Page 73 of Of Blood and Smoke

In the stillness, I heard a muffled scream and quickly turned around, hoping to identify the source of the noise. Swiveling my head slowly, I tried to focus but couldn’t figure out where the sound came from until I realized it was coming from somewhere below.

I began opening every door I came across, searching for a way to get to a lower level. I knew this was foolish, but I wanted to see Josiah in action, and I wanted to know what he’d do to Brett. I was under no illusions I’d be able to stop him, and I wasn’t positive I even wanted to.

It was a morbid desire to see the man I was falling for more every day doing what was in his nature to do. He claimed to be these things and all it took was one look at him for me to believe he was capable, but Ineededto witness it.

There were things he hid from me, things he hadn’t told me, and I didn’t want this to be yet another. Something had been on his mind lately, but he wouldn’t divulge what it was, and I wanted to be closer to him. With his guards following me everywhere and his talk about how our relationship wasn’t “approved,” I knew he was holding out on me.

While I fully understood he was a target due to his wealth, there was something hidden. I suspected it had to do with the realm he’d said he was from, the place in my head I could only imagine based on the limited information he’d given me.

I wanted more from him. More than just visits to the park, lunches at cafés. Why hadn’t he told me more? My thoughts began taking a downward turn until I remembered the nights at my apartment snuggling on my couch, his long legs stretchedout, while I forced him to watch everyBlademovie, everyUnderworldmovie. He humored me but then pointed out multiple inaccuracies and I had to remind him they were for entertainment-purposes-only.

Josiah liked order and justice, more than anything, so the movies appealed to him on that level if for no other reason. The movies were bloody, gory, intense, and sexy. My man had the intense and sexy parts down to a science.

It just felt like there was something important he wasn’t telling me.

I hadn’t found any movies about demons to watch with him, not any that weren’t based on a haunting or possession, so we hadn’t ventured off into that genre yet.

Every door I opened showed me yet another room that wasn’t what I was looking for. When I got to the back of the house, there was one door left near the rear entry way. I had the feeling, given its proximity to the back of the house, I was finally where I needed to be.

For a moment I worried the door wouldn’t open but the latch gave way, and a long staircase led me down into the dark. I longed for a flashlight, but I was going for stealth-mode, so I hadn’t bothered to look for one or flip the switch on the wall. He could smell me, I knew, but maybe he was distracted enough to not be paying attention.

I held the railing the whole way down and was faced with a few different directions to go when I reached the bottom.

The echo of cruel and deep laughter steered me.

THIRTY-FOUR

Josiah

I smelled her before I saw her. I’d almost expected her arrival and was relieved when she didn’t disappoint. Perhaps this was why I was taking an exquisitely long time extracting Brett’s life from his body and soul. I’d been waiting for her.

She needed to know what I was willing to do for her love and devotion. There was no boundary I wouldn’t cross so she would know she held my heart in the palm of her hand.

I remembered the night I’d read her journal, perusing her entries pleading for help from gods that would never listen. She’d wanted help and she hated herself for it. She wanted someone to step in with a miracle, ease her burden. She wanted both complete control of her life, and to be able to surrender. Those feelings were not unfamiliar to me.

The first night I’d ever seen her, she’d been attracted to the display of violence I’d had lain out on the asphalt, her pulse frantically thrumming through her veins with excitement, desire, and fear. She’d wanted the power and the authority I’d allowed her to see. She’d wanted it demonstrated in her own life.

And here I was, answering her prayers.

Micha sat quietly in a chair across from where I stood, resting his arms on his legs, chin in hand. His eyes flicked to mine and a slow smirk spread across his face. He’s sensed her, too.

Brett hung suspended from a meat hook here in the chamber I’d had installed in the lower level of my riverside home. It was larger than the one in my office and conveniently included barred cells where the two errant guards were currently awaiting their fate.

“We’ll wait,” I told Micha, moving to a built-in cabinet. The slick metal finish of the cabinets, cupboards, and walls assured ease of clean up and was aesthetically pleasing when brilliant splashes of red decorated their surfaces. So far, my star prisoner had not provided me with any artwork.

Brett’s eyes flickered open upon hearing my words and at that same moment, the door pushed forward. Micha glanced at her before returning his focus to the man dangling from the ceiling just as she said, “Oh.” Her pretty honey-colored irises fixated on the spectacle and her mouth hung open.

“Della, help me,” the man said, his voice tinged with pain. She frowned at him and then looked at me, her eyes wide.

“You will not speak to her.” I whirled around and stalked back to him as he wiggled like a worm. “You will not speak to her ever again. You forfeited that privilege the moment you endangered her.”

“Me?” he spat, showering me with spittle. “You’re the only one putting her at risk—I would’ve kept her safe.”

Micha huffed behind me, acknowledging the idiotic rambling. Crossing the room, I went back to the cabinet and opened it again, before selecting a viciously serrated blade.

“I fear you’ve gotten yourself in over your head, my dear Brett. You know not what you’ve done.” I ran a finger over the jagged points, splitting my skin and watching the deep crimson drops pearl into perfect beads. “Or maybe you do?”

Staring at the man, I held my hand out toward Micha who rose and approached me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing his hips against me. It was my favorite part of torture, when the shock that ran across victim’s face blossomed at the sight of Micha moaning and licking the blood from my flesh. Either that, or when we played with each other’s cocks. I’d have to check with my Little One before I engaged in that particular type of play again. I wouldn’t want her to misunderstand or feel inadequate when she was all I’d ever need.

---