?

Blue eyes meet mine, and she sits back on the couch. “Why are we here?” She looks around aimlessly, taking in my house before glaring back at me. “Where is here?”

“You tell me,” I counter, and her small body stiffens.

“Well…” She licks her painted nude lips. “You sent me this address after you left me the voicemail…I’m guessing this is your place. But why let me see it? Why not meet at Carnage as usual?”

Why would she mention that I gave her my address when she was already here yesterday? She’s trying to convince me that she had no clue I was here.

I sit in the chair opposite her and cross my arms over my chest, meeting her stare. She should know by now that I won’t tell her anything I don’t want her to know.

“I went to Carnage a couple of days ago for our scheduled meeting, and Saint said you’ve been MIA. Does this have to do with his wife?”

I stiffen but say nothing.

Her pretty nude lips pull into a smirk, thinking she’s onto something. What in the fuck is Saint doing speaking to Charlotte? What did he tell her? And how does she know Ashtyn is his wife? I can’t see Saint letting that happen unless it was by accident.

I won’t ask those questions. No. I’ll let Charlotte dig her own grave. She’ll keep talking as long as I stay silent. She’ll think she’s onto something and ramble on, telling me everything that I want to know.

Her eyes drop to the coffee table and look over the empty glasses, pack of cigarettes, and my cell. I cleaned up the photos but didn’t bother with the rest. “They all seem very concerned about your sudden disappearance.” She looks up at me again and tilts her head to the side. “Are you on an assignment for the Lords? No.” She answers her own question. Reaching up with her right hand, she plays with a dark piece of hair, twirling it around her finger. Usually, her hair is up in a low bun. I’ve never seen it down before, and it’s longer than I expected. The big curls fall down over her chest. It looks so soft, and my hands itch to wrap my fists in it while I fuck her pretty face to shut her the fuck up. “The Spade brothers don’t do assignments,” she adds, still talking to herself.

“I’ll tell you what.” I can’t help myself. “You tell me why you were sitting outside my house yesterday, and I’ll tell you why I’m here.”

The smirk on her face falls, and her lips part on a deep breath. Her pretty Barbie doll face pales, and I swear the marks on her cheek darken—becoming more prominent than when she first arrived.

I place my elbows on my knees, leaning forward, my hands grabbing the towel wrapped around my neck. “Only a select few know I live here, and that doesn’t include Saint, Kash, or Ashtyn. So how did you know, Charlotte?”

Wide blue eyes fixate on mine as she tries to come up with a lie. Saint and Kashton don’t know I bought this house four years ago. I did it to help out Adam. I have stayed here on and off but never for more than one night at a time. Until now.

Getting to my feet, I swear her breathing picks up as I walk around the coffee table and come to a stop before her. I reach out and run my hand through her soft curls, unable to stop myself. It feels better than I imagined. “You know more than you should, Charlotte. The question is what are you going to force me to do to you to get the truth?”

She remains silent, eyes staring at me while her heavy breathing fills the large room. I sit down on the edge of the coffee table to get eye level with her. I smile as panic covers her pretty features. “I would prefer to fuck you, not have to kill you.”

Swallowing, she sits there like a statue. As if she can make herself disappear from my sight.

“Why did the Lords send you?” I’m not stupid. She’s connected to the Lords, but the question is how? I have my theories, but I want her to tell me who she is. “How about this?” I reach out and place my hands on her knees. She jumps but doesn’t pull away. “Tell whoever you answer to that I left Carnage and have no plans to return.”

She blinks and licks her lips nervously. “You…” She clears her throat. “You can’t leave Carnage.” Her voice is soft, but from the way her eyes widen, I can tell I have her attention.

“No?” My eyes drop to her legs, and my hands slowly push the hem of her dress up, showing me her thighs that she has clenched shut. As if that’ll stop me from taking what I’ve wanted since I first saw her. “A Lord can do whatever he wants as long as he’s willing to sacrifice something they want.”

“What do you have that they want?” she whispers.

“The question is, what do you have that they want?”

“No-thing.” She jumps when my fingers dig into her soft thighs.

I want to spread them wide and bury myself inside her. “Why me?” I ask through gritted teeth, getting irritated.

“I don’t know.” She grabs my wrists, but I don’t release her legs. “I promise.” Her perfectly manicured nails dig into my skin. I feel her legs stiffen as if she can read my mind. “Haidyn…” she breathes, her eyes on mine. I imagine her kneeling before me, begging me to play with her. To fuck her pretty face until I come all over it.

I release her and stand. “Get the fuck out of my house,” I command, needing her to go.

She gets to her feet, grabs her things, and runs out the front door, not needing to be told twice.

