“They call him ‘the Shadow,’ and right now, he’s staying in a heavily guarded palace right here in the country. He throws parties almost every day and requests girls be brought in from all over the world for him to rape, torture, and then kill. He also is known for crashing weddings and stealing the brides so that he can rape them and sometimes murder them in front of their families. This madman needs to be stopped,” the captain says as he looks at her with furious intent.
He tries to control his anger, but the images of those girls and the image of the Shadow’s face always make him feel this way.
Why is he showing me these pictures? What does this have to do with me? she asks herself. As she looks at the photo of this man, she instantly feels dizzy again. Those dead, dull eyes look back at her and suddenly give her chills up and down her spine. She looks at his face in the photo and gets the courage to look at the dead girls again. This time she’s able to focus and take in what he’s done to them. Many of the girls looked like they were in their mid-teens. Others look like they may have been no more than twelve years old. Alex can feel the captain patiently watching her as she continues to look at the horror that’s on those photographs. Her face feels hot, and her shirt is soaked through with sweat. Every time she takes a breath, it feels like the hot air gets even hotter and that she’s going to vomit.
Finally, she looks up at him, and with a broken and shaky voice, she asks, “Why are you showing these to me, sir?”
Captain Marcs looks down at her. With his head tilted to one side and a questionable look on his face, he replies, “Because I want you to kill him.”
—Chapter 3 - The Request
“I love you more,” she replies as she rolls him over onto his back and straddles him.
He watches her on top of him as her long, dark, wavy hair cascades down to her bare breasts. Don’t ever let her go, he thinks as his eyes move over her body as she moves her hair behind her to reveal her long, sensual neck. Her skin is smooth like silk, and her breasts are supple and firm to his touch.
Wanting to make love to her again, he whispers, “You’re so beautiful.”
She smiles down at him as she takes his hand and places it on the side of her face. Letting his thumb caress her bottom lip, she lets it enter her mouth as she kisses it while slowly rotating her hips. This makes him get hard again, so she slowly places him inside her while straddling him from on top. The combination of her being soft and wet with his deep and hard thrusts makes every part of her body hum with pleasure. She takes her time and arches her back while slowly rolling her hips around, then forward, and then back.
—Chapter 12 - The Release
On the table, she sees a black crown that has five points coming out the top, with the middle one being the highest. Alex walks over and picks it up to look at it closer. It’s made from metal with black lace and golden patterns that swirl within the fabric. The patterns of gold cover up the metal to make it look intricate and unique. The crown curves on each side and makes a point at the middle where her forehead will be and has a tear-shaped black stone that hangs there.
Alex notices that each of the metal points of the crown has a small handle attached to it. She can feel that something is lodged inside and when she pulls on the handle, a four-inch blade comes out. Each point on the crown has a hidden blade that’s double-edged. The blades are so sharp that they can slice a single piece of paper with ease. She pulls out one of the blades and can feel how comfortable the handle fits in her hand.
—Chapter 21 - The Painted Lady
