Chapter 29
Tension hangs heavy in the air. The Latin Maniacs occupy one side of the open field while the Gods stand strong on the other, several feet or so separating our groups. Zeus is front and center, staring down their new leader—Silas, Caesar’s younger brother. Jigsaw and Draco flank him.
I should be focused on the clear and present danger at hand, but my thoughts are seized on her. My cock twitches, last night’s farmhouse exploits filtering through my mind. I hurt her bad, and slept like a fucking baby afterward. And tonight, I’m going to hurt her again.
“Five hundred thousand,” Zeus barks, countering Silas’s two-million-dollar bid.
“That’s not enough.” His cold gaze lands on me. “Your son murdered my brother.” Silas takes a step forward at my smirk. I slip a hand under my cut and grip the handle of my Glock. Come on, you pudgy motherfucker, give me a reason to put a bullet in your dome.
Zeus looks at me and shakes his head. “Again, my deepest condolences for your loss, but the Disciples are at fault here. Spider played us all for fools, but his time is coming. And need I remind you, Caesar tried to fucking kill me.”
“But the Gods drew first blood,” Lil’ Loco spits. “Word on the street is you’ve got rats in your ranks. None of this would’ve happened if your fucking house was in order.”
“The traitors were taken care of,” Zeus growls between clenched teeth. “Our ranks are clean.”
“So you say.” Lil’ Loco shrugs and spreads his arms wide. “There could be a whole lot more, an infestation. The Gods can’t be trusted.”
Zeus quickly closes the distance between them. “If you like your tongue where it is, don’t speak against the brotherhood again.”
The shit that went down with Brick and Buffalo put us all at risk—our business dealings too. Word travels quick in the criminal world. What a clusterfuck.
“I’ll accept your offer on one condition,” Silas states, a smug smile curving his lips. “I want Sandman’s head too.”
“No,” Zeus bites out angrily.
Silas looks at me, the same smirk on his face. “Then give me his bitch.”
My hand is back on my Glock in an instant. “Don’t have one. I’m a free agent.”
How the fuck does he know about Zilphia?
Somebody’s running their mouth, and whoever it is, they’re fucking dead. Maybe Lil’ Loco is right, the brotherhood has an infestation.
“My brother didn’t receive a proper burial!” Silas booms, his heavy accent becoming more pronounced. “His remains were discarded like an animal! Five hundred thousand and the girl, then we can call it even.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. Zilphia isn’t my old lady and doesn’t have the privilege of club protection. She’ll never be worthy of that title. I cut my gaze to Zeus, quickly scanning his grim features. He’s going to accept the offer.
Nah, fuck that. Zilphia is my kill, I’ve more than earned it.
“Don’t do it, bruh,” Cricket whispers from my left. “She ain’t worth it.”
“Zilphia is mine.” I yank my gun from my holster and aim at Silas.
Pop. Pop.
Lil’ Loco tackles him to the ground, saving the bastard from having his ticket punched. Then all hell breaks loose.
Bullets slice through the air. Bodies scatter. Blood spills.
“I told you not to do it!’ Cricket shouts.
“Shut the fuck up and shoot something!” I roll forward and come up on one knee, finding my target once again and letting loose. Missed! “Goddamn it!”
Silas and his people retreat toward their vehicles. I line up one more shot. Just give me one clean view of that bastard’s skull. Pursuing is too dangerous. I can’t die, not today.
“Fall back!” Zeus orders.
“Come on, man.” Cricket taps me on the shoulder. “We gotta bounce.”
I push to my feet and haul ass toward my bike, extending an arm behind me as I return gunfire. Bullets fly all around me, missing me by mere centimeters.
“Fuck, I almost got hit!” Cricket shouts, running along beside me.
The gang piles into their vehicles and zooms out of the field, leaving a few casualties behind. I keep shooting, hoping a bullet finds Silas between the eyes.
“They’re gone, Sandman,” Snake states, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Fuck, I didn’t plan on almost having my ass shot off today.”
“You’re a God,” Cricket replies between labored breaths. “Plan on almost getting your ass shot off every day.”
“Jigsaw, how bad?” Zeus calls out in a clipped tone.
He’s crouched beside a fallen brother, his large hands firmly pressing against a chest wound. “Bad. We gotta get him to the doc ASAP or he’s going to bleed out.”
“We got two dead,” Draco says, shooting me a death glare. “And it’s your fault.”
Zeus barrels forward, his gun aimed at the center of my forehead. “You set this club back a fucking decade. No one will trust the Gods.”
