Twin Tormentors By RARE

Chapter 62 VERNERO POV The night is dark and full of terrors! | understood that saying more than anyone could ever fathom. | knew it intimately and felt its meaning in and out. For | have lived it before. One tthrough my sad hateful life, | breathed in darkness and breathed out terror. | ate darkness and dumped out terror. Darkness broke every ounce of humanity in me, turned it into terror, and made sure it reined all over my body. It took everything fromuntil | was but the darkness that had swallowedwhole.

Lorik Cattanio, the man whom | once looked up to as a father, the one whom | had dreamed of him being my superhero, happened to be my worst nightmare. He was the darkness that took residence in me, snipping every little fiber of my being and replacing it all with maliciousness, remorselessness, the emotionless devil that feasted on the pain and screams o f those | had trampled upon.

For the very first tsince he turnedinto this, the sparkle of hope and light had shimmered deep inside me, deep within my rotten hardened core. | felt it sizzling daily and growing into bigger flames, lighting up my world and ridding the darkness. And that was all t o Leigh’s arrival in my life. She was my hope, she becthe reason why | wanted to see the light, why | wanted to be a better man.

Watching her take that bullet had utterly distinguished the little flame, letting darkness take full rein of my soul yet again. The sight of her blood had madelose myself in a way | never thought possible. Leigh-Ari Montreal was my angel, and without her, | was going straight to hell and there wouldn't be any redemption. And if that’s what it was, then fuck it! What would be the point of living in a world where she doesn’t exist? My mind drifted to her. | loved that girl. Heavens | loved that soul with every fiber of my cursed, evil, and unworthy of redemption being. | loved her so much | couldn’t imagine my days without having her in my arms. | needed her, she was the factor that controlled my heart, she owned me. This broken, shattered soul was all hers.

A tremor shot throughat the thought of her laying in a pool of her blood. She had to live. Goodness, she had to live! While | was busy maiming and dismembering the Judases here, Leigh-Ari was fighting for her life at the hospital. | didn’t even know which hospital she was taken to. | feared for her because | was afraid she might leave me. She might leave US. And if she did, there was no guarantee of what would happen to me. To my brother! My poor brother, the center of my life and my citadel.

When the first light of the morning chased away the darkness that covered the land, | called Ciello down and sof the guys to helptake the now incapacitated Raquel up. She was still alive, which was rather shocking. I hadn't expected that she would hold on this long, especially after drilling each limp off her body. But then she was so strong, I'd give her that.

It's a pity she had to betrayand hurt the only woman I'd burn the world for. If she hadn't done that, she was going to live her life like a queen. But again, she made her choice, didn’t she? “Just killalready! You can’t leavehanging here like a fuckin’ bat for everyone to see. How dare you humiliatein front of these cowards?” Lorik barked struggling down the chains, causing them to make a loud sound as they swung him around. The sight of him so bound and helpless was a frickin’ feast to my eyes. And they say the eyes are the windows to the soul, now just imagine how thrilled | was! So dang happy! “Not yet! You and | have a loooo00ooooot to talk about.” | called out dragging the chair next to his suspended body and placing it under him. | sat down and watched him, then busted out laughing when he glared atangrily. | couldn't believe this day had finally come. | was beginning to think there was never going to be a t| got to experience such a beguiling moment, “The mighty Lorik Cattanio. Who would have thought?” | asked with a huge grin on my face.

‘I regret not killing you. You should've died that...” “GIITTHTI!” I scrunched my nose, squinted my eyes, and raised my hand, fainting a small roar at him, and then laughed again.

“You know, it’s funny how you still think you are in control. | kind of admire your mind. | mean no one stays this delusional for so long. It's impeccable. Truly amazing. Like, look at you, screaming and yelling at me.” | said reclined back and watching as the air literally left his lungs. It was clear that he had never, even in his wildest dreams, ever thought that he would be the one on suspended chains, head upside down. | mean | didn’t go extra as he had done. with me, he placed a raging fire right beneath me. The pain from the heated chains had been so intense that | passed out.

“I am your father you dicktard. And | command you to getout of these chains.” He said in a calmer voice, but he still held that spite and | didn’t like it. It madeso sick | wanted to throw up the nothing in my stomach! “Oh no! That's where you got it wrong. | am not your son.” | said leaning closer to him, “You remember that tyou left him out in the biting cold, for three damn nights without food or anything to cover his body, that’s where you lost your son.” | corrected.

“Then who are you?” He asked with a serious face.

“I am the devil,” | said then got up from the seat and laughed.

