Page 36 of The Breeding Cave
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, gathering the cash in hand. “This is all I have right now.”
The man snatched the cash from me and counted it twice, and then he looked over his shoulder at the driver in the black SUV and shook his head. I gulped and made myself as small as possible.
“I can get more tomorrow,” I whispered. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
“Alvin needs the money now.”
My brows furrowed together. “Wh-what do you mean, Alvin needs it? I thought …”
“Alvin, our boss,” he growled. “He said that you’d have the money.”
“Your boss is Alvin?” I whispered. “I thought you were from the Dragon Clan?”
“We are.”
“B-but …” I said, confused because Alvin wasn’t part of the Dragon Clan.
I thought … I …
What is going on? Alvin is their boss?!
“Can I talk to him?” I asked. “Surely, this is some kind of mistake. I don’t have money.”
As far as I knew, they were after me because of Alvin. But maybe … maybe I had misunderstood them this entire time. I thought Alvin had gotten us into trouble. I didn’t think that Alvin had told them to come after me.
The man slammed me into the ATM and snarled into my ear, the heat on my back getting even hotter. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I bit my lip to hold back the sobs that I so desperately wanted to spill out of my mouth.
“Same time. Same place. Same amount of money. Tomorrow.”
The man shoved me away and stormed back to the black SUV sitting at the corner of the street. After he slipped into the passenger seat, they drove away, leaving me at the ATM without any dignity left.
With tears welling in my eyes because my back was still burning, I walked back to work. The dried-up gum on the sidewalk seemed to fly by me, but I was too much in a daze to care or pay attention to anything right now.
My back felt like it was on fire, but I must’ve been … imagining that.
Maybe they cut it with a knife, and the sting was blood seeping out of the wound. I sucked in a breath and tried to figure out how I would explain a bloody shirt to Luciano when I returned. I didn’t have another pair of clothes to change into.
I grabbed the handle of the door and yanked it open, stepping into the warm building and hoping that it wasn’t blood at all. After hissing to myself, I hit the elevator button, and the elevator doors popped open.
Two nice leather shoes stopped a foot away from me, and I stepped out of the way so they’d have room to get by and so I could get into the elevator, but they followed me. I peered up to see Luciano glaring down at me.
“Where have you been?”
I pushed away my tears and stood up taller. “Getting lunch!”
My stomach growled, and he narrowed his eyes, and then they softened.
“You’re crying.”
“N-no, I’m not!” I exclaimed. “I just had something super spicy, and I …”
Luciano stepped closer to me and took my chin in his hand. “Lying will get you in trouble, Miss Cho. And you know what getting in trouble means, don’t you?”
“Th-that I’ll be punished.”
He lifted my chin, so I stared into those dangerous eyes. “Do you want me to punish you?”
“I, um …” I sucked in a breath, and warmth gathered between my legs. “Yes.”
