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"Zhakai and Z'airé, have a seat. I will leave this to your older brother to witness first hand. Zhayne, get up." The sharp needles digging into my feet made it hard for me to take another step, but I didn't hesitate to move forward. I took the pain without opening my mouth to complain as I began to make my way over to Zhalil.

My body was weak and I was tired from a long day of training. Though I've gotten used to it for the most part, the aftermath of it all was hell to pay. Zhalil never spared us when it came to our training, even though we were young. He always said that age was never a reason to be excused from harsh conditions. In fact he'd always taught me that the younger I was, the better. That way when I grew up I would have been perfectly trained for the role I will take in the future.

He was harder on me because he saw himself in me. His first born son. He put me through more so that I could be strong enough to represent for my family when his time was up. Zhalil would not have me embarrass or put him and his blood to shame, so he ensured that his methods were efficient to get the job done.

"Hmm." He hummed as I approached him, standing straight as he'd always instructed of me no matter how much pain I was in. He didn't care if I was bleeding out. I'm required to stand tall at all times. "Even with the needles in your feet, you managed to get over here within 6 seconds without hesitation."

The look in his eyes told me that he was clearly impressed by how much I've improved, but he didn't praise me. He never did. Zhalil told me that praise was not necessary ever. All I did was nod my head a single time without speaking a word, bearing with the pain as the sharp needles sank further into my feet.

I held my broken arm closer to my side as he motioned for me to move closer to him. At first, I hadn't understood why he wanted me to be near him because usually he preferred to keep his distance from anyone other than Victoria.

I glanced behind him for a split second, I was able to spot a dead body bleeding out. The sight didn't surprise me, as I've seen thousands of dead bodies and have been the cause of many deaths already at the young age of 12. I flickered my gaze toward Zhalil as I ignored the slight pain of my bone popping out of my arm from my match just twenty minutes ago.

"Take a closer look." He commanded simply, standing still with his hands folded behind his back. I already assumed that he'd killed whoever it was. Zhalil's suit was covered in blood and there was a knife and a chainsaw laying on the floor not too far from him.

I took a step off of the floor which was covered in needles and placed my bleeding feet onto the black tile that my father stood on, away from the harmful surface. Clutching my dangling arm, I walked over to the body and turned it over since the person was lying face down.

I gazed down at it in boredom. "Why would you show me this?" His face was unrecognizable. There was nothing left of the victims features. Their face had clearly been chopped clean off by the chainsaw, because the knife my father had with him was not advanced enough to accomplish that. I was only able to tell that they were male because of their dick. But that had obviously been tampered with too. There were gashes all over it.

I raised a brow but did not meet Zhalil's eye. He spoke up shortly after I spent some time examining the body. I hated him, but I couldn't help but admire how he chose to kill this victim. Zhalil was known to have the best torture techniques in the underworld. Many have learned from this man alone.

"Zhayne." He started off, approaching me with his hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to glare up at him for touching me, but he payed me no mind. His emotionless eyes were locked on the lifeless body underneath us. I wanted to cut his fucking hand off. If it wasn't for my broken arm I would have. "Can you guess why this man is dead?"

"No." Fool.

"He betrayed our family, Zhayne. Me." He said to me, tightening his fingers. For a moment I paused as I realized this wasn't normal. Zhalil never cared to show me the body of men or women who have caught themselves doing acts of betrayal behind his back. Usually, he would take care of them and forget about their existence afterward. It was as if they were nothing to him in the first place. So what was with this foolishness?

"What did he do?"

There was silence. I'd noticed that my brothers have yet to say a word either. I wasn't sure if it was because they felt the tension as well, or because they knew not to speak unless Zhalil gave them permission to do so. Either way, everyone was tense. They were tense because Zhalil was angry. And when he was, everyone went still in fear.

"Put it like this, son." He removed his hand from my shoulder. Zhalil turned my head to face him, so that I was looking into his eyes. I could not read him in this moment. Zhalil was one of the only people I couldn't figure out. At least not always. "Your wife, aside from your blood, is your first priority. She will be your all as you will her." He didn't look away, meaning this was not something he wanted me to take lightly.

"Your job is to protect, love, cherish, and to , most of all. She is yours, and she belongs to you alone." He informed me. I listened, registering every single one of his words carefully so that I could remember them. "Do not make the same mistake I did, Zhayne. Keep her in check at all times." He instructed me. I nodded.

"You haven't killed him yet, have you?" I asked Tone as I picked up another man's detached head from the ground and held it in my hands. The wonderful smell of blood emitting from the large pile of dead bodies and loose limbs provided me with a feeling beyond exhilaration. I was satisfied. I've had my fill of blood today, maybe.

Tone shook his head at my question. I nodded in approval. "Nah. You told me not to. You said you might need him for something later." I collected a stray arm from beside me on the floor tossed it over to Tone. He held it up as I threw the head and he hit it. I watched, pleased it landed into the pile along with the rest of them.

