Page 34 of Pin-up Girl

Chapter Ten

Milo

Where the hell did Emmett get the information on the cameras? I didn’t even know there were cameras here. I assumed he had them, of course. Who wouldn’t want to keep their shit locked tight when dealing with master dickheads like Infinity? But I hadn’t known for sure, and definitely not where the controls were located.

I’d have to figure that out later. For now, we had Chao simmering in his own fear and sweat, ripe for the plucking. This was turning out much better than I had planned. We were originally planning to lean on him, make him understand our side was the only side that would save him. Especially with all the evidence we’d been collecting over the years to bust him for running a prostitution ring and a slew of other charges.

See that was one of the problems. Chao’s shit was easy to access, he wasn’t protected like the members were. Our only way in would be to blackmail someone on the periphery that had the ability to obtain the information we’d need. We’d happily do the dirty work of collecting ourselves, but it would be too fucking obvious something was up.

Chao opened a much better door, one that might make his cooperation a little sweeter under the guise of following the orders of my father like a good little lap dog. Oh, he needed a little violence to make it easy for him to do, otherwise his traditional honor wouldn’t allow it.

“Chao,” I adjusted his collar where I had him pressed against the wall, “do you know what happens in any situation where there’s too much rebellion?” He shook his head, his gaze shooting wildly around the room, stopping on various spots in the ceiling, probably where the cameras were. “It’s time to thin the herd. And that’s what we’ve been tasked to do.”

Emmett and Jules fell back into identical positions on the desk, leaning with one foot crossed over the other, hands braced on the edge of the sleek wood. We were all so different—the president, the player, and the mute—but we were all the same, except no one ever noticed.

“Elise, I need your lovely assistance.” When Chao tried to push away from the wall, I stopped him with a hard hand to the chest.

She looked at me like she was starting to doubt her decision to join us so willingly. She was a smart girl. I was about to dirty her the fuck up, so much that she would forever be part of this, part of us. Taking her innocence should bother me. The shame should buckle me under its oppressive weight, but I didn’t feel a thing. When it came to our safety, our freedom, nothing else mattered.

“Jules, do you have old faithful?” He whipped it out of the sheath under his jacket. Chao never patted down his patrons. We were all rich, some famous, and we were above petty crime. I nearly snorted from the hilarity.

Jules held out the blade, handle first, to Elise. She looked at it like it was a venomous snake ready to strike at her.

“Elise?” I called. If she hesitated even a few more moments, Chao would start to suspect all wasn’t as it seemed when it came to her. She shrugged, as if shaking off her doubts, then squared her shoulders toward Chao.

Good girl.

She adopted a sultry smirk, promising both pleasure and pain. Damn, she was a fantastic actor. The light glinted off the blade as she ran a slender finger down the sharp edge. Chao gulped as she edged closer. Raising on her toes, she pecked the underside of my jaw in a sweet and familiar kiss.

It was wrong, but I warmed under her attention. I should not be reacting to her this strongly, and under the circumstances, I shouldn’t react at all.

“What do we have in mind for tonight, Milo?” All steel, not an ounce of uncertainty in sight.

“We normally don’t leave permanent marks, but in this case, I think it’s necessary. My father said this wasveryimportant.” I yanked Chao’s shirt apart from the collar, small black buttons flying all over the room and rolling under the desk and couch. Chao’s tan skin was stark against the gaping black of his shirt.

“Right here.” I tapped his chest. “Give our good friend a souvenir, so he’ll remember whenever he looks in the mirror that this is just the tip of the iceberg if he ignores our warning.”

I stepped to the side, just far enough to allow Elise the space directly in front of him while I had a hold of his shoulder. I nodded to Emmett to take the other one and sent a silent apology to Jules. He didn’t acknowledge it, simply fixing his stare on a corner of the room and ignoring the scene with Chao.

For the last year, we’d been able to stick to broken bones only, but Elise wasn’t strong enough for that shit. A knife wound would be easier.

Now, I could only watch Elise. The emotions at play on her face were captivating as Chao ceased to exist for her. There was something akin to intense satisfaction, and perhaps a modicum of fear, as she worked the knife over his chest. It was the strangest thing, but from the distant look in her eyes, I doubted she remembered where she was, or who she was carving up. A quick glance at Emmett, and the quirked eyebrow confirmed he was thinking something very similar.

Damn, her comment from the car came back to me.

I know something about having your decisions taken away, and wishing like fuck you could punish every bastard that ever crossed you path.

We might have just given her a bit of revenge on whoever fucked her over. A grin fought to the surface, and it was pointless to stop it. Then I caught Emmett’s shake of his head, probably trying to tell me to get my shit together.

I shrugged. There was something a little heady about being the reason Elise got a little of hers back.

Chao’s pathetic whimpers pulled my attention to him. His face was now dripped sweat, his eyes squeezed tight from pain. Glancing down, I nearly burst out laughing.

The marks were just deep enough to bleed—scar. In impressively neat scrawl was the wordKings, and underneath it,Pin-up. Little trails of blood leaked from the corner of some of the letters, like she pressed a little deeper in those sections.

I whistled under my breath. He’d never forget who did this to him, and this might have made him an enemy for us. Not that he didn’t already low key hate us, but we hadn’t branded him at that point.

“I’ll be back in a week to collect the first batch of patrons. I’ve also taken the liberty of typing out a list for you, so you won’t forget.” I stepped back, reaching for Elise to pull her with me. Now that she wasn’t engrossed in the carving, the blood dripping off the end of the knife entranced her.

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