Chapter 31 PSYCHO CALLED A 'BROTHER'
Erica’s POV
I gently turned the steering wheel along the narrow bent road, my mind still tracing far away. Since others were involved in doing this to me(Celina)… I would hunt back.
My eyes widened in horror when I saw a figure standing in the middle of the road. I slammed the brakes hard. The car finally screeched to a stop.
A little girl stood there, bloodied body, trembling, and a low, eerie smile tugging at her lips. I stepped out of the car and approached her slowly.
“Help me,” she whispered.
I wanted to walk away, but the blood… and that look in her eyes, I needed to know what happened.
“Knife,” I said, stretching my hand out.
She hesitated. “Can I trust you? You’re not one of them, right? If you take me back, I’ll die. Please don’t take me back,” she begged, her lashes trembling.
“I won’t take you back. And I’m not one of them. Now—the knife,” I repeated, sharper.
The girl studied me for a second, then placed the cold blade into my hand.
If I threw the knife here, she’d be framed instantly. With all that blood covering her, the police would call her a murderer. She looked traumatized.
“Let’s go,” I said, and she held my hand tightly as we walked to the car.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
She nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. I tossed my jacket onto her.
“Cover yourself.”
My eyes narrowed the moment a group of men approached the car....arms and necks covered in tattoos, knives and guns in hand.
Where the hell did this little teenage girl come from?
“Get down. Cover yourself properly,” I whispered. She obeyed, too calmly for someone her age. Her skin carried deep welts, old scars and fresh marks. It made my blood boil.
“So animals disguised as humans still exist,” I muttered darkly.
Thud. Thud.
One of the men knocked on my car window. I turned to him, my eyes darkening.
“What?” I asked, rolling the glass down slowly.
He laughed. He was irritated by my tone, but I wasn’t about to soften it.
“Did you see a girl run here?” he asked.
I laughed. “Should I have? I didn’t.”
He cackled and glanced around the car.
“I have things to do. Could you back off?” I said coldly.
He licked his lips and reached for my shirt. I slapped his hand away.
“Where are your manners? Don’t you know it’s bad to harass a lady?”
“That’s what makes it sweet,” he snarled. “You can’t fight back.”
The next second, the passenger door opened. Rough hands dragged me out.
“Let me go!” I yelled.
The men stared down at me, licking their lips, smiling like idiots. It pissed me off.
I watched the man searching the car. Thankfully, Ruby didn’t move.
“Do you know who I am?” I yelled.
The two men only laughed. One even slapped my butt.
My eyes darkened. Animals, I snapped.
I wasn’t a fighter, but I learned enough taekwondo to defend myself.
I twisted his arm, he screamed. My hand shot to his neck, striking him. He stumbled back, choking.
The second guy rushed angrily and slapped me hard across the face.
I hit the ground, my lips stinging with the taste of blood. Since I wore Erica’s face, no one had ever laid a hand on me. But he did.
And that annoyed me.
I glared at him.
“What are you looking at?” he spat, reaching for my hair—But my forehead collided with his nose instead.
He staggered, blood pouring. I grinned at him with bloody teeth.
Furious, he pulled out his gun.
“Die, bitch!”
I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.
Well… looks like I was going to meet Jolie and Emily sooner than planned.
But even after I heard three gunshots, I felt no pain.
I opened my eyes.
The two men lay dead in pools of their own blood.
“That was quite a show. Didn’t know you could fight,” Aaron’s voice echoed.
I exhaled in relief and faced him.
“I like hurting people. Learning taekwondo was a good way to do that,” I said with a smile.
“Hmm. Psychopath,” he muttered, I laughed.
“You’re more of a psychopath than I am.”
The car door opened, and the little girl stepped out.
“Miss, are you okay?” she asked.
Damn, she didn’t see that, did she?
I rushed to her, covering her eyes with my hands.
Aaron stared. “Hmm, I thought your heart was made of stone. Didn’t know you cared about anyone but yourself.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You shouldn’t see things like this,” I whispered to Ruby.
She murmured, “I’m Ruby… But I’ve already seen a lot of dead bodies and murders. What’s there left to fear?”
My eyes darkened as I removed my hands.
“You’ve seen what?”
“They traffic children… and I’m one of them. My friend....she’s dead. Oh, and I’m sixteen.”
Sixteen? She didn’t even look thirteen. Probably malnourished and broken.
I turned to Aaron. “Are you coming with me?”
“Hmm,” he said, stepping inside.
“Let’s go.”
I froze, thinking about the bodies on the road. If the police found them....
“Don’t worry,” Aaron said. “The cleaners will take care of it.”
How did he know what I was thinking?
I got in the car and drove off.
DELUCA’S VILLA
Ruby attacked her chicken like a starving wolf. Good, she needed the strength.
She’d bathed and changed into my comfy clothes, though her complexion still looked drained.
“How long were you there? Where’s the site you were kept? Tell me everything about the trafficking.”
She paused, staring at me… then her eyes drifted over my shoulder.
I turned and saw Aaron staring at his beloved gun.
“Can you take that away? You’re scaring the girl,” I said sharply.
“Is that a command?” he asked, smirking.
My eyes darkened.
“Sure, my lord. As you wish,” he mocked, stepping back, my lips twitched
I turned to Ruby. “He won’t hurt you. He’s one of the good guys. Like the animated movie ‘Bad Guys.’”
“I haven’t watched that. But…” Her eyes drifted to Aaron again. “He’s handsome. Is he your boyfriend or fiancé?”
I smiled, before I could answer, Aaron cut in.
“She’s not my type.”
“Shut it,” I snapped.
He grinned wider. “Oh? Do you have a crush on me?”
I laughed.
“You? Who would have a crush on you? I’d rather marry the dead.”
But Gosh… that was also the moment I realized Aaron was actually…handsome.
Chiseled face, sharp nose, those lips… and those icy blue eyes.
“Enemies to lovers,” Ruby blurted.
My thoughts snapped.
“You read novels? What the hell is enemies to lovers?” I snapped. Ruby flinched.
I sighed. “Sorry. Don’t mind my anger.”
She nodded.
“My mum sold me there,” she whispered. “I’ve been there fifteen days. It’s hell. Hell on earth. We do labour… and when someone gets sick, they kill them like they’re nothing. My friend Dannie… she was killed in front of me today. She wanted to escape through death.”
Ruby dropped the chicken and grabbed my hands.
“Please help the kids there. Save them.”
Her eyes...gosh, they reminded me of how helpless I once was.
“I believe in karma and justice. I will help you,” I said softly.
“But… I killed someone,” she whispered.
“I was angry. He tried to rape me. He used to rape Dannie. I wanted to avenge her. I don’t want to go to prison. I did it to protect myself,” she cried.
Aaron sighed. “So that bastard brother of mine still won’t back down.”
I froze.
“What do you mean?”
“Kalton,” Aaron growled. “I’m a hundred percent sure he’s behind this.”
“Why?” I asked.
Aaron grinned.....dark, twisted.
“Because he’s obsessed with making me mad. And this?” He gestured around.
“This is exactly his style."