: Chapter 15

“She’s yours.” It repeats over and over in my head as a smile curls my lips. She steps farther back into the elevator, her eyes on me, scared. She should be. Ryder and Garrett brought me a new toy to play with, to teach him a lesson. It seems he disrespected Ryder when he was approached about not paying up.

As I step forward, Garrett’s hand darts out and grips my bicep. I had just gotten started with the man when I heard the alarm, so I’m without a shirt, and he turns his lips down at that. “Don’t go too hard on her.”

I raise my gaze from his grip to his eyes. I would do anything for my brothers, but especially Garrett. We know each other’s pain, so we are closer than the others. We are two similar souls. “Thought you didn’t care.”

“I don’t,” he snaps, dropping his arm and storming away as Kenzo laughs, watching him stomp off.

“He’s right though, D. Test her, but don’t break her, okay? I’m getting kind of used to the girl, so play with her, but don’t kill her. I haven’t had my chance to break her yet.” He chuckles before he winks at my little bird and walks away, leaving me alone with her.

She gulps but tilts her head back, so filled with fear yet brave at the same time. I can’t wait to peel it all back and see what lies beneath, and Ryder just gave me the go ahead. They don’t know the full extent of everything I do. I get results, and that’s all they care about. They let me have my fun, let me do what I need to survive.

And Little Bird?

She’s going to as well.

Stepping into the elevator, I press the button to take me all the way down again. I stare at her, and feeling her fear fill up the lift makes my cock harden in my trousers. Stepping closer, I suck in her sweet scent as she presses her back to the wall. I lean down and lap at the cut on her head, reopening it so it starts to bleed again. She squeaks, and I laugh as I step back.

“This is going to be fun, Little Bird.”

The door opens, and I whistle as I turn and head into the labyrinth that is my den. It’s dark and warm down here, just how I like it. I glance over my shoulder to see her uselessly pressing the elevator buttons. It won’t move again without my card or hand. A security measure we put in place when someone broke free of their chains and made it to the lobby, wandering around covered in blood.

That was hard to explain to the police, it’s a good job we own them.

“Little Bird, don’t make me come back in there and get you,” I singsong, and chuckle as she jerks her head up and peers out at me.

“Fuck this, fucking crazy ass,” she mutters, as she storms out, moving in my direction. “You try to kill me, and I’ll feed you your own balls. Okay?”

“Later, my love, right now we have someone to deal with. We can continue the ways you wish to touch me after.” I wink and turn, heading back to the room I was in before, where the man is waiting, chained to the ceiling. He’s already naked and covered in blood. He jolts awake when I enter, a moan leaving his throat as tears fall down his face. “Sorry about that, you understand how hard it can be to run a business and keep your woman happy, I’m sure.”

“Not your fucking woman—oh my God!” Roxy gasps as she stops at the doorway, her eyes going wide. She’s horrified.

I pick up the knife I was using and point it at Declan. “This here is Declan. He not only insulted Ryder and us, but also tried to have Garrett killed.” Tsking, I look back at the man. “You really are a fool.”

“Wait, he tried to kill Garrett?” Roxy frowns, her eyes flashing in anger. Ah, there’s the madness. Even though she tries to hide it, she’s starting to like us and loathe us at the same time. But it’s imperative she sees what betraying us looks like. What will happen to her if she tries to escape again.

She is ours now, she needs to accept it.

She can be one of us, a Viper, or she can end up like Declan.

“For all the good it did him.” I snort. “So, Declan, where were we? Ah, yes, you were going to tell me how much the Triad offered you, or I was going to cut off your nipples.”

“Diesel,” she snaps behind me, but I ignore her.

“So, little Declan?” I prompt, pressing the blade just under his nipple. He struggles in the chains, hopelessly tugging on them, crying once again.

“Diesel,” she yells, so I start to slice, making him scream.

A hand lands on my shoulder, and I whirl with a snarl. Holding the bloody knife to her throat, I back her into the wall. “Do not think you can save him, Little Bird. He dies here, but it’s his choice how much pain he endures. We cannot let a threat like that stand. He tried to kill one of us. We are the Vipers, we do not die. We strike back. Get used to it, or be quiet. Like it or not, you’re part of this now.” Leaning down, I press the blade harder against her throat. “No one hurts us, no one. That includes you now. Do you really want to save this man’s life?”

She swallows, cutting herself slightly on the blade and gasping, those lips I dream about parting. “I—”

“Would it help if I told you he raped his stepdaughter?” Her eyes fly wide, and I nod. “We do our research, Little Bird. This son of a bitch is a low life. I would still kill him if he wasn’t, but I thought it might help you to know what he is—a monster. Do you know what monsters fear, Little Bird?”

