Page 9 of Haunt Me

“What are you talking about, Joe? We are getting more than enough income. The market for drugs and weapons will never scale down. You’re trying to get greedy and we both know that’s a fuck-up waiting to happen.”

I can see on his face, he's getting impatient with me. I don’t care. I can also see there’s something he wants to say.

“Spit it out, Joe.” I hiss at him, getting irritated. He shifts on his feet and clears his throat.

“Okay, I was thinking—we must bring some fresh business. I got an idea and it would bring us twice as much cash flow.” Eyeing him, curiously at what kind of idea this is.

“I’m listening.”

He clears his throat once again and responds in a low whisper. “Sex workers.”

I grit my teeth and glare at him in disbelief. “Are you fucking insane!” Snapping at him, trying to keep myself from punching him square in the fucking jaw.

“Okay, okay—I know it’s a little… frowned upon, but I already have a contact that—” I immediately cut him off. “There’s no fucking way in hell that we are selling people! Don’t you ever bring up anything so repulsive again, do you understand?” I practically shout in his face.

“Yes, sir.” He grumbled, turning on his heels and stomping away.

I’m livid. Smuggling drugs and weapons is one thing, but exploiting humans—for sex no less, that’s a line I will never cross.

Glancing down at my watch, I notice that it's nearly 10 pm.

Time for a little fun.

Chapter 5

Argent

As soon as prettyboy stormed out of my girl’s house and raced away, I decided to tail him closely. While he was busy playing house with my girl inside, I couldn’t help but take out my frustration by slashing his tires. When he stopped due to the lack of air in his wheels, I stopped behind him and extended a helping hand, but instead, I knocked his ass unconscious and placed him in the trunk of my car. A few miles away from the warehouse, I brought him to an abandoned house. I have to teach him a lesson for daring to lay his hands on what belongs to me.

Inside, the dim light filtering through broken windows cast haunting shadows across the crumblingwalls. The chilly dampness seeped into my bones, mirroring the icy determination that fueled my actions. The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of my footsteps echoing through the empty rooms, the old wooden floorboards beneath me let out a loud creak as if protesting the intrusion. The air inside was thick with an overwhelming stench of decay and death, making it almost unbearable to breathe. In this desolate place, I intended to teach him a lesson he would never forget—even in the afterlife.

“Honey, I’m home,” I sneer sarcastically as I step into the room, once a vibrant kitchen but now a desolate space. The stench hits me like a punch to the gut, making me recoil involuntarily. My eyes lock onto him, bound to a chair, his hands and feet tightly secured.

Approaching him, the pungent odor intensifies, causing my nose to wrinkle in disgust.

“Fuck, you’ve pissed yourself,” I mutter, repulsed by the sight. His face bears brutal bruises, his head barely able to lift as he meets my gaze. It serves as a grim reminder of what has only just begun. Trembling, his voice quivers as he pleads with me.

“Please, just let me go... I promise I won’t go near her again.” Fear and regret fill his eyes, desperately hoping for mercy. As I lean in, my voice drops to a sinister whisper.

“You’re right... you won’t.” With a swift motion, I draw a knife from the back of my pants, his eyes widening in terror. His pleas become frantic as he struggles against his restraints. Taking a few calculated steps, I position myself behind him, gripping his head and tilting it back.

“You know, Caden was it?” I hiss through gritted teeth, my voice dripping with fury, “I wasn’t going to do anything to you—but you just had to lay your filthy hands on her.” Rage surges through my veins, a searing fire fueled by the thought of him undressing her, touching her. The room is filled with the acrid scent of fear and anticipation.

“Now, let’s do something about that, shall we?” I taunt, my voice laced with sadistic pleasure. Kneeling behind him, I forcefully grab his hand, ignoring his feeble attempts to resist. His protests are drowned out by the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.

With a swift, merciless flick of my blade, his middle finger separates from his hand and lands on the ground with a sickening thud. A blood-curdling scream tears through the air, mingling with the metallic scent of his blood that now stains my hands and arms. One by one, his fingers meet the same fate, each one symbolizing his audacity to touch the woman who belongs to me.

As his fingers fall, my jaw clenches in a vice-like grip, a euphoric feeling washing over me. Rising from behind him, I bring my mouth close to his ear, my voice a vicious whisper. “I hope you enjoyed that—touching her, kissing her,” I growl, fury burning through my veins like a wildfire. The mere thought of it fuels my wrath.

“Because that’s the last thing you’ll remember.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, I thrust the blade into his throat, the sound of his gurgling filled with the desperation of his dying breath. His blood spurts onto my face, adding to the macabre symphony of the room. Dragging the knife down his chest, I feel the sickening scrape against the bone of his chest cavity. Opening his abdomen, his organs threaten to spill out, and I halt just above his pelvic area.

Blood cascades from him, a crimson fountain pooling around him on the floor. I watch with a mixture of satisfaction and twisted pleasure as his life slips away, his eyes turning into vacant glass ornaments. Releasing my grip on him, his lifeless head slumps forward onto his chest.

Taking a deep, contented breath, I step back and survey the grotesque masterpiece I have created. The room is now saturated with the metallic tang of blood, a putrid aroma that lingers in the air. A smirk tugs at the corners of my mouth as I turn and leave his lifeless body, still strapped to the chair.

I will never allow anyone to touch her again. Possessiveness courses through me, an unyielding determination to protect what is mine. She has captured my attention, and I won’t release my hold on her anytime soon.

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