"Got everything in order?" Jake asked as he flopped down on the leather couch that practically wrapped around the VIP room.
"Yep," I said as I sat on the far end. "Everybody remember the plan?"
"Yep, but we should probably go through it again for shits and giggles," Paul suggested. I shrugged, so he continued. "Tonight, I'm going by Zach."
"Tonight, I'm Justin," Vincent said. "My mom almost named me Justin, you know."
"Carrie knows me as Mark, so I'm sticking with that," Ryan said as he tapped away on his phone.
Paul looked at him with a raised brow. "Wait, you've been fucking her for how long and you've been lying about your name the whole time?" he asked.
He shrugged. "What? I’m only dating her to help Luther, so she doesn’t need my real name. Besides, I told you the bitch was clingy and clingy women are dangerous. Next thing you'd know, she'd be trying to add me on social media or finding out where I work and shit. So, now she can spend her time searching for Mark Wright on the internet that look like me instead of finding me."
We all chuckled at the admission before getting back on track. Curtis cleared his throat as he sat on the couch.
"Well, I'm going by Phil tonight," he said.
"And I'm Ash," Tony stated proudly.
"Like the Pokémon boy?" Jake snorted.
"Oh, shut up, douchebag," Tony fired back.
"Hey Tony, I dare you to pretend to catch one of the girls in a pokéball," Ryan said and snorted.
I clapped my hands together and frowned. "You guys wanted me to trust you to help me carry this plan out," I reminded them. "Stay focused on what's at hand and be serious. One fuck up and it's over for all of us." They all nodded, all playful tones from a few moments ago now gone. "Anyway, I'm going by Eric tonight. Whenever Carrie texts Ryan to let him know they're here, he'll bring them all here. Everyone know what they're supposed to do?"
"Each of us immediately grab a girl and leave Sevyn no choice but to go to you," Vincent answered.
"Everyone has their pills?" I asked, to which they all nodded.
Ryan's phone screen lit up and he looked up at us. "I guess it's showtime. They're here," he said. My heart raced in my chest as I grabbed a cigar from the table in the middle of the room and moved to the far end of the couch until I was in the dark corner. I needed a few moments to get into my "mask" that most people thought was my true self because of my appearance. When people saw a tall, muscular guy with a beard and covered in tattoos, their first thoughts were that I was either a biker or some kind of bad boy. It definitely made it to where I didn't have to worry about sleeping alone at night; as I always tended to attract all kinds of women into my bed. If people knew the true me, they'd wish the bad boy image was my true persona. In actuality, I was deranged, broken, and really got off on causing people pain.
I was the boogey man the news now warned the citizens of Miami about.
"Hi, fellas!" a female voice said as she entered the VIP area. Ryan wrapped an arm around the woman, signaling to everyone that she was Carrie.
"This is Carrie, everyone," he reiterated. She smiled big and waved at us before looking up at Ryan like a love-sick puppy. I fought the urge to chuckle. I could see what he meant when he said she was clingy.
The other guys moved just as plan to isolate the other girls, leaving Sevyn standing their awkwardly. And even though I hated her and was tingling at the thought of watching her die, I couldn't deny the fact that she was fucking sexy.
She wore a blood red bodycon dress that molded itself to her curvy frame, her makeup looking as if it was done by a professional, her maroon lipstick making my cock stir in my jeans at the thought of seeing that color on my skin later when I rammed my cock down her throat. Six-inch stilettos were on her manicured feet, her long, lean legs on full display. She'd always been beautiful; she knew that, too. She and I had a thing one summer when I was home on break from college and there was no part of her that I hadn't already explored. But it would be pure bliss to cause her pain, to make her scream, to make her beg for her life and the more I thought about it, the harder it was to be still.
