Chapter 40

Aleksei is tired and wants cheesecake so badly.

***

"You want me to kill him? Why don't you do it?" I asked, trying not to seem overly dramatic.

I knew I would have to kill people, I knew it was in the job description. But it was still something that I wasn't used to doing.

"To teach you a lesson darlin'. If you can't do this...then maybe you should just stay being Sinister's sweet, pretty little wife." Sebastian's words, although cruel, were said softly. I knew he didn't mean to be harsh, he was just stating facts.

I nodded firmly, pulling my pistol from my waistband and motioning for him to open the door.

I walked inside the cold, moldy smelling room, and came face to face with a beaten face.

He was older, withered, with gray, peppery hair. His face was a disformed mess of blood and bruises. His left arm hung loosely in his restraints, it was clearly broken. Blood caked his tattered clothes, his gray hair had brownish-red splatters of blood speckled throughout.

His right eye was bruised shut, blackened bruising covered the entire right side of his face, his lips were cut open, trickles of blood falling from his mouth.

He was more dead than alive.

His one, non-bruised, eye flickered up to me. It was bloodshot, and dark as he took in my presence.

"If they're trying to use another intimidation tactic, this one is definitely not going to work." His voice was raspy and try as he motioned towards me

I said nothing, my eyes still trailing over his broken, beaten body.

"Are you here to kill me, child?" He mocked me, blood gushing from his lips as he motioned towards the pistol in my hand.

I gripped the metal in my hands, giving myself a nod of reassurance, before I raised the barrel of the gun at his head.

"You know...you remind me of my daughter." He said quietly, completely unfazed by the gun I had pointed at him.

"You have a daughter?" I asked softly, still not moving the gun away from his head.

He nodded, closing his eyes in reminiscence.

"Maria, her name is Maria."

I scoffed, "Then why choose this life? Why sacrifice the sanity and safety of your child?"

He tilted his wounded head back, his eyes still closed as he hummed.

"Parents have a child, and in doing so, they bring into the world a monster that kills everything it comes in contact with..." His words made no sense to me.

"Shut the fuck up." I spat, trying my best to sound intimidating.

His eye peeled open to stare at me, "Your name is Calla Velkov, my dear. You're married to the boss, aren't you?"

I hesitated before nodding, "How the fuck do you know that?"

He hummed, ignoring my question completely.

"You know, the Calla lily is the most beautiful flower of them all...Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings. An orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying, the average human would rather be something they are not."

I said nothing, digesting his words as he chuckled darkly, more blood spilled from his open wounds and onto the floor.

"You, my dear Calla lily, are trying to be something you simply aren't. Do us all a favor, lower your gun, leave this building, and this life....let one of those men kill me. Flowers are meant to be beautiful and still, they do not kill."

My grip on the gun only tightened, "You think that because I am not a man, that I can't kill you? You think, that because my name is derived from a flower, that I am to pretty and pure to kill you?"

I was getting angry.

"The first time is always the hardest, sweetie." He cooed darkly as he gestured towards the gun in my hand.

"It's a good thing it's not my first time." I seethed as I pulled the trigger.

The gunshot pierced my ears, it's shot echoing throughout the small room. I didn't bother looking at what I had done. Instead, I turned on my heels and barged out of the room.

"That was so fucking badass!!!" Gabriel shrieked as he jumped up and down.

I breathed out a massive sigh. It was a breath, I didn't even know I was holding until I shot him.

"How do you feel, darlin'?" Sebastian asked, his hand resting on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm fine." I said strongly.

"It gets easier." Sebastian said, his hazel eyes glinting with empathy.

The first person I ever killed was Brie. The man said the first time was the hardest, but in truth, the first time was easy. So fucking easy. I didn't even think about what I was doing, I just did it. This time was different though, I wasn't being held at gunpoint to do it. There would be no repercussions if I decided not to pull that trigger.

"Wanna go get drink to celebrate?" Gabriel asked, dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth as he grinned.

I nodded, mimicking his smile.

***

Sinister's POV:

"Sinister, how did you come up with the idea? To use the strip club for laundering and drug trade?" Dominik asked.

Dominik was one of my advisors, a nice enough guy who was incredibly smart and calculated.

Afanas used to tell me Dominik was "a retarded fuckhole who uses his dick as a pen when he sends out christmas cards."

Whatever the fuck that meant.

"Actually, Calla came up with the idea." I smirked with pride.

"She's doing quite well, so I've heard." He offered, lighting up a Cohiba Behike cigar, that was $18,000 a box. This man loved expensive things.

"What have you heard?" I asked, lighting up a joint.

What can I say? I'm classy as fuck.

"I just received word from Sebastian that she shot that bastard Andre, point blank." He blew out a cloud of smoke, his ringed fingers tapping on the table.

"Did she?" I tried not to act surprised, not knowing the actions my wife was committing wouldn't look good.

He hummed in approval, "I heard you're considering making her your second in command. I think it's a good idea."

"Why is that?"

"Having an innocent looking girl kick some ass? It's a good change. If we get her out in the field, have her do some dirty work, it'll catch our enemies off guard. That is...if you're okay with it, sir."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I didn't like imagining my sweet little flower become a killer. It wasn't who she was.

I understood her reasoning for why she wanted to do it though, I even supported making her my second in command. That didn't mean she had to do the dirty work. That didn't mean she had to kill as many people as the rest of us.

That kind of burden on her...well, it would destroy her, it would break her.

Killing people does something to you. It takes a little piece of you every time you do it. For someone as demented and dark as myself...I have thousands of pieces to be taken. But for someone like Calla? It's only a matter of time, before one piece is too big, and she breaks down completely.

"We'll talk later, Dominik." I said, shaking his hand as I stood.

"Yes, sir." He nodded respectfully as he held the door to his office open for me.

As soon as I was out of the room, my phone rang, Sebastians name light up my phone.

"What is it?" I answered gruffly.

On the other line, there was loud music and Calla's infamous giggling. They were deffinitley at either a strip club or a bar.

"We're at a BAR!" Sebastian shouted into the phone.

I winced, "Good for you, bud. Is Calla with you?"

"Yeah, here, I'll put her on." He said quickly.

There was a slight pause, and then a loud thudding noise. The little fucker dropped the phone.

"Sinister!" Calla squealed into the line.

I smiled, just her voice made me see fucking stars.

"Hi flower, are you okay?" I asked quietly.

She hummed, "Yeah, I think so. I killed someone today..."

I sighed, "So I've heard, how are you holding up, love?"

She sighed, "It'll get better. I'm doing this for a reason, and I'm not going to give up. I'm stronger than that."

I smirked, "I know baby, you're so strong. I love you."

"Love you too!!"

The line went dead.

She wanted this. She needed this. And I think she's ready. In her own way, she wants to avenge Afanas's death. They were so close, just like him and I. They were best friends.

Afanas loved her so much. I knew, when Calla first came into my life, that Afanas had feelings for her. He loved her in a different way, a way I would never understand. It didn't hurt me, because Calla made him so happy.

And a man like Afanas, deserved a little happiness in his life.

Calla wasn't doing this to fulfill some sadistic desire, she was doing this to protect the people she loved. She never wants someone to die for her. She wants to be able to fight back.

She was my little fighter.