Page 8 of My Hunger, Your Soul

“What about you, little lion? Can I trust you?” Carlos says to Simon, who glares at Carlos with such hatred that I’m surprised the guy hasn't turned to ash.

“I never talk about you, so it won't be a problem. I doubt anyone cares anyway,” Simon scoffs, scanning Carlos from head to toe, his lip curled up like he’s smelt shit on his shoe. It doesn’t have the desired effect on Carlos, as his face lights up with a stunning smile, his eyes sparkling. The freak loves Simon like this, and I don’t think Si knows what trouble he’s in.

“You protest too much, little lion,” Carlos says. Simon stands over him, fists clenched at his sides as he looks down on a smug-looking Carlos.

“I told you, you call me that again, and I’ll rearrange your face,” Simon snarls. This is some panty melting foreplay.

“Talk to him like that again, and I’ll rearrangeyourface. Now shut the fuck up and be professional,” Lev barks at Simon, who grumbles something under his breath as he moves back and stands behind Lev. Pretending to ignore Carlos.

Carlos refocuses back on Lev.

“My father is an arms dealer, mainly guns in Brazil. He’s a very powerful man. I didn’t want to be a part of that world. I wanted to branch out on my own and live in the US. My brother has always caused problems for my father, his gambling, drug habits, just causing trouble. So, my father said I could leave if I controlled my brother, Enrico. Make sure he didn’t cause issues for the family. It's been a fucking nightmare, and now he’s stolen from me, turned a few of my men against me, and he’s disappeared. The worst part is someone has told my father, and he wants me to return home with Enrico.”

“So you want us to find your men, which will then lead to finding Enrico. And then what?” Lev says.

“Then I return him to my father. Let him deal with him like he should have from the beginning.”

“And what about you?” I ask. Carlos moves his eyes to me, and an unconvincing smile reveals his lack of confidence in this plan.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle my father. But I won't be returning to the family business. I have too much here for me now,” Carlos says. His stare quickly focuses on Simon, who has been watching intently, but he swiftly moves his head when he meets Carlos’ eyes, pretending he hasn’t been listening to him.

“Any chance this could come back on us? The last thing we need is beef with foreign cartels,” Lev says.

“No. You’ll be fine.”

“Let me talk to D, and I’ll get back to you tomorrow. He needs to know about this before I agree.”

“Of course,” Carlos says as he rises from his seat, says his goodbyes, and strides out of the club. I look up out of interest to see what Simon is doing, and to no surprise, he watches Carlos leave before stomping off to the bar to chat with the girls. The more I watch Simon, the better read I get on him. I’d bet he is confused with how Carlos makes him feel, so he deals with it by being a hot-tempered asshole who then sleeps with whichever girl is around and is willing to hide from the truth.

“Do you think Dima will be good with Carlos’ plans?” I ask Lev, who is ignoring me, and focused on Aaron, who appears to be flirting with one of the dancers. Aaron is gay. Lev knows this, yet it still pisses him off if Aaron talks to a woman, and of course Aaron knows this. That's why the little fucker keeps looking back at Lev, smirking.

“D will be fine. Come on, let's go before I bald Aaron’s head.”

“You know he’s gay. Right?”

“No fucker is anything in this family. She needs to keep her hands off him before I cut them off.”

“He’s doing it to annoy you,” I laugh as we head toward an ecstatic-looking Aaron.

“It’s fucking working. Doe, get your ass over here—time to go,” Lev orders. Aaron pushes the girl away and almost skips over to Lev.

“What did I tell you about flirting?”

“That you’ll beat my ass if I do it,” Aaron says before nibbling Lev's ear.

“I hope you don’t plan on sitting tomorrow, you little shit, as I aim to make you sore for a day.”

“Sounds fucking amazing.”

“You’re a nightmare. Let's go,” Lev says as he grips the back of Aaron's neck and guides him out of the club, where I follow behind. My thoughts wander to Tyler and what his skin would feel like to touch. To grope. Does he bruise easily? Is he a bleeder? How fast could I get his heart beating?

I can’t wait to see him again.

6

TYLER

Rolling my head from side to side, I groan at the tension release, stretching my arms above my head to get rid of the strain in my shoulders after sitting at my design desk for the past few hours, working on the Kozlov plans. It’s been nearly a week since I visited their residence, and it left a huge impact on me that I’m still trying to come to terms with. The office is quiet, it's past seven at night, and I’m one of the last in the building like I have been the past few nights. Partly, it’s because the sooner I finish up with the Kozlov contract, the sooner I can wipe them from my mind. The other part is that I don't want to go home to the empty shell which is called my apartment. Don’t judge me, but I still haven't fully unpacked. The place is a mess, and I just can’t find the motivation to sort it out. Is it because, subconsciously, I don't envision myself sticking around here? Do I deep down dislike the apartment? Is it loneliness? I can't pinpoint what has me like this, but it's not me. My life has always been organized and structured, yet since moving here, I’ve changed into some college student with no fucks to give, living off takeout. All I do is work, sleep, workout, and repeat. I've still not made any firm friends. I've been out a couple of times to a bar with work colleagues for drinks, and it’s okay, but they’re not the kind of people I’d become close with. I’ve always been more drawn to free-spirited people, as they tend to drag me out of the overly planned life I’ve made for myself.

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