Ciello and the rest of the guys entered at that moment in a long queue, “I brought you a new shirt, boss,” Ciello informed motioning to a small tee draped on his shoulder. | looked at my bloodied self and winced at the sight of the blood that had covered m y whole front. If Leigh was here, she was going to kill me, like literally, she was going to kill m e and burywith her own hands.

I nodded to Ciello and the guys pulled Raquel up, then followedout the dungeons. The walk into Dark Woods was silent, filled with the sound of our feet against the drying leaves. The mines had done a good number on the trees here, but despite the great destruction, one tree caught my eye.

It was lean, so sharp with no branches on the log. It was dry, nicely perched for what cnext! | pointed it and the guys bunched Raquel on it, tying her with the ropes that had taken a good soak in the gasoline, then dried up to absorb the gasoline into its fibers.

Ciello hurriedly tore the sulfur pack open and covered Raquel all over, leaving her eyes out so that she could watch. | squatted in front of her and intensely looked at her. | felt for her. She had explained why she had done that! And I truly felt for her. It's a pity her love was the cause of her doom.

*#1...am... s-sorry.” She whispered with her head hanging between her shoulders. | squinted m y eyes and then nodded.

‘I am too!” I truly was, but not for what I did. | was sorry that she fell in love with the wrong person. And what had gotten towas that Lorik didn’t even say anything to her, didn’t console her while she was going through the torture. Lorik was a heartless monster, Raquel deserved better. Maybe in her next life, she won't stumble upon a creature like Lorik. 1 | got up and took a matchbox from one of my guys, lit it, and then tossed the burning matchstick on the lime- yellowish powder. The powder welcomed the fland quickly roared, spreading so fast and licking every inch of her body. Her lungs tore open as the ear shattering scream erupted from the inside, filling the early morning sky with her pained cry. The scent of the burned fleshed polluted the air, making it so unbearable to the hearts of the innocent. | was not innocent, and that word didn’t exist in my world. And to prove that, her cry soothed me, calmedin a way | couldn't tell.

| turned my back and started to walk away, leaving the fire to take care of the one who had gone against me. | went straight to the west wing and got into Leigh's room, the sight of her blood marring the whole place leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. There were glasses all over, the whole place was a battlefield. It looks like she went down fighting, and a good sense of relief tugged at my heart, makingsmile. She was my tigress, and | knew she was still fighting even now. She wouldn't just leave us. She loved us, she said that. Through that haze o f seeing her covered in blood, | heard her when she told us she loved us. And she wouldn't dare die. If she did, | would resurrect her, kiss her and hold her, then kill her yet again. And then do that for at least a hundred times until she runs out of life.

| picked up her favorite necklace and placed it on her bed, then went into the bathroom where I stood under the shower heads and let the water wash away the dried blood of my body. Once | was through, I climbed in my car and left for the hospital, thanks to Ciello for getting the information beforehand. | needed to see her. | needed to be with my brother. My head felt like it was going to explode from so much bottled in vendetta. It was a dang ruckusi n my mind and | knew only my brother could keep it down.

Upon arriving, | was escorted up to the fourth floor into the recovering room. The scent of antiseptics, the nauseating bitterness in the air, and the lingering smell of fragrances made m y stomach churn painfully. The metal scent of blood was also heady and | tried to figure out whether it was because | had bathed in blood for the whole night, or because | was in a damn hospital where there's blood all over. The little nurses in scrubs and doctors made my mind drift to Leigh. | so wanted to see how she looked when she saved a life. | needed to watch her.

The elevator dinged open and | took a step out. The nurse walked on hurried steps in front ofand my heart dropped with every footstep | took towards the room where she was kept. W e stopped in front of a door written VIP and she bowed before turning back and leaving. | stood outside for a good minute before pushing the door open.

The first thing | was a huge ass bed with Leigh laying there with her eyes closed. My heart skipped a beat or two as | saw her beautiful face. Even when laying on death bed, Leigh-Ari managed to be the most beautiful woman in the world and that was really unfair. There were at least a million tubes that were connected to her body and then stretched to the machines that were making the most annoying beeping sounds ever. | took a step a little further and closed the door behind me.

A loud thud sounded from somewhere on the couches, | quickly whisked my gun and jumped to find Enzo groaning. | didn’t know whether | should laugh or help him up. He got up, very slowly and so unsteady, and straightened up. His eyes landed onand he cstraight toand pulledin a long hug. | let him share my burden, let him calm the storm inside me. We stayed locked for a long minute, with him just holding me, andbeing weak in his arms. “She did it. Our woman survived.”