“What?” she whispers shakily.

“The bigger monster,” I whisper, licking her lips. “They fear me.”

Leaning back, I remove the knife and let her breathe freely. Her breath whistles out unevenly from her lips as she stares at me, searching my face for answers. Answers she will only find inside herself. This is the moment. If she tries to save him, she’s choosing her own fate. She will never be one of us, too weak to handle our life. And that means I’ll eventually have to kill her. “Do you want to save him, Little Bird?”

She looks at the man behind me, and I see her debating her answer. If I’m lying, if he’s innocent…but things like innocence doesn’t exist anymore, and she needs to learn that. Everyone’s a sinner in one way or another. You can cover it in roses and use excuses, but it’s all the same. It could be shiny and rich, but a sinner is still a sinner in a suit. There is no black and white, only grey. Deep down, we all do things that are considered bad, even for good causes.

Me? I do them for fun.

She looks back at me. “I need to know,” she whispers, and grips the knife between us. I relinquish my hold and step back, watching her, curious to see what she will do. Will she try to use it on me? That would be hot.

She steps closer to the man who sniffles. “Please, please let me go,” he begs, putting on a convincing act of innocence. I’ll give him that. I wonder if she cried the same way the first time he slipped into her room at night, but did it stop him? No. And it won’t stop me.

She presses the knife to his chest, her hand shaking, her voice steel. “Did you rape her?”

He freezes, his eyes going to me, then back to her. “No, no, of course not,” he cries, but that hesitation is enough, I see her stiffen.

She digs the knife in deeper, her hand steady now. “Do not lie to me, or I’ll let him do whatever he wants until you tell him the truth.”

Fuck, my cock twitches in my jeans, and I debate palming it. Watching her hold that knife…having her in my den, joining in. It’s doing things to me.

“I-I—she asked for it!” he screams. “Walking around in those little undies, teasing me—”

His voice cuts off in a shriek as Roxy yells and slices down his chest. Stepping back, chest heaving, eyes hard and angry, she tosses me the knife. I catch it mid-air, making sure to grab the sharp end so it cuts my hand to match hers. “Do whatever you want to the bastard, make it hurt.”

“Yes, Little Bird, whatever you want,” I purr, as she hops up on a counter at the back, swinging her legs as she watches me. I step back to the man. She said make it hurt. I can do that. Continuing what I started, I flip the blade and catch it with my damaged hand, pressing it to his skin in one smooth move.

I slice off one nipple without warning and toss it away, grab my lighter, heat the blade and, as he screams, press it to his flesh. The smell of sizzling meat wafts to me before I do the same to the other one. He slumps then, passing out, so I wait for him to wake up. It’s no fun when they aren’t awake.

“You do this a lot.”

I look over at my little bird. “It’s my job.”

“A killer?” she inquires, not judging, I think, just trying to understand.

Wiping my blade, I nod. “We all have our roles. It’s what makes us so good—we each know our place and have our strengths.”

“Will you tell me?” she asks.

“I could, it’s not like you can tell anyone, but, Little Bird, what’s it worth?” I purr.

She swallows. “I thought gambling and bets was Kenzo’s department?”

Ah, Little Bird sees more than they think, I knew it. Heading her way, I lean against the cupboard and pin her there with my arms on either side of her. Even in this blood-soaked room, with a man hanging from chains behind me, her eyes dilate. Little Bird wants this, wants me, wants to be free, even if she doesn’t realise it.

“It is, but it doesn’t mean I won’t make a deal with you for information. After all, I do work to get just that,” I whisper, wanting to taste her more than I want to take my next breath.

Her eyes flicker between mine as she debates her next words. “Promise you won’t hurt me?”

I laugh. “No, I won’t ever promise that. I might hurt you, I might even kill you one day, but we both know that’s where the attraction is. You’re walking a blade’s edge, pretty little bird, and one day, you might just slip, but wouldn’t the fall be worth it?”

I can hear the hammering of her heart as her eyes drop to my lips. “Fine, what do you want in exchange?”

“Your surrender,” I growl. “I know there is a wild one inside you, like me, just waiting to be set free. I noticed it in your eyes the first time I saw you. You will do anything to survive, like us. You’re more like us than you can imagine. You see the darkness, and you walk that line, one foot in and one foot out. Put both feet in, Little Bird, this is your world now. Filled with bloodshed and snakes. You want something, then take it. Do whatever the fuck you want, Little Bird, because the rest of the world does.”

