Beast, page 1
Synopsis
He's hard... cold and cruel in a world of the same. He has no tolerance for annoyances and is the first to eliminate any that arise. His scars line the depth of his soul, and memories keep him living in the past.
She’s not prepared to go head-to-head with anger and hatred, but that’s all he knows. Will he tear her heart to shreds or will she find a way into his?
BEAST
Copyright © 2021 Hilary Storm
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under U.S Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.hilarystormwrites.com
Cover Model: Joe Adams
Photographer: Furious Fotog
Cover Design: Tall Story
Editor: Kellie Montgomery
Chapter One
Beast
Insomnia is a bitch. Looks like it’s another sleepless night for me.
I pull up on the bar again, no longer counting how many I can do. That’s an irrelevant piece of information that no one gives a fuck about anyway. Plus… counting is just a way to keep your mind off of what’s really going on. I need to stay focused on what’s important. Work and the Club.
That should be it. That should be my only focus… but the past seems to creep its way in all the damn time. Tonight, memories flash faster than usual, adding to my personal hell and sending me into a deeper rage than I’ve felt in a long time. I’m not sure what has me this restless, but I’m anxious as fuck.
I grunt even louder as my muscles begin to burn from the strain and I teeter on failure from exhaustion. It’s another twenty or so before my hands slip and I collapse to the floor, my knee giving out when my feet hit the mat. I catch myself just in time to kneel in front of the mirror that Lou insisted we hang. ‘Every gym needs a mirror so you can perfect your form.’ I’ve wanted to shatter it with a punch many times, but never more than tonight.
The scars on my face don’t help me forget the past. I relive so much every time I catch even the smallest glimpse of my own reflection. Regret punches me in the gut every single fucking time.
Guilt is the quickest way to insanity. It’ll eat you alive long after you’ve done what’s warranted the regret. Long after you’ve fucked up and ruined lives around you. Long after you’ve wished like hell you could die yourself because it seems easier than living through the agony you’ve created. Long after the world has moved on as if what you did wasn’t important enough to pause for.
I bow my head before standing, not wanting to look in the mirror any longer than I already have.
“Sir… we have a problem. There’s a female walking around the grounds, trying to get inside the mansion.” Lou is barely through the door before he’s holding a phone in my direction with video proof.
“Who is she?” I rip the phone out of his hand and watch the screen, frozen in confusion. Who is this girl? And what does she want? I don’t have the patience for this shit.
I’m already irritated for being interrupted in the middle of the night, let alone the fact that someone has found my house. Now add to that, some idiot has the nerve to try and break into my fucking house.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen her before.”
I keep watching her, switching to a new camera each time she moves to another door. When I freeze the video to zoom in, this girl has a familiar smile that sends a shock to my core. “Are all the doors locked?”
“Of course, Boss.” Lou is always so proper, everything in its place and always on time. It was a dumb question to ask.
I swipe my fingers on the screen once again to bring the focus on her face. She’s wearing a hoodie, so I can’t make out the color of her hair. Her face isn’t exactly easy to see either with the way she keeps her head tilted down. I move the screen down her body to see if there’s anything else that stands out, scrolling past a few curves along the way. “Hell, I can’t even guess how old this girl might be. Literally the only thing I feel halfway confident about is that this is a female.” And she has a smile that I need to see closer.
“I agree. Anything more would be speculation from what I’ve witnessed.”
My mind runs wild with all the possibilities as I continue to watch her determination to find a way into the house. “She really wants in.”
“It seems so, sir.”
I begin to pace. My curiosity won’t allow me to let her give up and disappear without first knowing who she is and what she wants. “Who are you… and what are you doing here?” I talk to the screen as if the girl could hear me and would answer if she did. “Is everyone else gone?” I have a staff of six that sometimes stay here, along with Lou and Chip, who live here, and their safety is priority above any intrigue I may feel for a stranger.
“There are two here tonight, Boss.” My eyes are still glued to her every move, now watching the live feed. A quick flip through the saved footage shows me exactly where she walked onto the grounds and which doors she’s already attempted. She has two more before she’s made her way through all of them on the bottom floor.
“Lou, go unlock the door to the foyer and then lock yourself inside the staff’s wing. Stay there to make sure they all stay quiet and locked in.”
“Boss. What if she…” I knew he’d resist my request and I also know I’ll need to be stern for him to follow through with that I’m about to say. His loyalty is to me and to him this is a breach of my safety, but I need him to take care of the staff and make sure no one is blind-sided. I can’t think of the last time we’ve had a visitor, so I can only imagine how they’d react if they bumped into some random chick in a hoodie if they get up to take a piss.
