Page 9 of The Bloke

“Then why the fuck did I have to meet you out here?” I shot him an incredulous glare, pissed off that was where we had just come from.

“Fresh air? It’s cold and smells like shit down there.” He shrugged carelessly. “Besides spending all that time in the showroom tonight, I wanted to see the stars.”

You couldn’t see fucking shit with the Strip’s light pollution. I didn’t know what the fuck he was going on about.

“Fuck, let’s just get on with it then…” Groaning, I glanced at the ground and rubbed my forehead with my thumb.

“By all means.” He chuckled, holding a hand out for me to lead us back into the casino.

As soon as weentered the basement of Neon Palms, we were greeted with the strong smell of stale air, moisture, and iron. I wasn’t even going to attempt to think of where the iron smell originated from.

The sound of rattling chains grew louder and louder as Nick led me around a corner to where a man was dangling from the ceiling by his wrists, right over a small drain. The rust-colored stains surrounding its outer edge left little to the imagination about why he was hanging in that particular spot.

“Jasper. Lovely to see you again, mate.” Nick beamed as he approached the long metal table about a foot from where Jasper hung.

“Fuck you, Nickolas.” Jasper spat, his face swollen from a beating he must have received before arriving here.

“Oh, come now, that’s no way to treat a friend.” Nick teased, picking up a small scalpel from the table, and moved to stand before him. “You remember what I told you last time you were down here?”

“Fuck.” Jasper hisses through his teeth in realization. “I didn’t—I didn’t do it this time, I swear.” He pleaded, his eyes focused on the scalpel in Nick’s hand.

“If you didn’t do shit, then you wouldn’t be here. Again. Last time was a warning; this time, you will face the ramifications.” He growled, touching the blade to Jasper’s skin, and he started wriggling against the chains.

The more he struggled, the more his body spun and twisted from the ceiling, his back eventually being displayed to me. I could see the wordscheatanddice,scarred there from what I guessed was the last time he interacted with Nick.

“If you can’t already tell from his last visit, Colby. Jasper here likes to play with loaded dice and clean out our tables. Don’t you Jaspy?” Nick gave a sadistic laugh as he spun Jasper back to face us. “Colby, you’ve worked on a farm… Why don’t you educate me on how to drain a pig of all its blood?”

“N—No! Fuck you both!” Jasper continued to fight. “I’ll fucking kill you, Nickolas!”

Biting back a laugh, I pressed my lips together and chewed on my cheek. He was in no position to make threats, but the entertainment he was providing was a nice change from my other two tests. I could see why Nick said this would be fun for him. He had already dealt with this guy once before.

“There are a couple of ways to do it, usually with a chest stick, but since it looks like we don’t have one of those lying around—” I took the scalpel from Nick’s hand and brought it up to Jasper’s neck. “The next best option would be to sever the arteries right here at the base of the neck.” I pressed the blade lightly into the decompression point just above his breastbone, and a trickle of blood slid down his chest.

“Is it painful?” Nick quizzed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Very,” I answered, tilting my head as I watched the blood continue to flow from Jasper’s neck, not pressing any further into him—yet. He had gone silent, but I could see his breathing accelerate with the fear of death—a harrowing one at that.

“Alright, go on.” Nick encouraged without pause, examining his nails.

“You don’t want to play with him a little more?” I quipped, my eyes meeting his over my shoulder.

“Nah, I’m sick of his shit, and we gotta be at the gym in four hours.” He yawned, bored already.Well, that didn’t take long.

Facing Jasper once more, I shrugged and blew out a breath.

“Sorry, mate. Boss’s orders.” Without letting him get another word in, I plunged the scalpel deep into the hollow point of his neck, blood flowing freely around the handle.

Jasper’s gurgled screams echoed off the cement walls and floor as I stepped back. He had seconds before the blood loss pulled him under. Blood pooled on the floor underneath him, already dripping down into the drain.

Nick’s hand clapped me on the shoulder as he watched my handy work and Jasper’s struggle.

“Right, let’s get the fuck out of here then. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He stepped around me and headed for the stairs, leaving me behind to stare blankly at Jasper’s blood-soaked body.

He didn’t even spare a second glance at the mess he left behind. I would ask him if I was supposed to clean this shit up ornot, but my best guess was no, seeing as he didn’t instruct me to do it before he left.

The casualness of it all set me on edge, but if Nick was the man I needed to become to survive and thrive here, I might as well start now.

Chapter 5

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