Chapter 71: Rebel Monster

▪ J A D E▪

When I finally opened my eyes, everything was blurry.

My head felt fuzzy and my throat was dry. Sitting up slowly, it took a few moments before my vision cleared. I immediately realised that I was wearing different clothes, a simple white cotton tank top and matching boy shorts. All the blood from my body had been thoroughly cleaned and my skin had a nice floral scent to it.

The fuck?

It was then that I noticed my hands and feet were bound to the four posters of the large bed that I was currently sitting on. Looking at the black leather cuffs around my wrists and ankles, I then curiously tugged at the chains.

Sighing with relief, I appreciated that the length would allow my limbs some considerable movement.

Even though I had not been rendered completely immobile, I could not help but feel a crippling panic begin to rise within me as the reality of the situation finally dawned on me.

I was trapped.

Exhaling in short, rapid bursts, I quickly shut my eyes and willed myself to calm down. Now was not the time to lose my shit.

Given the circumstances, it was obvious that I needed to focus as best as I could. Even though the nauseating sensation I felt threatened to make me pass out again, I had to remain strong.

"Keep it together!" I softly chastised myself.

Looking around the large and dimly lit bedroom, I slowly observed more of my surroundings. Thick dark floor-to-ceiling curtains flanked one side of the room to hide what I assumed were large windows. My eyes continued

their slow scrutiny before abruptly stopping at a chair in the far corner.

My body stiffened as I realised that I was not alone.

"You're beautiful when you sleep. Did you know that?" José softly asked, before he turned on the lamp on the side table next to him.

Squinting my eyes at the sudden light, I watched as the glow of the lamp illuminated the man's face.

He was as I remembered from all the pictures I had seen of him. José Hernández García was even more imposing in real life, and I knew from the look in his eyes that he was a dangerous man. I would need to play my cards right if I had any hopes of coming out of this situation alive.

I had to clear my dry throat a few times before attempting to speak, "You... Watched me sleep?"

Smirking, his gold canines gleamed as he stood up and casually approached the bed. He reached for the glass of water that was on the bedside table and brought it to my lips. Looking up at him, my eyes searched his, before I glanced at the glass cautiously.

"I'm not going to poison you. Where would be the fun in that?" José questioned; his tone laced with humour.

"Well you did drug me," I responded quickly.

Taking a sip of the water to prove his point, he then brought the glass back to my lips, "Shooting you with a tranquiliser gun was the only way we could capture you. After all, you put up one hell of a fight and killed many of my men."

I drank slowly, allowing the water to quench my thirst before speaking once more, "In my defense, they were trying to kidnap me. What was I supposed to do, go willingly?"

Throwing his head back, José laughed and placed the glass back on the side table, "Ever the rebel! I knew that you had a sharp tongue, but I had no idea how delightful your company in person would be. Most women would already be screaming their heads off calling for help."

Moving carefully, he sat at the edge of the bed as his eyes leisurely roamed over my body. From his gaze, I could tell that he appreciated the view.

There was no mistaking the strength he saw in my legs, and given the length of the shorts, his eyes easily spotted the bruises and teeth marks left by Dominic on my upper thighs.

With his right hand, he slowly reached out and traced one of the dark indentations with his index finger.

Not even flinching at his touch, I said, "What would be the point of screaming? I'm chained to a bed and you probably have me locked away at some secure and unknown location. Which means that you can do to me whatever you please and I won't be able to stop you."

Lifting his eyes to my face, his mouth slanted in a grin.

Ignoring his expression, I continued, "Screaming would only make me lose my voice and would probably irritate you, resulting in you slapping the shit out of me. My lip is already busted as it is, I don't wish to add to it."

The Cartel boss seemed to admire me as he spoke, "In my experience, I've realised that when in the mafia, women can be more reasonable, at least sometimes..."

I remained silent as he paused to move closer to me.

José lifted his hand to cup my jaw, turning my head left and right, observing the bruise on my face and split lip, "Which of my men did this to you?" he asked, his voice deepening with anger.

"It doesn't matter, I gauged his eyes out," I simply said.

"Good!" José commented then removed his hand away from me completely.

Tilting my head to the side, I locked eyes with him once more. From his behaviour, I surmised that the man either cared for me in some way or at least was enamoured by my beauty, given his mood change at me being injured by the hands of one of his men.

I quickly concluded that, to José, I was a trophy he currently owned. To men like him, I was no better than a prized steed, one that only he was allowed to touch and mount.

In a way it reminded me of Dominic's possessiveness.

But where the silvery white-haired man was in love with me, I knew that the Cartel boss was not. I could not help the shudder that passed through my body at the thought of having to willingly submit to the Mexican man if I wanted to survive.

As I slowly began to weigh my options, the sound of his deep voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"You're not afraid of me, are you..." José spoke. It was more of a statement than a question.

"I'd be a fool not to be," I answered truthfully.

"What exactly are you scared of?" his voice full of curiousity.

