Page 19 of Muerte

“Your apologies mean nothing.” I threw her to the floor and took a step back. “Clean this up.”

Coughing and struggling to quiet her ragged breathing, she shifted onto her knees and reached for a piece of the broken porcelain.

“What are you doing?”

She froze but didn’t dare look up at me again. “Cleaning the mess.”

“Start with the soup and use your tongue.”

She hesitated for half a second before lowering her face to the floor. Slurping sounds filled the room as she began to vacuum the soup with her mouth.

“Is this… necessary?” Lolita asked, sounding amusedly disinterested and disgusted.

“I’m not making her do anything. She’s doing this all on her own, and she’ll keep going until I say otherwise.” I grabbed my empty glass and walked out of the room.

After placing it in the sink, I grabbed a bucket from the utility closet and returned to the bedroom.

Kennedy had gotten a decent amount of the soup up already. There was some in the ends of her hair, but most of it seemed to have made it into her mouth. I tossed the bucket down and nudged her with my dress shoe.

“Put the broken pieces in here and finish up. I’ll be waiting in the kitchen. She still needs to eat.”

“I don’t want anything,” Lolita objected, still watching Kennedy with a look on her face that was somewhere between pity and disgust. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that she didn’t speak on the servitor’s behalf or ask me to spare her.

“It’s been over twenty-four hours since you had lunch. You need to eat something.” I didn’t give her a chance to rebut and left the room yet again, keeping the door open just in case Kennedy decided to be daring.

I shot off a few texts and set my phone aside to wash my hands, contemplating what I could make for Lolita.

I decided it was better to go with something light and simple so there was less chance of her stomach becoming upset. I was in the middle of chopping up fruit when Federico came around the corner. Isaac was with him.

“Finally shipping er off, Diabolus?” Freddy asked, his thick accent laden with humor. There weren’t too many occasions where he wasn’t in a good mood. He’d been one of my watchmen since I was nineteen and it’d been the same back then.

“I should’ve gotten rid of her when I did Clarice.”

“At least you gave her a chance,” Isaac remarked, ever the voice of reason.

“I didn’t allow her to stay out of kindness. I wanted someone who knew my routines and was familiar with the house.”

I added another orange slice to the dish.

“You’ll find someone new,” Federico assured confidently.

“I’m not worried about that. There are more pressing matters to concern myself with right now.”

Isaac looked past me, and I turned to see Kennedy had emerged from the hall that led to where Lolita was being held. At the sight of them, she became cemented in the doorway. She knew their presence could only mean one thing. Her eyes widened, and the bucket slipped from her hand.

“No.” Her voice wavered, and she dropped to her knees. “Please, don’t do this.”

How melodramatic. Who the fuck did she think I was to be swayed by her pleading? “Get her out of my house. They’re on standby at Carcerem.”

I turned away and resumed fixing Lolita’s plate, paying no mind to Isaac and Freddy approaching Kennedy.

She screamed and begged for mercy as they dragged her through the house. It ended abruptly after one of them knocked her out. The second she was gone, a tranquil silence blanketed my home.

I grabbed the dish I’d just prepared and another bottle of water, carrying both to the bedroom. Lolita had retreated to the corner of the room, as far as the chain would allow unless she hid in the bathroom. I could read her well enough to see she was afraid. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. I didn’t want her to fear anyone other than myself, and even then, I only wanted to savor her terror when the situation called for it.

“Sit back down,” I ordered softly.

“What happened to that woman?”

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