Blood…
All I see is crimson red blood. Fresh and smells like rust.
I thought I was used to this, but I was wrong. So, so wrong.
After all this time, this is something that I could never ever prepare myself for.
I stared at the naked man bound to the table, swimming in his own blood…
A single bulb hung over him like a spotlight.
A shudder ran down my spine.
This wasn't the first time I'd seen blood. Ever since I started working for him, I've seen it more times than I could count. He made sure of that. Every time, it was more gruesome than the last, as if it were some twisted initiation.
"Good, you're here."
My head snapped toward the dark corner past the table. He stepped forward, wiping blood from his hands with a black cloth.
I gulped. My hand tightened around the door handle for support as my knees nearly gave out.
"Hmm," he hummed, studying me. "This must still be too much for you."
He tossed the cloth aside and walked toward me.
"Come with me."
He pulled the door and walked out as if all of this was normal.
Cold sweat coated my skin as I stared at his back. The knot in my stomach tightened.
I swallowed, forcing saliva down my throat as though it could ease the tension coiling inside me. Whatever courage I had left, I gathered it and followed. The door clicked shut behind me.
Inside his office, he picked up a glass filled with red liquid.
I looked away when he took a sip. The color reminded me too much of what I had just seen.
"Are you alright?" he asked, tilting his head as if my silence puzzled him.
"I…I'm fine," I muttered, my hands clenched at my sides.
"Good."
He set the glass down and walked around the desk until he stood right in front of me… a little too close.
I stepped back and he smirked.
"How long has it been?" he asked, leaning against the desk, crossing his long legs.
"Two years."
He nodded. "Then you should know the ropes by now." He pushed himself off the desk. "It's time. In fact, there's no time better than now."
I frowned, terror slowly shifting into suspicion and caution.
What is it now? It was as if he was speaking a different language at this point.
"There's chaos," he continued, closing the distance between us. His hand reached for my face before I could react. "And it's the perfect time to strike."
He turned my face left and right as if inspecting something on display.
"I don't know his type, but you…" A wide, unhinged grin spread across his face. "You should do. Any man would want you."
My stomach dropped.
I shoved him away, my heart pounding
violently in my chest. I could see it clearly, the lust flickering in his eyes.
"Relax," he said, smoothing his clothes. "I know better than to damage goods that rake in money."
"You sick bastard," I muttered under my breath.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and I took another step back.
"Sam will tell you everything you need to know," he continued as if nothing had happened. "If you succeed in getting me the Nova Empire, consider your debt paid and the contract null."
He reached for me again, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
"How does that sound, hmm… darling Eva?"
I smacked his hand away, glaring sharply at him.
Everyone in the city knew the Novas, the Nova Enterprise, and those on the darker side of the law knew it as the Nova Empire. They rule the underworld along with the new rising stars, the Frosts. And this sick man, Ace Frost, is one of their heirs.
And now he tells me he wants me to give him the Nova Empire?
What am I? A genie?
"It's not as impossible as you'd think," he said, still staring at the back of his hand. "You just need to find one man and take one thing from him. Everyone thinks it's lost, but I'm sure he has it."
Has he finally lost it?
"Yes, as long as he is alive, I'm sure he has it or at least knows where it is." He walked back to the desk and opened a drawer. "This man," he threw a picture on the desk.
Out of curiosity, I picked it up and frowned.
A man wearing a mask. Not an inch of his face was visible.
"Shadow," I heard him say. "I think that's his name. Find this man and take the Nova seal from him."
He looked more like a mad man the more he spoke.
How in the world am I supposed to meet a man who wears a mask? It's not as if he has it on all the time, right?
But still, I had to consider what this meant for me.
If I succeed, it means freedom. The leash Ace had around my neck would disappear. Liam won't be dragged into this someday.
"Is there a picture that actually shows his face?" I asked. It was foolish, but it was also a choice. An only choice for freedom.
I doubt there was anyone worse than the man in front of me. Whoever this Shadow guy is, I'll see for myself.
"If there was, you wouldn't be needed."
Those cold words were the last thing he said to me before he asked me to leave.
I climbed the stairs, returning to where I was before he summoned me, mumbling and cussing at him.
Loud music filled the building, the kind that could tear your eardrums apart and drown every other sound without even trying. The stench of cheap and expensive liquor mixed in the air, thick and suffocating.
People danced, drank, and smoked their lives away like it meant nothing.
I stood behind the bar counter of this place.
"Another glass, lady."
An already drunk man who could barely keep himself upright on the stool slammed his glass on the counter, a sick smile stretching across his lips.
I stared at him blankly. "Haven't you had enough? Go home already."
"When a beauty like you is serving?" he drawled lazily. "Fat chance."
What a loser.
I poured more drink into his glass anyway.
"Now we're talking!" he exclaimed, grabbing it and downing it in one go. "Accompany me tonight, and you won't have to return here again."
A small, amused curve tugged at the corners of my lips. He was testing my patience, his words grating on my nerves.
"What? Don't believe me?" He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bank card. "It's all here. I hit the jackpot today, you see."
And yet you chose to come here of all places.
I shook my head, massaging my temples.
"Spend a night with me and—"
Before he could finish, my fist found his face.
Yes, I punched him.