WARNING: There are mentions of rape, torture, and murder. There are many sex scenes, and vulgar language. Do NOT read if you have trauma or cannot bear those types of things. Continue at your own risk.
"I thought you didn't want to own me," Kovacs snaps, his eyes trained on Bancroft's back. Laruens turns around, his expression neutral before he smiles coldly.
"Here," he says, snapping at the corner behind Kovacs. He cocks his head, wondering who the hell he thinks he is, ordering him around like a dog. But he's not talking to Kovacs.
Soft footsteps echo from behind them. Kovacs turns, watching as a small girl in a sheer dress walks past him, her head low. She stops in front of Bancroft, who looks at her with a mix of lust and annoyance.
"Clean his wounds," he orders, his voice commanding. "We can't have him getting an infection, now can we?" He looks up, his eyes landing on Kovacs's with a snarky smile.
The girl bows obediently and turns, approaching Kovacs with her fists clenched. "I don't need anything cleaned," he snaps, jerking his body away from the girl's touch. She has long blonde hair that reaches her waist and icy blue eyes that swim with hatred and fear.
"Please," she insists, her voice hoarse. "I must."
"Listen to the whore, Kovacs, and you'll be greatly rewarded," Bancroft purrs. The girl tenses at the word 'whore', anger replacing the fear in her eyes. Kovacs looks at Bancroft for a few more seconds before looking down at the girl.
"Alright," Kovacs says reluctantly, allowing the girl to guide him out of the room and down the hall. She turns and strides into the nearest room, stopping at a small, round stool. She waits quietly as Kovacs sits.
Once he's on the stool, she gets to work unbuttoning his shirt to push over his shoulder. She avoids eye contact as she slides around his body and peels the shirt from the cut on his shoulder.
Kovacs sucks on his teeth, his shoulder tensing as she applies some cleaning liquid to his wound. He sits silently, allowing her to finish her job.
Once she's done, she lifts his shirt back over his shoulders and moves around to button it up. Kovacs watches her, his eyes scanning her delicate features. Her eyes waver slightly, as if she wants to look up, but she's too afraid to.
"Thank you," Kovacs murmurs, unable to find his voice. The girl nods and backs away, her hands clasping behind her back.
"Worked for Bancroft long?" He asks, pushing himself off of the stool to approach her.
She nods. "Since I was a child."
Kovacs nods and looks down at her. "And he did...this...to you?" He asks, gesturing to her body. Through her dress, he can see a plethora of bruises dotting her slender body.
She nods again. "How old are you?" He asks her, his head tilting to the side.
She clears her throat. "Twent-twenty five."
Kovacs raises a brow and dips his chin. "The truth," he says gently.
She looks up quickly before darting her eyes back down. "Nineteen," she says, her voice small.
Kovacs swears, his stomach flipping. "So, it's legal," he scoffs. He scans her body again, looking for more bruises. He doesn't see any on her neck, but that doesn't mean they're not there.
He reaches out, ignoring her flinch, and gently grabs her neck. He wipes his thumb along her collarbone, smearing the makeup off to reveal a nasty purple and blue bruise. He tilts her chin up with his thumb and ducks to inspect it more.
"It doesn't even look like he let it heal," he mumbles, letting go of her neck.
"He didn't," he answered quietly.
"What's you name?" He asks, backing away slowly.
"Makenna."
Kovacs nods. "I'm Kovacs."
She nods back, her expression saddening a bit. "I know."
"Listen, Makenna, I don't care what Bancroft has said, or told you, no one deserves to be used like this." He looks at her neck once more, waiting for her to respond, but she doesn't. She blinks, her eyes wide as saucers. "Remember that," he says gently, backing away from the timid servant.
He nods once more before heading out of the room and back towards Bancroft's study.
"Ah, back so quickly, eh?" He chuckles softly. "Did she not suit your needs?"
"Oh, no, she's fine. I'm just not in the mood to fuck her right now. She's a little sore right now," he snaps, his voice laced with venom. Bancroft smirks, his eyes drifting past Kovacs.
