The Tattoo Artist (La Petite Mort #1)

20. Chapter 20

twenty

Alexander

Q uinn had fallen asleep, her head laid on my chest, and her arms wrapped around my torso. It had been two hours, and I did not want to move; I was afraid to wake her up. I stared up at the ceiling, remembering my conversation with Mr. Moua.

"Please, Alexander, don't—she's a good girl. She's innocent." I ripped my arm from his hold. He was lucky Quinn was there because otherwise, I would have killed him at that moment. I scoffed.

"Don't what, Mr.Moua?" I sneered.

"You don't think I know that. Huh?" I continued, hoping he had the balls to tell me exactly what he thought. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Alexander. She's innocent, too pure for a devil like yourself," he challenged.

"You're right–" I smirked.

"She's my good girl," I bragged, and at that moment, I saw the anger in his eyes. I had to give it to the old man because his balls were definitely made of steel. He looked right into my gaze, determined to defend her. And that reason alone saved him from my wrath.

My phone rang with an incoming text message, and my hand reached over to the drawer to grab it.

Aristotle: OFFICE NOW!

I groaned. I gently removed her arm from around my torso and slid myself out from under her.She stirred a little and whispered my name. "Alexander," her eyes opened slightly. I lifted the covers over her and tucked her in. She snuggled against them. "Shhh, I'll be right back. Sleep, baby," I whispered, watching her close her eyes once more.

I walked out of the room and headed towards the office. I didn't knock, opening the door a bit too harshly to alert them of my presence. They raised their heads, their jaws clenched. "Where are the others?"

"Basement," Aristotle disclosed.

I made my way towards the elevator when the door opened, revealing Nikolai and Alexei. They were here to see my fight against Pavel. I stepped inside, and not even a second later, my brothers entered.The elevator pinged, and the tension between these four walls was palpable.I exited the elevator, ready to end the men who dared lay a finger on her. I walked down the dark corridor that leads to the torture room where I do most of my torture.

"Boss," both men said as one of them opened the steel doors for us to enter. The room was made of pure concrete blocks. There was a table in the center of the room where I had all my favorite toys I love to use on them—on display. I smirked wickedly, listening to his muffled moans. I had him chained to the wall in front of me. I stalked towards him, watching his eyes beg for mercy.

I scoffed. Quinn begged for mercy, and yet he touched her.

Touched what was mine.

Rolling my sleeves up to my elbows, I let the fun begin. I pulled down the gag we had on him, tired of hearing his muffled moans and whimpers. "Tell me something?" I walked over to the table, grabbing the Tactical Rambo. The blade was sharp and stainless as I could see my reflection, and my twisted grin grew bigger. I turned around slowly, hoping his eyes followed my every move, and he did just that. His eyes widened as he made contact with my hunting knife. I walked over to him, closing in on my prey; standing before him, I brought the blade right in front of him, placing the tip right below the jugular vein. I could end his miserable life with just one move, depriving him of the blood his brain and heart so desperately needed.

I watched the fear he had as I put more pressure without slicing into his vein. But he wasn't so lucky tonight. I wanted him to suffer, to beg me to stop, or better yet, I wanted him to beg me to end him.I removed the blade and went straight towards the side where his hands were chained, grabbing his right hand. It was the same hand he used to touch my Princess. I grabbed his index finger first and sliced it.

I laughed wickedly, watching it fall towards the concrete floor, and the blood gushed out. His screams of agony filled the concrete bunker.

It was useless since no one could hear him.

I repeated the same action with each of his remaining four fingers.I signaled Sebastian to bring over the torch so that I could cauterize his wound. The smell of burnt flesh could be smelled inside these four walls. His screams could be heard when I started burning the flesh, but not even thirty seconds later, the poor fucker lost consciousness.I used this time to unchain him with the help of my brother Sebastian; we got him tied to the chair that we placed in the middle of the room where the lamp hung.

Once tied, I ordered one of the guards to bring over ice-cold water to wake him up. Once he gained back consciousness with the water, I would continue the torture. I took one of the buckets and threw the ice-cold water jolting him awake. And he immediately started to beg.

