Page 71 of Beast: Part Two

Her scent still lingers on my fingers along with her taste on my tongue. I should’ve known better. I should’ve kept my distance, but seeing her in that dress and fighting my urges to be with her for nearly two months had pushed me to the breaking point.

I went into that room to just be near her, to sit in her presence, to calm the demon inside me. But when I walked in that room and heard her in the shower, I got caught up. I craved the sweet scent of her like a drug. However, seeing her in the kitchen this morning with that hopeful look in her eyes made me feel more guilty than I did last night.

Dragging the heavy body of the last guard into the utilities closet, I drop him on top of the other six men.

“Ugh,” Seth groans arching his back. “I miss the days when we could just kill these assholes and leave them for the clean-up crew. Carrying these heavy muthafuckers is damaging my back.”

It took a little over two weeks from the day Kyra and the others from D.O.E first told us about Franklin. One week for him to get back to the states, and another week to plan out the best way to approach him.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of relaxing not having to worry about killing anyone. Don’t you guys get tired of it?”

Both Seth and I turn to Hawk. “No,” we say at the same time.

Hawk shakes his head but doesn’t complain.

“You can ride off in the sunset with Brooklyn all you want when this is done,” Seth goes on to say as we all head out of the utility closet. “But I will always and forever be a killer. It’s in my blood. I won’t give this up.”

“Not even for Malia?” Hawk asks. “I know Lucien wants out.”

I close the door and place the padlock back on it.

“Malia knows who I am, and she accepts me,” Seth explains as we make our way back to Priest and Many. Zel is once again being our eyes in the sky. “Besides, I can’t do the domestication thing.”

Hawk scoffs. “What about you, Beast?”

I turn to glare at him. Did he really need to ask me that question? Seth laughs.

“I don’t even need to see you to know you’re giving me a face,” Hawk jokes.

We make our way back into the restaurant of the private golf course. The place is mostly vacant, but with the price of membership fees to get in here, I understand.

“Everything’s all cleared up?” Priest asks as we head over to the table he’s sitting at.

“All guards have been handled,” Hawk explains.

“How do we look out there?” He asks Zel through the earpiece.

“Looks like Franklin is heading in your direction. If you can keep him in the spot across from you, I have a clean shot.

“Okay, but hopefully it won’t come to that.”

Priest was adamant about not killing any members of the Royal Crown. I can’t say that I agree with that stance, but I did understand it. We need to keep our enemy count down.

I stand directly behind Priest’s chair. Seth sits in the seat to his right and Many to his left. Hawk leans his back against thewall behind Many’s chair. Once again, we left Maksim at home. He’s too well known amongst the Royal Crown.

“Heads up,” Zel warns.

Seconds later, two men walk into the restaurant attached to the golf course. Both men look to be in their mid-sixties. They were in good shape for their age. Both turn to our table and glare. The shorter man with the bad hair plugs scrunches his face. Franklin Smith, the taller of the two, eyes us suspiciously as they make their way over to us.

“Excuse you, but this is our table,” the short man complains.

Priest ignores him completely. “Hello, Franklin. My name is Priest, and I would like a moment of your time.”

The first man turns bright red. I’m assuming he didn’t like being ignored by Priest. I’m not the best with reading emotions, but the way he glares and tightens his fist seems pretty obvious.

“Look here you, degenerate asshole. You don’t run—”

Franklin places a hand on his friend’s shoulder stopping his tantrum that was sure to get him killed.

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