“I can handle her. Do as I say.” I give him his phone back and rush out of the gym on a mission to grab a shirt from my room. Luckily, it’s just down the hall, but still on the second floor, just above where little-miss-mischievous is.
That smile sent me back a few years and even though I know there’s no possible way it’s who I want it to be, I have to know who has the audacity to try to break into my house. She obviously has no idea of the level of security we have here for the club.
The scenario of capturing her runs through my mind and I quickly come up with a plan of how to restrain her and where to put her once I’ve caught her.
Handcuffs and rope are always an easy go-to, but I’m not naïve. I make sure my knife and gun are both strapped in place just in case I need to prove to her just how serious I am.
I’m hoping she’s going to be smart enough not to piss me off even further by fighting me once I capture her, but my guess is she’ll be as rebellious as they come and test my last fucking nerve. I guess I’ll find out when I come face to face with her here in about two minutes.
Even though it seems as if I have control over this girl tonight, the exact opposite is actually true. How she reacts to seeing me and whether she spills her true intentions at my feet will decide how this night will go. She controls her own fate, but it won’t be easy for her. Some say I should come with a warning, because my resting face is fierce. Even though I’m not always a cold-hearted asshole, I look like I am. But I’ve always experienced that if they get past the rage on my face, the scars are always warning enough.
The feed continues to play as she tip-toes to the final door that she’ll have to try. The one she will open only because I want her to. “Come here, kitty kitty.” My deep whisper is eerie even to me, and although I’m trying to ignore the psychotic beat of my heart, I can’t help but smile at the awakened feeling of knowing I’m about to experience the thrill of a chase without even leaving my house.
Chapter Two
IsaBelle
“Come on. Please be unlocked.” My hurried whisper echoes off the metal door just before I finally find an entrance into the same gloomy-ass mansion that has filled my nightmares for years. While it didn’t start off being the detailed vision that I’m standing in front of today, it took a lot of research to simply find it.
A few hiking adventures over the years along with hours of just sitting nearby and staring at the giant place, I’ve now burned into memory every detail of it from the outside. It’s the inside that remains a blur of imagination and in all true reality, I’ve feared the day I’d have the courage to see it for myself. Deep down I always knew it would come to this… but I needed time to process everything and decide if the consequences of getting caught would be worth the risk of possibly getting what I want.
My legs are absolutely killing me. I’ve been at this for hours, if you count my trek uphill and through the trees, not to mention all the time it has taken me to try my luck at all of the other doors and windows that I could reach from the ground level. The next plan was going to be climbing my clumsy ass to the second floor and hope for a different outcome… so this door being open is a huge win for me.
In all the other times I’ve been here, I’ve seen countless men come and go, each of them driving a different souped-up truck with dark windows or a motorcycle. From what I can tell at least three of them live here, but it’s hard to tell if it’s the same three each night.
& nbsp; It appears most of them left tonight, so I’m going to take my chances and see if I can find some information. If I hadn’t seen a few of them walking to the building that’s off to the side to get in their vehicles, I would’ve assumed they might still be inside. Even though I never really know when it comes to him. Although last week, I actually laid eyes on the very man I’ve been looking for all these years.
I was afraid he had taken off a long time ago, but it appears as though he didn’t have to go on the run to hide from his past. He just went deep into the trees and created his own hiding place where he could live a secret life off the grid.
I have to give him credit for building a place near the coast, buried in the trees. I bet he thought no one would ever find it. “Not careful enough, fucker.” I allow one last mutter, knowing I’ll soon be silent until I find what I came here for. Get in and get out. Find something and go. Answers. I need answers… and they are here. I can feel it.
I don’t push on the door until I’m sure the latch will clear without making a sound; even then, I’m barely breathing while I shut the door behind me. I’ve turned around to make sure no one has seen me enter before I truly exhale. With my back plastered to the door, I take in my surroundings.
My eyes are first drawn to the staircase; the wide steps cast in darkness and intricate detail are hardly inviting from this angle. The view is somewhere between breath-taking and terrifying as I follow the railing up the stairway, allowing my mind to take in every feature. I quickly realize I’m already overwhelmed and there’s no possible way I can remember half of what I’m seeing, so I pull my phone out and begin recording. It’ll be a dark video, but at least I’ll be able to watch it later when my mind and heart aren’t racing like crazy.
I hold out my phone and work to capture every possible image that may help me figure some things out or if nothing else, I’ll have a map to go by if I have to come back another day.
I allow my fingers to trace the detail in the railing, noting each ornate carving as I begin my path upwards. I move the camera up the stairs and then to the ceiling, before zooming in to get a closer look. Even in darkness I can make out how beautiful everything is, and I can’t help but crave seeing it in the light of day.
