Chapter 141: Wild card 2
LUCIAN
...He had no idea I was mapping his slaughter through the holes in his ego.
"So," he said after a moment, folding one leg over the other, "why did you actually call me? You never invite people here just to reminisce. Every conversation with you has a return on investment."
"I won’t insult you by pretending otherwise."
He laughed.
"There you are."
"I heard you’d become successful. I wanted to see whether there might be an opportunity for us to work together."
"In what capacity?"
"Investment. Distribution. Infrastructure. Whatever makes commercial sense."
"You?" His eyebrows climbed.
"I’ve diversified over the years." I smiled in reponse.
"I know you’ve got legitimate businesses."
"And legitimate businesses have costs. Expansion requires capital. Capital seeks returns." I folded my hands. "If you’ve found a market that’s producing exceptional margins, I’d be foolish not to explore whether there’s room for strategic participation."
Kayden stared at me for a long moment.
Then his smile slowly returned.
"Manipulative as ever."
There was amusement in his voice now instead of caution.
Withdrawal had dulled whatever instincts had once kept him alive.
Exactly as I’d hoped.
"You know me." I spread my hands slightly. "I like money. And I particularly like watching old friends succeed if there is a chance I can find a way to share in it."
"I could put you on," he said slowly, turning the offer over like he was the one in control of this conversation. "Introduce you to the right people."
"I would appreciate that."
"But." He leaned forward, his knee bouncing under the table now, the tremor in his hands more visible the longer we sat here without him getting what he actually came for. "What about that other spot you promised me? The one you said you would find, after the last one burned down."
"Ah." I let a note of genuine regret enter my voice. "Yes. A real tragedy, that. Such a well-run establishment."
"Terrible loss." He shook his head, entirely unaware of how close that loss had come to taking his own head along with it. "Masturbating has not exactly cut it lately, if I am being completely honest with you."
Disgust moved through me, quick and familiar, the particular flavor I reserved for men who could not manage their own appetites with any discretion whatsoever. I needed him regardless. Useful tools rarely arrived clean.
"Before we get into the specifics of new locations," I said, "let us take the edge off first. You look like a man who has not slept properly in days."
I signaled my sentinel at the door.
"Bring the girl. The one with the missing eye."
Kayden’s brow furrowed, his attention sharpening through the haze of withdrawal for the first time since he had walked in. "Missing eye?"
"An experimental arrangement," I said. "We have been testing it recently. Clients get to indulge however they like with what they have paid for. This particular one has a feature some find rather appealing."
"They’re allowed to do as they please with what they’ve purchased. This one..." I tilted my head almost thoughtfully. "She proved particularly profitable."
The silence that followed lasted only a heartbeat.
I was lying of course. The girl had been Bastien’s bitch and while she was wasting away, my men had started to toy with her before getting bored of all her three holes and decided to go for something more novel. I was certain that Kayden’s tastes would not stray from that depravity also.
I let the rest go unsaid, watching his expression shift from confusion into something I recognized immediately and found thoroughly repugnant.
It arrived slowly, almost imperceptibly, before blooming into something that made my stomach turn.
Recognition.
Curiosity.
Interest.
No revulsion.
No hesitation.
Just calculation.
The door opened.
The sentinel guided the girl inside with one hand gripping the chain at her wrists.
She stumbled more than walked.
Her clothes hung in dirty tatters, too large for the body beneath them, as though she had lost weight faster than fabric could account for. Bruises, old and fading, mottled the skin visible beneath torn sleeves. One side of her face disappeared beneath a crude bandage stained with yellowing antiseptic and dried blood. The other eye darted wildly around the room until it landed on Kayden.
Hope flashed there.
Just for an instant.
This was another face. Another person.
Maybe someone who would help.
She tried to pull herself upright despite the trembling in her knees.
"Please," she whispered.
No one answered her pathetic pleading.
Her breathing grew uneven. "Please do not hurt me. I just want to be free."
She wasn’t crying anymore.
Whatever tears she’d had were long gone.
Only panic remained.
Kayden stared at her and his pupils widened.
His breathing slowed instead of quickened.
He leaned forward in his chair, studying her with the detached fascination of a collector examining a rare acquisition.
"Interesting," he murmured.
The single word landed harder than any laugh could have.
The girl’s shoulders folded inward.
She had heard that tone before.
She knew exactly what it meant.
I watched both of them in silence.
Her terror.
His fascination.
One was trying desperately to survive.
The other was already wondering how much he could enjoy the pleasure this commodity commanded while basking in his lust.
"Please," she said, her voice cracking. "Please, no—"
I stood, smoothing my jacket.
"I will leave you to it," I told Kayden. "The restraint you have shown getting here, considering your current state, is commendable. Once you have settled and destressed properly, we will discuss business. I have two locations in mind that I think will interest you considerably. One in particular is known for the youth of its product."
His face had already gone slack with anticipation, his attention no longer on me at all.
I walked out and pulled the door shut firmly behind me.
Her scream followed me down the corridor, raw and breaking apart before it fully formed into words, and I did not look back once.