Page 135 of Once A Crime Lord

“I told you, you’re always at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Steven said.

No stutter. That soft, gentle voice assaulted her ears, making her stomach roil and head pound with nightmares.

“It’s you,” she whispered.

His eyes glittered with rage in his pale, angular face. “So, you finally see me, do you? When we met at the bar, I thought you were different until I found out you were with Pyre. You’re just like the rest of the whores.” He picked up his cane and pointed it at her. “Time to finish what I started.”

The way he was pointing the cane made it clear that it wasn’t a normal walking stick. She half turned to protect herself, even though she knew it was a futile gesture and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard a gunshot and then the sharp ping of metal.

“You know that’s against the rules,” Lucifer barked.

She opened her eyes and saw that Lucifer had deflected the bullet with his shield. Steven now had his cane pointed at Lucifer.

“You stay out of this,” Steven ordered.

Lucifer handed the shield to Lyla who nearly dropped it. The shield felt as if it weighed fifty pounds, but it could deflect bullets so... She held it in front of her with both hands as Lucifer headed toward the madman.

“You know it’s not allowed,” Lucifer snapped.

Steven’s expression twisted. “How could you betray me like this? You ruined everything!”

“I didn’t ruin anything. I made a deal to get a better show, which is what you’re interrupting. Give me the gun.”

Steven jabbed the cane at him as he retreated. “Pyre made fools of both of us. You hate him.”

“I don’t hate him,” Lucifer said. “He’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

Steven’s mouth sagged. “That’s not what you led me to believe!”

“I find your hatred for others amusing.”

“Amusing?” Steven echoed.

Lucifer was walking toward a serial killer with a gun. He had no weapon that she could see and was baiting Steven on top of that. Lucifer was obviously insane. She looked for an escape route, but with Steven by the door, the only exit was the arena and that wasn’t happening. She caught a glimpse of Angel going for the death strike, raising the trident above his head before bringing it down and being sprayed in red mist.

“You find me amusing?” Steven shouted.

She raised the shield just below her eyes and prepared to duck if Steven started firing wildly.

“You’ve been a source of entertainment for me,” Lucifer continued in a voice that was bored personified. “I gave you the skills you hungered for to work out your rage, and I was amused by your ability to manipulate and fool Gavin and the others this long, but you can’t hide behind the mask forever. It’s time to step into the light.”

“That wasn’t your call to make!” Spit flew as Steven raged. “You kept my secrets. You made me believe I could do anything. I have the underworld in my hands, and you turn against me now. Why?”

“You wanted me to give you your throne. I don’t believe in giving anyone a handout. You want your throne, take it.” Lucifer gestured to the pit. “You want Gavin? He’s right there. Take your throne, don’t use me or anyone else to do it.”

“You made me who I am!” Steven screamed. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I don’t have friends,” Lucifer said, brutally blunt. “And I let you play in the brothel, but you never got in the pit. You never step into the light because you don’t have the confidence to take an enemy head-on. No crime lord can lurk in the shadows forever. There has to be more to you than the mask because one day they’ll find out the truth. This was your opportunity to show everyone what you’re made of.” Lucifer’s voice became scathing. “Yet you hide under the table and insult me by bringing a gun into my house. If you can’t survive without a gun or the mask, then you’re nothing. You’re not worthy to claim the title. You’re a coward.”

There was the sharp crack of a gunshot. Lucifer jerked and a red stain spread over his right shoulder. Lucifer looked at the hole in his shirt and then back at Steven who took a wary step back even though Lucifer was unarmed.

“You always were a lousy shot,” Lucifer said.

Yes, he was unhinged.

“I’ll give you one more shot,” Lucifer said and spread his arms wide.

She looked over her shoulder at the arena for help but all four guys were engaged in bloody battle. Gavin now had two swords and was hacking body parts to the crowd’s delight.

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