I lit the cigar and took a pull from it, watching as Sevyn looked over at me. She slowly walked over and sat a couple of inches away from me despite all the other empty space. Her floral perfume cut through the smell of the cigar, reminding me of old times. Back when things were good. Fun. When Logan was still alive. I ground my teeth and forced myself to stay in character, continuing to ignore her as I smoked. And if Sevyn was the same as I remembered her, she'd only sit there for so long without saying anything, as she hated to be ignored.
"You're Eric, right?" she said over the music. I exhaled, smoke billowing from my nose and mouth as I nodded.
"You got a name?" I asked.
"Sevyn."
I raised an eyebrow in faux confusion. "Sevyn? Like the number?"
She gave me a sheepish smile that was almost cute if I didn't want to already cut her throat where she sat. "Yeah. It means completion and perfection," she explained.
"I don't remember asking what it meant," I said and put the cigar back in my mouth. She narrowed her eyes at me and frowned.
"Are you always an asshole?"
"Do you always think everything is about you?"
"My family runs this town. I'll say that everything is about me.”
"Your family?" I blew out the smoke and slightly turned on the couch, draping my arm across the back of it and facing her. "Tell me, Ms. Important Woman, who is this important family of yours?"
"I have an oil tycoon father and a fashion designer mother. The Langdons are important in Miami. You'd know that unless you're not from here," she said, folding her arms across her ample chest. My eyes drifted to the tops of her breasts and the peek of lace that showed from her bra.
"Well, baby doll, I'm not from here, so your family don't mean shit to me," I said and smiled, taking a puff of my cigar and blowing the smoke in her face. When the smoke disperse, I was surprised to see a hint of a smile on her lips as she looked at me.
"Then I guess you're worth my time," she finally mused.
I chuckled and shook my head. "You're awfully cocky to think you're worth mine."
"Am I not?" she said with a smirk.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Depends on what you're into."
"I'm into many things," she said, crossing her legs. It didn't go unnoticed how her dress slid up and exposed the soft skin of her thighs, taunting me.
Two waitresses in leather body suits walked in with a tray of drinks each, one woman passing drinks to the guys and the other woman passing drinks to the women, just as planned. I grabbed a drink from the woman and took a gulp of it. I welcomed the uncomfortable burn as it warmed my body before turning my attention back to Sevyn.
"It's easy to say that until you meet someone who'll push every boundary you have," I said. She took a sip of her spiked drink, something akin to curiosity and budding lust harboring in her eyes. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder before she turned a little on the couch to face me. "You'll learn that I'm not like most women," she said. I looked over to her airhead friends already so infatuated with my guys on the other side of the room. I watched for a few moments as they all flirted with my friends, giving them small kisses, rubbing their arms or legs, and giggling like schoolgirls who'd never gotten attention from a man before. At least, all of them acted like that except one of them. The woman with purple hair, whom I remembered to be Rebecca, didn't seem all that interested in Paul. Though she'd give him a small smile and allowed him to place kisses on her neck, her eyes were trained on Sevyn. There was almost a look of jealousy in her eyes as she saw the two of us together, which made me wonder if she was jealous that Sevyn ended up with me instead of her or if she had a thing for her best friend. I nodded toward them.
"Why are you friends with women like that if you're so 'different?'" I asked, taking another swallow of my drink.
She looked over her shoulder at them and shrugged. "We've be
en friends for years; a couple of us since elementary school," she said, which I already knew.
"Are you friends with them because they kiss your ass?" I mused.
She smirked. "Is that a crime?"
"I mean it's not a crime to be basic, but if that's what you prefer to be, that's your business," I said and shrugged. Gesturing toward Rebecca, I added, "I think your girlfriend is mad that you're over here talking to me. Might want to go show her some attention."
"Girlfriend?" Sevyn looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "Oh, no. That's Rebecca. She's been my best friend for the longest."
"I think she has a thing for you."
"Oh, shut up. No, she doesn't," she said and looked over her shoulder again. Rebecca gave her a small smile and wave, her eyes lighting up when Sevyn's attention was on her. The moment Sevyn turned away, the light in Rebecca's eyes dimmed again, her face settling back into the uninterested expression she sported.