"Good." I replied, laying the blood soaked bat over my shoulder. I needed a shower. I was covered in the crimson liquid. Though I didn't mind bathing in the blood for a little bit longer, it would eventually begin to smell. "I need to go. Make sure you have him in this room ready for me when I come back."

"Where you going?" He asked as he dragged another unconscious man to the center of the room. Tone suspended him to the ceiling by both of his legs. I briefly checked his current state. He wasn't conscious, but I knew he would be awake sometime within the next 5 to 10 minutes.

"I have to take care of something else, then I will be going home." He didn't need to know what it was, and I wasn't going to tell him. It wasn't his business. Tone was smart though, he knew not to ask any further questions. Tone nodded and walked over to me. I held my unoccupied hand out as his softly collided with mine for a quick dap up.

"Aye, yo," I said as he departed from me again. He turned around to look at me with his hands stuffed in his pockets, waiting patiently for my next words. "-Don't go easy on them." I reminded him, referring to 10 men of the 106 that were leftover. I had taken care of all the others over the course of a couple days, it's his responsibility now to kill off the remaining. I didn't care to say another word to him as he responded with 'you know I got you' and he did. He had no choice after all.

Before I left, I made sure to clean myself thoroughly. And after I was done, I was on my way to my next destination. As I got into my car and began to drive, I contemplated on whether or not I should put it off and instead go home to Angel first. Fuck. Just his name was enough to get my blood rushing. I looked at my fingertips, which were burning again.

I haven't seen Angel for a week and I was going fucking crazy. I was watching him from afar everywhere I went but it wasn't enough for me. Momentarily, I regretted leaving him alone at home while I went away to take care of business. Initially, I was going to bring him with me but I came to the decision that it was best I don't. He wouldn't be able to handle it for multiple reasons. I liked pushing Angel beyond his limits, but this was one of those moments where I knew it would be too much. Everything would happen too soon.

For the next hour and a half, I sat thinking about how I would go about my next move depending on what I would hear from my men. I was cut short when I pulled into the familiar parking lot of another one of my abandoned buildings. This was used specifically for research. On people, that is. Whenever I needed someone to be found, I come here and have my men take care of that issue if I am unable to.

I wasted no time getting out of the car and entering the building with the bat still slung over my shoulder. I just might need it again today. I spared no one a glance. I came here for business and that was it. I don't have time to focus my attention on anything else other than what I was after.

I walked into the main room. "You." I pointed at the man known as Jelani with the bat. I could tell that I'd caught him off guard along with everyone else by entering so suddenly. I have informed them that I would be here today, but I never said the exact time I would arrive. He stared at the tip of the blood covered wood before he hesitantly met my eye, awaiting my next command. I narrowed my eyes momentarily as I sat down. "Come here." Without a moment of pause, he approached my desk.

"Give me an update. I was expecting more from you today." Jelani handed over the files I had asked him to gather on the man in the photo. I had been going through previous ones, but they've done nothing to help me. I was growing inpatient with this shit, but I won't ever let this slip by. I can't. There is something that I don't fucking know and I'm going to find the fuck out whatever it is.

I was pissed at first, because I'd known nothing of this person. This man was posing in a picture with my father and I had no knowledge of him. On top of that, his looks were beyond questionable. In the back of my mind, I had an idea of who he was. But that wouldn't help me, because I know nothing about him. Why the fuck was he with Zhalil and why don't I know shit?

I skimmed through the files. All I needed was a quick look over to be able to tell that this wasn't what I was looking for. This is the second time this has ever happened to me. I've only ever looked into one person that I haven't been able to find much information on. Rubbing my chin firmly, I went still for a few moments, locked in my thoughts.

I calmly set the papers aside and glanced up at him. Jelani shrank underneath my stare, which made me quickly consider shooting him. That frightened look was pissing me off. The fuck is he afraid of? Have I waved a fucking gun in his face and threatened to kill him?

I was going to give him exactly what he anticipated, but I decided against it. I needed him for something. Temporarily, of course. "This isn't going to work for me." I told him, watching in disdain as he visibly released a sigh of relief at the fact that I haven't killed him. "I've been searching for the file with the right information for a couple days now and I've gotten nothing." It seems as if I may have to go about solving this another way.

He sucked in a breath, seemingly no longer relieved. I knew he didn't know what to do from here, and I couldn't bring myself to blame him. This information was being hidden for a reason. The question I had in mind was why? "I've searched everywhere, sir. There truly is nothing I can do."

In any other situation I would have shot him dead because he would have been deemed as completely useless. But that isn't the case this time around, he is still good for something in the end. And it was all thanks to my planning ahead of time. "That's fine." I told him. Just like that, the emotion of relief came over his youthful features again. "But you have to take care of something else for me. It might help solve the problem."

