A Commitment to Love, Book 3 (5 page)

“This ends tonight.” Chase raised his lip in a sneer. “All of it ends this evening. We walk away and we both agree that—”

“No, I’ve told you over and over with each head. Stay away from my daughter.”

“Benny, stop it!” I yelled over the violin’s melody. “I choose who I want to be in love with. Not you.”

“He’s too dangerous,” Benny said. “Pick someone else. This guy is broken.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I countered.

“This is true. But I do have the will, and the power, to take that man’s life.” Benny removed his hands from his pockets and pointed at Chase. “Tonight is the last time you see him. I won’t bother you anymore this evening, but after that, I’ll leave Chase alone, if you do.”

Chase spit the next words out like they were bile on his tongue. “Get out of here now. You don’t dictate our relationship.”

“Is that your final answer?” Benny asked.

“Yes, I won’t stop seeing Jasmine. Fuck off, before you die in front of her.”

“Oh well. Some people are visual learners.” Benny rubbed his hands together. “So I’ll show you what I mean, instead of tell you. This is a perfect time, too, now that we have all of that craziness out of the way. It’s time to give you my present.”

Screams blared from the dance floor.

Benny clapped again. “I think someone just found my gift to you, Chase. What do you think? I hung it up near the dance floor.”

People cried and yelled out all around us, “Help!”

“Oh God!”

“Is she dead?”

“Is that real!?”

“What is this?!”

The lights turned on. Instead of the dim glow of candles all over the ballroom, a white hue bathed us.
What the hell?
Screams came from the center of the dancefloor. Some of them sounded like it was the master of ceremonies shrieking.

The music stopped. Not one instrument played. People raced away from that side of the room. Some frantically waving their arms. Others snatching off their masks and getting the hell out of the area. Too many women cried out. Dishes clattered.

Some man far off yelled for everyone to calm down.

I turned to Benny. “What the hell did you just do?”

The masked men around us closed in tighter next to Chase and me, but their attention was all over the place, probably trying to figure out like me, what had happened.

Benny’s smile never faltered and his focus remained on Chase. “I asked for Dawn, Lucy, and Wendy. You only gave me Dawn.”

“I gave you no one.” Chase didn’t even look off in the direction of the mania; his gaze stayed on Benny. “You murdered Dawn. I handled Wendy before you could do your sick things to her. As far as Lucy, you’ll never touch her. You’ll never get to know how it feels to hurt her. I bet that’s what pisses you off the most.”

“Son,” Benny laughed, “I always get my way. You can’t hide anyone or anything from me. I got to Lucy, and let me tell you, I think you’ll love this even more than the Beatles’ paper.”

No. No.

I glanced toward the dance floor and spotted nothing but people screaming and pointing to the ceiling.
Oh God. What have you done, Benny?
Reluctantly, I dragged my gaze up to the ceiling and almost buckled over in horror.

In the exact area where I’d orgasmed all over myself while holding Chase, a ruined body dangled above the screaming guests. I closed out all of the noise and forced myself to look closer. My heart pounded hard in my chest.

Lucy hung from the ceiling. Huge, fake diamonds dangled down to her feet. Blood dripped from her legs. Her face was the only thing intact, as well as her hair. Strawberry red strands stuck to her high cheekbones.

No. That has to be a fake body. That can’t really be her.

Even from here, I knew it was Lucy, but … I just couldn’t admit it to myself. It couldn’t be true. How did he find her? How did her body get there without anyone noticing? Had her corpse been hanging above us the whole time? Lucy was supposed to be with Troy and Vivian. Are they okay? Long checkered boxes had been cut into her skin, or at least that’s what I figured. From this distance, he could’ve just drew lines on her legs or even put on some crazy stockings.

But I knew, I was right. Benny sliced her flesh. He cut her until she was nothing more than a bag of heavy meat, rotting on the floor.

“Get it?” Benny’s voice knocked me off my thinking.

I jerked back in terror.

“You get it, right?” Excitement dotted Benny’s word. “Tell me you get the whole Beatles’ metaphor, Jasmine.”

I shook, my lips quaking like I was having a seizure. “W-why, Benny? Why did you have to do this?”

“What about you, Chase?” Benny roared with sick laughter. “What am I saying over there? What’s the Beatles’ metaphor?”

Chase’s face had paled in horror. His mouth hung open in shock as he held out his arm and pulled me back away from Benny more.

“What’s wrong?” Benny asked. “Fine. I’ll just tell you what I’m saying. You’re not that big of a Beatles fan as I thought. You know what? I won’t even tell you. I’ll let you think about it tonight. Your last night, by the way, with my daughter. By tomorrow morning, you better be miles away from her, or the next person that hangs from the sky is you.”

More guests screamed. The rest fled. The masquerade ball was now over. Even the orchestra had disappeared. A couple of musical objects were scattered in their section. Chairs were turned over. Sheet music spread out on the floor in disarray.

I looked everywhere, but back at that body. Lucy hadn’t been my best friend, but she’d been a person to talk to in a time of confusion. The only reason I pushed her away was because I thought she might’ve been the person killing all of Chase’s other girlfriends. We’d later discovered that it was only Wendy and Dawn. Benny tortured Dawn. Chase shot Wendy for the sake of giving her a better demise, than Benny’s blade. And we all protected Lucy from Benny, since she was innocent.

It all should’ve been finished there.

