Reylo: These Violent Delights

Chapter 56: Always

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Paradise House and Evangeline belong to Lady in Writing and her fan fiction book, A Place to Escape.

—

Kylo didn't know the first thing about being good.

Despite his efforts over the last few years as Supreme Leader, he would never be a ruler loved by all. But maybe with his mother's guidance and keeping the women he loved in mind, he could be a better ruler. And while Rey wasn't by his side—yet—his mind flashed back to the last time he saw her in her dreamscape when he offered her a seat on the Supreme Council. If she had agreed and had unlimited resources to make a difference, who would she want to help first?

The answer came to him immediately: children just like her.

That's why the Supreme Leader spent his afternoon in the Coruscant orphanage implementing a variety of programs with the care coordinator, devising a similar strategy to what his mother had done when she served the Republic. While their basic needs were already being met, he wanted to expand the First Order's outreach, ensuring that every homeless child had access to an education path that interested them, work and life skills training, and a personal counselor that could act as their friend, advocate, and mentor. He wouldn't stop until this was the standard for every establishment across the galaxy.

Reformation of the children's welfare system was only the beginning. Since Kylo was unable to face his enemies on Exegol for an indefinite amount of time, he could allocate all of his energy into finding other institutions that needed improvement. Which was why he was now approaching the unnamed hole-in-the-wall brothel on Rishi, a business he could personally attest was under disreputable ownership.

He suppressed a yawn as he led his knights through the doors, carving through the crowd of aliens and humanoids to reach the bar. It turned out that being altruistic was fucking exhausting, and it didn't help this place made his skin crawl. The air was stale and smoky, and the dim, warm lighting clung to the sweaty faces of its grubby occupants. But he had a job to do, so he leaned into the sticky bar and knocked against it, snagging the bartender's attention.

She met his gaze with a smile, but it faltered when she realized who it was, nervous eyes darting to his knights behind him. In the past, they had visited in their plainclothes, and Kylo always wore a hood to obscure his features. Now he was in his usual attire with two lightsabers on his belt, the scar slashed across his face clearly visible and unflinchingly claiming his identity. It took her a moment to collect herself. "Supreme Leader," she said, dipping her head in a bow. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

He nodded toward the door behind her. "Get Tukka."

"Yes, sir." The bartender pivoted, brought two fingers to her mouth, and released a high-pitched whistle. Within seconds, the piece of shit owner waddled out from the back, placing his little black eyes on Kylo. He immediately scowled at him.

"It's you again," he spat, attempting to lengthen his squishy, squat form as he jabbed a fat finger at him. "You owe me a new door, Supreme Leader. And don't think I didn't find out you cleaned out my safe, either. I'm expectin' full repayment plus interest."

He didn't bother correcting Tukka's blatant misrecollection of the Supreme Leader's last visit, when he simply provided the mistreated women with the scum's safebox code to do with as they saw fit. But in anticipation of a dispute, Kylo came prepared. He slipped a hand beneath his robes, emerging with a sack full of credits.

"After we're done having our fill, you can buy a new cantina." He tossed the money to Tukka and frowned. "Preferably one with proper ventilation."

Impatient, gelatinous hands swatted at the air to catch the pouch, his pinched eyes gleaming with greed when he felt how heavy it was. And just like Kylo had planned, he suddenly came down with amnesia, their quarrels long forgotten as he flashed them a skeezy smile full of rotting teeth. "Extra bitters, then?"

"Something sweeter."

The creature jutted his chin at his knights behind him. "Are they thirsty too?"

"Very," he quipped through a flexed jaw. "Go, get them ready. You will not keep us waiting any longer."

Tukka gave them a wide grin, bending into an exaggerated bow. "Right away, your highness." He disappeared through the red door, only to return moments later, gesturing for them to come forward. "Some of them are busy entertaining, so a few of you might needta share. That will cost you extra."

Kylo ignored Tukka's outstretched hand vying for more credits and led his knights around the bar and into the back. The long, dim corridor had numbered entrances lining either side with a single entryway at the end. After the red door clicked closed behind them, the Supreme Leader used the Force to communicate with his knights to disperse and pick a room. He strode to the very end, and as soon as he entered, a short, dark-haired woman stood up from the futon and mumbled a hello. With shaking fingers, she started to tug off her slip.

"No," he demanded, lifting a hand. "Stay dressed, and go get the other workers."

Her eyes grew wide. "A-all of us?"

"Yes," he snapped, gesturing toward the door. "Do it. Quietly."

The woman scuttled past him quicker than lightspeed, and Kylo followed her out. One by one, his knights flooded out of the rooms and situated near the entrance of the corridor. It didn't take long until the space became extremely tight as the rest of the women poured into the hall.

The Supreme Leader looked at the woman that he picked. "Is this all of them?"

