Page 66 of Savage Daddies

I perch my ass on the single bed positioned over in the corner. It’s a small cell with a two-inch wide window. Only a sliver of daylight streams in—not enough for me to read the size eleven Times New Roman font text inside of a book that the previous inmate so kindly left behind.

Letting out a groan, I collapse on the bed—which seems to be made of bricks—hoping that Zoe is safe enough to be without us for…God knows how long. Assaulting an officer sure crosses the line of what’s right and wrong, but it’s not like we fucking murdered anyone…

To their knowledge.

I shut my eyes and see those two Oxford shoes dangling midair again. They were freshly polished. He probably gave them a shine that morning because he wanted to die with some dignity. Paul’s always been a dignified guy. Nobody ever saw him wear anything thatwasn’ta suit, and the unserious manner paired with the formal attire made him very likable. Some people constantly carry around rain clouds wherever they go, but Paul always seemed to carry the sun.

It would make sense for him to hang himself.

He’s always been a man in control, so maybe he killed himself before Felix and Warren got there first, to deny them the satisfaction.

It must’ve been bad, the dirt Felix and Warren had on him.

Paul was our only tie to Felix. Our only hope to dig and discover whatever was going on between them.

Now, the only thing we’re gonna be digging is his grave.

Oh well. His dead body is still a satisfying middle finger to them both.

15

BULLWHIP

“Suicide?”Grizzly doesn’t even look at us. “That’s not like Paul.”

I walk into the clubhouse and blow out a breath. I’ve officially reached peak exhaustion. Last night, I didn’t even sleep for a minute. Even the bed my foster parents bought for me as a kid had more cushioning.

“Sounds like they got the better of him,” says Wrangler. “That thing thirteen months ago must’ve been bad for him to have?—”

“He wouldn’t have.” Grizzly turns around, revealing red eyes. “No. Paul never runs away. He’s always had this power complex thing about him. He wouldn’t run away from his life like that.”

We each take a seat and twiddle our thumbs. I check my phone by default to see if there’s anything from Zoe, but of course she never gave us her number out of fear of Felix finding out.

Rain thrashes at the window, wind howling through the eaves. Glad they released us from the station before the storm started—it would’ve been a nasty drive out to the clubhouse in gale force winds and harsh rain. Gray clouds roll by in the sky, and the wind throws grains of sand at the window. Nothing usually makes me jump out of my skin, but the sound of sand hitting the glass does, strangely.

Uneasiness sickens my stomach. It’s like I’m constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting for something to happen. But it never does. And that, in turn, leaves me even more paranoid. It’s Zoe. The not knowing where she is, and if she’s OK. Alive, even. Either it’s that, or the fatty steak and soggy carrots meal they served through the window in my cell last night that soured my stomach.

I wish it was the latter.

It’s not.

The memory of fingering Zoe to orgasm in the bathroom makes it tempting to ride the full way with her again. I only need to come inside of her once. Feel her hot, wet walls squeeze around the length of my cock, justonce. That’ll get her out of my system.

But it didn’t the first time.

I fear fucking her this time around will be worse.

The universe is against us. She’s married to Felix,andit’ll worsen things for me. God put me on this path to be the villain. To destroy. Not to rebuild and create, and enjoy all of earth’s pleasures. Those are for people like Poet and Wrangler, people with feelings. Those guys hesitate when it comes to killing, and do so only when necessary. I consider no feelings, and chase the adrenaline that comes with pulling that trigger. Damn, there’s nothing quite like vibrations from the gunshot fizzling through bone marrow.

There’s also nothing quite like Zoe Fernando.

Felix Fernando’s wife.

She circles around my head like a never-ending carousel.

And I don’t want it to end.

Things would be much simpler if I could phase her out of my life, and honestly, with Paul dead, I could in a heartbeat.

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