Bria POV:

A throbbing ache settled deep in my  skull as I  drifted back to consciousness. My body felt heavy, my  limbs sluggish, like I  was waking from a deep, drugged sleep. But something was wrong , I  couldn’t move my hands. Panic flared through me as I  tried again, harder this time, only to feel the cold bite of metal against my wrists.

My eyes snapped open.

Darkness.

The only light came from an overhead fixture, dim and flickering, casting eerie shadows along the concrete walls. The air smelled sterile but laced with something else, something metallic, like rust. Or blood and was it weird that I also smelt a faint trace of my favourite cologne?

My  pulse spiked.

I  tried  to move my  legs, only to realize my ankles was restrained too. Bound. Trapped. The memory of what had happened and how I had gotten here came back to me and tears filled my eyes as I remembered Romero’s body,  all that blood. The raw metallic scent of it, how slippery it had felt underneath my feet as I  had walked in it, trying my best not to slide .

A shudder raked down my spine.

Then I  saw him.

A figure stood at the edge of the room, tall and unmoving, bathed in the half-light like something out of a nightmare.

My breathing turned shallow. The moment he stepped forward, the sound of his boots echoing through the empty space, my blood ran cold.

Him. The man who had haunted me, turned my life into hell, almost drove me insane and haunted my dreams .

My chest seized as recognition slammed into me .The man from church. The one whose icy blue gaze had sent shivers down my spine that day.

No.

No, no, no

"You,"  I rasped, my throat raw, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He tilted his head, his lips curving into something dark and unreadable.

"Finally, yuh wake up . I was getting impatient. We have so much to talk about.Yuh remembah mi , good, Hello Bria Tomlinson, nice to meet you".

My stomach churned violently.

"Which part mi deh? "

He didn’t answer. Instead, he took another step closer, and in the dim light, I finally saw him fully. Dressed in black, tattoos peeking from the collar of his shirt, his eyes gleaming with something dark, something unreadable, something twisted.

I yanked at the restraints again, my breathing coming faster.

" let mi guh , please . Mi swear mi nah guh seh nuhun. Please just let mi guh. Mi have mi family,  mi likkle sista , mi best fren... just please ", my throat was tight with unshed tears .

He exhaled a quiet laugh,  as he stood over me , looking down at me on the table I was on .

"Yuh nuh inna nuh  position fi mek nuh demands Bria . Yuh seh yuh have family,  which part? Last time mi check, dem lie to yuh seh dem a yuh parents".

I felt the blood froze in my veins , so he knew ? But, how ?

"Why yah do this? Why me ? Mi deveen know yuh",  I snapped, anger spiking through the thick fear clawing at my throat.

He reached out, his gloved fingers tracing the line of my jaw. I flinched and recoiled  but he didn’t stop. If anything, he seemed to revel in my reaction.

"That anuh eh question yuh fi ask right now but, if yuh wah wah ansa, ask yuhslef why yuh sell yuh soul to mi " he murmured, voice like silk laced with something razor-sharp.

" from eh first Sunday mi walk inna yuh church,  yuh look inna mi eye and instead a look weh  afta yuh si mi , like wah normal person woulda do, yuh continue fi look inna mi eyes . Yuh did intrigued just as much as I was and mi coulda si seh yuh did curious Bria, and mi did curious to. Sumuh bout yuh soul and yuh eye dem , yuh just have this light, this purity.... what can I say? I want to kill that purity,  watch it drain out of you slowly".

I jerked my head away, hatred burning in my veins. "You're insane. Wah fucking sick head. Yuh mental".

His smirk deepened.

" fucking? didn’t expect that from your pretty mouth, angel. Say it again, just so I know I didn’t imagine it. Also yuh belong to mi Bria and nuhun cah change that ".

My stomach twisted in revulsion. I gleared at him , hating him with all my being.

" mi nuh belong to yuh. Mi anuh some property yuh cah just decide fi tek and control. Please mi swear , mi will keep silent or yuh cah drug mi anything but,let mi guh".

For a moment, he said nothing. Then, so suddenly I didn’t see it coming, his hand wrapped around my throat, not choking, not squeezing, just holding. His grip was firm, possessive. His blue eyes darkened to something unreadable.

“We’ll see.  Mek mi si if yah guh still a seh that afta couple months ".