"Of course, boss." I was going to take the easier route, but it looks like I will have to do things the harder way. At least, for anyone else involved that is. Not for me. "I need you to do me a favor and fetch someone for me." He cocked a brow, surprised. I usually never asked him to do things like this.

"Anything you need, boss."

"Marissa." I gazed down at her files that I had right beside the unknown man's. "Do whatever you can to bring her back here." He knew who I was talking about, because he was one of the few men I had in charge of keeping tabs on her. He paused for a moment.

"That boy of yours' mother."

Jelani was aware he's not permitted to say Angel's name. I nodded, ready for this conversation to be over with. I have much to do and plan for. "Yes." I replied, standing up from my chair. They all took a step back to make room for me. Jelani spoke up again, but not before looking to me for approval. I allowed him to talk.

"I was informed that her trip would be prolonged again just a couple of days ago due to complications with a business deal."

I shook my head. "I don't care." I told him. "Figure out a way to send her back." My word was final. "I want her untouched. If I see so much as a fucking bruise on her body, every single one of you all will be held responsible." They knew what that meant. There will be no marks on her body unless they are from me.

"Send Angel's mother home immediately."

Zhayne had been busy. I spent the next week or so in this house alone for the most part, thankfully. He would have Antonio come over to check on me periodically, but he would never stay for long as he always had duties that must be taken care of. And because Zhayne was his boss before he was his friend, he put his job before anything else. Zhayne would not tolerate anything less from him.

I was glad he was gone. I didn't know when he was coming back, but I tried not to think about it. Dwelling on the dreadful thought of his return tended both to spoil my mood and frighten me at the same time. I hated it. Just picturing his face in my mind was more than enough to make me go weak with fear.

Even though he wasn't around, I still didn't feel free. Zhayne managed to have that same effect on me like always. Nothing changed. I was extremely grateful that I didn't have to face him head on for a while, but that awful gut wrenching feeling in my stomach never left me. I know he's watching my every fucking move. He wasn't here yet I could still feel him somehow, and it was eating me up.

No matter how hard I tried to enjoy the time I had 'alone', I could not seem to do so. My mind was often plagued with constant thoughts of running away. I had caught myself on many different occasions staring longingly at the large gate through the window of Zhayne's bedroom, keeping the mansion closed off from the rest of the world. Some days, that was all I did. I sat and did nothing but stare for hours on end, imagining the impossible. Some days, I would hardly think.

But, I wasn't stupid enough to make a run for it. Running away from Zhayne and succeeding was nothing but a fairytale. I knew in the back of my mind that I would get nowhere. The only thing I would accomplish is feeding Zhayne's sadistic cravings. My foolish attempt to escape him would give him a reason to hurt me, though he didn't always need one. Sometimes he did it purely for his own entertainment. He thoroughly enjoyed making me bleed.

The deep and fresh scar on my thigh nearly burned as memories of the last time I'd seen him replayed in my head. I swallowed thickly remembering how he'd forced me to tell him that I was his and that I belonged to only him a total of 100 times as he carved his name deeply into my skin.

To him, it was a game. The rules were simple. I was to sit quietly as he 'marked what was rightfully his'. If I cried, he would start all over and carve into my flesh even deeper in a different area. I'd ended up giving in and even passed out more than once. He'd won as soon as he drew the letter . By the time I had to repeat the sentence a final time, he was covered in my blood. After he finished, he kissed me and told me that I look so pretty.

"Who do you belong to?"

I was out of tears at this point. I could only breathe heavily and try to keep myself from passing out again. I already made the mistake of allowing myself to lose conscious once and Zhayne took that as his chance to start over. "Y-you. I-I only belong to y-you Z-Zhayne. I-I'm yours." I whispered through struggling breaths.

He finished carving the E of his name into my thigh, looking up at me with a pleased expression as my blood dripped onto the white tile. "That's 99, Angel." Zhayne said. "You have one more to go." He mumbled, tapping the tip of the sharp knife against the deep cut in my flesh as he used his free hand to keep the barrel of the gun pressed against my neck.

My whole body was so close to shutting down because of the pain and the amount of fear coursing through my veins. I could feel my eyes threatening to close on me, but Zhayne promised to cut me up more if I did it again. I couldn't go through this again. I was already losing so much blood.

I went limp, hardly finding the strength to speak simple words. My throat hurt so badly from screaming. "I-." I choked, coughing violently as Zhayne moved the gun lower, trailing it down my chest. When I was able to catch my breath again I murmured in exhaustion: "B-B-elong to you. I'm o-nly yours." I said to him for the 100th time.

Zhayne places the knife on the counter and pulls me closer to him by the back of my neck. He pressed his lips against mine briefly, before pulling back. I felt his thumb stroking the nape of my neck as he talks again, still sliding the gun downward. I could hardly comprehend his words. Because of my current state his voice sounded as if it were far away. "I'm thinking about branding you here."