The Hybrid Twins Are Obsessed With Me

*POV=DABERE*

Cain pressed the muzzle of the gun against the side of my head.

“Where’s our money bitch?”

His voice sliced through the cold night air in the dark corner of my home. My hands trembled. I met his bloodshot eyes but quickly lowered my gaze.

“I don’t have it yet,” I muttered. “Please, give me more time. I started this new job and before the weekend, I’ll have the next installment.”

“Next installment my ass!” Cain yelled, then grabbed me by the hair so I couldn’t look away. “You know damn well that money is way past its due. Our boss has been going easy on you for months now, and it seems you’re letting it get to your head.”

Cain’s boss wasn’t lenient, just smart enough to let interest grow like cancer. Every month I was let off the hook was only to trap me in even more debt.

I swallowed, averting my eyes even as his face was mere inches from mine. I understood how men like this operated. The slightest show of defiance would only get them riled up. The only solution was to remain as humble as possible and eventually, they’d get tired and go away. This wasn’t the first time they’d taunted me with their threats.

But I had to admit, this was the first time they’d ever broken into my home.

My father had cancer, and in order to save his life, I’d had to go to loan sharks to help me with enough money. Banks paid no heed to my pleas because I didn’t have collateral. I’d already paid off the initial amount I owed, but the interest rate was so high that with each passing month, it became increasingly impossible to pay off.

I should have looked over the contract I signed, but I’d been so desperate to save my father that I’d skipped the terms. Who else would have offered a loan that large to a nobody like us in the first place? They’d been my only hope, and I was grateful to them, truly. But the fact that they kept pestering me even as I’d already paid a thousand dollars over the initial amount I’d borrowed made me resent them now. I could barely take care of myself and my father, and the interest rate just kept climbing.

Normally, I would have paid this month’s installment, no issues. But I’d recently been sacked from my job because a large sum of money had gone missing from the cash register and of course, the blame had gone to the poor girl who could barely fend for herself when they couldn’t find the culprit.

I let out a shaky breath as I continued to avert my gaze from Cain and instead, focused on staring down at the shoes of the two other men that had accompanied him. Good thing papa had gone for a medical checkup or he would have been roped into this mess.

Suddenly, I noticed Cain staring down at my breast and my heart quickened. He gripped my hair even tighter and pulled me closer so he could talk into my ear.

“You know, me and my boys are actually pretty well off.” He started, his alcohol ridden breath fanning my face. “We can tell the boss you’ve paid for the month, if you’ll part those pretty legs of yours. What do you say?”

My skin crawled almost instantly and I couldn’t stop myself from trembling. I felt a violent whirl of nausea in my stomach but I forced myself to keep it down. As long as I didn’t show any form of weakness, they’d go away eventually. Just keep your head down and avoid eye contact and you’ll be fine, Dabere.

“Thank you for your generous offer,” I said, voice low as I stepped away from his grip. “but you shouldn’t soil your groins with someone like me.”

Cain’s lips stretched into a wicked grin, showcasing his yellow, rotten teeth. “I get to say what and what doesn’t soil my groin, girl.” 

My hands tightened into fists as my anger and disgust grew. 

He has a gun, Dabere. Don’t be stupid. Don’t seal your fate by punching him in the face. Papa needs you alive.

“What would your friends say if they saw you with a woman as ugly as I am? You have better taste, I’m sure.” I added, keeping the anger and fear from creeping into my voice.

“Ugly? Yeah no doubt, but I’m feeling generous tonight.” Cain said, and the two other men burst out laughing.

My breathing came in quicker. Stay calm Dabere, stay calm. But my hands were already shaking, the fear was already creeping in as my mind screamed at me.

They have a gun….they have a gun!

“How about I fuck you and give you a taste of the finer stuff huh? Consider it a bonus.” Cain said, then leaned and before I knew it, he plunged his tongue into my mouth.

The moment I blinked, Cain’s chin was red and he had a bleeding cut on his lips. My fist was trembling and my knuckles burnt. It took a moment for it to register that I’d sucker punched him across the face. Cain’s head snapped sideways and for a second, he looked stunned.

Shit.. shit shit shit shit!! I shouldn’t have done that. I should not have done that!

I took several steps back in panic and bowed my head.

“I’ll bring in the money first thing tomorrow morning,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’ll ask my new boss for an advance. I’ll ask our neighbors and everyone else I know tonight and give you everything by tomorrow morning.”

Cain stared at me with rage in his eyes. But just then, the door to my home clicked open and I turned to see my father.

My heart sank to the soles of my feet as fear exploded in my veins like ice.

Papa looked tired. Bent with sickness. He’d come home early, probably to surprise me with the little packet of rice he’d stashed from the clinic meals.

My chest squeezed tight against my heart.

“Dabere?” Papa called out, then he paused when he spotted me with three other men.

“What’s going on here?” He asked.

“Papa, you’re back.” I said, forcing a smile like our lives depended on it, because it did. “These are the repair men I called to check that leaking pipe in the ceiling.”

Papa stared at me like he’d heard wrong. “Dabere, you know we can’t afford that.”

My eyes widened in horror and my smile faltered as I felt the muzzle of Cain’s gun in my lower back.

“Dabere was just about to show us some things that needed fixing outside as well, weren’t you?” Cain asked. Then he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Any funny business, and your old man gets a bullet between the eyes.”