We’d all left Italy as different people. Vivian called me every day and told me about her nightmares. Troy talked in hushed and nervous tones. Chase kept me closed out of anything that could scare me, and I stood in the shadows willingly, like a scared ostrich with my head in the sand.

We’d left Italy, and everything else was supposed to stay right there—the death, the blood, the stink of the house as it radiated with Dawn’s horrifying screams.

It all should’ve been done,

but

Benny decided otherwise.

“I want you to enjoy your evening with my daughter.” Benny’s voice disturbed my thoughts. “Enjoy every last hour, and then you say good-bye.” He checked his watch. “I won’t even be mean and say midnight. I’ll give you until eight tomorrow morning to get as far away from Jasmine as possible.”

I slung my mask on the floor. “Stop this!”

“I’m not done talking.” Benny raised his finger. “I love you, Jasmine, but I’ll kill him. Do you need proof? Because your proof is behind me. Move on from him.”

“Don’t. Even. Talk. To. Jasmine.” Chase stepped toward him.

His guards came in closer and raised their guns back at Benny’s forehead. My dad’s men raised their guns, too; every point targeted Chase.

My words came out as a plea. “Benny, don’t do this to me. You’ve caused enough pain. Please, don’t do this.”

“I told you I wouldn’t hurt him tonight. I’m giving you this great evening to say good-bye. But that’s what it’ll be, good-bye.”

“Benny, I-I love him. I can’t just—”

Benny backed up and raised his hands. “Good evening. May we all make it through the week.”

Without even giving the guards and their guns another look, he walked off, and his men left with him.

Chase tore the mask off his face and threw it on the floor. “Get Lucy’s body down from there! Now!”

His men put up their guns and raced away. Chaos ensued all over the place. Everyone was making their way out of the ballroom. Most rushed and pushed. Women cried into their mate’s shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” I tried to hug Chase, but he moved my hands away.

“I can’t touch you right now.”

I froze with my hand in mid-air.

“I can’t … touch you while his death is all around us. I don’t want you around this mess.” He buried his face into his hands and exhaled. “I have to take care of this. You go home. Wait for me—”

“No, I’m not going anywhere. I can handle this.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Damn it, Jasmine. Not tonight.”

I took his hands away and kissed each finger, every last one. “Lucy meant the world to you. I can deal with all of this. You both grew up together. You saved her from an unspeakable act. You saved her from many things.”

“I didn’t save Lucy from Benny.”

“You tried.” I pulled Chase into my arms and held him close to me as noise continued to rise all around us. “You tried, baby. You really did. This isn’t your fault. Go home.”

“No—”

“Chase, I can handle this.” I let him go and signaled for a guard to come to him. “You go home, start a bath, and by the time you get inside the warm water I’ll be there. I can take care of this. It’s just orders and making sure that those who follow orders get it done.”

“Jasmine, I can’t—”

“Go. Remember,” my bottom lip shivered, “you’re the king of the day. A king shouldn’t have to deal with this. Go home, please.”

He sighed and turned his view to Lucy’s dead body. “I know what Benny was trying to say.”

“What?”

“The metaphor.”

“Fuck Benny and his sick metaphor.”

“Lucy in the sky with diamonds on,” Chase muttered.

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s the title of a Beatles’s song. Lucy in the sky with diamonds on.” A tear fell from one of Chase’s eyes. “John Lennon wrote it.”

“Go home, baby.”

C
HAPTER
3

Chase

A
crescent moon cut through the darkness. No stars lingered along glowing clouds. No owls hooted. Only the crickets chirped.

I can’t lose Jasmine.

In candlelit shadows, I sat in my bath tub. Clumps of bubbles floated on rippling water. Steam rose. Though hot water warmed my skin, cold darkness twisted inside me.
I didn’t save Lucy from Benny.
I cupped up water with my hands and poured it over my face. Warm liquid streamed down, traveling along my cheeks and dripping away at my jaw.

My phone rang. I checked the screen. My dad’s face came up. He’d probably already heard the news of Lucy. He’d want to berate me, scream into the phone, and tell me yet again that I’d lost control of my emotions. He didn’t just hate my union with Jasmine because she didn’t possess money, it scared him that she was Benny’s daughter.

Once they announced Lucy’s name on the news, the cops would be coming for me and asking questions, things that my father wouldn’t want to discuss. I’d assured him that Dawn’s death wouldn’t provide us with any problems. The cops already suspected me for my past girlfriends’ deaths. I would be the first person they’d be interested in, once they realized my connection to Lucy. No doubt I had an alibi for whenever Benny killed her. Jasmine and I spent every moment together, and the few times we weren’t in the same space, I sat in my office working.

Dad would want to get rid of Benny, and he’d push my leaving Jasmine alone. Although I ran our corporations, he still held a tight rein whenever our money appeared threatened. He would be a problem now, but if I didn’t fix this mess quick, he’d jump on my back, dig his claws into my flesh, and not stop torturing me until she was gone.

He’d get rid of Jasmine before Benny got rid of me.

Can I save Jasmine from Dad? Yes. But he’s not the problem right now. It’s Benny, then I’ll deal with Dad, the cops, and everyone else.

The phone rang some more, and then finally stopped. I scanned the bathroom and blew out a long breath.

Where are you, Jasmine? Why won’t you answer the damn phone? Why did I leave you there to clean up my mess? What was I thinking?