Page 54 of Make Me A Sinner
There’s no chance in hell he’d get this done. But before I get in a word, preparing to blow his brains out, a burst of laughter fills the room.
Whiro’s barely holding it together, his gun wavering as he stares at Xuan’s pathetic excuse for a dick. “Let me guess. Competing for world’s smallest cock?” His laughter stops him from speaking. “Doll, I’m so sorry,”… more laughing. “Is that an inch... an inch and a half?” More laughter. “At this point, I'm starting to think the cruelest thing I could do is let you live with that... that thing dangling between your legs.” Whiro has one hand on his stomach by now, trying to stop himself. But he seems pretty much unstoppable at this point. “What was Chen gonna to do with the artifact—grow you a new cock?” He suddenly pauses, like he’s having a revelation. I guess he’s done fooling around because the next second, a feral expression replaces the large smile on his face. “So... should I or—“
“No,” I cut him off before he spirals into a bloodbath. “I’m the one who gets to end this bastard,” I say, the urge to kill more intense than ever. “Is the contract on Serena Halden, still open?”
“I don’t know, man,” he cries again—obviously lying.
I let out a silentTsk.His last warning.
“Okay... okay. The contract’s off the market—for now. But someone took it. I can get you a name if you let me go. I handle that kind of thing for Chen,” Xuan tries to bargain. But I’ve already got my answer. My informant was right, there’s no one else on her trail for now.
Since the bastard cooperated, it’s only fair to make this quick for him. “No one hurts what’s mine,” I roar, grabbing Serena’s waist. I pull her tight against my chest, my lips melting to the back of her head as I pull the trigger and blow Xuan’s brains on the wall.
She has to know—no one would ever harm her as long as I’m breathing.
The girl pinned beneath Xuan starts screaming and crying—hands down, the sound’s the most annoying thing I've ever heard. Whiro’s already lining up the shot to end her—no witnesses, after all. But just before he gets a chance to pull the trigger, Serena breaks free from my arms to stop him, “Please…don’t… don’t kill her.”
Whiro looks at me, slightly surprised, expecting a sign to proceed. And I’m just as caught off guard myself. I get that Serena wants to protect the innocent and all that crap, but she can’t seriously expect me to let a witness live.
“Please, she won’t say a word, I promise.” Yup, she actually expects me to believe that. “Please,” she pleads, then turns to the woman, “You’ll keep quiet, won’t you?”
“Yes, please, I swear. I’ll forget everything that happened. I’ll leave town right now.” The woman also begs, but I’ve got no reason to trust a word of it.
Still, I could get something out of this. And the dark side of my mind works its magic.
“Please,” Serena begs again, and I feel a smile tug at my lips.
“I brought you along to watch what I do with my enemies—not for you to plead for their lives. You know how favors work—one for one,” I offer, already waiting on what she’ll trade. After all, I’m the devil’s son.
I signal Whiro to hold off. I can see it in Serena’s eyes—a favor is coming. She’s just weighing her options, calculating what shecan offer that would take. But never, in a million years, did I expect this.
She turns to face me, eyes full of temptation as she steps closer, expecting me to lean in, as if she’s telling a secret. And it’s a hell of a secret. “My mouth. Your cock,” she whispers and I already feel myself twitching.
I try to swallow the knot in my throat so she won't see it. So she won’t recognize the kind of power she has over me. "I won't be gentle," I say, pushing her limits, but all I realize is that she is pushing mine.
“I know,” she answers with a smile tugging at her lips.
Damn. The thought drains every last ounce of reason, and all I’m thinking about is dragging her back home and making her keep good on her promise.
I have to wrap things here quickly.
“One word and you’re dead,” I warn the woman who still hadn’t gathered the courage to get out from under Xuan’s corpse. I step beside her and nudge Xuan’s dead body off with my boot. He thuds to the floor, the sound music to my ears.
She rises from the desk, covering herself, but not daring to move, even to fix her outfit.
“Hold on,” I say, rifling through Chen’s drawers. He’s got to have some cash stashed from tonight’s take. And sure enough, I find it in the second drawer. I toss her a fat stack of bills, more than enough to skip town, maybe even start over somewhere else, and keep her damn mouth shut, just like she promised.
I nod, signaling to her that she can leave. Only then does she start fixing her dress.
Whiro’s a little too into the view. In fact, so interested, he can’t keep his big mouth shut. “Damn, I need to get laid.” He says, still ogling her tits. “You free tonight?” he calls after her as she bolts terrified out of the room. “You weren't my type anyway.” He shrugs, and I spot the most disgusted look on Serena’s face.
“Hey, don’t blame me for wanting some action. I get bored easily,” he says, all innocence and zero shame. “Which reminds me, she promised you something earlier. What was it? Can I watch?”
I don’t answer just so I won’t end up punching him in the face. We just let him be as I take Serena and get her out of there.
My men are lined up inside the club, waiting for orders. And I give them, more gladly than ever. “Light it up. Burn it to the ground.” A message for Chen to never fuck with me.
My men start dousing the expensive new couches, the stage, and the island bar, ready to torch every trace of the place tied to the bastard who wanted to hurt her. “See, I’d burn down this whole city for you, maybe even the world.” I pause, waiting for her to look at me. “But that doesn’t mean blind allegiance. Handing you the match to do it yourself does—renouncing this kind of power, so you can gain it.” I slip a matchbox between her fingers and wait for her to take the next step.
