Page 61 of Soulless Angel

“Hold it right there,” he commanded. “Take another step and these two pay the price.”

He stepped back so they got a good look at Raina and me. They all wore varying expressions of shock and disgust. They all began to talk at once, shouting, and making threats. JD wouldn’t hear any of it. He waved his gun before firing a shot at the ceiling.

“Shut the fuck up right now,” he shouted. “All of you. In case you didn’t notice, I’m the one in charge here. You’ll all do what I say or you’ll watch these two die before you join them. Now drop your weapons. Slowly.”

There was some hesitation from Gage and Daire. Once the others began to lower their weapons to the floor, those two did as well. Their instinct was to fight, no matter what. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the advantage here.

Blaze met my eyes, shock and distress written all over his face. The six of them were gathered inside the doorway where they all had a great view of Raina and me strung up on the wall. In my peripheral view, I saw Raina catch Gage’s eye and slowly shake her head. Like she knew he would be thinking something that could potentially take this situation from bad to worse.

“So you’re the sick fuck behind all of this shit,” Daire said. “For some reason, I thought you’d be older.”

JD wasn’t all that young, but he wasn’t old either. Probably a solid mid-thirties.

“Sorry to disappoint you, I guess.” JD shrugged. “We’re going to play a little game. I hope this teaches you to mess with business that doesn’t concern you. I’m sure everyone here is familiar with Russian Roulette.”

My mouth went dry. This couldn’t be happening. JD obtained a gun from one of his goons, a revolver. He flipped open the chamber, popping out every bullet except for one. Then he gave it a good spin and closed it.

“We’re not playing Russian Roulette,” Havoc said, his gaze darting uncertainly between JD and Raina. “In a matter ofminutes, this place is going to be filled with mobsters. None of you will make it out alive no matter what you do to us. Your only chance to escape is to leave now while you still can.”

With pursed lips, JD considered his options. “No, I think we’re going to do it my way. Which one of you would like to go first? You’ll all take a turn, and we’ll see which one of you is the lucky one.”

By lucky one he meant the one who would take the bullet. A sick and unfair game. JD clearly got his kicks from putting people through such things. The smile he wore made my stomach turn.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Gage muttered. He looked ready to shred JD with his bare hands.

“Oh good.” JD grinned. “We have a volunteer. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what will happen if you try aiming that gun at anyone other than yourself. Just in case though, my man there will put a bullet in both women.”

“Screw that. I’m not playing your fucking game.” Gage’s expression was that of a madman about to snap.

JD was unfazed. Almost like he knew which one of us belonged to Gage, he strode right up to Raina and pressed the barrel of his gun against her temple. “I would really hate to have to repeat myself.”

The tension in the room was unbearable. The wounds on my body and the pain in my shoulders and wrists was forgotten as I stared at the six men, worry racking me. We were going to lose one of them. Would it stop there? Or would JD just keep the game going until there was no one left standing?

Havoc mentioned more mafia men on the way. I hoped like hell that hadn’t been a bluff. We could really use the extra manpower right about now.

Having no choice but to do as instructed, Gage took the revolver. He stared at it for a long moment before pressing thebarrel to the side of his head. Everyone in the room seem to take a collective gasp.

“Wait.” JD held up a hand. “I wouldn’t want to waste such a valuable opportunity.”

He snapped his fingers and nodded to the man who had been wearing the beaver mask previously. Not needing any verbal instruction, the man went to the desk and fetched a handheld camera, which he then pointed at Gage. If he blew his brains out with this shot, they were going to put it online. The incredible low JD would sink to for content views was absolutely vile. A man like him didn’t deserve to breathe.

JD nodded. “All right. Now go ahead.”

“You’re a fucking dead man.” Cash clenched his jaw, both hands tightening into fists.

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say. You can go second, providing that this one doesn’t take the bullet on the first try.” JD’s smile couldn’t possibly get any wider. He was loving every moment of this.

We all held our breath as Gage pulled the trigger. The small click was especially loud in the otherwise quiet room. Raina let out a shaky breath, blinking hard so she wouldn’t cry.

At JD’s nod, Gage passed the gun to Cash. I wanted to close my eyes. To shut it all out. I wouldn’t do that to Cash. It would be like abandoning him, so I made myself watch.

It felt like slow motion, watching him pull the trigger. I braced myself, anticipating the worst. Nothing. Another click.

Even though I felt relieved, it only made me worry about those who would come next. Eventually, someone would get the chamber with the bullet. I didn’t want it to be anyone. Not the Angels or the Gods. A man like JD didn’t deserve to have this kind of power.

He began to choose at random. He chose Blaze to go next. My heart squeezed painfully. I didn’t even care about the manstanding ready to shoot me at a moment’s notice. I only wanted my men to be safe. That’s all they wanted for me as well. That’s why they were here. They would do anything to protect me, even play Russian Roulette.

Blaze held the gun to his head, his amber brown gaze locked on me. I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down my face.

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