Page 106 of Beast: Part Two

“Have a seat,” Archie says right behind me.

I take a seat on the white sectional couch that faces the fireplace. I keep my eyes on him. Archie goes into the kitchen. He takes a bottle of wine down and pops the cork. He pours two glasses before coming back over to us. He hands me one glass. I take it and have a sip. His eyes follow the movement. He then tosses his back.

I place my drink down on the coffee table in front of me.

“The longer I’m in your presence, the more attractive I find you.”

Raising a brow at him, I say. “And the more you talk, the less attractive I find you.”

Thank goodness this man is a mark, and I wasn’t actually interested in him. He’s a completely deplorable human being.

He chuckles. “Then let me find a better use for my lips.”

He leans in and kisses me. His lips are gentle at first before they become more demanding. I bite into his bottom lip, gaining a moan from him. He eases his way from my mouth down to my chin licking and biting. He sucks my neck and runs his tongue over the pulse point there.

“You taste fucking amazing,” he groans. He licks back up my neck toward my lips, but this time I turn away from his kiss.

He narrows his gaze when our eyes connect. He goes to speak but stops suddenly. Leaning back, he brings his hands to his lips.

“My lips are tingling.”

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?” I ask placing a hand to my chest.

He leans further away from me. His brows furrow even more, as his breathing becomes faster and more shallow. His eyes widen and his face flushes red. He’s panicking.

His mouth drops open and he starts to claw at his chest. He gasps as he shoots to his feet. However, after three steps he falls flat on his face.

I pick up the glass of wine off the coffee table and finish it before I stand up.

“I spent three days watching you fuck every girl you brought to this home.” I make my way over to him. Using my foot, I flip him over on his back. “You always start with the neck.” I roll my eyes. “Very predictable, Archie. I don’t think daddy would be pleased with that.”

His eyes widen. It’s about the only thing on his body he has control over.

I take a seat on top of the coffee table. His head is right by my foot.

“What…” he tries to get out of his mouth. I’m assuming he’s trying to figure out what’s happening to him.

“It’s a body butter. The women at D.O.E created it. You can wear it without any harm, but if you ingest it, it causes paralysis. It’s a slow and painful death. First your body goes numb, then your organs slowly stop working.”

I couldn’t walk into the bar with a weapon. Archie is trained to spot gun and knife holsters. He would have been on high alert had he noticed a weapon. Maksim told us that they were all taught to hide weapons around their homes. However, I couldn’t guarantee that I’d be able to get to one without him noticing. The poison was my best option.

Archie makes a gurgling noise as if he’s trying to talk. He has about thirty more minutes for the process to be completed.

“Why shoot them in the head?”The old conversation between Nathaniel and I pop up in my head. I shut my eyes to fight back the tears.

“Because taking a person’s life isn’t easy. Even when you think the person deserves it….. Giving out quick deaths helpsmaintain some of your humanity when this lifestyle tries to rip it from you.”

Placing a hand over my heart, I take deep calming breaths. Every time I think of the man I lost, I get a pain in my chest. Opening my eyes, I stare down at Archie.

“I had planned to watch you suffer,” I admit. “But he wouldn’t want that for me.” Sliding off the coffee table, I get down on all fours and look underneath the table. Just as I suspected, a Beretta is attached to the underside of the wood table. Pulling the gun out, I climb to my feet and stand over his body.

I look him in the eyes as I pull the trigger, ending his life with a shot to the forehead.

“Call the cleanup crew,” I say out loud, knowing the guys in my earpiece will hear me.

“Zel’s calling now,” Beast says. “Are you alright?”

I shake my head as tears fall down my face. I’m broken, and until I can finish the job of getting rid of Corbyn, I will remain this way. But I’m thankful for the distraction, because if I ever sit down long enough to think about the fact that Nathaniel is never coming back, I won’t survive.

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