“What the hell are you doing, Zeus?” Snake shouts, his dark gaze darting between us. “He’s your son. Your flesh and blood!”
“And a pain in my fucking ass!”
“They’d be right not to trust the Gods,” I sneer, standing my ground. “How did Silas know about Zilphia? Someone’s feeding him info.”
“Anyone could’ve given him that intel!” Zeus roars in my face. “Everyone knows you’re obsessed with that girl! It’s clear as fucking day!”
“Then kill me.” I spread my arms wide. “Because anyone who tries to take her from me is gonna eat a bullet.”
“Then you better make her your old lady or she’s expendable. End of discussion,” Zeus warns me before walking away.
“Drop that bitch, man,” Cricket says. “She’s nothing but trouble.”
“You know I can’t.” Not now, not ever.
I feel my cell phone vibrating and dig it out of my back pocket. My heart rate speeds up when I see the name on the screen. “Yeah.”
“Zilphia had a visitor today.”
I lounge against my bike, my impatient gaze glued to the front door. I’ve only been waiting for about five minutes, but when you’re addicted to something or someone, one second can seem like an eternity. I smile, thinking about the dark surprise waiting for my prey at home.
“Get ready to scream, my sweet Zilphia,” I mumble, sliding a hand over my twitching cock. She brought what’s to come on herself. She didn’t listen, and now she has to face the consequences.
I glance down at my cell phone and type out a text.
Me: You have 60 seconds to get your ass outside.
The front door flies open at the same time I hit send. Zilphia’s saucer gaze holds me captive as her trembling legs carry her to me. God, I’ve always loved those fucking eyes. Those soulful brown orbs almost bring me to my knees, but then I remember what a treacherous bitch she is.
I straighten to my full height and toss her the extra bucket helmet. “Get on.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she rushes out. “I tried to—”
“No excuses.” I shake my head, securing my own helmet and straddling my bike in one fluid motion.
Tears gather in her eyes because she knows there will be pain. “It’s not my fault—”
“Get on the fucking bike, Zilphia,” I growl and rev the engine.
I burn rubber toward home the instant she hops on behind me. She holds onto me tightly, molding her soft curves against my back. I feel something for this girl. I don’t know what that something is, but it isn’t love. It can’t be. I don’t believe in it.
On the other hand, love and hate are closely related.
Both invoke passionate responses and bring out the worst in people.
It’s said that people often hurt the ones they love the most. And hurting her is a fucking addiction.
Maybe I love-hate her. Is that even possible?
Can one love and hate a person simultaneously?
Stranger things have happened. My hate for her isn’t cookie-cutter. Not by a long shot.
It’s beautiful. A beautiful hate.
Before long, I’m dragging Zilphia through the front door and up to my bedroom. She doesn’t utter a word, but her sweaty hand clutched in mine lets me know just how scared she really is.
I gesture toward the white box centered on my bed. “A gift for you.”
“A gift?” Zilphia repeats, taking a step back. “Why?”
“Because you deserve it,” I reply, nudging her forward. “Open it. I made it especially for you.”
“What is it?” she whispers.
I push my door closed and lock it. “Go see for yourself.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to.”
“Are you sure you want to go down this route, Zilphia?” I ask, coming to a standstill behind her. “There are levels to pain… so many ways to make you hurt.” I kiss the side of her neck. “What’s it gonna be? Either choice is fine with me.”
“I’ll open it,” she whispers and reaches out with a shaky hand, slowly pulling the red ribbon securing my special surprise loose. “I didn’t know Redmond—”
“Shh.” I press a finger to her lips. “Keep going.”
Zilphia lifts the top, revealing Redmond’s severed head. She screams, the earsplitting sound bouncing off the walls. “Oh God! Oh God! What have you done?”
“I warned you, didn’t I?” I murmur, gliding my fingertips along her trembling arm. “You’re mine, Zilphia. Anyone who tries to take you from me will die a very, very horrible death. Like Redmond here. He was still alive when I started cutting off his head.”
Zilphia clamps a hand over her mouth and sprints into the bathroom, collapsing to her knees as she violently vomits into the toilet.
I kneel at her side and hold her hair back from her face. “That’s it. Get it all out.”
I hum quietly, my hand moving in gentle circles on her back.
Once her stomach is empty, I flush the toilet and wet a washcloth.
With slow, tender movements, I wipe away the vomit clinging to her beautiful face.
I’m a sick fuck, I never denied it, that’s why my dick is rock-hard right now.
