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Andreus moved only when Helios headed towards the door.
 

Helios heard Olga’s scream just as he stepped out of the room. His head snapped back, and his stunned gaze found Andreus wiping his blade clean while Olga was sobbing as she shakily reached for the phone with one missing finger.
 

Andreus dropped the severed finger into the wastebasket before closing the door behind him.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Kellion demanded.

Andreus shrugged. “It is what I’ve always done for the club when people don’t want to pay.”

Helios could see it in the others’ faces - it wasn’t only to him that those words were news. “You never have to do something like that for Afxisi—”

Andreus’ smile didn’t reach his eyes. “On the contrary, President, I do. Afxisi is the only family I have. I’m not going to let any asshole fuck that up for us, and that includes making sure people clear their debts to us…one way or another.”
 

“It’s not right that you had to shoulder this kind of burden alone,” Helios stated. “When we get back home…with MJ, we’re going to change a couple of rules.” His eyes narrowed at his treasurer. “And fair warning, my friend. You will probably be grounded.”

Andreus pretended to look scared. “Not that, President. Anything but that.”

When Helios and Kellion got on their bikes, Yuri held back, waiting for the other two to leave before asking Andreus, “Is that why?”

Andreus feigned ignorance even as his body tensed at the younger man’s question. “Is that why what?”

“Does my sister know that’s the reason you think you’re not good enough for her?”

Andreus exhaled. Damn Yuri for being fucking straightforward as ever. “No,” he said finally.

“You should tell her,” Yuri suggested calmly. “Otherwise she’ll keep thinking the opposite.”

“The opposite?” he echoed blankly.

“That you think she’s not good enough for you because she’s damaged.”

Chapter Ten

Gracie eyed her beau in pleasant surprise as he arrived in style on her doorstep. In the past, Helios Andreadis had come to her dressed in his usual shirt and jeans, but tonight he had definitely dressed up. He wore an elegant tux, the design she recognized as something likely to have set him back by several thousand dollars. “You look wonderful, caro,” she murmured.

Malicious enjoyment glinted in his leonine eyes. “I thought I should dress up for this very special occasion.”

She brought her lips up for a welcoming kiss and again, his lips were violently passionate, making her whole body shiver in excitement. She loved this the most about Helios, the way he did not lose his edge no matter how many times they came together. With the other men she had dated in the past, they would gradually mellow and become clingy, forcing her to either break up with them…or have them disposed of by her father’s men.

Inside the limousine, Gracie tried to come on to him, running her hand over his thigh. He knew he should take the bait, but he was too fed up with her brand of passion. Wanting to get things over with, he roughly pulled her towards him until she was face down on his lap. “See if you can make me hard.”

She eagerly unzipped him. “Yeeeees…”

As Gracie took his cock into her mouth, Helios’ hand went under her long, slinky black gown, fingers creeping on her body until he found her panties. He ripped them off her body and sank his fingers into her pussy. It was the first time he had fucked her this way, but he knew she was beginning to have questions and they had to be addressed before they got to her father’s place.

Gracie’s moans around his cock filled the limousine.

His fingers moved rapidly, Helios using every skill he had in his possession to bring her to a powerful orgasm.
 

By the time they reached their destination, Gracie was done reapplying her makeup, and she was smoothing out the creases on her gown. Glancing at Helios, she saw his frown as he took in the façade of the abandoned warehouse. “Don’t be fooled by its appearance. We have the loveliest facilities below.”

“Below?” Helios asked as he put on the mask Gracie handed him, a requirement for such gatherings. He stepped out of the limousine first and as he offered his hand, he saw her having trouble holding her gown and handbag at the same time. “Let me hold that for you.”

Gracie handed him her purse. “Thanks.” She looked down at her feet as she came out, thus missing the way Helios handily slipped his Swiss knife into her bag. It was the only way he could sneak a weapon into Manolito Chavez’s compound.
 

“This factory was once a mental hospice,” she relayed to him with a giggle. “It has its own dungeon, which Daddy thinks is really cool.”

“It is cool,” he agreed. “Are there some original chains left?”

“That and more,” Gracie promised.
 

The flush in her cheeks made him ask smoothly, “Did you receive the gift I sent you?”

Pleasure shone in her eyes. “Oh, yes,” she said merrily. “I took a sip of it just before leaving. It was wonderful.”

If that was true, then she should be unconscious in thirty minutes. Surely that was enough time for him to find MJ and get her out of here. The abandoned warehouse was as heavily guarded as it had always been, men patrolling the premises every five minutes, but unlike in the past, none of them cared to hide the fact that they were fully armed.
 

Lots of strings had been pulled for tonight’s event then, Helios observed. How many politicians had been bribed for this supposed celebration to push through? Worse, how many of them were inside this very place, all of them possessing depraved souls in their bodies, wanting to “feast” on the flesh of unwilling women?

Helios’ lip curled at the word “feast”, which was what Olga and James had both used to describe what Manolito Chavez and his patrons did during gatherings like this.

“Helios? Is something wrong?” Gracie asked worriedly, seeing the frown on her date’s face.
 