Only one light is on halfway up the stairs, casting shadows from the carvings onto the walls. There’s a couple of times I swear there’s a monster lurking against one of the side walls, so I frantically turn my phone to record only to realize it’s just a shadow and I’m a giant chicken with more guts than brains for even being here.
Candles sit unlit in candelabras, which both hang from the giant ceiling and extend from the railings on all both sides, none of them on. Windows are fully hidden behind drapes, preventing even the moonlight from entering. “Everything is so elaborate.” My voice echoes through the foyer before I get a chance to stop it. I slap a hand over my own mouth and take another step.
It’s about twenty steps before I stop on a platform level to the staircase and take in more gorgeous carvings, statues with so much detail and beauty that I’m struck in awe instead of focused on what I came here to do. Spinning around slowly, I make sure to record everything, all the while appreciating it myself.
Only a few more steps separate me from two oversized doors if I keep going in this direction, but there are two identical sets of stairs leading off both to the right and the left that grab my attention. Each path leads to the same style of doors, only the other two are at a higher level. Everything is perfectly mirrored and set up so that if you look from the front door, you could cut the room in half, each side a reflection of the other.
I have three choices… continue past the same elaborate theme of carvings up the stairs right in front of me to try those doors or take my chances on the third floor by going up a few more steps to the left or choice number three… I could go right. The light shines on the closest door while the others are both cast in darkness. Light makes it an easy choice.
My hands are sweaty by the time I reach for the handle and my nerves are all over the place. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m here to find answers and no matter how bad I just want to run right back out the door I just came through… I can’t. I have to hold onto the hope that the door I’m reaching for holds the answers I’m here to find.
Another deep breath before I turn the knob and with either luck - or maybe it’s a curse - it opens.
The room is pitch black apart from the light coming through behind me, but I can make out a few pieces of furniture with ease. An outlandishly large table is centered in the room, surrounded by king chairs with tall backs. There were no expenses spared when building and furnishing this place.
I need to turn on the light, but I don’t dare do that without closing the door first. Turning the knob once again, I close it and a proud feeling washes over me when I flip the light switch and take in the view. An office sits in the back of the room while bookshelves line the walls from floor to ceiling. Hardbacks line the shelves and I’m imagining at first glance that they’re alphabetized by author and title with how organized and clean this room is.
The table draws my full attention first. Directly in the center of the table is another carving, this one more out of place than any of the others as it dons a crown perched skull flanked by roses that outline each cheekbone. Roman numerals ‘VII’ are set in the background. “Seven.” I reach forward and run a finger over a rose pedal in wonder. “What does this mean?”
A creaking sound at the back of the room startles me, drawing my attention to the over-sized chair behind the desk. It’s turned away from me and I didn’t consider the chance of someone being in here in the dark… but when the sound of the door locking behind me echoes through the room, I know I’ve made a grave mistake.
I rush to the door in retreat, only to find it locked just as I knew it would be. Each breath begins to come out as a hyperventilating gasp, no matter how much I try to calm down. I knew there was a possibility of someone being inside the house, but I thought I’d be able to be sneaky and avoid getting caught. After all, I’m short and can easily hide in tiny places, but that doesn’t help when my idiot ass turns on lights and loses track of the goal while drooling all over the house.
Bravery escapes me as I try desperately to get the door to open. Even yanking on the doorknob like a lunatic isn’t working and I swear I can hear someone breathing behind me.
In a fit of frantic craze, I turn to the left and run along the wall, looking for another way out only to realize I’m completely fucked. Those bookshelves… there’s not a gap between them until the very back of the room and even then, the drapes are up high with bookshelves below, letting me know any window jumping is out of the question.
Everything begins to blur during my hysteria and no matter how logical my inner voice seems, I simply can’t calm the fuck down. It isn’t until I see the chair begin to spin that I slam to a stop and nearly scream at the side view of a man’s body coming into view. It’s truly torturous how deliberately slow he’s turning to face me… or is it just time slowing down right before my own passing?
He continues to creep around until his death stare locks with my own eyes. The power behind his expression goes straight through me, weighing me down and leaving me paralyzed from normal function. If I wanted to move… I couldn’t. It’s him. I’ve planned and imagined what I would say to him if ever given the chance, but today my words fail me.
He reaches for a box off to his right, pulling out a cigar and casually setting it between his lips all the while never taking his eyes from mine. I watch while he drags a match under the bottom side of the desk and then slowly rotates the cigar over the flame… drawing in without a single hurry. As if he doesn’t have an audience. As if he didn’t just find an intruder in his mansion. As if his prey isn’t caught in a cage waiting for its fate.
My breathing calms under his piercing gaze. Remember why you’re here. The terrified little girl who just ran around the room has been replaced with the brave and courageous one who entered these doors.
