Page 7 of Beautiful Beast

Two

ERIK

Three men kneel before me, black blindfolds covering their eyes. They’re trembling. Crying. Their tears seep out under the blindfold and run down to their lips, which are blubbering.

They all look pathetic.

Pathetic men who attempted to steal from me and are now paying the price.

The warehouse I own is old and crumbling. It’s a place no one would want to enter. That’s why I love it. Wind rips through the broken windows, which will help muffle the noise of the gunshots.

I stare down at these trembling, scared men and tug on my cufflinks. My crisp white suit is a favorite of mine. I have to wear something for style when it comes to executing someone. There’s just no other way.

“Ready to go, boss?” my man, James, asks me.

“Not yet.” I crouch down so I’m eye-level with the men. Granted, they can’t see me through the blindfolds.

But I know they can hear me.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

Not one answers me.

“Do you know why you’re here?” I repeat. “I’m going to keep asking until I get an answer.”

“B-b-because you caught us,” one man blubbers. He’s the youngest.

“See? It’s not hard to answer. And your friends could learn a thing or two about showing me respect.” I grab the back of the head of the oldest and slam his face into the ground.

He cries as his nose cracks, and blood seeps into the cement.

My only response is to laugh.

The man sits back up on his heels, crying harder. His nose is a bloody mess. Good. That’s what a fucking thief deserves.

I was minding my own business at one of my clubs when I discovered the three in my office, trying to crack open my safe.

“You know the funniest part?” I walk between the men, my footsteps loud on the cement floor, as they continue to shake. “I don’t even hold any valuables in that safe. There was nothing in that safe except for a couple hundred bucks. Nothing else. I don’t keep anything valuable in any of the safes at my clubs. Because I know people get ideas.” I bend down and grab the hair of the middle man—not the youngest and not the oldest. He whimpers.

“I know people think they can steal from me,” I say into his ear. “That’s why I love to outwit them. Give them nothing.” I let go of his hair and shove him forward. Since his hands are tied behind his back, he can’t catch himself as he falls onto his face.

“I’m a business man.” I stand back up and walk around to face them. “I don’t make it easy for anyone to fucking steal from me. So the fact that you thought you could do that hurts me. It really does. I’m so much smarter than you think I am. I’m Erik Koslov. Show some fucking respect.”

I hold out my hand, and James places my gun in my palm.

Then I shoot each man in the head, just once, executioner style.

Their bodies slump to the ground with a satisfying crunch.

I slip my gun back into my jacket pocket. Glancing down at my white suit, I see it’s untouched. No blood got on it.

I like to tempt fate with my white suit. It gives me a bit of a thrill when everything else in life fucking bores me to tears.

Nothing is exciting when no one challenges me. I can have any woman I want. Every man is afraid of me.

Well, except for these fucking bozos who tried to steal from me.

The truth is, killing them has been the most fun I’ve had in a while.

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