Page 2 of Locked Souls

“Ah, yes, she mentioned hiring some new recruits. I assume he’s been through all the trials?”

“Passed with flying colors. He’s a bloodthirsty bastard with low morals.”

My hands fist at his words and I place them in my pockets. The men laugh, and the guy sitting at the table crooks his finger at me. Snake shoves me closer and I grumble under my breath.

“I don’t know, Snake. He has shifty eyes, and reminds me of my sons,” he mumbles, then laughs and snaps his fingers. One of his goons steps forward and hands him a folder.

He tosses it onto the table and it opens, showing me a picture of a beautiful girl. She has dark hair and blue eyes. Richard smirks and points. “My granddaughter, Patience. She’s going to be taking over the business soon. We need you to keep an eye on her and report back to me.”

“Seems easy enough,” I mumble and Richard nods.

“She has a thing going on with her step-brother, Kian, so I need to know if they are still sleeping together.”

“Richard, don’t be dense. Your granddaughter doesn’t know how to keep her legs closed,” the man snaps, and Richard turns to glare at him.

“That is your future daughter-in-law, Nixen. Have some respect.”

A few of the men at surrounding tables quieten, and I know they are trying to eavesdrop. The man with the facial tattoos grabs my arm and pulls me over to the bar. There is a young woman, who can't be older than sixteen, in the cage by my feet. Her eyes are glazed over and I can tell she’s drugged.

“Sit. Don’t move,” the man orders, pushing me onto a stool. Snake sits beside me, then leans over the bar, grabbing a bottle of whiskey. He doesn’t bother with glasses, and just starts swigging.

“Spider?” I grunt under my breath to him, and he gives me some crazy kind of smile that makes shivers run down my spine.

“Don’t worry, kid. I’ve got your back,” he replies, but I don’t feel comforted by his words. They are more like a threat.

“So the job is to babysit some rich brat?” I ask, and he throws his head back and laughs.

“Just wait. The old prick will leave soon.”

He doesn’t say anything else after leaving me on a cliff of confusion. I watch the people surrounding me, and try not to think about the women under my feet. If I could, I would help them, but I’m here to play some fucked up role and I can’t have anything compromising my cover.

Even if I don’t know what that is yet.

A presence shadows my side, and I glance over my shoulder. Richard is standing there with that folder and his hand extended for me to take it.

“I’ll be in touch with you, boy,” he says and I nod.

Once he’s left with his goon, the lights get brighter and the music becomes louder. A side door opens and a woman enters, followed by some other barely dressed woman.

“Now the party can begin,” she says with a tinkling laugh, and I grind my teeth.

I know exactly who she is, and if I wasn’t here undercover, I would find some way to slice her conniving little throat.

“Ah, Isa, good to see you, doll,” Snake says, standing and wrapping her into a tight hug. She gives him a bright smile, then looks over at me. I can see how her blue eyes light up with intrigue.

“Oh, Snakey, who did you bring for me to play with?” she asks, and I have to fight not to shudder.

“Spider. He’s going to be working for you at the compound.”

My eyebrows raise and I open my mouth, but Snake places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it tight.

“Ah, yes, he will be perfect for the girls. Hell, even some of the guys will want a bite. I know I do,” she says with a bat of her eyelashes as she licks her lips.

Nixen stands and joins our little circle. “Forget about what Richard said, boy. We have something better for you to do, and that little whore will soon be joining you.”

I hate it here. I despise having to wear this mask while I walk around, forcing drugged up, innocent people to perform for the paying clients.

Moving along the dark stairwell, I grab my keys and unlock Rebecca's chains.

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