Chapter Forty-Two

His World

"Please! Please...don't do this!" Christine pleaded. She struggled and fought but Leroy had managed to remove his shirt and shoes and loosen her corset. If this man touched her as he obviously intended to she could only imagine what Erik would do...what she would do. That was why she refused to stop fighting; she would not let this be done to her.

She knew that Erik had to be somewhere in the house and Sienna had to find him sooner or later, preferably sooner, and she knew she would be safe once he was there...she only had to fight a little longer, she was sure of it. Of course her mind kept wandering back to the baby, praying that this fight with its endless struggling would not harm it...God if that happened she would never forgive herself. She should have listened to Erik when he told her to stay where she was. But of course Sienna would be in her position and she knew Leroy would have gotten what he wanted with the Italian girl.

"I will make him pay for touching my brother..." Leroy hissed as he cleanly ripped Christine's corset in two. She screamed, the sound blood curdling. Leroy grinned and looked down at the beauty in front of him, covered only by a thin, nearly transparent chemise. His hand took unwanted liberties and she managed to free one of her hands and hit him with everything she had in the side of the face. He grunted and pinned her down more roughly, divesting her of all of her clothing except her pantalets.

"Hm, perfect, just like I thought you would be," he murmured. Christine body was nearly to the point of exhaustion and she did not know how much longer she could continue fighting. Where was Erik? She was jarred back to reality when Leroy, for no apparent reason, slapped her across the face. She whimpered, unable to help herself from making the sound and he smirked. He could tell that she was weakening, and he knew the more she struggled the sooner she would collapse in exhaustion, which should be at any moment. So he slapped her again, this time Christine became limp beneath him, her eyes rolling back in her head. Leroy's hand went to the buckle on his trousers and he began tugging on it, trying to get it undone.

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When the door slammed open the sight that greeted Erik's eyes was one he would never be able to forget. The moment the door had flown open Leroy had produced a pistol and had it pointed directly at Christine's head. She was lying beneath him, limp and unmoving and for one horrible moment Erik thought he was to late. Her corset was torn as was her chemise and her perfect breasts were bare for all to see. Leroy had his much larger body pinned against hers and Erik felt like being sick.

One side of Christine's face was covered in a horrible bruise and he could see dried blood caking the side of her mouth. Why was she not at home, safe and warm in their bed? Both Raoul and Anthony had their pistols already drawn and they were pointing at Leroy, daring him to give them one good reason to shoot and they would do it.

"Tell them to put their weapons down, Desslar, or I will kill her," Leroy hissed. Erik would have given anything to have his hands wrapped around the man's throat at that moment. Erik glanced at both men at his side and gave them a slight nod and both men reluctantly dropped their weapons onto the floor. Leroy stood from the bed and pulled Christine's limp body up against him, holding her up with one arm. Erik did not like the way her head fell limply to the side.

"Tonight, it seems, is full of surprises. I thought it would be a leisurely evening. I would read, and then have my fill of a certain Italian trollop," Leroy said, as if he were discussing what they would have for supper. Anthony growled.

"But then, imagine my surprise when I find someone who is far more tantalizing..." he growled, his tongue coming out to run along Christine's cheek.

"Bastard!" Erik hissed, taking a lunge for him. Both Raoul and Anthony held him back, both men very much aware of the pistol still pointed at Christine's head. They could not forget the fact that Christine's life was in danger and their actions would decide her fate.

"We were just getting to know each other when you barged in...now I will have the pleasure of killing you and then taking what I want from your pretty wife," Leroy hissed. Erik had to clench his fists to keep from lunging for the man; he had to keep his temper in if he wished to save Christine.

"I promise you that you will wish you had never touched her," Anthony hissed before Erik could say a word. This was his sister that was in trouble, he would not let any man get away with hurting her. Leroy smirked at the handsome young man.

"Ah, my handsome young nephew," Leroy said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"I am no family or yours," Anthony spat.

"Perhaps that is truer than you think, you being the bastard son of a foreigner," Leroy growled. Anthony was obviously taken back in surprise by the statement. What the hell was the man talking about?

"Monsieur, my father is a Frenchman, and I will ask you only once to watch how you talk about him," Anthony growled. Erik knew what Leroy was doing, he was goading Anthony into an attack, he wanted a confrontation so he would have reason to kill Erik and then use Christine. Leroy met Erik's gaze.

"You did not tell him?" he asked. Anthony turned toward Erik with his question in his eyes, not sure if he really wanted to know what was going on.

"Now is not the time, Anthony," Erik growled. But Anthony, who had always been a persistent man, was determined to find out what was going on.

"Do not talk to me as if I were a child, Desslar. Tell me what this man is talking about," he said, impatient.

"You and Christine do not share the same father," Erik said, never once looking away from Christine. It was probably better to just get straight to the point. Anthony's face remained expressionless, obviously not believing what he was being told.

"You both are bastards to suggest such a thing," Anthony said, angry. Sienna looked on helplessly, wanting to comfort the man she loved.

"I am not lying, Anthony. Gustave Daae is not your father," Erik said softly. Anthony's eyes searched Erik's face, trying to find some proof that what he said was a lie. He knew that Erik would not say such a thing at a time like this if it were not true.