"You're either in denial, stupid, or both," I said and finished off the rest of my drink, signaling the waitress for another one.
"Why the hell would you think that? You don't even know her."
"I can read people." I glanced back over to Rebecca to see her still watching us. "She’s very protective of you, and seems like the type that's okay when you're around other women because she knows you're not into women. But she doesn't like when you're around men because she knows you'll sleep with them, the one thing that she knows will never happen between the two of you."
"I think you're just pulling shit out of your ass," she said and waved me off before taking another small sip of her drink. "Try reading me."
I pretended to regard her for a moment, stroking my beard a bit. "Hmm...even though you like to tell others how important you are, you're really riddled with guilt and depression over something you did either recently or years ago. You prefer to stay alone, have trust issues, and probably live in fear and paranoia for whatever reason," I said and took a puff of my cigar. Her skin paled and her smirk faltered as she looked at me, swallowing hard. "Was I close enough?"
"Not really," she lied, though she already knew that I knew she was lying.
"Sometimes the truth freaks people out," I said and shrugged. "I told you I'm good at reading people."
"Well, if you're not from here, where are you from?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject.
"California."
"Los Angeles?"
"No?"
"Then where?"
"Does it matter? After tonight, you probably won't see me again, so let's not ask irrelevant questions that we won't remember the answers to tomorrow," I said and winked at her. The expression on her face changed in an instant but she quickly recovered and forced a smile.
"Right," she said, sipping her drink and looking around. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I slipped it out and read the text preview that displayed Paul's message on the screen.
Paul: We gotta start slipping the drug to give it time to kick in. The hack timer on my computer goes out in two hours.
I looked up and met his gaze across the room, giving him a subtle nod before turning my attention back to Sevyn. Rebecca still had her eyes trained on us and it almost made me nervous. I wasn't sure if she recognized me or not but considering that she wasn't hysterical or that she hadn't come over here and attempted to pull Sevyn away, I could assume that she still didn't know. None of these morons knew that they trapped in the web of impending death, the spider of vengeance creeping closer and closer to them as this night when on.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small tin and popped the top. There was only one actual breath mint in the tin, the rest of them being ecstasy. I could see Sevyn watching me in my peripheral as I slipped the breath mint onto my tongue immediately pushed it to the inside of my cheek to crush between my teeth.
“Taking a trip?” she finally asked.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe. Wanna be a passenger?”
“What is it?”
“X.” I slid my gaze over her. “Ms. Important is into drugs, too? Gotta admit you’re surprising me,” I said and chuckled.
She shrugged. “I’ve done a few things here and there. You shouldn’t let appearances fool you.”
I scoffed. “Trust me, I’m not fooled. I’m surprised you have the balls to admit it,” I said. “Still didn’t answer my question.”
“Which was?”
“Do you wanna be a passenger?” I asked. Her brown eyes were intense as she stared at me, different emotions swirling in her gaze. After a moment, I smiled and shook my head. "It's all good. The ride isn't meant for everyone."
"I never said no," she countered.
"And you never said yes," I reminded her. Though soon, it wouldn't matter what she said. Soon, I'd have her tied up, bloody, and in the ground where she belonged seven years ago. I fought the urge to clench my hands into fists, impatient to get to the next phase of the plan. But I knew I had to be careful. I was sure Sevyn was being cautious and was probably paranoid with the murders of Josh, Tyler, and Hunter.
"Mmm...I'll think about it," she finally said. I shrugged and took another pull from my cigar and blew out a breath, putting the cigar out. My phone vibrated again, another message from Paul.
Paul: We've given the girls the X and most have finished their drinks. What's your progress with Sevyn? Rebecca said that Sevyn doesn't do drugs anymore and has been sober for a few years now.
I ground my teeth. If that was the case, getting Sevyn high enough to convince her to walk out of here with me would be hard. I now had to switch gears in a way that I had no intentions of when I walked into this fucking place. Having any kind of enjoyable sexual contact with this bitch was the last thing I wanted, but if I wanted to convince her to take the drug, I had to put all my cards out on the table.