Walking to my kitchen, I grab a glass and the vodka, needing a drink. That didn’t go how I thought it would, leaving me more confused than yesterday. My cock is hard, and my mind is a fucking mess. I don’t have time to worry about what the fuck she’s up to when I’m in the middle of trying to figure out what the fuck went down with Benny.

Maybe she was telling the truth, and she really doesn’t know what the Lords are up to. Or perhaps she’s just really good at lying. Just because she has a pussy doesn’t mean she can’t be a vindictive bitch.

Just then, my cell rings from where it’s sitting on the coffee table. Walking over, I see an incoming call from Adam. “Hello?”

“Got what you asked for,” he says.

“And?” I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and watch her start her SUV and tear out of my driveway.

“Annabelle Marie Schults.”

That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before? “I’m confused. What’s that have to do with the license plate I gave you?” That’s not who I know Charlotte to be. And she didn’t deny it when I asked about her being outside of my house yesterday. So I know it was her.

“That’s who owns the car.”

I frown. “Her mother? Maybe a sister?” I’ve fucked a lot of women in my life, but other than that, I’ve never had much of a life outside of Carnage. So to recognize that last name…I know it from somewhere.

“No.” I hear him shuffling papers before he speaks again.

The blood rushes in my ears at the information he gives me. I do, in fact, know who that is. My little doll face is in deeper than I could have ever imagined, but now it all makes sense, and I know exactly what I’m going to do to her.

ANNABELLE

“SHIT!” I slam my hand onto my steering wheel. “What the fuck was that?” I whisper, my eyes constantly looking into my rearview mirror to make sure he’s not following me. Or I’m not getting pulled over. Now I’m paranoid. He knows more than I wanted him to.

“The question is, what do you have that they want?”

What if he’s onto something that I hadn’t realized before? What if this is more about me than him? It can’t be, right? They’ve sent me videos of him. Well…one video. When he was lying in his own blood after it was apparent he had tried to commit suicide.

I watched the way his body stiffened when I mentioned Ashtyn. She’s a sore subject. He was pissed off at the fact I even went to Carnage. What did he think I was going to do? We had a meeting scheduled. Surely, he didn’t think I’d give up.

Probably. That seems to be what the others before me have done. Or fuck, maybe he killed them. I don’t know.

What am I going to tell the Lords? I have to lie. If they knew that I was caught, they’d just end it for me. I haven’t come this far to give up now. Or to lose to a Spade brother. He may be bigger and faster, but I’m smarter. I just have to get home and regroup. Take a second to figure out where to go from here.

What’s that saying? The bigger they are, the harder they fall?

I can do this. I saw the way he looked at me. I’m too close. He won’t give me anything because there’s definitely something there. I’ve just got to dig deeper, and I vow right now to do just that.

It’s been a week since Haidyn caught me sitting outside his house. I haven’t had any contact with him whatsoever, but I’ve got another week before I have another scheduled appointment with him.

I reported to the Lords that I had my visit with him last week, and when they asked how it went, I said as good as expected. They didn’t question me any further. I left out the officer and the holding cell and needing my fake boyfriend. I felt that wasn’t important.

They asked how I found him, and I couldn’t lie. If I’m searching for shit on my laptop, then I guarantee they can see it too. That makes me nervous because they can see where he is too.

But I remind myself if they want him dead, he’d be dead. I’m a toy. Something they dangle in front of him while something else happens behind the scenes. That’s how they are.

I enter my house and make my way through the kitchen. Frowning, I find it odd that I didn’t leave the stove light on like I always do. I went out with my fake friends tonight for dinner and let them talk me into drinks afterward at the bar down the street. I stayed out later than I intended to, but I just needed to clear my mind and try to get it off the Spade brother that has quickly consumed my life. I’m dreaming about him now, for fuck’s sake. And most nights, he’s strangling me because he wants me dead. The others…he’s fucking me.

I flip the switch and grab a bottle of water out of the fridge and unscrew the lid. Turning around, I jump, and water splashes on my face when I squeeze the bottle after seeing someone sitting at my kitchen table.

He’s got a black cloak on and a devil’s mask with horns. A Lord. I haven’t heard from them since I reported back last week. Surely, they don’t know I’m lying. How would they? I haven’t been given any actual instructions that I haven’t followed through with. “I…I don’t know…”

He stands from the chair, and the legs scrape across the floor from his movement, making me flinch. He steps toward me, and I grab a butcher knife out of the wooden block that sits on the counter. “Stay back,” I warn, tightening my shaking hand around the handle.

