Page 26 of Born in Depravity

One man in the corner caught my attention. I let my eyes move over his face, then to the two other men sitting next to him.

They were talking and laughing loudly, though I didn’t hear what they said. But what was more, they were looking at Catalina with a look in their eyes that I knew very well.

Catalina shifted in her seat before she pushed away from the chair and made her way to the bathroom. The man I was watching stood too, shooting a devious smile at his two friends that earned him their loud and obnoxious laughter. I was instantly annoyed.

“You got it?” Damien asked quietly, calmly. I knew better. It was when Damien was like this that he was the most dangerous. Nikolay grabbed the steak knife, touching the sharp blade to his palm.

“’Cause if not, it’s been a while since I played,” Nikolay finished, smiling nastily.

I smirked, even if I could already feel my anger boiling over the surface. It was only a matter of time before it erupted.

I stood without another word and followed the man into the dark hallway leading to the two bathrooms.

I grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulled him toward the men’s room just as he was about to open the door to the women’s room.

“Wrong door,” I said, shoving him inside.

“What the fuck—”

His voice cut off when he got a good look at me. I smiled at him. He backed away and held up his hands, his eyes darting from one place to the next. Unlucky for him, I was standing in front of the door. He was trapped inside the bathroom with me.

“Hey, man. I’m not looking for any trouble.”

“No? Then what were you planning on doing?”

He opened his mouth, and I hardened my gaze. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”

He swallowed. “I-I didn’t know she was yours. She was sitting there alone.”

I felt one of my eyebrows rise at that. The man wiped his hands on the sides of his dirty jeans. By the looks of him, he didn’t live here. Probably just passing through. My smile widened.

Perfect.

I took a step toward him. He took one back. I worked hard to keep the disgust from showing on my face. A fucking coward was what I was dealing with.

“I—”

I didn’t give him the chance to say any more. I shoved him inside one of the stalls and followed him in, locking it behind me.

Fifteen minutes later, I came out of the stall and washed my bloodstained hands. Slowly, I wiped them dry with the paper towel and looked at myself in the mirror.

Nothing changed since I’d last seen my reflection.

Still the same lifeless blue eyes, the same expressionless face. I palmed my jaw, feeling the rough stubble. I needed a shave.

Throwing the paper towel in the trash, I walked out of the bathroom.

I sought out Catalina on my way back to the booth, and I could feel her eyes on me. I wondered if it was true fascination I saw in her eyes or, fuck, if it was just a mirage forming from a desperate man.

Nikolay watched me as I took my seat.

I shook my head.

I didn’t kill the bastard.

But I did brand him with my knife. And he was currently passed out on the stall, blood seeping through his sweat-stained white shirt. I could see the look of confusion on his friends’ faces as they watched Catalina, but they weren’t curious enough to check up on the man.

They weren’t stupid.

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