Page 42 of Taint My Soul

He turns and heads down the alley, boots scuffing against the uneven asphalt as he circles the building back to the entrance.

Kurt gets back on his feet, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ll kill him.” He whispers to himself and paces in the darkness. He’s unaware that I’m stalking closer. “And fuck that faggot too. Thinks he can fire me. I’m good at what I do. He can’t just toss me away because of a personal assistant.” He breathes through his word, facing the path Mason had disappeared into. That’s when I jump him. My firm hand circles around his nose and presses in while the other hand clenches down on his throat. He struggles, trying to break free from my hold. I drag him to the wall and shove him against the rough surface, and he drops to the ground. losing consciousness.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SAINT

The shovel bites into the earth with a dull thud, each scoop harder than the last. Dirt piles beside the pit in uneven mounds. Sweat trails down my spine. Beside me, Kurt lies on the floor. Motionless. He’s been like that for the past three and a half hours.

I shouldn’t be in the middle of nowhere, digging a grave for a man who put his hands on what’s…

I’m not sure what Mason is to me.

I don’t want to think about it. Because the harder I think, the harder it is for me to save myself from this sickness that has started wanting more.

All because I laid my eyes on him.

All because he walked through those doors that night.

Fuck my life.

I drive my shovel deeper into the loose soil, breathing turns rough as I look at the man bound to the tree by ropes.

A groan tears out of his throat as Kurt returns to consciousness. He looks down at himself, and then his eyes snap up to me, pain and fear blooming in those light brown eyes. “What are you doing?” He struggles against the ropes.

I chuckle, a deep maniacal sound ripping through my throat. The earth gives way too easily beneath the shovel, and the rhythmic sound of metal digs through the dirt, haunting the silence around us.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kurt asks.

“Guess.” I look at him and smile.

“Help! Help!” He shrieks.

“No one’s going to hear you, Kurt,” I mutter.

“Fuck you!” His vein bulges around his head, saliva flying out of his mouth. “Fuck you!” He whispers weakly. “I don’t deserve this.”

“I sent you away after that mess you pulled off at the office, but somehow you came back like a fucking plague because you can’t seem to stay away.” I put the shovel aside and climb over to level ground. My fingers clench around the handle, and I walk toward him, lifting the shovel and bringing it down on his face twice.

Blood oozes from the side of his head and his broken lips. “Please, please, I’ll stay away. I promise. I’ll… I’ll leave the city. Just let me go.” He chokes on his blood. I toss the shovel aside, and I reach behind me and pull a blade, squatting in front of him to cut him loose.

My hand fastens around his ankle, and I drag him to the grave, shoving him into the hole. He lands with a thud, lying still as he breathes heavily. He cocks his head and looks at me with tears in his eyes. “Please.”

I grunt and dig into the dirt, turning it over, so it lands on his skin.

“You touched…” My voice is hoarse. “You touched what’s mine.” I assert firmly, arms trembling around the shovel as I fill the grave with dirt.

I don’t expect the emotions that storm into me when I say those words.

Sharp and suffocating.

Yet the metal tool digs into brown earth, my fingers flexing around the handle as I throw more dirt into the pit.

I have never done this for anyone.

I never thought I would.

I don’t know why I’m doing this, protecting him possessively. But I have to. When a part of me wants something even when I can’t control what I feel, I protect it ferociously. Protecting Mason means I have to bury this motherfucker six feet below.