A dark laugh fills the space, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. My eyes quickly scan the kitchen. Lords rarely come alone. They’re like wolves and travel in packs. They’re known for their numbers. They like to improve their odds. Even if they don’t need the help, they get off on having an audience.

He takes two more steps closer, and I fling the knife, knowing it’s my only option. The last thing I need is for him to take it from me and stab me with it.

The knife lands in what I’m guessing is his upper right arm by the way the cloak hangs, forcing him to come to a stop.

I spin around, taking the opportunity to run toward my bedroom. I slam the door shut to give me an extra second to yank open my top drawer in my nightstand, grab the gun, and turn to shoot. But the sight of him rushing in tells me he’s faster. The door hits the interior wall as I fire the gun. The safety is off, and there’s one already chambered just as my wrist is grabbed. Though I’m momentarily going deaf from firing the gun, I’m slammed into the wall next to the nightstand. The hand gripping my wrists tightens to the point I scream and drop the gun.

His free hand jerks the knife out of his shoulder and holds the tip to my cheek, making me whimper. I try to push myself into the wall, standing on my tiptoes to get away.

“I like to play with knives,” he whispers darkly.

“Pl-ease,” I gasp. “I haven’t seen your face. You can leave…”

He pushes the mask off, and my breath catches in my lungs. It’s far worse than I could have ever guessed. “Haidyn?” I ask wide-eyed.

“Surprise, doll face.” He yanks me from the wall and drags me back to the kitchen by my hair.

I fight the best I can, grinding my teeth at the sharp pain in my scalp. He shoves me into a chair at the kitchen table. Leaning over my back, I rub my head as he taps the bloody knife on a stack of papers sitting in front of me. “What…what is this?” I read over it, and my stomach drops. Tears fill my eyes, making the typed-out words blur. “How did you…?” I swallow, unable to finish the sentence.

“Find out you’re a fraud?” he questions.

I can’t speak. My tongue is heavy all of a sudden. The consequences of him knowing what I’ve been hiding is horrific. I might as well die because my life means nothing now. No purpose. It’s over. The Lords promised me this wouldn’t happen. That as long as I did my job, they’d protect me. Now I’m as good as dead.

He goes on. “It’s very unfortunate for you, I may add. But not for me.”

I know where this leads. This is what the Lords do. They find something they can use against you. “What do you want?” I whisper, my stomach sinking at the possibilities.

“You,” he answers simply.

“No.” I shake my head. He doesn’t even need to elaborate. The answer is no.

“Well, see, now that is also unfortunate for you.”

“You going to kill me?” I laugh nervously. I’ve seen people plead for their life when they knew they had nothing to bargain. I never understood it until now. I’d rather die in a fiery car crash than by Haidyn’s hands. Lords pride themselves when it comes to torturing someone. I don’t want to be his next victim.

I go on when he doesn’t answer. “Bury me at Carnage? Put me in a cell? I have a life,” I yell, pointing at my fake name and fake age. “Friends. People will know that I’m missing.” It’ll be on news outlets. Today, women who go missing are seen everywhere, thanks to the reach that social media has. Most women in my world go missing and Lords are paid off, but they’ve had me establish a life outside of them. Wesley alone would make a big fuss if I just up and vanished.

“There are break-ins all the time.” He pushes the glass bowl on my kitchen counter onto the floor, and the apples and bananas in it roll across the tile when the glass breaks into a million pieces, making me jump. “Say like last Tuesday. After you left the gym, someone could have followed you home.” He grabs my purse off the island, unzips it, and removes my wallet. He pulls out my credit cards and ID and puts them in his pocket. I can’t see if they’re my fake or real ones from where I sit, though. “Monday, someone could have seen you enter your gate code.” He picks up a picture off the wall and drops it, shattering it as well. “Or after you left the vet…how is Muffin by the way? Is she feeling better?” He’s been following me. Watching me. I never suspected anything since my mind has been elsewhere. I should have been paying attention, but I’m not even sure I would have noticed. “And then your morning runs…you’re not very observant when you wear your earbuds. Anyone can take advantage of that.”

I jump from my chair, taking a step back. “What do you want? Me to go to Carnage with you so you can lock me in the basement and torture me? Rape me?” I’m trying to act like it’s impossible, but my mind says he has it all figured out. At any time, he’s got a plan to make sure I’m wiped from this world. No one will know where I am. And when I’m not found after days, weeks, and months, they’ll just give up. No one is dragged into Carnage and then allowed to walk out. Plus, no one willingly visits Carnage either. Like I did. So no one will think to look for me there. The Lords will give up and move on to someone else. I’ll be a lost cause. They’ll assign him another therapist to get whatever they want from him while he slowly tortures me to death.

