Descent Into Madness: A Temporary Bliss Novel, page 1
Descent Into Madness
Temporary Bliss 3
By Alexander Ward
Descent Into Madness (Temporary Bliss #3)
Copyright © 2023 by Alexander Ward
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events and the places mentioned in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover images: Mohamed Nohas - Unsplash
Cover design by Alexander Ward
ISBN:
Visit https://www.facebook.com/alexanderwardauthor/ for more information about upcoming books in the series.
Contents
Chapter 1 – Alex
Chapter 2 – Ray
Chapter 3 - Alex
Chapter 4 – Alex
Chapter 5 – Alex
Chapter 6 - Ray
Chapter 7 – Alex
Chapter 8 – Ray
Chapter 9 – Alex
Chapter 10 – Ray
Chapter 11 – Alex
Chapter 12 – Ray
Chapter 13 – Alex
Chapter 14 – Alex
Chapter 15 – Alex
Chapter 16 – Alex
Chapter 17 – Ray
Chapter 18 – Alex
Chapter 19 – Alex
Chapter 20 – Alex
Chapter 21 – Ray
Chapter 22 – Alex
Chapter 23 – Intermezzo
Chapter 24 – Ray
Chapter 25 - Alex
Chapter 26 – Alex
Chapter 27 – Alex
Chapter 28 – Alex
Chapter 29 – Ray
Chapter 30 – Alex
Chapter 31 – Ray
Chapter 32 – Alex
Chapter 33 – Ray
Chapter 34 - Alex
Chapter 35 – Alex
Epilogue
About the author
Chapter 1 – Alex
Jan 19th 2018
The fifth time when I find myself flat on my back on the floor, breathless and in so much pain that the mere thought of using my lungs hurts, I remain there gasping and staring at the ceiling. One would think you get used to it after a while, or that the pain would lessen, but it still feels the same each time. I’ve kissed this floor in the past two weeks more times than I can count. We’ve gotten so close to one another that a sort of intimacy has developed between us. I always say ‘hi’ to it and thank it for its tough embrace, but sometimes I really do lose my patience and curse at the fucking thing, hoping it would spontaneously crack and sink the entire building with it.
“Come on, kitty cat, get back up. I still got some ass-kicking to do.” My torturer steps closer, his shadow looming above me. That’s the other interesting development from the past weeks, one that I very much know is going to fuck me royally once people find out about it. I have no doubt this is one of Victor’s games, meant to drive a rift between me and Ray. What’s worse is that I am painfully aware of it. As it turns out, Victor did have one condition after all.
“Fuck off.” I flip him off without making a move to get back up. I asked my, as it turns out, long forgotten and newly found father to assign anyone else to this task, but he claimed no one else could be trusted with it, other than Vlad and Roman. My arse. We all know why Roman is not really a choice here. Vitya was maintaining his solemn attitude, but I could swear the fucker wanted to grin at me the whole time, knowing I am aware of what he is up to. I’ve begun to understand why both Roman and Ray have warned me against him.
Vlad grabs my arm and forces me back to my feet. My wrist smarts a bit, some remnants of pain still present even with the cast gone for over a week now, but it’s manageable. The car explosion which has put Ray into the hospital has also left me with some gifts and while it now feels like it mostly never happened, there’s still insignificant things, such as this pain, serving as reminders that it was very much real.
I slump, caressing my hip and holding no doubts that it will bruise. Vlad has shown me techniques on how to cushion my falls and use that to my advantage, but I still got a hard time implementing it successfully. Or adjusting to the way my life has changed ever since Ray got hurt. Or maybe even before that.
The moment Raymond had woken up properly, he’d convinced me to go back to school and start my job at the club, invoking the fact that it’s not healthy for a young man like me to be worrying about him 24/7 the way I’ve been. He’d insisted I needed to rest in a proper bed and mingle with my peers in spite of the hit on him, or the threat looming over us. He’d claimed something along the lines of us having to carry on with our lives since we can’t live in fear, but I think that he’s bullshitting me and secretly trying to get rid of me. It’s not the first discussion of the kind we’ve had, and he’s made certain allusions to the fact I’m spending too much time with him at the hospital.
I listened to him, though, because if anything, it keeps my mind occupied. What I failed to mention was that I’d taken to sneaking outside of Mark’s flat in the mornings so that Vlad could pick me up and go train together at Victor’s villa. I’ve also left out the fact that on top of all that, I’ve been running, weight training and getting my arse kicked on a regular basis. I’ve asked Vlad to spare my face, but it is pretty much unavoidable. Ray had almost caught me with the lie a few days ago when I’d stumbled on my feet and Vlad’s knuckles had scraped against my cheek, sending me to the floor. And most importantly I’ve left out how tiring all of that is and what all of this has been doing to my head. But I’m plodding through because I have to. Weakness is not an option any longer.
Now that Ray’s out of the hospital, I’ve been wracking my brains on how to break the news to him, but I can’t. I know he’ll react poorly, and I know he’ll say “I told you so” in so far as Victor is concerned. What I’m more worried about is that he might ignore me again as he did after Christmas and that thought is just killing me.