He forced himself to shrug. “I’m just a little impatient. After all, you can’t say I’ve been slow in sending you the money you needed…”

She flushed. “Thank you for that. And I promise, tonight will be worth it. Daddy always has the most wonderful shows prepared for nights like this. And when he learns how much you’ve helped me, I’m sure he won’t just gift us with one girl. He’ll give us a full harem.” She paused. “As long as you don’t have any preferences?”

“Someone young and white, preferably. I have what they call a younger sister complex.” It was the only explanation he could think of to make sure he had someone that fit MJ’s bill sent to him.

“You have a younger sister?” she asked in surprise.

“A friend’s sister,” he prevaricated, mentally apologizing to Yuri as he found himself inadvertently talking about Hailey.

“Interesting,” Gracie murmured, but she was already secretly vowing to herself to find out who that girl was. That bitch, whoever she was, had to go. She was not the kind to share her man with anyone else, especially when it was of Helios’ caliber.

Inside the warehouse, Helios was subjected to a thorough body check, and he allowed this without even blinking, knowing that his weapon was safe in Gracie’s handbag. As he had expected, Gracie was able to sail inside the place like a spoiled little princess, the guards deferential towards her.

The interior was as gaudy as any 19
^th
century brothel, which he supposed appealed greatly to Chavez and his ilk. Gazes followed him and Gracie wherever they went. By now, people would recognize him as Thanato, although he knew only members of Gracie’s club would also know him as Helios Andreadis. Someone who was as debauched as Thanato would not care about what these people thought, and it was this that allowed him to meet each and every person’s gaze unflinchingly.

As they descended into the dungeons, that was when Helios’ mettle was tested. In each cell they passed, either two or more individuals would be inside, and all of them would be involved in an act of degradation. He wanted to charge into each fucking cell and kill Chavez’s customers but he restrained himself, knowing that there was a better way to save everyone in this place.

When they reached an unoccupied cell, Gracie stopped and pushed its door open. He watched warily as she stepped in.

Gracie found Helios still standing outside the cell. “What are you waiting for,
caro
?” she asked throatily. She let her hand lovingly run through the assortment of whips hanging from the strip of wall hooks. “We can do something really quick here. Wouldn’t you want to whip me a little, see my blood running down my thighs like a frightened little virgin?”

No.
 

He didn’t fucking want that because it would remind him too much of what MJ might be going through.

But he heard himself saying, “You don’t even have to fucking ask.”

He knew what he had to do.
 

Inside, he didn’t reach out for any of the whips. Instead, he slowly unbuckled his belt. “Get on the bed without your clothes.”

Gracie hurriedly undressed herself and got on all fours on the narrow bed, which squeaked under her weight. She watched with mounting excitement as Helios moved towards her, the deadly look in his gaze thrilling her to no end.
He looked like he was ready to kill her
, Gracie thought dreamily. Oh, this was going to be soooo—

She screamed, the agony of having her flesh torn apart telling her this was no ordinary whipping. Helios had started whipping her with the buckle rather than the leather end of his belt.

Whip.

Whip.
 

Whip.

It took a while, but the pleasure came to her still, making the blazing pain on her back all the sweeter.

****

“There, there, you look almost like your beautiful self,” Manolito cooed to her lovingly as his men presented MJ to him. He had her dressed in bridal finery, an old-fashioned lacy white gown with long sleeves, a high neckline, and a semi-full skirt.

“Now, for the final touch.” Manolito stood up, his smile making his face even more grotesque. As he walked towards MJ, someone handed him a row of pearls. “These are not true, of course. After all, you weren’t true to me either, were you?”

MJ tried her best to keep still as Manolito wrapped the pearls around her neck, tried not to flinch as the pearls touched her still-burning skin. Last night, Manolito’s bridal gift for her had been having someone leave stub marks from a cigarette all around her neck, like a permanently tattooed necklace.

In her mind, Helios’ voice had gone hoarse.
It’s all going to be over soon, brat. Trust me.

She didn’t answer because she no longer knew what to think.
 

Every day, Manolito liked to torture her with tidbits about Helios dating different women every day of the week. Was that like a man bent on finding the lost love of his life? Oh, he still heard about Helios’ men coming after him, Manolito told her, but it was more for vengeance. Helios had given her up for good, had come to terms with her death, and who was he to disagree with him?

“If your beloved Greek thinks you’re dead, then I shall deliver you just like that. I will even have our wedding ceremony taped for his viewing benefit. Would you like that?”

Remembering Manolito’s words made her wince, causing Manolito to lose his hold on the pearls. It clattered to the floor, and Manolito cursed before backhanding her, hard enough for her to follow where the pearls went.

Pain stung the left side of her face but before she could even open her eyes, Manolito was already there, pulling her up roughly. “There, there, I told you not to move unnecessarily, haven’t I, my dear? Haven’t I taught you anything?”

She whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“I know, I know. You won’t do it again, will you?”

She shook her head even though a part of her knew she would do it again. And she would keep on doing it until Manolito finally snapped and killed her for good.
 

Don’t fucking say that, brat. Don’t lose hope.

She closed her eyes to Helios’ voice.

Don’t shut me out.
 

I’m just so tired, Helios. I don’t know what to think of anymore.