AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Slurp.
Slurp.
Slurp.
Gritting my teeth until my jaw aches, I glare at my boss while he sips from a mug of steaming tea, watching the video playing on his computer.
The sound of his lips sucking in liquid grates on my nerves, a dull knife sawing at the frayed edges. By the time he pushes the piece of paper in my direction, sets his mug down, and removes his glasses, I’ve imagined all the ways I could kill him.
An overdose of insulin would be the easiest, cleanest route—especially since he keeps his meter and pens in the top right drawer of his desk, unprotected.
Though, I suppose most men in our world wouldn’t take the time to research hit methodology; they want quick fixes and dumped bodies, and they don’t care if their crimes can be traced, because they bankroll the local police, anyway.
All they care about is maintaining their power.
Their edge.
And an overdose isn’t satisfying.
Not in the same way as cutting into someone’s chest cavity, breaking and peeling back their ribcage, and severing their beating heart while the life bleeds from their eyes.
There’s something magical in the act of holding another’s life in your hands. A kind of symmetry found in nature, where you’re given the opportunity to bring beasts to grisly fates or heal them instead.
They’re completely at your mercy.
Power the likes of Rafael Ricci can’t even begin to imagine—which is why he has me.
Finally, scrubbing a hand over his clean-shaven jaw, Rafe removes the glasses from his nose, and sits back in his leather chair, looking up at me. His dark eyes are blank as they study me, not giving even a hint as to what’s happening behind them.
Crossing one leg over my knee, I grip the joint with a gloved hand, waiting. After almost twenty years working together, I’m sure he realizes I’m not a fever you can sweat out.
If he wants to sit in silence until one of us cracks, I’ll play.
It’s only his daughter’s life on the line.
Snapping his fingers, Rafe gestures for the two beefy guards in the room to leave, the fat gold ring on his thumb glinting in the overhead lighting. He reaches into his desk drawer, pulling out a decanter with the Ricci crest and two crystal tumblers.
Without speaking, he pours the alcohol into the glasses, shoving one in my direction before bringing it to his mouth and taking a generous swig. Some dribbles down onto the collar of his white dress shirt, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
I palm mine, holding it above my knee, but don’t drink.
Sighing, he cocks an eyebrow. “It’s rude to refuse hospitality from your boss.”
“Not when my boss knows I didn’t come here for happy hour.”
Downing the rest, he slams the tumbler back on the wooden desk, wiping his mouth with the back of one cuffed sleeve.
“What did you come here for, Anderson? So far, you haven’t actually said.”
“The video speaks for itself, no?”
“I see you fucking my oldest daughter in my house, even though she’s been engaged to someone since her conception.”
My blood boils at the thought of another man’s hands on her soft, supple flesh, his lips on hers, his DNA where mine first ventured. Curling my hand around the glass, I squeeze until my fingers numb, tempering my reaction.
Knowing I can’t afford to lose control.