"Here." He says quietly, this time, not moving his hand. Makenna walks past Kovacs and stops in front of Bancroft. "Turn around." He whispers, twirling his finger around. She complies and turns around to face Kovacs.
They lock eyes, hers full of fear, but the moment he puts his hand on her neck, it flips to anger. "Sore?" He murmurs seductively, gently running his hand over her neck. "Are you sore, my dear?" He whispers. Makenna shakes her head, her fists clenching. "Good." He mutters, jerking his arm and gripping her throat tightly. She gasps and stiffens, her eyes bulging as she struggles to breathe.
"What're you doing?" Kovacs snaps, his eyes widening.
Bancroft buries his face in her hair, taking a deep breath. "Ah, Kovacs, Kovacs, tsk, tsk, tsk. Why would you pass up my gift?" He briefly lets his grip slack, allowing her to take a deep breath before tightening his grip again.
His hand slides down her body, his fist closing around her dress as he raises it up. He quickly maneuvers his hand under the dress and onto her thigh, bringing it dangerously close to her center. "Spread," he orders. Makenna lifts her chin and refuses, her eyes stony.
Kovacs flinches when Bancroft chuckles, his fist clenching until his knuckles turn white. "Ah, now this is what I really like about this one, she's defiant," he hisses.
His fingers latch onto her thigh in the same spot that a particularly nasty bruise sits. He squeezes tightly, smirking when she jerks and whimpers before finally spreading her legs.
"Enough," Kovacs demands.
Bancroft smirks, his hand inches from her center. "And why would I do that, hmm?" He asks, a grin spreading across his face as he slips his finger into her folds. He releases a shuddering breath as her body convulses. Her eyes screw shut as he continues to play with her.
"You tell me to stay away from Miriam, but you'll fuck a girl right in front of me? What kind of backwards logic is that?" Kovacs snaps, anger forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Well, what can I say? She's stunning. I mean, look at her. Perfect body-" he lets go of her throat to slip his hand into the slit in her dress. He licks his lip as he grabs one of her breasts and rolls it around in his hand- "you'd know if you'd have taken her, but, I guess I'll have my way with her tonight." His hand slides back to her throat, the other slowly pushing into her folds again.
"Fine." Kovacs snaps, his nostrils flaring. "I'll take her. I could probably use the company." He mutters, his eyes locked on Bancroft. "But take your hands off, I don't want sloppy seconds." Bancroft chuckles, but proceeds to let go of Makenna.
He shoves her forward, laughing as she stumbles into Kovacs, who catches her with one arm. He continues to glare at Bancroft while she coughs violently.
"Have fun, and we'll continue our conversation later." He winks once before leaving the room.
"Come on." He says gently, guiding her towards the door. They walk in silence through the house and into the courtyard. Kovacs's aircar sits in the middle of the yard.
"Why do you let him do that?" He asks quietly.
"What can I do to stop it?" She replies hoarsely.
"Run. You're young, you can make a life on the ground." He says, pulling his arm from around her waist.
"And go where? There's no where that's safe from Bancroft." She spits, waving her hand. "The most I can do is shut up and let him have his way."
"Even if it means pain?" He asks, climbing into the air car behind her.
"I'll be in a lot more if I don't." She sighs, leaning into the seat. "It's better to let them have their way."
"Them?" He says in surprise, looking sideways at her. She doesn't respond. "You mean Bancroft isn't the only one?" He asks slowly, ducking to look her in the face.
"Both of them." She says quietly.
"Miriam hurts you as well?" His eyebrows shoot up.
"No, but she forces me. And, well, yes. She has laid a hand on me, but not anything like him." She snaps. He can feel the hatred pouring off of her, mixing with his own.
They ride in silence to The Raven. Kovacs doesn't really know why he's decided to help her, but she just seems too innocent and young for what Bancroft is doing to her. But a part of him is jealous of the way he touched her.
He shakes the thoughts away, disgusted that he could think of her like that after what's been done to her.