The promise in his voice sent a violent shiver down my  spine. He walked away from me and I opened my mouth and started screaming but, he didn’t react, just kept walking . He disappeared back into the dark shadows of the the room and then seconds later a brighter light came on , almost blinding me .

I stopped screaming realising he didn't care and it only made my throat raw . Once my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I looked around the room , my eyes growing wider and terror filling my body as I took in the full severity of the situation I was in and the macabre scene around me.

It was the equivalent of a torture room.  Glass jars filled with things I wished I didn't have the capability to understand lined the walls on one side. On another side were weapons and not just guns but, knives in every shape and sizes, hammers,  medical tools , it was something out of a twisted nightmare.

I thought about Mickayla , what her reaction would be when she realises I  hadn't came home and then possibly discovering or finding out about Romero’s murder . I thought about Celine and my dad and as much as I hated to say it , i knew my mother would be devastated, terrified and panicked.

" yuh kill Chris and Romero,  why?" I asked turning my head sideways so I could see him seated on a chair not too far away .

"Dem touch yuh " , he said as if it was that simple , like I was just supposed to accept his unreasonable answer.

" Touch mi? dem allowed fi touch mi and even if mi neva comfortable wid that , a neva your concern fi fix it ! Yuh cah kill smaddy simply because dem touch somebody weh yuh obsessed wid", I practically screamed the words at him .

He merely smiled as he lit a spliff and took a deep drag exhaling the smoke . I then remembered about Tray and my suspicion with him being involved.

" yuh kill Tray to?",

" no, him get himself killed", he exhaled more smoke and I cough when the intoxicating stench of it reached my nostrils.

" How ?", I asked ,even though I knew his answer might be terrifying and not what I expected to hear but, I still needed to know.

" how ? Drill wah hole through him head", he replied as he smiled.  He outed the spliff he was smoking and got to his feet,  God he was tall  and I hated how he didn't look like a killer, like Satan,  well except for his eyes. He had a muscular built but, not the kind that was too much or too overbearing,  he had the right amount that would drive women crazy and all those tattoos,  probably the only thing that showed what he was hiding underneath .

His blue eyes was so beautiful,  they were almost hypnotising but, at the same time they managed to hold this darkness under the surface.

" yuh done stear?", he asked and I blinked , ashamed of myself for looking at him , for forgetting just for a moment who he was and what he had done not just to me but,  to the persons in my life .

" how yuh know seh mi did deh wid Tray? How yuh know which part Trish live ? How much time yuh bruck inna mi house and tek mi personal things dem ?"

" anuh every question need answering Bria ".

My eyes went back over to the glass jars of what appeared to be various human body parts and I felt sick but, then my mind went back to what he had said earlier. He was curious because of my purity, my innocence,  well he was in for a big surprise because I wasn't going to give him that.

" considering how obsessed and sick yuh be , yuh woulda think fi re decorate, at least show likkle effort . Is this meant to impress me ? make me afraid?", I asked trying not to let the fear I felt seep into my voice because,  I wasn't just afraid, I was borderline terrified. This man was beyond sick, and I almost laughed at the fact that I had once thought he could be saved by salvation.

Him laugh, like actually laugh as him get up off a eh chair and walk ova to wah counter which part eh medical things dem deh and mi feel mi heart start race .

"Redecorate? You wound me, angel. This is art. But since you’re so unimpressed, maybe I should add something new… something personal. Maybe a little exhibit in your honor Bria Tomlinson?"

He then let his gaze traveled over me slowly, deliberately, before whispering,

"Tell me, Bria… what part of you do you think would look best on display?"

I swallowed hard , because I hadn't expected that and by the smile on his face , I could tell he knew I wasn't.

" yuh sick inna yuh head , Satan ".

"Then is a good thing mi find eh cure from church hmmm Bria? Only thing mi need now a some blessed olive oil ", he said as he laughed . Him walk back ova to mi wid wah syringe inna him hand filled with some form of substance.

" as much as mi like wi likkle conversation,  a time fi yuh sleep.  Have some things fi tek care ah ", and him hold mi hand as him inject eh substance inna mi bloodstream. My vision blurred as the room started spinning and the last thing I saw before blackness consumed me was him reaching for the restraints around my wrists.