Chase Me

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Afflict

Bellona

The last time I had to kill a person was also my first. It was one of those memories that I had tried to forget, but it was like the smell of sweat and fear in the room triggered something in the back of my head to make me remember.

Violence had been something that helped me. Boxing and training with blades would direct my attention all on me and my target. But Dad thought that if he gave me something more bloody that I would be... cured.

I was sixteen when Dad told me to shoot a man who had misbehaved with Maria.

Maria was sweet, kind, and innocent. I would joke with her that she was our People's Princess, so when I heard Dad tell me that, I immediately said I would. That was one reason why I did it. The other was that it was giving me a chance for Dad's eyes to be on me and me only. Not his other daughter—no, only on his oldest.

I remember I was given a choice. A gun or a knife. I remember the feeling I had that this person who was tied down and pleading—begging me to stop—was at my mercy. And he had hurt Maria. I didn't know what I did or how fast I had reacted, but at one moment there was a knife in my hand and then the next, I could feel a dripping warmth on my hand and hear a clapping behind me.

It turned out I had slit his jugular and had stood there as he bled out. Dad was proud and at that moment with blood on my hands, knife in hand, and a dead man in front of me, the only thing I could focus on was my Dad's words.

"Very good, Bellona. I'm proud of you."

He had never said those words to me before and after that day I promised myself that I would never do anything like that again. His six words made me rethink what I had done. Because being sixteen and hearing that made me feel way too good. That I had made him proud. That was being a good daughter. That I had killed to do that and another part of me wouldn't have minded doing it again.

I hurt people but never took a life after that.

I think that was about to change when I saw Nex pull out a dark briefcase from under his couch and walk towards a man who was already bound to a chair in the centre of his living room. It was early morning but the mood that encompassed us four was darker than that. Way darker.

I impulsively strayed from Amo, blanking my face into a mask of calm. I felt something churn in me and a darker part of me smiled at the beast awakening to the mention of violence. I wasn't going to kill, but I was going to hurt.

I adjusted my rolled-up sleeves. "Who is this?" There she was, cold and poised.

Elio glanced at me, a familiar smile tugging at his lips as he held a tissue to his head. "Welcome, Ms. Maeve."

He was hurt. My fingers itched to hurt right at that moment, but I resisted. My hands came to my hips. "Good to see you too, Mr. Ricci." I turned to Nex and nodded. "Mr. Feri."

He caught on fast and tipped his head in my direction, his two fingers poised as his head in a small salute. "Ms. Maeve."

I could feel Amo's eyes on the back of my head as I came close to the man who had his hands bound to the arms of a good-quality chair that no doubt came from Nex's dining set. The man bound had a white gag pulled between his lips and he was biting down at the moment, making the clean cloth slowly turn red. His clean-cut shirt was now wrinkled and dirty, and the tie he had on was near falling off. His eyes swept over me and when my own went to the binds on him, my wrists and ankles tingled. I had the urge to rub my hip but Amo beat me to it. His hand came to me from behind, a small touch that did not linger too long and could be mistaken for an accident as he unbuttoned the buttons on his wrist. But I knew it wasn't an accident.