Page 24 of His Retribution

If only she knew he already did slink back, tail tucked, on his knees, and begging for my love. I smirk and she throws her head back in response. A light cackle escapes her lips. “Are you telling me he already crawled back?” Selena asks.

My lips curl up into a devious smile, and then I reply, “He did. It was fucking damn near irresistible, but I managed to put Christian back in his proper place.”

“Darling, maybe I need to be taking notes,” Selena purrs, impressed with my ability to keep Christian in line.

“I know what you are thinking. I got lucky with Christian. It may be an arranged marriage, but it’s one I would agree to a thousand lives over,” I say wistfully.

Selena gives me a look. “You didn’t always feel that way. I’ve been around long enough to remember when you despised him.”

“Sometimes things change, Selena. You don’t always want them to, or understand why they do, but it happens and when it does, you wake up one day and realize everything you have ever wanted is standing right in front of you. None of it makes sense, but suddenly life without that person feels unbearable.” As I answer her, I look off to the distance, remembering the first time Christian kissed me. I instantly knew I wanted him to keep doing it over and over again, even though I was supposed to belong to another. “Dead men can’t talk, Selena, and they certainly can’t get married. It was such a tragedy what happened to him.” I say with a suspicious shrug.

“Adorable darling, was he your first kill? You always remember the first one. That’s a smoking hot origin story,” she says. It makes me smile. I am one very lucky woman.

“Enough about Christian. Let’s get out of here before it’s too late. We can’t afford to be running behind if we want the opportunity to finish Le Manchot for good,” I suggest changing the subject.

“Yes, it’s time to make a grand entrance, wouldn’t you agree?” Selena asks.

“I’m up for anything as long as we don’t endanger my man,” I answer following her back upstairs.

SelenaandIslippedout a back entrance. We made our way stealthily toward the car parked on the street. Right as I stepped off of the sidewalk and into the cold dewy grass, a pair of hands grabs me. I try to scream, but his hand is covering my mouth. I look around in a panic for any sign of Selena. My first thought was that Selena betrayed me by luring me out of the safe house and right into the hands of the captors. The minute I caught sight of her, I changed my mind. Selena was sliding a knife across her assailant’s arm. He reached out in surprise, taking his eyes off of her for an instant. Selena capitalized on his mistake by slamming her hand into his nose. I can hear the crunching of his bones as her palm makes impact. Blood flows freely, flooding his face and covering Selena’s hand.

Selena is going to let them take us in, but first she’s going to beat the shit out of Le Manchot’s men. I followed her lead and slammed my head into the man holding me from behind. He drops my hands. I pull my elbows in, then slam them back into his groin. He drops to the ground, gasping for air. A few feet away, Selena grabs the man with the broken nose by the shoulders and pummels him in the eye, which instantly swells.

We enjoy a satisfied look with one another and then we walk over to their car and climb into the backseat to wait for them. Our sudden cooperation confuses the two men. They stumble to the car and climb inside despite their initial instincts not to. It’s clear neither one of them wants to disappoint their boss. Instead, they will risk enduring whatever special hell we have planned for them.

They haven’t figured out there’s not a happy ending. The only ending they have coming is death. For me, it was nothing personal until both men turned out to be my men. The kidnappers are traitors. Men, that Christian trusted. It’s no longer fun and games for me. It’s just become revenge. Sweet, delicious, violent revenge.

I lean over to whisper in Selena’s ear, “These guys are my men. They are traitors.”

“I recognize the driver as the same driver from the night at the club. The other guy looks familiar too,” she whispers back to me.

“Murder and mayhem,” I say with a nod. “No redemption for these two. The consequence for betrayal is death and if they have betrayed Arkham to help Le Manchot, then death is what they deserve.”

“Torturous and painful death?” Selena asks with a devious expression.

“Only the worst for traitorous pigs like them.” I reply with a wicked grin. “They will regret double crossing us.”

“You had me at only the worst,” Selena cackles.

The men twist around in their seats. “No more whispering secrets,” the one with the black eye snarls. “It’s nothing personal, ladies, just business, and Le Manchot pays better for special inside jobs.”

“And yet something tells me it’s more than that. If you’d asked Christian for more money, he would have helped you out. No, this is about more than money. You are gambling with your life for the affections of a washed up old bird. It’s not about money, it’s about resentment. Resentment for me, resentment for Christian, and resentment for the entire Arkham organization. So tell me little birdie,” I coo, dangerously. “Tell me who it is you are avenging? Is it your father? Your brother? Your best friend? Surely, it’s someone of grave importance to you, or you wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of infiltration.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation for anything. Besides, I have specific orders not to engage in conversation with either of you. My orders are simple: bring you to Le Manchot, collect my payment and go our separate ways. Now, sit back, shut up, and let’s not make this anymore unpleasant than it already is. Do we understand, ladies?” He asks with a challenging stare.

“Challenge accepted,” we reply in unison.

We drive in silence the rest of the way to Le Manchot’s location; we don’t need to talk. It’s obvious Selena and I are both deep in thought fantasizing about all the dubious, murderous things we would like to do to these men.

An hour later, we pull up to an old abandoned factory in the shadiest, most dangerous part of the city. The lowest of the low and the most ruthless criminals lurk in these parts. Nothing good ever happens here. I know one thing for certain: it matches the location of Christian’s phone. This is the right place. When Christian finds out I am here, in a part of the city, my father has banned me from ever visiting. He is going to lose his shit. It’s going to be sexy as hell, watching his body tremble with the suppressed rage as he attempts to maintain control. I secretly can’t wait to watch him work. There’s something incredibly hot about watching your man kill for you.

Nothing turns me on more than watching Christian come unhinged. The bloodbath that follows makes me want to stop everything so I can feel him inside of me with his rough hands roaming my body and that dirty, filthy French mouth of his growling terrible things against my ears. The thought of it has me clenching in anticipation. Somewhere my dirty Frenchman is here, lurking in the shadows, waiting to make his move. Oh, how I crave the feeling of his lips against mine and the way he looks at me like it’s painful for him to take a single breath without me by his side. Soon we will be in each other’s arms again and all the city will bow at our feet. The Arkham mafia will rise to its former glory and Selena and I will finally have the respect that’s so long overdue.

Chapter 15

Murder & Mayhem

Christian-

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