And that makes me wonder…if the news puts Charlotte on TV, will the Lords shut it down because Charlotte will lead them to Annabelle. People will see that I’m missing, but it will also show the world that I’m two very different people.

He gives me a cruel smile that makes my already racing heart skip a beat. Reaching out, he cups my chin and runs his thumb over my trembling lips. The small act paralyzes me where I stand. “I won’t have to rape you, doll face. You will crawl to me and beg me to fuck your mouth all on your own.”

My breath hitches, and I feel my insides tighten at the thought. Because I’ve dreamed about him. Giving him what he wants—my body. And imagined what he could do to it if given the chance. But I won’t let him see that. Because he wants to make me a prisoner. “Fuck you, Haidyn.”

He grabs the back of my neck and shoves me down into my seat. “Either you willingly give yourself to me or I kill you right now. What’s it going to be?” He picks up the bloody knife and holds it to my neck. I lift my chin, my eyes downcast as the blood rushes in my ears. The tip pushes into my skin, and I suck in a deep breath, trying to make space, but it just pushes harder as it punctures my skin.

“Fi-fine.” I manage to get out. What choice do I have? This is my only bargaining chip.

“Use your words, Charlotte. Fine what?” he asks, arching a brow.

Taking in a shaky breath, I whisper, “I’ll go with you.”

“That’s my good girl.”

His good girl? Why does that make my shaking thighs clench?

He throws the knife back onto the table, and I suck in a deep breath, rubbing my neck and smearing the blood. I’m not sure how much is mine or his from where I stabbed him.

He picks up a bag on the table and unzips it. He pulls out something that looks like an ear-piercing gun. “Haidyn?” I stand once more and take a step back, but he turns, grips my hair, and bends me over the table.

I moan as he smashes the side of my face to the cold surface. I feel him come to stand behind me, shoving my hips into the edge, pinning me in place. His hand twists my hair in his fist, holding me down. I feel something pinch the back of my neck, making me yelp. Then he releases me.

I slowly get up and fall into the chair as tears well up in my eyes, pushing my tangled hair back from my face.

“That’s a tracking device.”

“What?” I shriek. My hand goes to the back of my neck, praying he’s wrong. My fingers press into the sensitive area, trying to dig it out.

“I’ll collect you in five days. In the meantime, live your life like normal. Tell all your friends and family you’re going on a vacation and won’t have phone service. You’re cutting yourself off from the world. I’ll be back to get you on Friday.” With that, he picks up the bag and tosses it over his shoulder.

I jump to my feet, panic gripping my chest. “Haidyn?” I rush out, and he stops and turns to face me. I’m not sure what to say. He’s made up his mind. I will be his, and he’ll do whatever he wants with me. I lick my lips as he waits patiently for me to say whatever I need to get off my chest. I can only think of one question. “For how long?” When you face prison time, the first thing you want to know is how long of a sentence you’ll have to serve. I need to know how long I’ll be his whore for.

He begins to walk toward me, and I go to step back, but the sound of the glass crunching underneath my shoes reminds me there is nowhere for me to go. He sets the bag on the kitchen table once more and places both hands on my jawline, making my pulse race. He shoves my head back, forcing me to look up at him. His thumb runs over my parted lips, and the blood rushes in my ears at the tenderness in his touch. Nothing about the Lords is soft. They are rough with their toys. Then they toss them to the side for others to play with. I’ve heard stories, and they’re all the same.

His dark blue eyes search mine as my heavy breathing fills the room. It’s spinning, and I wish I’d just black out.

Lowering his head, he pushes his lips to mine, and he kisses me. Tongue in my mouth and hands on my face, he sucks what little breath I have left from my lungs as if he’s a demon come to take my soul.

And like a willing servant, I kiss him back. All the noises go silent, and my eyes fall closed at the taste of his kiss. He’s soft yet dominant at the same time. Taking not only my breath away but also my body.

Was it ever a fair fight? I don’t think so.

He pulls away, and I open my heavy eyes to meet his. “That depends on you.”

“Me?” I whisper. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be handing my life over to a sociopath.

His hand slowly moves from my face and his tatted knuckles run down my neck, feeling my racing pulse to my heaving chest. He lifts his eyes to meet mine when he speaks. “If you’re a good girl, you’ll walk away sooner rather than later. But…”

I swallow the lump in my throat.

“If you’re a bad girl who has to be punished, then you’ll be crawling on your hands and knees, begging me to let you go.”

His words leave my blood running cold yet my thighs clenching at the same time.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, doll face.” With that, he lets go of me, grabs the bag, and leaves my house as if he didn’t just force me to give myself over to him.