"He is my father..." Anthony insisted, his voice losing some of its gusto. Leroy was enjoying it, he was slowly destroying this family and nothing could get any better.

"No, he took you as his own when he married your mother," Erik said, wishing they were not talking about this right now, it was not the time or the place. Anthony did not want to hear this. Gustave had always been there for him as he was growing up. He had been his father and Anthony had never doubted it.

"Then who is my father?" Anthony demanded, doubt still lingering in his heart.

"Nadir Khan."

Anthony could not answer because Erik's eyes were suddenly looking straight at Christine. He could see Christine's eyelids flickering and he could not look away, needing desperately to know that she was alright. Leroy heard the slight moan that came from Christine's lips and his eyes landed on her face. He hated to admit it, but she truly looked like an angel, awake and asleep. An angel that belonged to a masked devil...who could think of anything more ironic?

"The sleeping beauty has decided to join us," Leroy muttered. He continued to hold her against his chest and a slight frown furrowed her perfect brow.

"Erik..." she whispered. Erik could not help but take great pride in the fact that he was the first thing she thought about upon waking, even in these circumstances. He was glad to know that he was not the only one completely obsessed with another person, at least he feeling was mutual. Leroy, obviously, did not like the idea that Christine had said Desslar's name. When Christine's eyes finally focused and she saw who it was that was holding her she began to struggle, even though her body was beyond that point.

"No! Let me go! Please!" she cried, struggling. She knew he had a gun pointed at her head but she knew she could no longer do anything about it.

"Tell her to stop struggling or I will shoot you where you stand," Leroy hissed. Christine's head snapped around to look directly into Erik's eyes and tears flooded the beautiful blue of his beloved.

"Erik!" she sobbed, desperately wishing his arms were around her. She was trying to still be strong but it was becoming to much. Erik put on his best forced smile, trying to reassure her that he would get her out of this hell hole if it was the last thing that he did.

"Shh, my love, it is alright," he whispered. Leroy dug the pistol into the tender flesh of her bruised cheek, causing Christine to cry out.

"Nothing is alright, I am going to make you pay for what you did to my brother," Leroy growled at Erik.

"Your quarrel is between the two of us. She has nothing to do with this. Let her go," Erik said gritted teeth. Even the simple fact that this man was touching her, even when it was not intimate, caused Erik's insides to turn.

"If she were to die, Erik, what would that do to you?" Leroy demanded. Erik froze inside, knowing that Leroy knew all too well what he was talking about. He could not answer because words simply would not express what would happen to him if anything happened to her. Christine's eyes found his and for a moment he could not look away, realizing that though he had realized that he loved her he had never realized how much she was a part of him. He could not contemplate not having her with him each morning he woke up and each evening he went to sleep...it was too much to think about.

He had had nothing to live for after Emma's death, no reason to go on, and then he had married his little spit-fire and all of that had changed. She represented all of the hope and love he had thought that he would never have again. She was pregnant with his son or daughter...she promised him and a family where someone would love him despite what he looked like on the outside and despite the fact that he had a very short temper. She was the only reason he was still alive...she was everything.

"What would it do to you, dammit!" Leroy shouted. Both Anthony and Raoul glanced at the masked man. Erik knew that Leroy already knew the answer to his question.

"It would kill me..." Erik whispered. Christine closed her eyes against all the tears that now fell freely. Leroy pressed the pistol roughly against Christine's temple. Raoul had slowly begun to try and grab the pistol at his feet without Leroy noticing and so far it was working.

"Tell her goodbye!" Leroy said; his voice emotionless.

"No!" Erik pleaded, taking a step forward, once more Anthony and Raoul held him back. Leroy was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he could do to bring more humiliation to Erik before he killed him and Christine.

"Then take off your mask and let us see what you are hiding," Leroy shouted. Erik did not answer. Leroy pushed Christine to the floor and she fell onto her hands and knees, crying out in pain, her voice melding with Erik's plea. Leroy raised the pistol and pointed at Christine.

"Show them or I will kill her!"

"Erik!"

"Christine!"

"Show them!"

Erik closed his eyes and tore of the mask...willing to do anything for Christine. Silence filled the room and Erik dropped to his knees and Christine began sobbing, knowing this was her husbands greatest humiliation. Leroy was so shocked by the sight in front of him he nearly dropped the pistol. Anthony had unconsciously taken a step back and Sienna, who had remained quiet, buried her face in Anthony's chest, trying to get the sight of Erik's ravaged face out of her mind. Raoul, too, had taken a step back and Erik swallowed back the need to grab his mask and run. His face was his greatest sin. It was the reason he had given up on love.

"You truly are a monster," Leroy whispered. Christine shook her head.

"No!" she cried. They all watched as she crawled to her husband, where his hands were covering the side of his face not even the devil could love. She pushed his hands away from his face and buried her body against his chest. Erik had no choice but to wrap his arms around her in relief. She was whispering repeatedly how much she loved him. Leroy was still not over the fact that Desslar looked like that. The side of his face never covered by the mask was one of the most handsome many women had seen, and then there was this side...

"You deserve to rot in hell!" Leroy said, raising his pistol. Raoul had managed to slowly grab the pistol without Leroy noticing. Raoul knew that this had to be his only chance and he raised the pistol and fired.

Two more shots sounded along with the first.

Three bullets.