“That’s-that’s what you want?” she snaps. “Me to be like you?”

“No, for you to be yourself, the one you hide, even from you. But today, today I will take something smaller. A kiss, Little Bird. Kiss me, and I’ll tell you what you want to know,” I murmur, watching those lips.

“You swear?” She sighs.

“Every day.” I smirk.

“Fuck, okay.” She jerks her head forward and kisses me, hard and quick, before pulling away. “Tell me.”

“What was that?” I laugh. “A real kiss, Little Bird, like you mean it.”

She snarls, getting annoyed now, her irritation overruling her fear of me. Her hand comes out and grips my shoulder, dragging me closer as she slams her lips to mine. It’s hard, angry, and hateful. At my forcing her, no doubt, but she always had a choice, and she chose.

She chose me.

She tastes like sweetness and life, she’s oh so fucking alive. Electricity arcs between our lips, her denial and my lust mingling with our breaths. Gripping the back of her head, I drag her closer, my hand tangling in her silky silver hair. I press my teeth to her lips until she opens enough to let me slip my tongue inside. She gasps and pushes closer, loving it even as she fights me.

Her body quivers against me, my cock so hard, I feel like I’m about to explode just from a kiss alone. She moans, a breathy little sound that goes straight to my cock. The sound seems to snap her out of it, but I refuse to let her go. I force my tongue deeper, dominating her mouth, marking her lips, bruising them. Taking what I want.

She gets angry, and starts slapping and clawing at my bare shoulders with her tiny kitten claws. She can do better. I saw her take down Garrett. She wants me to stop? Then I want to see that Roxy. Tugging her closer, I press my hardness between her legs, and she freezes before her fighting gets worse. Grinning against her mouth, I kiss her harder. “You can do better than that, Little Bird,” I murmur, before biting down on her bottom lip.

She groans and slaps me. The sound is loud in the room as my head whips to the side. My eyes wild, chest heaving, and cock hard, I slowly look back at her. She’s got wide eyes again, but her bruised, raw lips tip up in a smirk, one I return. “You’re getting there, Little Bird. Soon, you will be free.” A groan comes from behind me as the man wakes up. “Until then, ask away.”

“Tell me what everyone’s job is,” she demands, her voice husky as her tongue slips out and tastes her lips, making me grunt.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I snarl.

“Like what?” she questions, tilting her head.

“Like you want to eat me, so fucking hungry,” I snap.

“You taste like fire,” she whispers, and then sucks in a breath. “Tell me, I paid up, now it’s your turn,” she retorts, angry at herself for getting into that position. For letting herself enjoy it.

Poor Little Bird has no idea how much she’s going to enjoy what else is to come between us.

I’ve pushed her a lot today, so I step back and start talking. Today is about breaking down some of those barriers, so I’ll keep pushing, keep daring, until the true Little Bird comes out to play, and won’t that be brilliant?

“Kenzo is the bookie, owns the city’s gambling. Horses, cards, anything you can bet on, even fights. He’s the money side of things, good with numbers. Garrett used to be a fighter, so he knows a lot of tough people. He’s the enforcer. He scares people, beats them up a bit to make them listen to Ryder, who’s the front man. The face and the brains of the operation. They try to stop it from getting to me.”

“And what are you?”

I smirk as I grab a bone saw from the table. “I’m your worst nightmare. The place you go when you’re at the end. I get information by whatever means necessary. When Garrett can’t scare them, Ryder can’t reason with them, and Kenzo can’t bribe them, then I get them. I kill our enemies, I torture those who dare defy us. I’m the reason people are scared to cross the Vipers.”

“You’re the assassin,” she murmurs, lips still swollen from our kiss. She has never looked more beautiful.

“Yes, Little Bird, I’m the assassin, and you’re my latest target.” I wink before turning back to the man. “Declan, nice to have you back. Shall we continue?”

Roxy watches me the whole time. She says nothing as I rip the man to pieces, bit by bit, figuring out what makes him scream. He passes out five more times before I have my answer. Then I kill him. I douse him in petrol and set him on fire.

His screams fill the air again, the scent of blood and piss with it. I turn to look at my little bird as Declan burns to death. The flames dance across the planes of her face, lighting up her eyes and the fear and acceptance there. She has finally realised the type of people who bought her.

Finally understood she’s ours. There is no way out for her. Not now. Not ever. Little Bird needs to find out how to survive amongst the Vipers, or die as our prey.