I toss the washcloth onto the floor and position myself behind her, freeing my throbbing cock.
“Please don’t,” she protests weakly. “I can’t.”
Unmoved by her plea, I pull her panties and bottoms down just enough to push the tip of my cock into her warmth. Every ounce of my being wants to push deep inside her satin heat, to feel her wetness enveloping my length, but now is not the time.
I move in and out of her sweet gushiness with short, controlled thrusts.
Fuck. My obsession with her is unnatural, depraved, laced with pain and hate.
Despite our tainted history, I can’t imagine never knowing her…
never touching her. What kind of person would I be had our paths never crossed?
It doesn’t matter; our fates were predestined, and we’re going to crash and burn together.
“When are you going to learn, Zilphia?” I hiss. “You’re mine. I’d burn this fucking world to the ground and everyone in it to keep you.”
She whimpers as I dig my fingers into her soft ass and spread her cheeks apart. I’ve never seen a more beautiful pussy in my life. Glistening pink, delectable, and all mine. I push my thumb into her rimmed entrance.
“I’m going to fuck this pretty little rose next.” I still, leaving my swollen head inside her slick body. “Squeeze.”
“W-what?” she questions, her voice hoarse and tired.
“Your pussy,” I rasp, roughly tunneling my thumb through her snug asshole. “Squeeze it.” Her suckling walls tighten around my dick, drawing guttural sounds from the back of my throat. “Harder.” I begin moving inside her satin heat again. Three strokes in and I’m grunting my release.
Fuck, I’ve never come so quick before, not even during my first time.
“Take off your clothes,” I growl, climbing to unsteady feet. I palm my semi-hard length, tracking her tense movements as she reveals her exquisite curves to my greedy gaze.
“I’m so tired,” she says, wrapping her arms around her abdomen. “Please let me sleep.”
“You sleep when I say you can fucking sleep.” I shove her toward the door. “Walk.”
Zilphia stumbles into my bedroom, coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. “W-what d-do you want me to do?”
I stand close behind her, breathing in her addictive scent. “Take the head out of the box and put it on the bed.”
She looks back at me, her eyes wide and frantic. “I’m begging you! Please don’t make me!”
I latch on to her nape and force her to the bed. “Pick it up. Now.”
“I can’t!” she wails, struggling to break free of my hold. “You didn’t have to kill him, Sandman! He was an only child. Oh God, his parents.”
“Oh, but I did.” I slide a hand between her luscious thighs. “You see, this belongs to me. He touched it, so he had to die.” I dig my fingernails into her nape, and she cries out. “Be a good girl and pick it up.”
“God, please help me,” she sobs hysterically.
I laugh, a mirthless, coarse sound. “God? Calling out to him is pointless, Zilphia. He can’t help you.
” My fingers seek her satin clit. “I’m your God now.
I’m the one who has the power to grant you absolution.
The one who can make all your dreams come true or be your hell on Earth.
And at this very moment, I’m your worst fucking nightmare. ”
She reaches into the box, then recoils with a sharp cry. “I can’t do it!”
“Disobedience has a price.” I bend her over the bed, slamming her face into the mattress. “I’m going to fuck you twice as hard.”
“Please don’t!”
I brutally work my cock into her ass, her tight muscles giving way to my invasion as she screams her agony.
“Fuck yes,” I rasp, fully settling inside her body. I grab Redmond’s head and place it next to her face, nose to nose, leaving just a hairbreadth between her and the grisly sight. She whimpers and slams her eyes shut.
“Open your fucking eyes,” I demand, withdrawing halfway, then ramming back into her at full force. “And keep them fucking open.”
“Okay, okay,” Zilphia sobs, hunching forward. “I’ll keep my eyes open. Please just stop hurting me.”
“That I can never do.” I pound into her body mercilessly, each thrust landing harder than the last. “I fucking need to hurt you, Zilphia. It’s not a choice. I can’t stop. I don’t want to stop.”
I seize her hips, jerking her back to meet my thrusts. Blood flows from her stretched muscles, creating a wet suction around my pulsing length. I groan, the sight an aphrodisiac to my senses. I’m fucking obsessed.
Zilphia goes limp beneath me, darkness pulling her under, the increasing brutality too much for her body. It’s enough to send me over the edge. My cock and balls shudder, intense pleasure washing over me. I throw my head back and roar my release, pouring my seed into her bleeding body.
I sink to my knees and lie my cheek against the soft curve of her ass, watching blood and cum trickle down her thighs.
“Disobedience will always have a price, Zilphia,” I murmur.