Page 19 of Sinner

Except for one.

Bloodshed.

Nothing created more reverence for life than taking it.

“We’re selecting the male candidates at a later time. Correct?” Zach asked.

“Yes,” Wilder answered. “Some are already established employees who want to better themselves.”

If invited into the game, both the male and female winners were provided with significant winning packages. Secure jobs, vacation homes, cash, cars. We’d added perks over the years. All we expected in return was utter loyalty and complete silence.

That’s why we were extremely careful in our choices.

As I placed the last photograph on the board, my eyes were instantly drawn to the woman’s face. Well. Well. My luck was damn good today.

The girl depicted in the photograph was young, perhaps only twenty-five with a determined look in her light green eyes. With copper hair that had been kissed by the sun floating as if spun gold over her shoulders in thick curls, small freckles coveringthe bridge of her nose, and perfect pink lips, she appeared young and innocent.

Only I knew better.

I took a deep breath, holding it as an ache began to build in my cock. After basking in her utter beauty for a few seconds too long, I shifted my attention to her resume. Sophie Turner. She was applying for a head gaming position. That was how we drew them in, placing various employment opportunities on job boards. While the pared-down candidates were told early on that they would have a series of tests to complete, they had no clue what that entailed.

My thoughts turned dark and filthy. Rarely did my demented mind ever go there when providing my recommendation for the players allowed. We usually only selected twelve given the nature of the game, the difficulties of arranging the various competitions daunting.

I smirked and traced my finger down from her nose to her lips. She was certainly qualified and we could always use new talent. Yet I remained surprised that karma had smiled in my favor.

“Sindom Entertainment,” I said out loud.

“A small group, but they’re making strides in the industry. They’re highly ethical and my guess is loathing our ruthless methods. Why?” Wilder asked.

“Because one of their designers had applied for the position of head game designer. Supposedly, she has a couple of her own games on the market as well.”

“Fascinating,” Zachariah said, lifting both eyebrows when I looked in his direction. “I do not know her.”

“But you want to know her,” Wilder offered.

“I think it would be fascinating to see how well she played the game,” I answered, as I thought about her. She was beautiful, my cock twitching in response. She was also playing a game of her own. I loved it. So much so I was salivating at the thought of what other vile things I could do.

“Are you recommending her?” Zach was pushing me on purpose.

“I’ll need to think about it. Let’s put her on the maybe list.” I glanced into her eyes again. The world had been told the eyes were the entrance to someone’s soul. But not always. There were those of us who were very good at hiding our true feelings, our deepest and darkest desires, performing our day-to-day tasks as if we were decent human beings. I was the master of determining whether someone was cut out for the most merciless aspect of our business.

There was a very personal reason I was hesitating. If she excelled, she would no longer belong to me. I’d never felt this possessive before. It was a strange new world for a bastard like me.

Yet, I’d been right about her up to this point. The possibilities also excited the hell out of me. I could easily defile her to the point she’d never be able to live without me.

There was nothing decent about the three of us. We considered ourselves the spawn of the devil. But often those with the kindest outward soul were capable of the most heinous acts. Sophie Turner was an enigma, a woman trapped in a cage of her own making.

Perhaps it was time to place her in one built of steel.

A smile crossed my face and Wilder caught it.

“We normally don’t participate.”

I pulled away from the board, eager to have the meeting concluded. “Normal isn’t a word in our vocabularies. Is it, gentlemen?”

The three of us laughed. If only the rest of the world knew just how depraved we were, the activity in our games just the tip of the iceberg.

At least the Obsidian Society allowed us to behave as the true monsters we’d become.

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