Papa looked between me and the men. His eyesight was poor, so I knew he wouldn’t be able to see just how terrified I was. But I kept smiling at him and he eventually moved into the living room.

Cain poked me with the gun and led me out of the house, and into the car they’d come with. I sat between the two men while Cain drove.

“No one touches her until we get to the office. I’ve got dibs.” Cain muttered with venom in his voice. I stared down at my shaking hands, my thoughts screaming at me. 

We arrived at a large building on a lonely street and I was shoved in like an animal. It was the building they operated from, disguised as a large laundromat. The loan business took place upstairs, but it was dark and there were a few men downstairs who stared after me like prey. I was shoved into a small, barely lit room downstairs that was only a little larger than a janitor’s closet.

“You know,” Cain started as he pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his belt, “I was really trying to help you before. But after pulling that ungrateful stunt, you can kiss my money goodbye, bitch. This is me settling the score for daring to punch me in the face. And you’ll have to take care of my men as well, it’s the least you can do for disrespecting their leader.”

Then he turned to his men, “Move outside and close the door, everyone will get their turn.”

The men cackled as the door closed, and I was cut out from the light and the rest of the world. Cain pushed me against the wall and began ripping off my clothes. I stayed silent, too stunned and terrified by what was happening to make a sound. 

My papa, his chemotherapy, my new job, the university I’d just gotten admitted to on a scholarship….was it all going to end here? People die from this, women have died from this. My chest heaved as I found it harder to breathe.

Someone, anyone. Please…please save me.

It was only when his hand clasped around my throat and pulled up my skirt that I let out a piercing scream.

Suddenly, the door of the closet swung open, hard enough to break the lock and bang loudly against the wall.

Everyone froze, and even in the midst of my fear, I shifted my gaze to the doorway and saw a man, over 6ft tall, standing there, his broad shoulders so wide that they almost took up the entire space.

My heart quickened.

Ohh god, was that…..was that their boss???

“Is my shirt in here?” The man suddenly asked, his voice slicing through the silence.

“What the…who the fuck are you??” Cain asked, releasing his grip on my throat and turning to face the man.

I coughed violently, my entire body trembling as I dragged in lungful after desperate lungful of air.

“I dropped my shirt off here two days ago,” the man continued, “I asked these guys out here and their answers were not satisfactory.”

“We’re closed.” Cain said, his voice dangerously low as he reached for the gun in his jeans and pointed it at him. “Now move along, pretty boy. Before I blow your brains out.”

The man stared between Cain and the gun, then for a split second, his gaze found mine.

Amber, almost golden eyes stared into my soul and a chill crawled up my spine. My heart raced and my breath quickened, but it wasn’t because I was afraid.

No, not that.

Suddenly, the man walked past Cain’s gun like Cain might have as well been pointing a stick at his head. He stood before me in silence, then suddenly grabbed me by the arm and yanked me forward.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing???” Cain yelled, his grip on the gun tightening as he pointed the barrel towards us.

“She’s collateral,” The man said, his grip tightening. “For my shirt.”

“You son of a bitch–” Cain cursed, and pulled the trigger.

It happened so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed the whole thing. The man suddenly ducked, and yanked me forward at earth shattering speed, then knocked Cain out of the closet.

Cain was thrown back so hard that only the wall at the end of the large hall outside of the closet could stop him. Cain cried out and fell to the ground, leaving a small dent on the wall.

The man and I stepped out of the closet and for a second, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Cain stood up slowly, obviously in a lot of pain but still clutching his gun, and looked around the hall. That was when I noticed all of his other men were grunting and slowly rising to their feet as well.

Wait, this man had single handedly knocked down armed men before wandering into the closet???

“Bastard,” Cain cursed. “You’ll pay for that.” Then  he signaled to his men, who rose up on their feet and pointed their guns at us.

My heart sank.

“That didn’t even work the first time, do you think they’ll—” The man’s voice was cut off by the sound of a bullet piercing through the air.

I felt a gust of wind and suddenly, we were standing closer to the stairs that led to the top of the building. I hadn’t even had enough time to scream.

“Got in my own head there for a sec and almost forgot you were human.” The man muttered, his grip tightening around my shoulders as he grinned, but his gaze still fixed on Cain and his men.

Wait, what? 

Human? What the hell did he mean by—

My thoughts were cut off when another bullet sliced through the air and I yelped in fear.

The man grabbed my arm and we ran upstairs. I could already hear Cain and his men following after us, but I couldn’t dare to look back.

Suddenly, we were at the rooftop, and he pulled me to the edge. I turned to look down and saw we were almost five stories above the ground.

“Ahh shit, dead end.” The man muttered.

Mere seconds later, Cain and his men followed right after us, surrounding us, leaving no path for escape.

“Step away from the man, Dabere, and I’ll even consider letting you and your old man live.” Cain said as he stepped forward, the barrel pointed at us. 

My heart plummeted to the soles of my feet, the way a stone sinks to the bottom of a cold, dark river. I was trembling all over, scared out of my mind, when I suddenly felt my savior’s hands wrap around my waist, squeezing tightly.

“You scared of heights?” He whispered in my ear.

Surprise and horror spread through my bones as I lifted my gaze to meet his. “What?”

But he didn’t wait for my answer. He suddenly scooped me up bridal style, threw a wide, cocky grin at me, and jumped.