Page 74 of Vicious Vows

Faye stared at me for a moment and I could feel the judgment pouring out of her gaze. I swear it felt like she was pulling me apart, cell by cell and there was nothing I could do about it. I was being laid bare in front of her.

"I'm vulnerable. Every day I wake up and know that you can destroy me with just one word from your mouth both physically and emotionally. I don't think that's very fair. Do you?" She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head as if she were talking to a small child.

"What do you want me to do about that?"

"Open up. It's only fair that I can make you a little vulnerable too." She shrugged and I squirmed in my seat.

I didn't deal with vulnerabilities. Anyone I thought could get the drop on me I killed before they even had the chance. Now she wanted me to open up. Allow her into my mind and give her ammunition that could be detrimental to my life.

"What do you want to know?" I gritted through my teeth.

A soft smile crept up her lips and my cock stirred to life in my pants. This woman was going to be the end of me.

"No need to rush, we've got all night."

I don't remember when the waitress came over with the menus or when we ordered our food. I do know that halfway through a steak I could barely taste Faye had yet to say another word to me.

When she did, she rocked my world.

"Why do you like to kill people?"

I blinked a few times and looked around the room, thankful once again that I opted for a private space. "I never said I liked to kill people. I do it because I have to."

"That's bull. There's always other less extreme options."

"Well not in my world." I pushed my plate away suddenly, not very hungry.

"You're going to keep things vague?" She asks and picks up her wine glass to take a sip.

"You don't need to know these things."

"Fine, I guess you didn't mean what you said about fixing things. I'm finished, we can go back to the house." She turned away from me.

With a hard groan, I let my head fall forward, "They have to know they can't be allowed to test me. The minute I show weakness, someone will destroy everything I've built."

"Everything you built? I thought your father was the one who built this. You're just taking over where he left off. You don't have to be your father in order to garner respect. You can choose to do things a different way."

"I don't know any different ways."

"There's always time to change." She smiled softly before continuing. "If you weren't the big warlord that you are now, what would you have wanted to do with your life?"

"I don't know. I've never thought about it."

"Of course, you have; everyone thinks about what could have been. If you say you're only like this because you have no other option, what would you have become if you had another option?"

I picked up my glass and drank heavily, already not feeling good about answering these questions. There was no reason to fantasize about things that would never happen.

"Maybe something with my hands. Building things." I looked away from her as I let loose the small piece of myself that no one knew about. Sure, she'd already seen the figurines I'd carved in my room, but I didn't need to let her know that it was more than just something to pass the time.

Whenever I started to carve, it was almost as if my worries were whisked away. If I could spend a lifetime doing just that, I would.

"Ah, a carpenter, that's a very honorable profession. You know they say Jesus was a carpenter." She raised an eyebrow, and I can't help but chuckle at her comparison.

"You do realize I'm nothing like the almighty, right? In fact, I'm sure he'd strike me down where I sit if he were in the same room as me. There's nothing holy about me, sweet girl."

"Not right now, but I think deep down inside there might be something more than just a ruthless killer. You never know until you have to make that choice."

"What about you? What would you have seen yourself doing if your life hadn't taken this drastic turn?" I asked, desperate to get the attention off me.

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