Page 51 of Soulless Deeds

With my wayward, lust-filled mind reeling, I nearly missed it as the mutt on his knees decided he didn’t want to await his sentence quietly. Bellowing like a madman, he heaved from the floor, wrenching his head upward with a gaping jaw, shining canines ready to pierce and bite into the closest target—Spencer. Pure, volcanic rage consumed me, erupting into an uncontrollable outburst that would not be contained.

“Heel, mutt!”His progress fumbled when my Variant hit him with the force of a battering ram.

I shoved backward in the chair, shifting Spencer in my lap and out of reach. No way was he getting his filthy, disease-ridden flesh anywhere near my girl. I’d rip out his teeth for even trying. But before I could get my hands on him, someone had beaten me to it.

In the moments it had taken me to pivot Spencer out of his attack range, Aster had wrenched on the lead still attached to his collar. He careened off balance, falling towards Aster, whose hand was plunged and embedded into his abdomen, her nails parting his flesh as if he was made of warm putty. Bryce coughed, a steady flow of scarlet leaking from his mouth.

Then, he cackled—a deranged death rattle before he said his finishing statement. Knowing full well demise was upon him, he didn’t hold back. “I may not have finished you, you old witch.”Cough. Splatter. Cough.“But at least I’ll leave with something. Consider your precious Playhouse gone.”

Aster’s face twisted into rage before she yanked her hand from his body, showering the chamber in red as a river of blood poured from the gaping hole in his gut.

As his lifeless form thumped to the ground, Aster reached for her miraculously unscathed martini and downed the contents.

Tremors wracked my frame, wanting to cause damage, but unable to find a suitable outlet. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that I missed out on that kill. And to know that Playhouse was under attack?

A sure, warm palm skirted over my jaw as Spencer stole the lollipop from my mouth and wrapped her lips around the candy where mine had once been. Her green eyes blazed with mischievous menace, engraving into my brain matter, the gleaming shine emphasised by the deep red specks that sprinkled over her pale skin.

“I’m hungry,” she said.I was fucking ravenous. I grumbled while a childish pout lifted from her lips. Fuck, how I wanted to kiss her—Wait. What?

No time was wasted. Spencer hotwired a random motorbike, and before she could protest, I jumped on the back.

We screeched to a halt outside Playhouse, half of the building already up in flames, the plume of smoke tunnelling into the night sky. Spencer didn’t seem perturbed, face set with determination as she stepped towards the entrance. “Remi’s working tonight.”

I pulled on her arm. And with a quick sweep of the crowd, I quickly deduced that he wasn’t among the bystanders looking at the house of flames.

I ground my teeth. “I’ll find him. Just promise me you’ll stay put.”

Before she could reply, I pivoted, ripped off my shirt and made a makeshift filter, tying it round the lower half of my face. It was utter fucking chaos as I sprinted into the lobby. The place was riddled with people trying to make their escape, while the burning foundations rumbled in alarm.

My skin itched with heat as I made my way to the bar out back. We had a lot of revenue and cash holed up in that place, and I wasn’t about to lose it to some upstart who thought he could take it all away.

Two bartenders were hurriedly loading stacks of cash into bags from the open safe, trying to salvage what they could. They knew they’d be dead anyway if Aster didn’t get her money. They had nearly emptied the chamber by the time I checked on them.

“Finish up and get the fuck out of here!” I managed to shout despite the escalating heat and thickening smoky air.

Their sweaty heads gave a nod of acknowledgement and continued with their task, funnelling faster than before. Now, I could concentrate on the next task at hand.

I hesitated in the threshold, the clear predicament before me. To save her “best friend” or let him perish in that hellhole? I could even get away with it and claim that I tried my best, but my efforts were in vain. Could my conscience handle that type of guilt? I was an asshole, but could I let Remi forgo his death out of jealousy of the connection he had with Spencer—a connection I did not know the extent of, but that made me foolishly unreasonable all the same.

I didn’t have to linger long on the moral dilemma as I re-entered the lobby, when a flash of auburn caught my attention.Fucking Spencer.Her ass dashed up the steep staircase and down the corridor, towards Remi’s room.

I was going to fucking kill her…again.

Launching into action, I followed. As soon as I entered the upstairs corridor, my eyes watered and lungs seized with the suffocating fumes. The walls gave another alarming roar, and an inkling of fear flashed in my chest.

I have to find her. Now.

Remi’s black door loomed in front of me, but refused to budge.“SPENCER!”I repeatedly screamed between bouts of coughing. I heard no reply, and unbridled panic riddled my body as the flames grew higher. I could feel them creeping at my back, the embers licking at my flesh.

With my strength failing, I mustered what little I had left and barrelled towards the door. The slab broke off its hinges with a mighty groan as I landed in Remi’s room.

Immediate relief was short-lived as Spencer sat facing outward on the windowsill, staring down at the two-storey drop, completely frozen.

With my distress of Spencer’s danger subsiding, only urgency remained. Peeking a glance behind me, safe passage was futile the way we’d come, giving only one option of escape.

I saddled the windowsill alongside her, movements slow with trepidation. “There’s no other way, Ghost.”

Then her green eyes raised to mine, searching, intense and riddled with unease. I knew she would not move, her fear of heights entirely paralysing.

---