I ran a finger down the exposed skin of her arm, chuckling when she jumped. "You single?" I asked.
"Does it matter?"
"Not really. I was only making conversation. I'd fuck you whether you had a boyfriend or not," I said and smirked, though I cringed on the inside.
She grinned. "You're awfully cocky. What the hell makes you think you're fucking me at all?"
I had to stop myself from telling her that I'd already fucked her before, and reminding her about how she used to tell me that I ruined her for any other man. How I was the only man she'd come for. How I owned her.
How I planned to destroy her.
Instead, I just shrugged and grinned. "Call it intuition," I said. She gave me a strange look, her eyes searching my face as if she were still trying to place me somewhere in her memory bank. "What?"
"You just look really familiar. I feel like I've seen you somewhere," she said with a slight frown.
I shook my head and leaned back against the couch. "Unless you've been to San Francisco lately, I doubt you've seen me."
The music changed and one of the girls stood to her feet and began dancing around the room, the drug obviously taking effect.
"I feel sooooo good," she said and giggled. Sevyn looked over at her and shook her head.
"This is going to be a long night," she muttered.
"Why long? We're all having fun, right?"
"If I knew we were crashing a bachelor party, doing drugs, and practically having sex on the couch in front of men we don't know, I could've stayed home."
"Are you fresh out of rehab or something?" I asked. She shook her head.
"No. It was a few years ago when I did something. I've been trying to stay away from it."
"Your friends aren't," I said, pointing at them. All of them were almost drooling on themselves from both the liquid ecstasy in their drinks and the pill they'd taken. Sevyn was still nursing her same drink, unlike the other women who'd had at least two at this point. "Anyway, do you dance?"
"A little."
"So, dance for me," I commanded, grabbing the cigar again and relighting it.
She frowned at me. "Do I look like a strippe
r to you?" she asked, her tone flat.
"I said to dance; not strip. But if you want to get naked for me, I wouldn't mind that either," I said and grinned. "Or are you too scared to dance, too? Never met an important woman who doesn't like to be watched."
From what I remembered about her growing up, she was always competitive. I'd hear her talking to Logan in ways that made it seem as if she was competing with my sister. She'd get snarky if she thought my sister looked better than her in something or would be condescending if someone preferred Logan over her, and other petty shit like that. The one thing she didn't like was backing down from a challenge. And just as I expected, she downed the rest of her laced drink for liquid courage just as a slower, sexy song began to play and stood, taking a few steps until she was in front of me.
I bit my lip as I looked up at her, exhaling smoke into the air. "You're so fucking sexy," I said, and I wasn't lying. The woman was a sight to behold and if things were different....
I ground my teeth. Now wasn't the fucking time to go down memory lane. Things weren't different. Logan was still dead. Sevyn and the rest of the bitches in this room was the reason for that and trapping them was the whole point of being here. I replaced my budding lust with the bubbling anger that dwelled just below the surface, watching her as she slowly moved her hips, her eyes never leaving mine.
"That's a great idea, Sevyn!" one of her friends called out. "We should dance for the guys to thank them for inviting us."
I cocked my head as I exhaled a cloud of smoke. "And you associate yourself with airheads that can't form a single thought on their own?" I asked.
She smirked and shrugged. "They treat me as if I'm their god," she said, making my jaw twitch in irritation.
"Is that what you like? To be treated like a god?" I asked.
"Maybe," was the only thing she said. I chuckled. She'd be treated like a god; it just wouldn't be the god she wanted.
As Sevyn continued to move, her skin became flush. The liquid X was at least starting to work, making her more susceptible to getting the pill to seal the deal. She strutted toward me, sitting on my lap to grind against me. Her perfume and body heat awakened my senses, her movements bound to make me hard.
The Destruction of Sevyn (The Vengeance of Luther Book 1) Page 7
