Page 51 of Sinful King

The smell of blood permeated the air and then whimpers the closer we got. Esi was in the middle of the room on her knees praying over the bloodied but alive body in front of her.

“You’re atoning for a sin you meant to commit,” I said, earning a side eye from her as she stood and revealed blood soaked clothes and skin.

Esmeralda didn’t want to be the next boss of the Constanzo family. That was supposed to be her father until he was murdered and their routes were exposed.

She was in this for revenge and I wanted the power our partnership came with. It helped I saved her life, didn’t matter I played it to my advantage once I learned who her grandfather was.

“He didn’t know anything helpful,” she said, dismissing my statement like always. “And the shipment made it to its destination without a hitch. Doesn’t it smell funny to you?”

I circled the mess she made, wondering if she’d even tried to get information out of him at all.

“Smells like a rat…” I stopped in front of her and frowned. “Look, we get it you’re a bad ass bitch with a mild temper—”

“Mild?”

“—but you can’t keep bathing yourself in other people’s blood, Esi,” I said, not missing a beat even after Liam’s outburst. “It’s becoming a thing and I’m concerned. Did you bring a change of clothes, at least?”

She looked down at herself and shrugged.

“I’ll drive safe and get my car detailed.”

Esmeralda lacked humanity on most days; her father had raised an enforcer and she embodied his teachings. I knew from the moment I met her she was different, but so was I.

What she kept close to the chest I could see so vividly. The rage of her father’s death fueled this crusade we found ourselves on.

I didn’t have to get my hands too dirty and she got to be exactly what her father intended, a monster with nothing to lose.

“Liam, get the black duffle from the trunk and then help Esi hose down,” I ordered, eyes on the not so dead groaning man in the middle of the floor. “Send for a cleanup team when you’re done.”

How was he still alive with so much blood loss?

I pulled my thirty-eight revolver and shot him in the head twice.

“Much better.”

The whimper of a man dying slowly from the inside out was not music to my ears.

“Fuck, that’s cold!” Esi yelped. “You did that on purpose.”

I turned to watch them.

Esi was in her bra and boy shorts at the entryway of the warehouse, while Liam stood on the outside and sprayed her.

“You’re the one covered in blood in the middle of fucking winter and no way to wash it off. Deal with it.”

He was irritated.

“Do we need to fuck or something?” she asked so nonchalantly I thought Liam missed it but his response was immediate.

“Yeah,” he said after dropping the hose. “Maybe we do need to fuck.”

My phone vibrated right when it was getting good but once I spotted Augusto’s name, I knew I couldn’t ignore it.

“Didn’t we talk about hovering?” I questioned teasingly. “Esi is fine…” I glanced at the standoff between her and Liam. “She’s working.”

He hummed.

Augusto Constanzo was half a year away from eighty-one. He wasn’t quick like before but no less sharp either.

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