Page 6 of Taint My Soul

“We tried your way, Gravedigger. It didn’t work. Now let’s do this my way. Let’s bring down our fucking enemies.” Vincent takes a drag from his cigar.

“Lets.” The man chuckles before he goes silent, but it’s only fleeting. “And the assassin, what are we going to do with him?” He demands.

“Kill him, obviously. He had one job, and he failed. We can’t have him leaving a trail of his appearance in Kingston City. It could ruin our plan.” Vincent reaches for the gun in his belt holster. He cocks the gun and points it at the man restrained beside me.

“Please… please… give me another chance. Just one more chance.” The words tumble out of him in broken gasps, knees scraping against concrete as he lurches forward and falls to the ground, still bound to the metal chair.

“Hold still.” Vincent says, and aims at the man’s head.

“Please…” Saliva clings to his lower lip, breath hitching, voice splintering as he gasps for air.

Boom!

My heart almost jumps out of my throat as blood strikes the concrete with a wet, violent slap. Red spreads across gray. Warm droplets cling to my legs, sliding down my dark brown skin in a thin, sick trail.

I freeze, breath stalling as my eyes go wide. Sounds dull around me like I’m drowning in a turbulent ocean. It feels all too familiar. The edges of my vision blur, then sharpen, and my hands tremble against the metal cuffs.

Vincent blows the smoke from the gun and holsters it, then he walks toward me.

Earlier, I had thought about escaping. I wanted to come up with a plan, but watching Vincent take the life of this stranger so easily completely eliminates the hope I have.

I’d do whatever he needs me to do. Anything. As long as my brain doesn’t paint the floors of this god-forsaken place. As long as I survive.

“If you fail, you’ll face the same fate,” he steps into the light and squats down. “Do you understand?”

Shaking, my gaze drops to the dead man beside me and the thick red blood pooling beneath him. I gasp. “Yes. Yes, sir. I promise I’ll do whatever you need.”

He rises to his feet without saying a word.

“Bring him along, let’s go have a drink and discuss our plans.” Vincent tells his soldiers and walks toward the man ahead of me.

“I do not have to be there, do I?” the figure that lingers in the shadows asks.

“Of course not. I’ll handle it.” He laughs as they both walk through the door, leaving me in a haze of panic and fear.

As the man disappears with his colleagues, a quiet truth settles deep inside my bones.

It’s happening all over again.

I’m a prey caught in the monster’s inescapable snare. Kidnapped against my will. Sold off to fucking devils. Chained down and forced to bargain for my life, and this is just the beginning.

CHAPTER TWO

MASON

The car rolls to a slow stop beneath the flickering neon sign, its purple glow stuttering across the windshield as the engine idles a beat too long. The driver, Neo, turns off the engine and steps out onto the sidewalk.

I grip the door handle and push, getting off with Vincent and my uncle David. The bell above the restaurant door chimes sharp and brittle as we step inside, dragging every eye up from half-eaten plates and unfinished conversations. Voices lower, shoulders tighten, eyes steer away with hesitation, then Vincent’s voice pierces through the silence like a double-edged sword.

“Ten seconds.”

That’s it.

That’s all he has to say.

Just two words.

And chairs scrape against the floor one by one as the customers gather their things, leaving cash on the tables.