Page 214 of Chandelier Sin
Seconds before, I’d died a thousand deaths. I’d be the first fucker Cameron killed if his identity was revealed.
Laughter rumbled, a soft cackling at first that morphed into something altogether sinister.
Eve approached Stella and nudged her toward me, backing her into the crowd as though to signal she was an annoyance, a mockery, even.
Then she turned to face the audience. “Gentlemen,” she chastised them. “Show reverence for Le Chambre.”
Stella was now standing close enough for me to reach out and put my hand on her throat. I dragged her toward me with a firm grip. The minx couldn’t get away this time.
Her body went stiff against me, her trust dissolving.
I wrapped my left arm around her waist, hugging her close; a motion I hoped would show her I was trying to help.
The chamber hushed.
All eyes were on the man in the center of the room—Lance. He stood there with his chest puffed out in arrogance, his eyes cold and calculating.
He was a man who destroyed worlds. And he believed himself to be indestructible.
Lance had no idea that what they worshipped here was ultimate domination.
Some might have feared him, knew he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy them if they crossed him. Perhaps others had played alongside him into the night, sharing his passion for pain.
There was only one decision that could be made, and it came from Aemon Roper.
That slow nod of his was a verdict—the final death blow.
But surely it was a rumor, a myth, a threat to keep out the riffraff? Did I really believe they were capable of murdering a man in cold blood for sport?
At the other end of the chamber, a robed man entered and casually walked the full length of the hall. He held a rope in his hands.
His quiet, sinister presence went undetected by the oblivious man standing with his back to him.
I braced myself to fight the rope-wielding man if he came for Stella.
Shifting my gloved hand up to cover her eyes, I pulled Stella against me in a silent warning for her to remain quiet, hoping everyone in the room forgot her.
“Don’t scream,” I whispered.
Lance finally glanced behind him, his smirk fading.
“Why?” Stella asked faintly.
Why cover her eyes?
I’d have thought the answer was obvious. No time to warn her.
Did she deserve to see this? See the man who’d caused her so much grief be punished?
Yes, but should she? No.
Death is an acquired taste. Even though I’d witnessed both natural and unnatural causes, what was playing out for all to see still shook me.
They were going through with it.
My mouth went dry, my heart pounding, as I watched in horror.
Lance’s eyes widened in surprise as he realized what was happening. Gasping, he reached for the rope wrapped around his neck, clawing at it. He desperately tried to insert his fingers between the tautness of the rope and his neck and failed.