"Ye-yes, sir. Just waiting on Cherry."

Right on cue, a door across from him cracked open, and out came a tall, busty redhead. Eyebrows raised, she leaned against the doorframe and whistled at him. "Wooooweeee. Now that's one big son-of-uh-bitch," she sang in a heavy drawl, looking him up and down. "You gonna cost extra, honey."

Kylo blinked. "That's not why I'm here."

Cherry smiled, leisurely dragging her amused gaze across his knights. "Then are ya lost, sugar pies?"

"No, we—"

"Because I have a client waiting for me to squish his itty bitty ballsack like a fucking grape, so you bettah cut to the chase. "

Rigid as all hell, Kylo pushed aside that visual and cut to the chase. "Are you being held as a slave here? Or did you choose this lifestyle?"

Cherry looked at him like he had just spoken in tongues, then threw her head back to laugh. Although less boisterous, some of the other women started to giggle, too. "Oh, honey," the redhead crooned, clicking her tongue. "You one of dem special boys, ain't ya?"

Agitation burst in his chest. Tired, he was so goddamn tired. Kylo was only here to assist them, to be better, not to discuss squishing tiny ball sacks and be insulted.

Sensing his anger, and thank fuck for that, Ap'lek cleared his throat and stepped in. "What my Master is asking is, are you still being mistreated by your boss? Or has Tukka been treating you fairly?"

"You're asking if our pimp, Bleyke fucking Tukka, treats us fairly?" Cherry repeated, cocking an incredulous brow. She smacked her lips together and looked back at Kylo. "Oh lawd, honey, he's Jabba the Hutt's left tiddy cheese on a good day and a steaming pile of bantha shit on a bad day. So, you tell me, Mr. wide-as-a-mutha-fucking-refrigerator, do youthink Bleyke Tukka is a good man?"

Refrigerator? Kylo forced himself to spin around to his knights, knowing that he was this fucking close to snapping the woman's neck. He growled a demand. "Get them back in their rooms."

They spoke in unison. "Yes, Master."

"What, so no gangbang?" Cherry called out as he tore past them, disappointment coloring her tone. "I thought we was gonna have a good time together, you human-battleship-lookin-ass!"

Kylo's eyelid was twitching so rapidly, he wasn't sure it would ever stop. Ripping through the door, he stepped into the bar area and whistled at Tukka to get his attention. "Door number twelve is acting up. Come set her right."

"What in the flying fuck is she doing?" he bellowed, flapping his meaty hand toward the customers. "I'm a little busy here."

"She won't..." Kylo started, shifting his stance, "she won't step on my balls like a grape."

Cursing in a different language, Tukka threw his towel down. "God fucking dammit. I swear to Naboo, each week those ungrateful little shits pull something on me," he muttered, bending over to grab something from under the register. He straightened, clutching a whip in his greasy hands, and Kylo stepped to the side to let him shuffle into the back room. "Lolly! You get your ass out here so I can give you a beating! The Supreme Leader wants you to step on his—"

From behind, Kylo Force-grabbed either side of the whip and looped it around Tukka's neck. The moment he had him secured, his knights opened the doors and slinked into the corridor, filling the cramped space with their dark, imposing presence. Holding his victim's gloopy body against him, Kylo spoke quietly, composed. "On your knees."

Tukka sputtered, shaking and putting up his hands. "Wait, wait—" Kylo didn't let him finish, kneeing him in the back and sending him crashing to the floor. He clawed at his throat as the Supreme Leader yanked the cord, forcing Tukka's head to snap back. "Pl-please."

Kylo responded by pulling tighter. He knew he could use the Force to suffocate him or throw him in the basement and lock him away for eternity, but there was something so satisfying about using the vermin's own weapon against him. That, and the Force was too easy. The Supreme Leader wanted to make the scumbag suffer, make him whimper and beg for his life while he slowly, leisurely, watched the life drain out of him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. I could get used to this whole charity thing.

"Back in your room, little ladies," he heard Ushar say, breaking Kylo's focus. "You don't need to see this."

He looked up, surprised to see some of the women peeking their heads out. He had been so wrapped up in making Tukka suffer, he didn't realize he had an audience. At Ushar's prompt, some of them receded, but Cherry only opened her door wider and pushed through his knights. She stopped in front of Kylo and pointed at Tukka. "Uhm, 'scuse me, sir, but are you killing our boss?"

"Yes," Kylo said through gritted teeth. "Now, leave."

She scoffed at him and swooped in. "Oh, hell no. Get outta the way, you rudely large man. Let Mama Cherry show you how it's done."

Kylo's tone was as blank as his face. "What?"

She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers. "You heard me, gimme that whip and let a girl get some fucking revenge."

