Chapter Forty Four

Chapter Forty Four
Zen’s POV
I could tell I had a bruised lung considering it hurt like a bitch every time air flowed into me. The tranq was finally wearing off, but it didn’t take long for me to miss it. My eyes blinked tiredly as I tried my best to take in my dark surroundings. It smelled like mildew and cigarette smoke, and the cold air caused my entire body to erupt into goosebumps. My shirt was completely missing, and I could see the bruises and dried blood caked on my skin, telling me that they had fun long before I regained consciousness. I was completely restrained to the kind of chair that you would see in a psych ward, my head being held in place by a leather headrest and strap, making it impossible to turn. From the corner of my eyes I could see a silver tray covered in various torture implements I was familiar with.
Just as I thought; Dan wanted to break me. He was going to punish me for my betrayal. Killing me right away would be too merciful for that bastard. I needed to suffer. Regardless, I knew that I could undergo any amount of pain as long as I knew my Princess was safe. Even just picturing her radiant smile numbed the pain in my chest. My sweet girl. She could move on now. I did the best I could.
A door creaked open behind me. I expected to hear Dan’s voice, but instead, another greeted me.
“Zen Warren. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” My eyes widened as I recognized it.
“Collin? What the fuck?” What the fuck was he doing here? Then it hit me. No. How didn’t I connect the dots earlier? The lack of resemblance to his ‘mother’, the absence of his photos in her house, and the stupid fucking intimidated act that I used on Tom when I first visited Elizabeth. He wasn’t Janice’s fucking son.
“Mm. Just like I told Elizabeth, I prefer Flynn.” My eyes turned feral at the sound of her name from his mouth.
“Don’t you say her name, you motherfucking prick. How much money did you offer Janice to pretend to be her son, you twisted fuck?” I growled. He finally stepped into my view, a sadistic grin on his face.
“Eh, I mostly paid her in sex. I guess Dan did offer her some money, but we don’t have to pay it out now that she’s dead.”
“You’re sick!” I spat at him, pulling at my restraints.
“Oh, don’t act all high and mighty, ‘Zen the Killer’. I thought you were supposed to be the strongest assassin in the group. You’re rather underwhelming, actually. You left everything behind for a good fuck. I get it, though. She was nice and tight.” He whispered into my face. I could feel the rage building from deep in my stomach, threatening to explode. My eyes darkened and my jaw clenched.
“Don’t you fucking say that you piece of shit! I swear, I’ll rip your fucking tongue from your fucking throat!!” I shouted, my voice booming and echoing off the concrete around us. He showed no fear, but instead let out a sickening cackle.
“Aw, do you not believe me? See for yourself. Better watch closely, Prince Charming. She put on quite the show, just for you.”
My chest tightened immediately when I recognized Elizabeth’s red dress on the small cellphone screen that Flynn held in front of my face. I couldn’t breathe. I was suffocating, but I couldn’t look away.
“Say hi, baby. Zen’s going to love watching this later.” Oh my god. No. Please, no. I begged myself to close my eyes, but I couldn’t. I watched through my tears as Flynn put his disgusting hands on my princess. His hands climbed up her legs after pulling down the top of her dress. The sound of her whimpers mixed with his sick laughter, and I could feel myself going crazy. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, he spread her legs.
“Come on, baby. Smile. If not for me, then smile for your boyfriend. Oh, or should I say husband? Either way, the fucker will see me fucking you. I can’t wait to see the look on his pretentious face.” Stop it. I can’t watch anymore. I can’t handle it. I was getting dizzy from holding my breath, and secretly hoped I would pass out before the video ended. The camera moved down to show him sliding inside of her, but I slammed my eyes shut.
“Oh, no, Zen. This is the best part.” He laughed, trying to pry my eyes back open. He only managed to succeed for a moment, and I barely saw the outlines of their bodies connecting through the haze of my tears. Even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t escape the sound of her screams scorching my brain. He wouldn’t stop the fucking video. I had to listen to all of the disgusting things he said to my girl as he assaulted her, and suddenly, I was back in the shoe closet at my parents’ house. My whole body was trembling out of my control, and I just wanted to vomit. I started to gag, but my stomach was empty, so all I tasted was my own stomach acid stinging my tongue.
Princess’ quiet and broken voice speaking my name broke me from my flashbacks.
“Zen, I love you. It’s not your-“
Then he cut the video. He roughly grabbed my jaw, leaning in with a grin that I could only classify as pure evil.
“How very sweet of her to leave you a little message after I filled her, don’t you think?” I glared at him, before quickly spitting in his stupid fucking face. “You son-of-a-bitch!” He shouted at me, rubbing my spit off his face with his sleeve. Then, I felt the sharp prick of a knife slice into my chest. I cried out in pain, feeling the warmth of my blood warm me as it poured out of the wound.
“That’s enough!” Dan’s voice reverberated around the room. Flynn was still seething, but ceased his attack. My rage was quickly numbing my injuries and I yanked as hard as I could against the leather bands.
“You fucking liar!! You said you would stay away from her you fucker!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I felt like a chained beast, trying to break free. “I’ll fucking kill you, Dan! I swear to god, I’ll kill all you motherfuckers!!”
“Calm the fuck down, Zen! I told you that once you came with us we would stay away. I didn’t lie to you, you just weren’t paying attention.” The calm way he spoke his disgusting excuse pissed me the fuck off, and I hated that I couldn’t do anything about it. I just kept thrashing against the binds, screaming unintelligibly as I tried to erase the sounds and images of Flynn’s video from my head. I was literally losing my mind, and I couldn’t stop it. “Nate, give him some tranq, already. He’s going fucking crazy.” Was the last thing I heard before it all went black again.