Biting my inner cheek, I remained quiet for a moment, contemplating how to answer, "I'm afraid of what you have planned in terms of using me to get back at Dominic."

"Seriously? I have you held as my captive and your only concern is about him? What about being afraid for yourself?" José asked, and based on the tone of his voice, my response had clearly surprised him.

Letting out a sigh, I said, "What's the worst you can do to me? Beat me?

Force yourself on me? I hate to break it to you, Josie Posie... But been there, done that."

The Cartel boss laughed once more, not taking offence to me disrespecting his name. In fact, it had the opposite effect on him, as even though I was afraid of him, it did not hinder my ability to poke fun at the situation I was in.

He had been right earlier when he called me rebellious. I was a rebel monster indeed!

I got the impression that he knew I was pretending to be submissive, for parts of my fiery personality had been slipping through the moment we began talking. But I was even surprising myself that I was managing to

keep my temper in check for as long as I had.

From the way his eyes regarded me, I could tell that my personality was refreshing to him and it was obviously something the Mexican was not used to from his captives.

As his laughter died down, I watched his facial expression change.

"I know about your past with Enzo," José said, a frown forming, "but unlike him and some of my men, I am not into that sort of thing, nor am I into taking a woman against her will. When I take a woman, it's because she wants me. The sex is more rewarding that way."

"And that's how long after you torture her into submission?" I could not help but ask, wanting to test my boundaries where speaking my mind was concerned.

Another chortle escaped him, "Well, judging from the bruises and bite marks on that gorgeous body of yours and knowing the kind of man that Dominic is, I know for a fact that you like it rough."

Hearing him bring up Dominic caused my anger to flare as I spat out "Fuck you!"

"Why don't you get on your knees and warm me up first?" José retorted, his words teasing.

Wrinkling my nose, I opened my mouth and pointed a finger down my throat, making loud exaggerated gagging sounds to show my blatant disgust.

"Don't threaten me with a good time then," his dark brown eyes looked over my body before moving back to my face, "you're too beautiful to have such a filthy mouth. But I must say though, I love your sense of humour."

I simply narrowed my eyes at him.

José then made mention of my earlier moniker, "As for the name Josie Posie... I don't think I've ever heard that one in all my years."

"Thanks, I've been working on it for months," I found myself beginning to grin then stopped.

Noticing me trying to hide the twitching of my lips, he pointed out, "See!

I'm not such a bad guy. I can't be if I'm making you smile. I'm just like Dominic in many ways."

"Not really," I said flatly.

"Oh? Do tell," he probed.

Keeping my eyes locked with his, I stated, "If you were like Dominic, I'd have been dead already. He'd have skinned me alive then cut me to pieces.

He would then ship you a different body part whenever he felt like it, leaving my unharmed decapitated head for last."

A sinister smirk played on his lips as he said, "If you were another woman, that is most definitely what would have happened to you. I would have let my men have their way with you first, then torture you some more before burning you alive of course."

"But..." I queried while sitting up straighter on the bed.

"But... You intrigue me, and your beauty is not lost on me either," José noted as he reached out to touch my purple hair, "I like that you dyed the other part purple too. I must say, it was a nice surprise."

Realising that he was referring to my nether regions, I could not help but grind my teeth, hating the fact that he had seen me naked.

Seeing the change in my facial expression he commented, "Don't worry, I didn't touch you, I merely watched. I had the in-house nurses see to your injury after they removed the bloodied clothes and gave you a bath. I told you, I like my women willing."

"Don't hold your breath, I'll never be yours!" I said before suddenly lunging at him, the rage within me fully unleashing.

Quickly releasing my hair, José moved off the bed and out of my reach just in time. My fists narrowly missed him as my body was snagged back to the bed by the chains.

With a big grin, he taunted, "There she is! I was wondering when that defiant nature of yours would surface. I was beginning to wonder how long you were going to keep up that calm and compliant act for."

My chest rose and fell with every deep breath I took as I kneeled and glared at him.

José smiled even wider as he went on to say, "And why can't you be mine?

It's certainly not my occupation, I even have more money than Dominic. Is it my appearance? Is it because I'm not as tall as he is? Because that's the only difference I can see between us, well that and his ghostly appearance."

Snarling I sat back down on the bed in a crossed legged sitting position, my chin slanted upwards, "I love him," was all I said before turning my face away.

"Yes well, maybe one day you'll grow to love me too. Let's face reality here.

You're never getting out of here, Jade," José boasted, his face holding no real emotion.

Looking back at him I asked, while moving some of the excess chain from my right hand and placing it around my neck, "What's to stop me from killing myself?"

"I know you won't. If you so much as try to harm yourself, I will be forced to take it out on Cristiano," the Cartel boss retorted.

Scoffing, I said, "You'd harm your own son? Go ahead, he's a fucking traitor anyway! I'd kill him myself if you let me."

Chuckling softly José shook his head, "You've got it all wrong, my dear. My son didn't betray you, he betrayed me."

