Page 48 of The Hellkeeper

“Your daughter’s been following me around like a damn leech,” I say flatly. “No matter how many times I tell her no, she refuses to listen. I don’t have patience for this shit, Richard. If she comes near me again, our business is done.”

His face darkens. He looks at Linda with barely concealed rage. I can see the wheels turning in his head. He loves his daughter; never tells her no, but not enough to risk everything he’s built. Not enough to risk me not being on his team. My skills are the best money can offer; I eliminate men most are scared to even utter the names of. Me not taking his hits means a loss of power.

“Linda,” he bellows. “Is this true?”

“Daddy, please—”

He slams his whiskey glass down. “I asked you a question.”

Tears spill down her cheeks. “I love him, Daddy. I love him! He’s meant to be with me, not her.”

“Enough.”

He exhales slowly, then looks at me.

“Consider it handled, Damien. This will never happen again.”

Linda sobs. “Please, no, don’t do this. I’ll stop, I swear. I won’t go near him again.”

“You had your chance, girl.”

Richard gestures to one of his men, who steps forward.

“Make the call.”

“No!” she gasps, clawing at the floor. “Daddy, please, not him! Anyone but him!”

But it’s too late. The phone call is made, and within minutes, her fate is sealed.

An arranged marriage. The man on the other end of the call is eager, and I can hear his excitement through the speaker.

She collapses, crying hysterically, but I don’t give a fuck.

I turn to walk away, but not before delivering one last blow.

“Linda, if there’s a next time, I won’t be so merciful.”

Chapter Seventeen

Amelia

Ipace back and forth. I’ve paced so much it feels like my feet are going to fall off, but I can’t stop. My thoughts are too loud, my emotions too raw. That woman is so pretty, even though she’s rotting on the inside. And she’s in an enclosed space with Damien.

MyDamien.

The thought comes unbidden, like an instinct that’s always been there. When did I start thinking of him as mine? When did the lines between fear and love blur into something I can’t untangle? Maybe it was when he let me see the parts of himself no one else had ever touched. Maybe it was when he peeled back his skin and let me glimpse the bleeding heart beneath it.

I still can’t believe this powerful, terrifying man was once beaten and left to starve. It makes me sick to my stomach. I hate the thought of what he suffered, of what was stolen from him.

He killed the man who did that to him.

Good.

God, what’s become of me? If my mother heard me right now, if she knew the kind of thoughts swirling in my head, she’d think I was cursed. Possessed. She’d shun me like the rest of the village. But is everything really that black and white?

My phone rings, slicing through my thoughts. I jump and fumble for it. Ruby.

“Hey.”

---