Page 89 of Poison Ivy
I turn to the voice, unable to see anything. “Who is it?”
Footsteps echo all around me as someone approaches me. A light comes with them, shining up from underneath the cold, hard ground. “Professor Swann?” I ask, shielding my eyes against the sudden brightness.
“Not Swann,” the man says.
Well, man is putting it lightly. He is a creepy, pale-faced, wrinkly thing in a black suit with a wide grin, sharp teeth and rings around his eyes that are as dark as the space around me.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
I stand up, realising I’m still naked, but there is nowhere to hide, so I lift my chin higher, accepting my fate.
“I am Death,” the creature says with a bow. “And you, Miss Hammond, are in my domain.”
My blood runs cold. “Am I... dead?”
Death’s grin widens. “Not quite yet. But you and I need to have a little chat.”
“Why?” I swallow hard, trying to quell the panic rising in my chest. “Why am I here?”
“I am The Syndicate,” he states as if I asked who he was.
But nothing, and I mean, nothing could have terrified me more than those four words. My mouth is as dry as the Sahara in summer. “What?” I croak.
“Your boss.”
“Death?”
He nods.
Okay, well, that kind of makes sense in a weird, grossly twisted way, but still, it’s not what I expected.
“So, what do we need to chat about?”
“Your allegiance to The Syndicate.”
“What about it? I’m loyal. I do my jobs, I don’t make waves.”
“Except now your job had his cock inside you, and that complicates things.”
I gulp, feeling my cheeks heat up. Hearing Death say the word ‘cock’ is hilarious, but I’m not fucking laughing. “So?”
“So you now plan to kill him after becoming involved with him?”
“The contract is a fake, but you wouldn’t cancel it.”
“No, he is a distraction to you, as are the other two.”
I didn’t think it was possible for my blood to run any colder, but it’s arctic temperatures now. “Meaning?”
“Meaning the job has been extended. Kill all three, and you will be well-rewarded for your loyalty.”
I blink as I’m not entirely sure I heard him correctly. He blinks back at me. Slowly, like a Death-owl thing, and it creeps me out even more.
I stare at Death in stunned silence, my mind reeling. Kill Torin, Bram, and Tate? The men I’ve just shared such an intense, intimate experience with? The thought makes me physically ill.
“No,” I say firmly, surprised by the strength in my voice. “I won’t do it.”
Death’s grin widens impossibly further, stretching across his skeletal face. “Oh, but you will, Miss Hammond. You have no choice in the matter.”
