Page 2 of Pretty Little Psycho
27
Knox
Iwake to the taste of my blood coating my tongue. I try to move my arms, but the sting stops my movement. I’m tied. I begin to come back to myself as faint, pained whimpers pierce my ears.
Raven.
“It appears my son is ready for his final lesson.”
I crack my eyes open, and a gasp of terror escapes me. Raven is tied, strung up, over the pond. I struggle in the ropes that bind me to this tree and roar in frustration at their lack of give from my efforts.
Visions of my mother flash through my mind, and my heart breaks to see Raven’s terror-stricken face staring at me. The faint light catches on the rivulets of tears streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. The quiver of her lip squeezes my heart and fuels me with a rage unlike any I have ever known.
Just as my mother was tied and left to drown, my father plans the same fate for Raven.
“Always some fucking theatrics for you, Father.”
The word Father tastes like ash on my tongue. I have to grit the word out, force it past my lips. This man before me was a father in name only. He is no one to me.
“I just hope you enjoy the show, Son.”
I thrash against the huge white oak tree and the ropes so harshly, my flesh tears from the friction.
“I thought this was far more fitting an end for this farce of a relationship. Symbolic, if you will. The only thing that matters in your life, in your world, is Albatross. How many times must I beat this lesson into your head? Nothing can stand between you, the killer, and the organization. It’s too big, too important to throw away on petty feelings you think you have due to sleeping with some undeserving whore. Don’t you see, son? You are to marry for wealth, power, and to add to our coffers. I’m setting you free. Love can only blind you to the truth. You were born to kill. This is your fucking life. This, this is what you have to live for! You are my fucking legacy! It is your job to lead Albatross! I have done all of this for you!”
“For me? You really are crazy, aren’t you? I never wanted this, you crazy fuck. None of it! You’ve taken everything from me! Every. Fucking. Thing. I will fucking kill you! If that is all I ever manage to do, I will fucking kill you!”
“Tsk, tsk son. Enough. You will watch this whore die, just as you did with your Mother. I see some lessons need to be repeated.”
My father walks over to me and taps me under the chin with the side of his index finger.
“You will bend, Knox, then I will break you. My men will be back to collect you in a couple of days.”
“Don’t fucking count on me being here, mother fucker.”
“You’ve nowhere else to go, son.”
He stalks off, and I watch as several men come out from behind trees to follow him back to the manor. Guess I’m going to have to kill several mother fuckers tonight.
“Knox.”
Her sweet terror-filled voice pulls me momentarily from my rage.
“Raven, I will get free, baby.”
I will. There is no fucking way I will watch her die like my Mother.
I struggle against the ropes, and the burning intensifies. My arms stretched behind and around the tree leave me little room for leverage. I lean forward, pulling on the binds, roaring with frustration.
“Oh, God! Oh, God, Knox!”
The rain saturating the earth is forcing the posts to lose their grip in the ground. They begin to pull inward with Raven’s weight and the anchor. She’s slowly sinking. The water that was at her waist now reaches her breasts.
“It’s okay, baby. Just try to stay still.”
I speak as calmly as I can so as not to alarm her any further. I work my body furiously against the ropes. They begin to give around my wrists. I twist them back and forth and inhale sharply as I feel the ropes strapped around my chest begin to loosen. Working as swiftly as I can, I put every ounce of energy I have into getting free. I have to get out. There’s no other option. I can’t lose Raven.
“Knox! I’m sinking!”
