FORTY TWO
DAMON
”Wh-what?” the man stuttered, his eyes bulged with more fright. “Y-you are going to kill me?”
“Yes,” Selena replied curtly as she trained her sight on the rough face of the man. “Did you think you would walk out of here freely? Haven’t you heard rumours about The Dangerous Dame? Anyone that touches her people never goes scoot free. What makes you think you will be an exception after you landed my man in the hospital for two weeks? Huh… Tell me,” she urged the man to talk.
"All I did was follow an order, ma’am. I didn’t-”
“For following that order, you will pay a price.”
The man seemed to be the snarky type as he opened his mouth to continue talking. His head nudged toward the man in the middle who now had several pins piercing both hands, and he said, “How about him? You are going to let him go. Are you being fair that way?”
Selena sighed loudly, her lips wearing a pout of impatience and annoyance. “He is going to die as well, prick. Don’t act like I am being unfair.”
The man in the middle instantly screamed and Lucius cursed as he took a step back to avoid the man’s blood from spilling on his nice suit.
Her lips scrunched in disgust, Selena turned her attention to the guy who stared at his bleeding hand in horror. “I told you to stay still!”
“B-but you just said I will die as well.”
“Did you really think I would keep you alive? The pins are not for decoration either. They are laced with poison that will kill you within an hour. I am giving that much time to live because I want Grayson to see you take your last breath.”
Selena got up, her gown gathered in her arms. “You should be grateful that you will get to see the world outside one more time. These two,” her sight darted between the man that kept running his mouth earlier and the quiet one who actually looked timid, “are not so fortunate.”
“B-but…” The one in the middle tried to argue but Selena shut him up as she ordered Lucius to clean the spilled blood. After, the rod in her hold hit the table loudly. As the men jumped in reaction, I watched as the timid man kept his eyes shut. For some reason, I pitied him and wished for him not to face Selena’s wrath.
But, as I had those thoughts, I recalled the pain I was in for days and I took more steps backward, leaving that moment to Selena.
Though… I still think killing them is a bit rough.
“Hmm, Selena?” I made to voice my concern.
“Are they on their way?” Selena asked Lucius a question after the man ended the phone call he was making.
It seemed my voice wasn’t loud enough and in a way that was unlike me, I didn’t bother to get her attention. I forgo my intention to ensure the men were not killed when I recalled Garyson’s gloating smile at the dinner party.
As I moved closer and closer to the exit, Selena faced the man in the middle. “You will be on your way soon. Make sure to tell Grayson that I will deal with him for being stupidly audacious. And, don’t worry, your death will be barely painful at the end.”
Instantly, two hefty men barged into the room, untied the poisoned man, and dragged him out of the room mercilessly.
“Now… what do I do about you two?” Selena resumed her talk, her voice less deadly and more jovial. With the rod in her hand poking the caged hands of the men, she landed her sight on the man who was yet to utter a word. “You. Look at me.”
As the fully-haired man looked up, I felt bad once again. The man looked young and barely looked like a goon. If he was not captured by Selena for beating me up, I would not have believed a man with a gentle look would cause me great pain.
“You haven’t spoken a word since you got here,” Selena said. “That’s impressive. It’s a pity you have to die. I like keeping quiet people around me. Anyway…” Her last word was followed by a shriek.
As she hit the rod on the other man's hand again, she wore a grand smile that showed how much she enjoyed seeing the guy in pain.
"... this prick kept questioning me and I hate that so much."
When she put a stop to her torture, the man's hand was looking extremely red and slightly crooked. His face looked puffy instantly as his eyes were filled with tears that he tried to fight.
Selena soon ignored the tied men.
"Lucius," she called.
"Yes, boss?"
"I trust you can take care of them. I want no mistakes."
"There will be no mistakes, boss. I will take good care of them." As Lucius glared at them, the men squeezed their faces with fear. "I will take very good care of them."
"Great." A huge smile was on Selena's face as she dropped the rod loudly and faced me. "My job here is done. Let's go, Damon."
As she linked her arm with mine, I stole a look at the duo who were about to lose their lives. I watched as Lucius walked to the door, a knife in his hold. Once he closed the door, I let out a sigh.
"Are you really going to kill them?" I asked as I faced the front.
"There's no other choice," she replied as her loud footsteps filled the empty corridors once again.
"Really? You could just keep them as prisoners for as long as possible instead of killing them."
"You are wrong, Damon," she replied coldly as her glance left the hard ground and landed on me. "If it were Grayson or any other Mafia leader, they won't hesitate to end the life of any foreign person who threatens their territory."
"Do you have to act like others though?" I asked and her feet instantly halted.
"What?" Her forehead wore slight confusion.
"Do you have to act the way other Mafia leaders act? You can just be yourself and deal with criminals and unwanted people your way."
Immediately, she scoffed and she started to walk, our arms still linked together as I followed her steps.
"You are clearly yet to understand why I am called The Dangerous Dame. Anyway... are you serious about your deal?" she asked as our steps led us to the exit.
Unexpectedly, a bright light from a distant huge lamp fell on our faces, I found myself pushing her face into my chest to shield her from the reflection which was bound to eventually rotate away from our direction.
As I squinted my eyes, I realized what I did. But, since it was late to push her away and act like I did not just pull her to my chest, I stayed still and waited for her to walk away from my hold while her tempting scent tickled my nose.
As the bright light found another portion of the land to shine upon, Selena called my name.
"Hmm?"
"About your deal..."
That's true. She was about to say something about the sudden request I had which would restrict her from acting anyhow beside me.
"What about it?" I sensed her move and as I looked down, our eyes met.
That aura of danger that followed her into that bloodied room had disappeared and the tender look that attracted me to her at first sight, was back.
"Will you really let me have you if I do as I say?"
"I won't go back on my word," I whispered in return, making it seem like we were sharing secrets the world shouldn't know.
But... Don't tell me she's actually considering giving in to the deal?
That would be disastrous for my plan to stay away from touching her.
If she does as I ask, our chances of having a sexual encounter would increase and I'll find myself having a thumping heart once again.
"Selena, you should-"
"I accept your deal," she interrupted me, her words making my eyes bulge with surprise even though a part of me already saw that coming.
"Wh-what?"
She finally took a step back. "If I have to do the volunteer thingy to be able to touch you, I will do it. It's for a month, yeah?"
I nodded, still surprised.
"Good." Her smile was grand. "Let me know how things are going to be."
"How come you are not putting a fight like before?" I finally asked, stopping her intention to walk away.
A snicker escaped her lips and she began to walk, saying, "We should get you back to the hospital before your mother becomes more worried than usual."
