Page 1 of Punished
Chapter one
Chen Yang
Chen made his waythrough the large mansion, its hallways lined with classic, modern, and ancient Japanese and Chinese artwork, statues, and guards. The beautiful estate was nothing short of a fortress. Outside, guards patrolled the grounds, day and night, in alternating shifts. It was a setting he was more than comfortable with, having been a part of the triad since he was fourteen years old. He started out running errands, then numbers, and in time, he started collecting debts. That was when his violent tendencies grew because he was expected to collect those debts by any means necessary. He enjoyed his job but wasn't looking forward to training Da Han's son, Yìchén. Over the years, he'd been a shining example of what a true triad member was. A man of action and wisdom was how he'd risen to the rank of Vanguard.
Training a fucking spoiled child, making them into a man, wasn't a part of his duties. There were “little brothers” who could do this, but he knew better than to refuse his boss. He'd worked too hard to get to where he was to be demoted or killed for insubordination. If training Yìchén was what he had to do, he'd make sure the boy grew up quickly.
He reached the door and could hear American rap music playing loudly from the other side. A song with a lot of bass that rattled the door in rhythm with the beat. Chen rolled his eyes and banged on the door with his balled-up fist. When he heard the music grow quiet, he knocked. This time, with his knuckles.
The door opened and Yìchén stood there, a frown on his cute face as he stared up at Chen with big brown eyes. Chen watched as the boy's expression changed from annoyed to interested...veryinterested.
Yìchén smiled and leaned against the doorframe. “Well, hi, Chen, I wasn't expecting you to be knocking down my door, but my night just got better.”
“You will call me, Mr. Yang,” Chen stated.
Yìchén bit his bottom lip and swayed seductively. “Oh? I'd rather call you Daddy,” he flirted with all of the sexual desire he had for the man.
“You will call me Mr. Yang,” Chen repeated with a straight face.
“Daddy Yang,” Yìchén shot back with a cheeky grin.
Chen sighed because this was one of the reasons he hadn't wanted to be bothered with Yìchén. Ever since he began working for Da Han, Yìchén had been flirting with him. And he'd been able to ignore the advances because he didn't have to spend any time with the littledemon. He couldn't deny that the boy was breathtaking with angular features that made him more pretty than handsome. His black hair was longer at the top, and bangs in his eyes gave him an even more boyish appearance. His slender body, Chen found extremely appealing, but he also knew the boy was off-limits. This was a predicament he didn't need in his life.
“Your father wants you to learn the family business,” Chen said in his deep voice full of authority.
Yìchén rolled his eyes. “I don't want to kill people, nor do I want to learn the 'family business.’ What I want is to be left alone and practice my photography. Why can't he understand that?” He began to slam the door in Chen's face, but the man grabbed the door, stopping it from closing. Yìchén tried to push it closed, but Chen was far stronger and proved so when he shoved it open and stepped inside. Yìchén gasped and stumbled several steps back, then looked around nervously, as if ashamed Chen was seeing what the inside of his unkempt bedroom looked like.
“Get out,” Yìchén yelled.
Chen took quick note of the scattered clothing on the floor and draped across furniture, as well as the posters on the wall. He sighed. “I'm following your father's orders. He wants you in the basement and ready to do your part.”
“I'm not going,” Yìchén protested as he scowled up at Chen in his defiance. “I don't want to do it and you can't make me.”
Chen cocked an eyebrow as he took one step toward Yìchén. “Can't I?”
“You can't hurt me,” Yìchén stated.
“I can't?” Chen asked and took another step closer.
Yìchén poked Chen’s muscular chest. “You work for us,” he said as he stared into Chen’s brown eyes. Eyes that were full of challenge andauthority. Eyes that made him leak precum in his underwear. Eyes he wanted to see in rapture.
“I work for your father, little boy,” Chen stated.
Yìchén's mouth opened, then closed, his jaw twitching as he looked Chen up and down. His chest heaved with a mixture of arousal and fear for two reasons. One, he'd never been this close to the man he'd been soaking his sheets and napkins in come for over a year. And the second reason was that he was terrified. Chen Yang was the Jade Dragon's Vanguard for a reason. Men and women within the triad trusted, respected, and feared the man who was partly responsible for the Triad's notorious reputation. And here he was, standing in his bedroom. Chen's very presence was intimidating.
“You can't, my father would destroy you,” Yìchén stated, his tone a bit shaky and he swallowed in his embarrassment that he couldn’t hide his emotions.
Chen smirked. “Your father gave me permission to train you any way I saw fit.”
“I don't believe you.” Yìchén raised his chin, his jaw tightened in his obstinance.
Adorable. That was the best way Chen could describe this little act Yìchén was putting on. The boy was twenty years old and had been pampered his entire life. His older siblings, Li and Xiù, didn't have such luxuries. Li had been trained to take over once his father retired and his twin was trained as his protector and assassin for the family. All this from the moment the two could walk. Yìchén had been allowed to play, to hang out with friends—hell, to make friends. Chen was now expected to do what Da Han should have done years ago, make a gangster out of a child.
“Do you remember what your father said? That if you didn't step up, you could pack your bags,” Chen reminded him.
Yìchén scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. “As if he'd really kick me out.”
Well, not forever,Chen thought. He was Mujin blood, after all. “Are you willing to challenge him on that?” he decided to ask the boy.
