AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yet fear leaks off Sirenna’s skin. My whole body yearns to pull her closer and make her feel safe, but what she truly needs right now is for me to make sure that these two are so thoroughly incapacitated that they can never pose a danger to her again.
I remove my arm from around her and stand up to my full height, arranging the cuffs of my jacket in the process.
“Zayne, what are you doing?” she whisper-shrieks, lifting her hand to grab me, but I step out in front of her.
I stand like a guardian between Sirenna and the two pieces of shit that would have kidnapped her and had their nasty way with her if they had the chance. Boris grins, looking around as he understands that I’m the only man standing between him and his prey.
“Just so you know,” I interrupt his thoughts like a bad tune cutting through the good music in his head, “she already signed off half of what she owns to me.”
His grin widens, revealing metal braces over his teeth. “So, the other half is still available.” His eyebrows rise as if a lightbulb just went on in his head. “Wait, don’t tell me. You risked coming here, all alone, to talk us into giving up Joseph’s empire altogether.”
Both he and Laredo burst into laughter. I smile down at them until they’ve had their fill. Let them have this moment. It’s the last good thing they’ll feel for a very long time.
“In fact,” I say when they’ve calmed down, “I’m here to let you know that you’ll be ceding half of yours to someone else.”
The grin wipes off both their faces. Their men’s arms flex as they grip their weapons tighter, sensing the tension mounting.
“Are you out of your mind, guey?” Laredo spits out in a thick accent. He steps forward as if his steroid-pumped body were about to explode into a series of fists pummeling my face. He’s probably used to intimidating most people but stops short when my body remains an unyielding wall before him. His jaw juts out, an inch away from my neck. Up close, the difference in height between us is glaring.
I’m willing to bet he’s feeling stupid right now, staring up at me like he means violence, while not daring to lay a finger on me even though I’m smiling in his face.
“Down, boy.” My voice is charged with mockery. The girls he’s been playing with have already scurried away, not wanting to get dragged away like the others, but he knows that I saw. A low laugh vibrates in my chest. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
Then, looking up over the washed-out tattoos adorning his naked skull at Boris and casually straightening my suit jacket, “Now, where were we? Oh yes. Business.” I hold up my hand, fully aware of the staff that have frozen back at the bar, their eyes on us. One of them scurries over, and I order a non-alcoholic cocktail for Sirenna, and a smoked scotch for me.
The server nods quickly and stumbles over his own feet while getting away. I don’t blame him. No one would want to be standing too close to me right now. The violence I radiate is palpable.
“Zayne, please,” Sirenna says behind me.
My eyes remain fixed on the two frowning mobsters as I take her hand gently to my mouth, planting a silky kiss on her knuckles.
“Sit back, wild flame, and enjoy the show,” I say darkly. “By the time it’s over, you’ll have another empire sprawled at your feet.”
Boris scoffs and Laredo growls menacingly, sure of themselves with an entire army behind them.
Of course, my wild flame has never seen me in action, and her doing so now might put her off me forever. But she needs to see this, she needs to know the truth.
There are no other patrons in this part of the club, a room in the basement with no windows and just one door, dimly lit, reserved for the richest clients and their sick preferences. The prohibition times may be over, but some people’s desires grow darker the fewer things are forbidden. And when there’s no moral compass to hold them back, men like Priest and I take great pleasure in reining them in, unleashing our own demons.
I square my shoulders, straightening my jacket as the server scurries back to us. He sets the cocktail down in front of Sirenna in the background, and then offers his tray to me. I don’t take my eyes off the two bastards in front of me as I casually pick up my scotch, slipping into destroyer mode. The beast rises, slowly unfurling, craving mayhem. The scotch sends a pleasant burn down into my system. I roll my shoulders, and flash them a shark-like grin.
“So, gentlemen. What will it be?” Gloved fingers rest on triggers as if on cue. My eyes sweep over the armed men, my features locking like they do when I mean business. “At ease, boys. Even if you do shoot me down, there will be an army of mercenaries waiting for you outside. All exits are monitored. None of you will leave here alive, so I suggest you let your bosses and me solve this like men.”
Complete silence rolls over the room like the deafening aftershock of a bomb. Now that I’ve revealed I haven’t come here without backup, the mercenaries are starting to get cold feet. Especially battle-hardened men like them know how to recognize a deadly threat veiled in silk. Not to mention that these men must have come into contact with my operations in one way or another so far, and they know the kind of power Priest and I wield. They know better than to mess with The Order.
So, after a slight nod from the masked man who seems to be the commander, all others lower their rifles.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Boris demands, his oily hair whipping in all directions as his head snaps around.
Laredo tenses, those small eyes glinting under the overhang of his thick brows. I flash him a grin.
“What’s wrong, puppy?”
His bald, tattooed head shines in the red overhead light as he steps backwards, his fists tensing. My eyes flash from him to Boris, who slinks closer to the armed men. I follow smoothly, so they barely realize I’m doing it. All it would take is one swipe of my arm to snatch the rifle from him the moment he starts wrestling it from one of the men, but I grin instead.
The mercenary finally lets go of the weapon. Boris directs it toward me, his rarely-used muscles flexing under his saggy, freckled skin.
“Are you an idiot, boy?” he demands.