You see, me mingling with good old daddy would have been bad enough on its own, but me training with the man my brother used to fuck behind Ray’s back... That’s a bit complicated right there. Then you’ll come and tell me that this was obvious all along and I shouldn’t have done it to begin with but let me ask you this. If a criminal organisation was breathing down your neck ready to kill you at a moment’s notice because you’d gone a bit cuckoo one night and burned down, let’s say, a house full of their people — well, what the fuck would you do?
Ray doesn’t want me involved. He wants me to have a normal life. He wants me to go to school and be friends with 19-year-olds because that’s what I’m supposed to do, a quite radical change of behaviour given that he’s been using me to gain info on people when we’d first met. And Victor wants to use me against him for whatever maleficent purposes he’s got brewing in his backyard. I’m trapped in between the two of them. And did I mention SOMEONE WANTS TO KILL ME? And they’d almost succeeded if it weren’t for Raymond.
“You’re improving.” Vlad removes the cloths wrapped around his hands and wrists. I’d love to say he looks tired, but he hasn’t even broken a sweat. After every session he still looks fine and dandy while I’m close to heaving my lungs and clutching my aching muscles, wishing I’d be allowed to crawl back into the dark hole I’d been spewed from so violently almost twenty years ago.
“Am I?” I perk up, shaking myself from my train of thought.
“A bit. Mostly I just wanted to see if you were paying any attention,” he smirks, showing a row of white teeth. Well, that is just vile. He picks up a towel and rubs it into his hair even though it’s unnecessary, grinning still. “You still got a ways to go. You won’t see much improvement after two weeks.”
“Everything hurts.”
I puff my cheeks, aiming for the bench. The gym is located in the villa’s basement. As it turns out, Victor’s little hidey hole is more like a rat’s maze and while the top floors are impressive, they hold nothing over the underground. The place is vast, hidden, a bunker equipped with everything it needs, from showers to a boxing ground and gym machines. It’s like a secret world, completely removed from what is happening outside. This is where the wretched people of Vitya’s underworld clique spend their days mingling with one another, away from unwanted eyes, training and challenging each other to fights, under the strong, white neon-lights as if they’re secret agents leading double lives. It’s nothing like what I’ve imagined and it’s nowhere close to Temnota’s whorehouses or Stefan’s club gatherings. The people in here remind me more of an extended family, cousins, uncles, piglets, and puppies all living under the same roof, protecting one another. They’re a tight-knit group, that much is clear. It’s scary.
“That’s a sign you’re doing something right,” Vlad says.
“Or dying,” I mumble, taking a big gulp from my water bottle. I don’t know if I can keep this up in the long-term.
“Is Ward out of the hospital, then?” Vlad’s still in a good disposition and I don’t know how he does it. Every time I see him — and that’s been pretty much daily — he’s in such a cheery mood, pulling jokes out of his arse, mostly trying to
“Yes, he is.” I rummage through my bag for my towel. I don’t say anything more, I just leave it at that. I don’t like discussing Ray with him or Vitya. I don’t know about Vlad, but I can tell Vitya is always doing it on purpose to gain the upper hand and information. It’s only logical to suspect Vlad reports to him everything we’re doing, he’s trailing after him like a puppy after all. Piglets and puppies.
“And?”
“And what?” I gather my stuff and pick up my bag. Vlad throws the towel over his shoulder, ruffling his blonde hair in a casual manner. I know I sound a bit too defensive, but I’m already late as it is and I don’t have the time, nor the patience to meander through conversational undertones.
“Aren’t you touchy?”
“Yeah, I am. And I’m supposed to meet him. Can you take me back to school so I can go home?”
Ray’s bodyguards drove me to school this morning, except I didn’t mention I got classes in the afternoon on Fridays. Ray would’ve insisted I have to go to school instead of spending time with him, so I guess it just slipped my mind, the same way I slipped past the school gates to meet Vlad once they dropped me off.
“You’re jumping through a lot of hoops, you know that?” he chuckles.
“That’s none of your concern.” I throw a look around, but the few people present are far enough and too caught up in their training to eavesdrop on us. I had a very awkward conversation with Vlad in which I asked him to keep quiet about this. Victor has also agreed to the task, probably with the intention to use this against me. I am sure he’s got that in mind, but he doesn’t know I plan to let Ray know either way, sooner rather than later.
I eye Vlad carefully, having no doubts that if he were to challenge Ray again, he’d most likely let it slip only to mess with him. I’ve realized he’s got a passion for all things which have the potential to annoy Ray.
Vlad returns the stare blandly, refusing to back down, he’s got a way about him which provokes me non-stop, forcing me to either cave in or step out of my comfort zone. It’s a rather charming quality, yet like I said, I can’t see him as being entirely genuine. While he’s honest and direct and not every single word of his warrants suspicion, I’m still wary. I’m even more leery when he says exactly what he means and then insists his words don’t hold a double entendre. That always gets me paranoid.
“Cheer up, Sasha.” He rolls his shoulder, then removes his black tank top and wipes his chest with it. The same stars I’ve seen on Ray and Victor are inked on Vlad’s skin, above a fit body which has seen its share of ugly scars. “You need to warn me in advance though so I can grab a bag of popcorn when you tell him. I want to watch.” He strolls past me with a wink.
