Vicious Minds (Children of Vice #4)(38)

“It would be odd if I suddenly became chaste.” I said what she already knew.

“Give me a reason.”

“A reason?”

She nodded. “A reason why I can trust that I am different from rest of them and follow you down this fucking path.”

“The same reason you weren’t a virgin when I first fucked you, despite the fact that you knew you were going to come back to me… to marry me.” I reached up and pinched her nipple hard, pulling it towards me.

“Ah…” She gasped when I let go and I watched as it hardened.

“Our bodies are not loyal, Calliope. They respond no matter who is touching them. It is skin and nerves reacting. The connection you and I have isn’t just physical…it’s mental. Whoever they are, they are assisted masturbation. You are my partner.”

“So I can do the same?”

I knew the question was coming. It was the only logical thing to say. I felt rage at the thought boiling in me but I also knew I needed her for my plans. And I truly believed we were different. That no man or woman would be able to satisfy us…because what excited us wasn’t each other’s bodies but each other’s minds. Her mind belonged to me. Relaxing my jaw, I nodded. “Nobody twice and never raw.”

“And you called me insane,” she whispered.

“Didn’t you come to join me in my insanity? Don’t you want me? Well, this is the only way to have me.”

“I did. I do. Fine.” She answered each question and kissed me.

I wasn’t lying to her. She was in fact mine.





Chapter 8





“It’s like chess, you know. The Queen saves the King.”





~Terry Pratchett





ETHAN - AGE 24

Houston, Texas

Friday, September 7th





I placed the gun into the holster at my side as the driver opened the side door. Tobias stood beside me along with Greyson. I studied the long line, which twisted around the corner outside of Killer Instinct, apparently this year’s hottest night club.

“Do you know who this is?” An Asian man argued with a bouncer with black earrings. He pointed to the Chinese man with him, dressed in white and surrounded by his own guards with two women on his arm, “This Chao Neng.”

“Never heard of him, so you and Chow Mein here can either get to the back of the line or go,” the bouncer sneered, pointing to the snaking line.

“Let’s get this done quickly,” I muttered to Tobias and they walked in front of me past the line and across the red carpet

“Sir.” The bouncer lifted the rope and opened the chrome door. The letters KI were on the metal, styled to look like claw marks embedded in it. The smell of alcohol and smoke poured out from within. The music was so loud that that I could feel the vibrations.

“You are making a big mistake right now!”

I heard the man yell behind me as we entered, the whole place packed with bodies. Women hung from the ceiling performing in the air while lights flickered. I skimmed around quickly, they were hard to find, they stood around all the exits.

“This way,” a woman in a short silver sequined dress was already waiting, holding a tray of red champagne. “Mr. Munha has been expecting you.”

I ignored the champagne and she quickly handed the tray off to another worker, ushering us across the top terrace overlooking the entertainment below. There was another bouncer who parted a curtain, letting us into a room partially blocked from view. Stepping inside, it became obvious he wasn’t there.

“Please make yourselves comfortable. He will be right with you,” the woman said as she turned to leave.

“He’s making you wait?” Greyson spoke angrily. I took a seat in a lounge chair, leaning back into it.

“Someone has obviously forgotten his place,” Tobias responded.

Nothing a little cutting down won’t stop, I thought, glancing at my watch. This meeting was already an annoyance. Peering through the curtains, I was completely uninterested and unentertained. Once you had been in one club, you had been pretty much been in them all. Why anyone would want to spend their nights surrounded by drunk lonely people in a dark crowded room was beyond me.

“Incoming.” Greyson nodded towards the short but muscular man with tan skin and curly hair. He walked with a slight hunch and stood out among the guards around him.

He came in the room enthusiastically, already running his mouth. “Mr. Chao Neng Chang or is it Mr. Chang? I can never tell which one is your first or last name.”

“Neither,” I said after his verbal vomit finished. His eyes met mine and widened only for a split second before a smile split his face.

“Mr. Callahan, I didn’t know you were in town.”

My eyebrow rose and I snickered. “Am I supposed to report to you? No, I am not. You are supposed to report to me. Nevertheless, I came to town. I didn’t even let my men know we weren’t invited to your little clubhouse today. They would feel a little insulted. Now that you know, how do you feel, Greyson?”

“It hurts, boss,” Greyson replied.

“Tobias?”

“Very insulted.”

“Hurt, very insulted…that’s how they feel. How do you think I feel, Miguel?” I asked him, craning my head to the side to look at him.