The Supreme Leader looked at his knights behind her, who were emanating just as much shock as he was. He didn't particularly like this Cherry woman, but if anyone could understand revenge, it was him. So when she started tapping her foot, he disengaged from her boss and handed her the whip, sending Tukka falling back on his ass.

With bright, malevolent eyes and a smile on her face, Cherry looked down at the wheezing Crolute and called out to the other sex workers. "Oh, laaaaadies, come on out and get a piece of Tukka pie!"

"Wait, wait, no," he croaked, trying to squirm away, his jowls rippling as he gasped. "Cherry, my dear Cherry. My, my favorite girl! Please, please, put that whip down, and we can talk about you getting a larger cut of your wages! I, I promise—"

It seemed as though his favorite girl had no interest in hearing his pleas, because without hesitation, she coiled the whip back and cracked it across his face. A guttural yell came from Tukka, the lash from the whip drawing blood. His body writhed and contorted on the ground, his flippers flapping as he tried to sit up, but Kylo used the Force to keep him down. As he continued to holler, most of the doors opened, and out came the women again with wide, excited eyes.

Cherry whipped him again. "Doesn't feel good, does it?" she taunted, kicking him in the stomach. "Aw, come on, it's just a lil' tap, like you said, right? Nothing to cry about!"

"FUCK YOU, YOU WHORE CUNT!" came Tukka's strained yell. "YOU WILL BE SKINNED ALIVE FOR THIS, YOU STUPID BITCH! I OWN YOU!"

They pounced. Every last one of them. Kicking, hitting, whipping. They descended on him like a pack of wild wolves, hungry for blood, euphoric tears running down their face as they tore him apart. Kylo didn't even have to use the Force to keep him down anymore. The girls were handling it all on their own.

Even Lolly, the shy girl from Kylo's room, joined in too. "It's your turn to get fucked, mother fucker!" she yelled, her small voice echoing in the corridor. "Let's see how you like this high heel up your ass!"

He stepped back, his brows raised in surprise. Tukka began to cry like a little baby, and a few of his knights started to laugh, but Kylo tensed, slightly tilting his head to listen to the parade of footsteps running their way. Picking up on their thoughts as they approached, he realized that Tukka had hired protection after Kylo beat his ass last time. There were twenty of them, give or take, and he looked back at his knights with awareness, but they were already tuned in. He gave them a silent nod, and Ushar led the warriors to the entrance. They remained perfectly still and quiet until a brave soul opened the red door.

"HEY, WHAT THE—"

Ushar clubbed Tukka's man in the face. Kylo pressed his back to the wall and allowed all of his knights to get by, rushing into the other room to greet the rest of the hired guns. The screams began instantaneously. He looked down the dingy, narrow hallway he still stood in, watching the women beat the ever-living shit out of their boss as they hollered and cried. Then, an eruption of gunfire and Ushar's deep, booming laughter pulled his attention to the right again, and when he peeked through the door, he saw that he was right. There were about twenty men against his five, as patrons fled the bar screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Fucking hells," Kylo muttered, tipping his chin to the floor to pinch the bridge of his nose. He could join his knights to finish the job quicker, but he didn't feel the need to intercept their fun. And truthfully, he was too tired for a bloodbath right now. So after pulling in a deep breath, he raised his head and tuned into them, watching them move gracefully and with great skill as they dropped Tukka's men left and right. Other than the occasional grunt, they were silent as they worked, letting their weapons speak for them as they sliced through them like a fucking birthday cake.

Kylo paused, mind racing as he thought of something very, very important—Rey's birthday. It was still a few months from now, but with their reconciliation on the horizon, he had to start planning a celebration for her. Wondering who could bake a tower of muja muffins, he pulled his datapad from his pocket to research, but a voice from the end of the hall broke his focus.

"Hey, Mister, now what?"

He turned his head to see the women standing over their lifeless, bloody boss. Dropping his eyes to Tukka, he raised a brow. "Impressive."

"The bastard deserved much worse," Cherry chimed in, giving him one last kick before nodding toward the door. "Those masked behemoths out there killing his crew, too?"

Kylo nodded and turned around. "We are done here."

"Uh, excuse me, sir," Cherry continued, heels clicking as he followed him. "You leaving without us?"

He stiffly turned around. "Yes?"

"You just killed our boss. You know, the man that feeds us and pays the bills here?" She put her hand on her hip. "Where the hell you expecting us to go?"

"Home."

Some of the girls scoffed, and others just stared at him with vacant expressions. It was Lolly who spoke up, idly playing with her fingers. "We don't have anywhere to go, sir. This is our home."

Another woman called out from behind her. "Yeah, you can't just leave us here. You have to help us."

Kylo frowned, eyes traveling across the expectant faces of all the women. The sound of bodies dropping in the other room finally ceased, and he was formulating a response when Trudgen appeared in the doorway to offer a solution.

"Master Ren, we could transport them to a respected establishment for this line of work, no?"

