“Don’t forget, Hermano,” I get out through gritted teeth. “I saved your fucking life. So you don’t get to have an opinion.”
My friend’s jaw tics as it sets into place. I rarely pull out this card, but when I do, he knows to stop. He nods slowly to acknowledge he won’t push the matter. But because I’m a fucking prick, I make myself another drink, mixing in the same powder I used before. This time, Liberato doesn’t say a word.
“I won our little bet, by the way.” I smirk, satisfied with myself. “Twenty-eight days for the last one.”
“Congrats. Under a month. You’re getting better and better.”
We share a knowing grin.
“So what’s the news with our other business?” I ask as I down the next drink.
“We have another client lined up, potentially.”
“What do you mean potentially?”
“I mean, her husband has given her the last warning. One more transgression and she’ll be sent to us.”
“We all know how that’s going to go,” I mutter. “Little brats always break the rules, final warning or not. And we haven’t even said we’d take her.”
“I think you’ll want this one,” Liberato winks. “Rumor is she’s fucking stunning.”
“And who’s feeding you these rumors?”
“Everybody. I have seen no photos, but the gossip on the streets is, her husband lets pretty much everyone fuck her. Degrade her. Humiliate her.”
“And yet she still isn’t broken in?”
I whistle.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Eight years.”
“And he’s only now thinking of sending her here?”
“Apparently he’s a proud guy,” Liberato shrugs. “Wanted to train her himself.”
“Don’t they all. But clearly he’s failed. But that’s where we come in.”
“Damn right,” my friend laughs.
“Fine, agree to take her. And tell him it’ll cost double.”
“I don’t know if he’ll go for that...”
“Trust me, he will. If it’s been eight years, he’s bound to send her here soon. And we’ll do our jobs perfectly, just like we always do. By the time she goes back to him, she’ll be trained to do anything on his command.”
“Another thing,” he adds. “He wants us to hurry.”
“Hurry?”
I shake my head.
“You can’t rush this shit.”
“I know, but... the guy seemed obsessed with his wife. He won’t want her getting attached to you.”
“Too fucking bad for him, then.”
“Heath,” Liberato grunts. “I’m fucking serious. Think of the last toy.”
I think of the red-haired beauty I fucked a month ago, her taste still lingering on my tongue.
“What about her?”
“She left here screaming for you,” he mutters. “She’s going to spend a lifetime wishing she’d ended up with you.”
“Doubt it.”
“Stop getting these women so attached to you. The point is, they should be broken in for their husband, Heath. Not you.”
“They do anything I tell them.” I take a step closer, glaring at my partner. “And you’re overstepping, L.”
His nickname from before this, from before he named himself Liberato, cuts him deep. I can tell, but I keep pushing, making the wound bigger and bigger.
“Maybe you’re forgetting who set up this business and who dragged us out of the hole we were in before.”
“I’m not forgetting, Heath,” my friend hisses. “I doubt you’d let me forget, even for a second.”
“Why should I? I did all this for us, and you pick on my one nasty habit. What kind of shitty gratitude is that?”
“Fuck you, Heath.”
“I’d watch your tongue if I were you.”
I feel the effects of the drug finally kicking in. These days, it takes at least two bags of powder to feel the familiar rush of adrenaline.
“Or else what?”
“You’re acting really fucking foolish,” I spit out. “Stop.”
“Stop trying to help? I’m trying to save you from yourself, Heath.”
“Well, you’re doing a bad goddamn job. Now leave.”
“Excuse me?”
The glass I’m still holding shatters against the wall as I roar, “Leave!”
Liberato shakes his head, wiping a drop of the poison-filled liquid from his cheek. He doesn’t say a word, just turns his back to me and walks out of the room.
I only realize I’m shaking a moment after. I want to fuck something. Or kill someone.
The drugs are really taking hold of me now and I tighten my fingers into fists, stumbling against the desk.
Fuck. I took too much. Maybe Liberato is right.
But even though deep down I know he is, I can’t help but want to pump something else into my veins. I want that high I’m always chasing, the one that makes me feel whole, like nothing else ever did.
The high where I remember shit, like the feeling of the paper-thin poppy petals between my fingertips, and the smell of Rain’s hair. But all that’s gone forever now, stolen away by my uncle, the one man I thought would always watch out for me.
When my parents died, Xavier, my father’s adoptive brother, saved my life. He then took over as my guardian. He played the role perfectly, and I never suspected the sinister plans he had set into motion the moment we met Rain for the first time.