Right, the bloody flirting is another thing. As with everything, I’ve had the misfortune of being identical to my dear, old, rotten brother which appeals to Vlad too.
Inevitably, I’ve asked him about Danya at some point and to my utter shock, he’d gotten into so much detail about the fucker that now I can’t get the images out of my head even if I were to cut my brain open and bleach it. And the son of a bitch was grinning all the time. Afterwards, he’d tried to hint at me and him getting into a horizontal work-out at which I cut him off as soon as he’d started. I don’t know how serious he was, but I’m not about to find out. I told him I’m not interested in the slightest.
“Right, or you can leave me the fuck alone ‘cuz it’s none of your business.”
“For the record, I’m more charming than Ward. And funnier. Have you seen him? He can render someone catatonic with that brooding expression.”
“Ha. Ha.” I catch up to him. “I’m dying with laughter. Please, stop.”
***
I let myself into the penthouse, semi-aware of the bodyguards watching me. It’s a bit awkward to be honest. Ray gave me a set of keys so that I can bring him some clothes at one point during his stay in the hospital and I didn’t get the chance to return them. I don’t know how come he graced me with such an honour, I guess Roman was caught up with other stuff, but it surprised me. He did say I could use them today and I did ring the bell first and all of that and gave him a chance to answer the door. I know he’s back home already since he replied to my text letting me know he arrived earlier.
I walk in and quickly drop my stuff and my boots in the hallway.
“Ray?”
I unzip my jacket as I walk, not bothering with the lights, squinting as I emerge from the hallway into the daylight flooding the living room. I find him seated on the couch, hugging a pillow with his right arm, his head leaning against the backrest, snoring softly. He’s still dressed in jeans and a soft cotton shirt, his travel bag with his belongings next to the coffee table. I guess that’s one way of doing things. I chuckle, then my amusement fades at the sight of the painkillers. A new pack of cigarettes is open next to that, the ashtray holding the contents of his mischief.
“Great.” That didn’t last long. The doctor had said his pain should subside with time, but he’s also prescribed him a handful of meds alongside sleeping pills as if the cupboard upstairs wouldn’t have been enough. No one mentioned that though. It’s apparent he’s got some bad habits, but I also know he needs these pills for real now. It’s just that I’ve seen him angry and almost crying in pain if he tries to go without them and it hurts me to know I can’t do anything about it other than watch him drug himself.
I kind of deflate at seeing him like this. I was building up courage to unearth the subject about my escapades at Victor’s villa, but I doubt I’ll bring that up at any point today. Or in the near future. It’s not the time. Ray’s not entirely himself and I don’t want to throw him off his game any more than he is, because let’s face it, talking about Vlad and Danya would do that to him. And we’ve found such a fragile equilibrium lately that I’m afraid to shatter it. I just need to find another way to let him know about it while also making sure we’re going to end up fine after it. Knowing him, that’s some wishful thinking right there.
I leave my jacket on the side of the couch, then step gently around him and touch his cheek, calling his name softly. He jerks his head up and then groans, his features contorting in pain.
“Shh, it’s just me. Easy.”
Ray blinks up sleepily and slightly out of it. I can see the confusion in his eyes as he’s trying to figure out what’s going on around him. He rubs at his eyes. “Where is… What am I—” He yawns, then looks up at me again.
“You fell asleep on the couch. You’re back home,” I provide, hoping to jolt his memory. He tries to nod but ends up cursing. “Come upstairs. Come on.” I help him up and support him as we climb the stairs. It’s a real feat, worrying at every step we’ll end up splat on our faces, but I trudge on.
“When did you get ’ere?” he grumbles.
“A couple of minutes ago.”
“Hmmm.”
Once we’re in the bedroom, I help him remove the sling so that he can take his shirt off. He pushes down his trousers and they tangle around his feet as he tries to kick them off.
“Stay put, I’ll help you.” I take his shirt off despite him making things more difficult. He’s mostly mumbling unintelligible shit under his breath. I suspect he’s not entirely aware of what’s happening right now. Those painkillers really knock him on his ass and pull a number on his brain.
I inspect the wound on his back while I’m at it. They pulled out the stitches but it’s still one ugly thing, long about the size of my hand and two fingers thick. Some of the skin around it is discoloured and mutilated, the snake tattoo on his spine almost entirely destroyed in that area. The doctors said the hot metal had caused burns around the entry point which will leave some scars on his back forever. It might look better in time, but now they’re red and shiny as the skin is trying to heal.
I restrain myself from touching it as I know he’ll jump and likely cause himself pain, so I stick to getting rid of the clothes and helping him put the sling back on when he says he doesn’t want pjs. Apparently, he’s got to sleep with that shit around his neck for a while to restrict his movements. He’s been complaining it bothers him and he can’t really shift his position at night. He often wakes up with back pain, his muscles clamping up and if he’s not taking the sleeping pills, well good luck making him sleep through the night without waking up every fifteen minutes.