The Supreme Leader thought about it for a moment, then gave him a nod. "Yes. Pryka's Pleasure House."

Trudgen twirled his bloody war club in his hands. "Uh, sir, we burned Canto Bight down at your request."

Oh, yeah. Kylo frowned. Fuck.

"Paradise House on Cefalu is rumored to be governed by a fair woman," Ushar spoke up from the other room. "My usual there is very happy."

Kuruk chimed in through their Force-bond. "I can confirm that, Master. Evangeline takes care of her girls."

"Fine," he quipped, giving an agitated sweep of his hand. "Escort them to the Night Buzzard, then."

There was a slew of Yes, Master Ren's, and Trudgen signaled for the women to walk down the corridor. Kylo remained flat against the wall as they shuffled past him, some of them crying, most of them holding hands, and all of them bursting with a sense of hope. Despite his impatience and fatigue, the Supreme Leader couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

See Mom? I'm making the galaxy a better place by taking out the trash, Kylo thought, glancing down at Tukka's body. Just like Rey did with Wor Groman.

A soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Is he really dead?"

Kylo met the gaze of the tall woman hovering by her dead boss. "Yes." He nodded toward the door. "Come on, we are leaving."

"I recognize you," she said, studying him with curious eyes as she stepped around Tukka. She looked Kylo up and down, cocking her head to the side. "I don't remember all my customers, but even before I found out you were the Supreme Leader, there was something...unforgettable about you."

He raised a brow. He certainly didn't recognize her. Conducting a quick, painless Force-probe, he pulled the encounters with him to the top of her mind. It was Cinnamon, the woman he and Vicrul aided the last time Tukka locked her downstairs. They had also been together sporadically before he found Rey, and through her eyes, he saw that she viewed him and their sessions as cold, domineering, and cruel.

Kylo cringed. "I'm...sorry," he said lamely. He didn't know what else to say.

"I'm not." Tears welling in her eyes, Cinnamon shook her head. "You saved us."

For fuck's sake, don't cry. He shifted in discomfort. "They are waiting. It's time to—"

Cinnamon crashed her body against his, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," she breathed, holding him tighter. "Thank you for saving us."

His whole body stiffened, fanning his arms out by his side and holding his breath until the embrace passed. He grimaced as he looked down at the crying woman clinging to him. He only came here because he knew that Rey would personally want to slit Bleyke Tukka's throat. Comforting people was never on the agenda. When she still wouldn't let the fuck go, he cleared his throat and forcibly stepped away.

Cinnamon sniffled. "I don't know how to repay you. He was horrible."

"I don't need, or want, anything from you," Kylo said, adding just don't ever hug me again in his head. He jutted his chin toward the Crolute. "He has a sack of credits on him. Grab them and follow the others."

With another snivel and nod, Cinnamon bent down to retrieve the credits and walked through the red door for the very last time. Kylo followed, stepping over the dead bodies to make his exit. While the cantina was eerily quiet, the streets of Rishi were bustling with life. Aliens and humanoids of all ages were walking around, chatting, laughing, and eating food from the street market. Those that didn't recognize the Supreme Leader barely looked at him, while others sprinted in the opposite direction because they recognized him. He kept his gaze ahead of him either way, the flash of light above him the only thing he fixed his attention on.

Kylo came to a halt in the middle of the chaotic street. With a chill running down his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. A warm, tingling sensation settled in his fingertips and expanded through him, as though his blood was gasoline and somebody lit a match. It was intense yet comforting and peaceful, similar to how he felt during the last embrace with his mother. Her face flashed in his mind, and a bright star shot across the sky. For the first time in a long time, Kylo felt a ghost of a smile pull at his lips.

May the Force be with you, Mom, he called above, eyes trailing the starry night sky. Always.

With what felt like a hand brushing his face, Kylo's smile deepened as he moved forward, letting that powerful warmth carry him back to the shuttle. He took his time weaving through the crowd, ambling to the Night Buzzard. Once he made it up the ramp, he passed the sex workers sitting in the common area and stepped into the cockpit. Ap'lek was waiting for him.

"Master, we just received a hologram from the Unlos Tagge police chief on Tepasi," he said with urgency, extending his datapad to Kylo. "He was inquiring about the motorcycle Vicrul borrowed last week."

Kylo glanced at the screen, hope blooming in his chest. "Vicrul was on Tepasi?"

"Yes, Master. The officer also mentioned the Nothoiin diamond necklace. This corroborates Vicrul's last message that he was following a lead on your prisoner."

Slow footsteps carried the Supreme Leader to the pilot's seat. He sat heavily, digesting the new information before leaning forward to start the ignition. "Rey is no longer my prisoner, and never will be again," Kylo murmured, entering coordinates into the flight system. "First Cefalu, then Tepasi. Vicrul needs us."