"Please. Please, Alexander—-" his lips tremble, stuttering over his words. "I—I didn't know she was yours. Please," he cried, begging as he struggled against the chair.

Fucking liar.

I laughed humorlessly. "Now, now, don't feed me that bullshit," I snarled.I didn't have time for this bullshit. I wanted him to suffer, but I was dying to get back to Quinn. I cracked my neck, getting rid of some of the tension.I got the flat-blade screwdriver and the hammer, feeling adrenaline and excitement course through my body.

I looked up and made eye contact with the men in the room, giving them a sadistic smirk before I started my torture. I placed the flat-blade screwdriver underneath his nail bed and banged the hammer against the screwdriver's handle, ripping his nails from his fingers one by one. Well, the remaining fingers, that was.

His screams of agony and pain filled the room, and before he could lose consciousness once again, Alexei injected him with a shot of adrenaline. To shock his body.Alexei laughed wickedly, enjoying it. If you thought I was crazy, this motherfucker was the craziest bastard the Russian mafia had besides his brother Nikolai.

His body jumped from the adrenaline that was injected, shocking his body instantly. He was alert but groaning in pain. I tortured his body for another hour; his head hung low, and his eyes were bloodshot, his face covered in bruises and my markings.

"Please," he begged, almost too low for anyone to hear.I smiled coldly.

"Do you love death so much you want to experience it?" I mocked him before I made my way behind him.Grabbing a good chunk of his hair, I tugged his head back hard, and he groaned. His blood dripped with the movement.

His eyes begged me to end this.

I leaned down, ensuring my lips were close enough to his remaining ear, and whispered, "Aγαπ?τε τ?σο πολ? τον θ?νατο που θ?λετε να τον ζ?σει??" I paused, waiting for him to process every word I spoke—and the realization hit him. ( "Do you love death so much that you want to live it?")

"O θ?νατ?? σου," I mocked him. (" Your death. ")

Standing up to my full height, I sliced his jugular vein and watched him use the energy he had left to bring his remaining hand up towards his neck to stop the bleeding, but failing as he choked on his own blood. Blood squirted everywhere. I let go of his hair and his head as I watched life disappear from his eyes. I cleaned some of the blood I had on his trousers.

I looked towards my brother Aristotle, giving him a smirk as he rolled his eyes. "Την θ?λω προστατευμ?νη," I informed my two brothers. "I want her protected," I added in English since Nikolai and Alexei were still here. The Volkovs give me their word as well. But what I saw in my older brother's eyes let me know this conversation wasn't over. My clean-up crew arrived a few minutes later as we all made our way back to the elevator and inside the penthouse.

After a quick shower to get rid of the blood, I headed over to check on Quinn before meeting my brothers and the Volkovs to discuss my upcoming fight. If it were up to me, I would just kill him, but that would cause bigger issues for everyone.

I opened the door and saw Quinn was still sleeping peacefully. Feeling a lot calmer now that I saw her sleeping in my bed. I stared at her for a few more minutes before shutting the door and making my way downstairs. I entered the dining room, where my brother Aristotle sat at the head of the table. Nikolai was sitting on my brother's right side, and Alexei was beside him. I took my seat on my brother's left side as the underboss, and my brother Sebastian was next to me.

The housekeeper, who had been with the family for decades, entered with a tray full of glass cups, a pitcher of ice, and a bottle of our favorite whiskey and a vodka bottle for the Russians. An hour later, we finished discussing the fight set to take place in three days and the upcoming meeting with theYakuza. The Yakuza weren't part of the mafia world since they were more of a gang, but they were still powerful enough to warrant attention and seek an alliance.

The Volkovs said their goodbyes, and Helena walked them out, leaving me alone with my brothers. I picked up my glass and twirled the ice around, not looking forward to what would come next.

“Θ?λετε να την προστατε?σετε?” Aristotle questioned. ( "Do you want her protected? ") I took a sip of my drink. I didn't need to answer him because he knew damn well that the answer was yes.