Jerking my head, I felt my frown deepening, "What? That doesn't make any sense."

Using his left hand, he ran his fingers over his moustache, "Same thing I said, but it seems you hold some sort of secret power and people cannot help but fall in love with you."

Narrowing my eyes at him again, I bit the inside of my cheek and remained silent, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"I had Cristiano enrol at your university to try and win you over. He always wanted me to be a part of his life, but he never wanted to be a part of my business. I had to threaten the safety of his mother and force him to do my bidding." José walked to the end of the bed.

My curiousity got the better of me and I found myself listening more intently.

Leaning against the post, he went on to say, "Since Rosita was already a student at the university from the year before and she had already wedged her way into your circle, the plan was to get the both of them to be as close friends with you as possible. So that in the end, when the time was right, I could use that relationship to my advantage. Unfortunately, unlike your best friend Blaire, you never liked Rosita, so I tried to focus more on Cristiano, hoping that he would have better luck. You could only imagine my surprise

when you two began dating."

At the mention of my deceased best friend, my fingers gripped at the smooth sheets.

José smiled as he noticed that he had my full attention, "Within the first month of dating you, my son told me he wouldn't help me anymore if it meant jeopardising your safety. Unknowing to me at the time, his mother was diagnosed with a terminal cancer, so when I threatened to kill her, he told me to go ahead."

In that moment, I could not help but interrupt and ask. "Wait! So those people I met, they aren't his parents? Why didn't you just kidnap me when I went over to his house?"

Exhaling softly, he replied, "First of all, you were never alone, you always had Calvetti's men around. Grabbing you would've been too risky, and no, those people you met aren't his parents, they work for me."

"So why not just kill your son then? Why did he keep living with those people? None of this makes any sense!" I said, my voice raising as my irritation grew.

"Isn't it obvious? I threatened to kill you if he blew his cover." José made a tsking sound as he went on to say, "As for killing him, how could I? Cristiano is my only son, one who I didn't even know existed until a few

years ago. Since the good Lord saw it fit to grace me with over ten daughters, imagine how elated I was when I found out that I had a son.

It meant that I could finally pass along my legacy." Scowling I suggested, "You know, you could have just let one of your daughters take over. Women can hold places of esteem in the mafia world."

"You and I both know that it's not the same!" José argued, before he added,

"Anyway, Cristiano tried moving to a different state. He thought that by dropping out of university and disappearing, my surveillance on you would lessen. It was a good plan, but not very well thought out, as he soon realised that I would continue to keep my eye on the both you. He had been sneaky

enough to come back to Aelbank City to attend your 21st birthday party. That risky move almost resulted in him getting caught by me. Which is why he hadn't been in contact with you or anyone else since then, he was trying to protect you."

Biting my bottom lip, I realised now that Cristiano had distanced himself to try and find a way to keep me safe from his father. Before I could give the notion any more thought, the Cartel boss' voice interrupted me.

"I know, surprising isn't it? Imagine how I felt to be betrayed by my own flesh and blood," José sneered down at me.

"Why not just threaten to kill me then, to force him to return," I asked.

"Cristiano isn't stupid. He knows that you are worth more alive than dead.

He kept managing to slip past my men anytime we got close to him. I was surprised when he went to meet with some of my rivals, planning to have me killed," his voice holding a bit of pride.

"You almost sound happy by that," I commented.

"Of course I was! It takes a certain kind of person to take the life of another.

Cristiano was never a killer, but to protect you he would do anything." José smiled confidently then added, "I must thank you for making a man out of my son."

Scrunching my face in slight confusion, I said, "But we never slept together."

I watched as his smile faltered, my admission clearly shocking him. It would seem that the Cartel boss was convinced we had been intimate while we were dating. From the way his lips curled into a smirk, I could tell that my revelation had greatly pleased him.

José kept his eyes locked with mine as he said, "Perhaps not in that way, but you did make him a killer."

Closing my eyes briefly, I realised that the man was right. My hands then tightened into fists on my lap as I remembered the two men Cristiano had shot dead back in the diner.

Seeing me struggle with my emotions, José confessed, "Don't look so upset, my dear. Having you at my side will prove useful in so many ways. I can use the love you two have for each other to keep you both in line."

"You do realise you won't get away with this for long, right?" I countered as I stared boldly back at him.

"Perhaps not, but I intend to take advantage of the situation nonetheless," José said, while leaning away from the bedpost, "I'll send some maids in so that you can change and freshen up before dinner. Now remember, you must behave. If not, I'll have no choice but to take my anger out on Cristiano."

I huffed as I watched the Cartel boss leave the room.

If he thought that I would just roll over without a fight, he had another thing coming. One way or the other, I would get out of here. Especially since I did not have my medication with me, José would be in for a big surprise in a few days when the inner Jade decided to rear her head.

Given the situation I currently found myself in, it was clear that being somewhat wild and unhinged would not be a bad idea.

After all, I would need to do something insanely crazy if I were to ever get out of here alive.