Devil's Snare by Sruthionyx (top 100 books to read .txt) 📕

It had been days since she was attacked and she thanked God every single day for keeping her alive and saving her on that day. She was healing well, but the scar remained. She did not feel bad about it. Her scars never bothered her. Scars are reminders of her survival, a reminder of situations that she was put through, and a reminder that she won the battle and that she came out stronger. Every single scar is a reminder of what she had been through. It's like a vintage collection of exotic things, not on paper or in her closet but on her body, unique to her and her only.

She returned to her work as soon as she was healed. Mr. Paul and the little kid were waiting for her return. As soon as she stepped in Mr. Paul immediately hugged her and said, “we were so worried about you dear, the little master was so cranky every single day”, he said looking at the little kid at his feet.

Alzea picked him up and kissed him. She entered the kitchen grabbing something for herself. The entire mansion was calm since it was afternoon. Alzea grabbed an apple for herself and took a bite out of it oblivious to the presence of someone behind her. She turned around ready to head out to her room when she collided with someone. However, a pair of hands prevented her from falling and steadied her on the ground. 

She looked up to see who it was, and she was met with the gaze of Rafael standing there and looking at her with unknown emotions in his eyes. For the past few days, she forgot about everything that happened between Rafael and her as she was busy healing from the unfortunate incident. Alzea stopped chewing the apple and dropped her head because she feared the man in front of her.

Rafael looked at Alzea who was standing there not knowing what to do. He looked at her hands that were on her sides and the apple in them, he slowly lifted her right hand which still had an apple in it, and brought it to his face while holding her gaze and took a bite of the apple staring into her brown eyes. Alzea felt as if he was gazing into her soul, she tried to pull her hands back, but Rafael held her arm tighter and took another bite of that apple which made Alzea gulp. He then let her arm go and moved his finger onto the left side of her chest. Alzea was unsure what was going on.

As soon as he moved the cloth on her chest to one side, he traced the scar with his thumb. Alzea tried to move his hand away by holding his veiny hand, but he spanked her with his free hand instead. In just a few encounters, Alzea had become accustomed to his demanding nature without his words, so she seized her attempts to free herself.

With his finger tracking her scar, Rafael bent down and kissed it close to her mouth. Alzea squeezed the apple in her hand as he rolled his tongue across it. Scared of being caught, she kept looking at the door. If she was caught, she could lose her job or lose her life, and she was certain that Sadie would not appreciate this situation. Alzea attempted to push Rafael by holding his shoulders, but he refused to budge. He continued rolling his tongue around her scar until he was satisfied. He then lifted his face, looked at her one last time, and left the kitchen, leaving Alzea flustered. What was he doing?

After working for the remainder of the day, she decided to go out when she heard a scream. Alzea was left shell-shocked after hearing that. She wanted to investigate, but her instincts did not allow her to do so, but the problem with human curiosity is that it clouds your judgment. When Alzea was about to proceed, she heard another scream followed by a loud thud. She moved slowly this time, still and with precise movements, as native Americans trudged through enemy waters.

To see what was going on, she sneaked into the basement quietly. The door was slightly ajar, so she peeked in. Two people were torturing a tied-up man. She couldn't figure out who the people were, but she knew from the outline that one was Rafael. Despite her inner voice telling her to stop, she kept looking.

“So, are you going to tell me now or do you want me to skin it out of you?” Rafael asked licking the knife in his hands.

Despite being beaten to death, the man sitting in his chair could not muster up even a single ounce of strength, but Rafael kept asking. His patience was wearing thin, and he decided to get on with his work, so he did what he did best, which is skin the person alive. Rafael started with the man's hands, making sure they hurt him.

After Rafael moved the knife to the man's eyes, he sliced them out with his own hands, the shrieks piercing the silence of the mansion, and the gouging made blood spill on Rafael. Having no way to bear the pain, the tied-up man gave Rafa the information he wanted, hoping he would die quickly.

This made Rafael chuckle. He plunged the knife deep into the man’s skull making sure he gets the most painful death. He then kicked the chair back causing the dead body to fall on the floor still tied to the chair. Blood flowed like the Chicago River at the dawn of the first spring. Then he turned around and a wave of fear swept over Alzea like the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the coast of Sumatra.

Rafael looked soaked in blood, he looked like the very definition of evil, like someone who killed with a purpose, not for sick addiction, some who knew how to make it hurt, he looked cold and cruel like death itself. Alzea felt the world around her spinning. Now she understood what he meant by when he said he could slaughter an entire village without an ounce of remorse. She could tell how much of a remorseless killer he is if he could plunge a knife into the skull and not flinch at the impact. His eyes looked cynical, like that would haunt you even after your death and she knew he would haunt hers till the day she died.