Always.

The plan wasn't to protect her. I was supposed to forget about her, but how do you forget the woman who brought light to your darkness? The woman who owned your heart and every single fucking beat. The moment I saw her, everything changed. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with her or anybody. My life didn't allow me the luxury to do that, but goddamn it, I did.

When I looked into those innocent eyes of hers, I felt so much love for her. She was the only person who could get the king of the underworld on his knees. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I wasn't like Sebastian, but I had my fair share of women.

She saw the world in a different light than I did. She had changed my world from pitch-black darkness to the perfect gray color.

Her presence.

Her touch.

Her smile.

Everything about her shocked my skin, sending tingles throughout my body. She gave me a purpose worth living for. This was different. This was forever.

Always.

"You were supposed to leave her alone, Alexander. Forget about her. Forget she even existed," Aristotle interrupted, bringing me back to reality. I took a sip of my drink, and I could feel my brothers' stares digging into me. I looked towards my older brother, giving him a hard stare.

"FUCK ALEXANDER," he growled.

"You know damn well why you couldn't get close to her," he added, his temperament rising. It was too late; what was done was done, and there was no going back.

"YOU DON'T THINK I FUCKING KNOW," I yelled, throwing the glass of whiskey against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

"I know," I repeated.

"So, why the fuck is she here? Why are you doing this to her, Xander?" Sebastian murmured.Of course, he would be the one to say it. My brother might fuck everything with a pussy, but deep down, he was a romantic at heart. Helena entered the room looking a bit frightened, but her eyes immediately went towards the broken glass and spilled whiskey. She left the room only to return with a broom and a rag.For fucks sake, did she not see now was not the damn time to clean up.

"Get out Helena," I warned, she nodded her head and exited the room.

"She's mine," I declared.

Aristotle scoffed. "And how the fuck do you expect this to play out?" He questioned, but before I could answer, he continued his interrogation.

"You what, huh? Make her fall in love with you again, and then what?" I closed the gap between us and looked him dead in the fucking eyes giving him a dangerous smirk.

"Then she's mine forever," I challenged.

Aristotle said nothing, and I could see he was holding control. He might be the boss, and I knew he was taking this as disrespect, but I was his brother, and this wasn't mafia business. His patience and kindness were diminishing. He backed away and looked between me and Sebastian. "Then, if she's under your protection, she's under all of ours," Aristotle announced.

"I want everyone to know she's under Hades' protection and that she's fucking mine," I demanded.Both my brothers acknowledged my demand, and I knew they would make sure our men and every single fucking person in this city knew she was mine.

"The Volkovs will make sure everyone in the States knows she's yours. That includes their protection," Aristotle told us. I gave my brothers a chin-up and nodded my appreciation.

I headed towards the door, ready to head upstairs, when Aristotle called out my name. "Xander," he called, and I turned my head to look at him. "If you ever get in my face again, I'll wipe that fucking smirk off your face," he warned. I couldn't help but laugh because I knew it was too good to be true.

A few minutes later, I entered my room and closed the door behind me. I undressed myself and slipped on a pair of gray sweatpants. Once I was done brushing my teeth and cleaning up my bruised knuckles, I lifted the covers and slid under.She turned in her sleep, and her hands were immediately wrapped around my waist. She stirred but didn't open her eyes, "Alex," she paused, yawning. "Is that you?"

I kissed her head before whispering, "It's me, Princess. I'm here." She smiled at me and moved closer to me. Resting her head on my chest, I felt her leg rise onto my stomach, accidentally grazing my cock. I hissed.

She tightened her grip around me as if she was afraid to let me go.

I ran my fingers through her hair gently. Her hair felt so fucking soft between my fingers. Absolutely everything about her was soft and innocent.Looking at her sleep so peacefully tugged at my cold heart. Only she could warm it. Only she could make it pump.

Starting tomorrow, everyone single person in this fucking city would know she was mine, and if they dared harm her, I would burn this entire fucking country to the ground.

Quinn was mine.