Page 14 of In the Light of Sin

“Sarge, Knight,” Prez called to us. “Start introducing yourselves to our new tenants. This whole strip of building is now ours.”

Knight grinned leading the way out the door. I blew out an annoyed breath, following him outside. Well, this afternoon just went to shit. Why did I have to babysit Knight? He was almost as bad as Tyrant was. The two could be twins in personality and tattoo’s. Not looks though, Tyrant was from Egyptian lineage making his skin and hair darker. Knight’s skin was sunkissed and his hair was dyed dark brown instead of blond. According to him, no woman wanted a blond man.

“Do you have a mirror on ya, Sarge? I wanna make sure I look good in case we run into any pretty ladies who want a cut on the rent.” He wrangled his eyebrows with a cheesy grin.

Maybe he was worse.

* * *

Knight and I walked toHave a Lil’ Faithand entered the building. A tall woman with long, blonde hair and pale skin looked up when the bell sounded. Her pale blue eyes locked on us, and she blew the pink bubblegum into a bubble before it popped. Her light pink sweatshirt swallowed her figure, and no part of her was exposed. Her neck was hidden by an undershirt. Her eyes shifted to Knight. “Need me to fix your hair? It’s looking rough.”

His hand went to his gelled hair, running a hand through it with narrowed eyes. “My hair is fine, thanks.”

She raised an eyebrow as her lips pursed. “It does show off your ego. What do you guys want if you’re not here for a haircut?”

“We’re your new landlords,” Knight casually explained, his eyes roaming her heavily covered body. “Thought it’d be a good idea to introduce ourselves.”

She’s immediately visibly pissy with him and his wandering gaze. She snaps quickly in his direction, pointing back to her face. “What happened to Mr. Latham?”

“Decided he didn’t want to deal with a certain attitude from one of his tenants.” Knight pulled from his ass. “Told us she had a huge mouth on her he couldn’t handle.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. Haven’t found a man yet that can handle me.” Her tone had a seductive purr that churned my stomach but made Knight’s eyes flash with something I couldn’t care less to pinpoint. “I can tell you’re up for a challenge, but my legs are currently closed.”

“You got two men standing here who could snap you over their knee, babe. I think you should be a bit more self-aware.”

“The only thing I’m intimidated by is your audacity.” She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed thinly. “If you have no other business here, you can leave.”

“We own this building. You can’t kick us out.” Knight leaned on the counter, knocking into the cup on her desk, effectively sloshing the shockingly blue liquid all over her paperwork and upper half. The bright blue with her light pink sweatshirt. She shrieked, stepping back with a snarl on her face. “Shit, I’m—“

I was immediately on edge as she put her knee on the counter of the desk, sheers up to Knight’s throat. “You’re what, sorry? Your apology doesn’t buy me another drink.”

“No, but I can.” He was pathetic. “What do you say? Wanna meet up around eight at Calypso?”

“What? So you can get me loose-lipped, and hopefully they end up around your cock by the end of the night?” Her grip tightened on the sheers in her hand, pushing the blades a little harder into his skin. “The only thing I want to suck on until I moan is my ocean water, you dense bastard.”

I probably should do something about the way Knight’s throat bobbed, making the sharp edge prick the skin of his neck, drawing light blood, but I wanted to see how far this girl would take it. The worst she could do was slice his neck open.

“You fuckin’ cut me.” The hourglass Knight usually had with his patience was flipped over, the sand pouring out rapidly. “Forget who I was? I’m your fuckin’ landlord, babe. Rent just went up one hundred dollars a month.”

She gasped, pulling back slightly. “I can barely afford it now, prick!”

“Two hundred.” He stepped back, fingertips collecting the small pool of blood on his neck. “Lucky I don’t evict you. Who the fuck puts a pair of scissors to someone’s neck for spilling a damn drink!”

“What kind of men come in and try to intimidate a woman!” She was fearless, but an undeniable flash of something in her eyes told me it was more facade than truth. “Get out, get out, get out!”

“Fine, since you asked so nicely.” I turned and started walking to the door, hearing Knight’s parting words. “You don’t get the pleasure of direct deposit for your rent anymore. I’ll be coming every month to collect it in person.”

A frustrated scream echoed in the small shop as Knight joined me outside.

“She’s stunning,” Knight commented as we walked out the door. If I were him, I’d be making sure she wasn’t going to put the shears in his back. He grinned at me as he fingered the cut she gave him. “Dibs.”

He could have her. I didn’t want that crazy bitch.

I didn’t say anything as I headed towards my bike, swinging my leg over the seat. “Say hi to Joslyn for me!”

He was just as bad as Tyrant was.

I started the engine, revving it a few times before heading straight towards Knight, whose eyes went wide as he jumped out of the way, barely escaping me running him over. I couldn’t hear his bitching over the high speeds and loud engine.

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