Soulless (Starcrossed Lovers Trilogy 2)

The stand-off lasted seconds, not minutes.

His shrug was as pathetic as he was. “If it was one of the Constantines that told you about us, I’m certain you’re outside of the usual precautions. We have no nobodies or pussies in our order, I can assure you. We are limited in our numbers. Quite exclusive,” he simpered.

“I know of Rawlings, Eddington, and Hardwick,” I told him. “I’ve heard they are particularly brutal beasts with the girls.”

He smirked at me. “Oh yes. They are brutal with the girls. They very much enjoyed Elaine, you know. She was a royal little slut when she discovered her clitoris.” His eyes fogged over with memory. “She took her punishment like a good girl.”

I could have ripped his balls off and rammed them down his throat there and then.

“Who else enjoys playtime?” I asked him. “Tell me.”

The Reverend betrayed his members like a fool.

“Lionel. Anthony Ellison. Carlos Madeira. Cederic Bartonshire,” he informed me. “A lot of our members are from across the Atlantic, of course. Their aristocratic scene over there is very . . . seeking. As I said though, it’s quite exclusive. That’s the full list.”

I could imagine it. Already my mind was running away, picturing routes overseas and just what the fuck I was going to do with them.

“Do enlighten me,” Lynch said. “Who told you about us? Surely it was Lionel, yes?”

That’s when I picked my moment.

“It was Elaine.”

“Elaine Constantine?” he asked, and his shock was delicious.

“Yes,” I told him. “It was Elaine.”

Seemingly, he knew full well that Elaine wasn’t quite the royal little slut he’d portrayed her as. He also realized I wasn’t the potential member I’d presented myself as.

He moved as quickly as I did, but I was faster than that incompetent piece of shit. He darted for his exit, but I darted for him, tumbling him back onto his seat before he was even out of it. He crashed onto his back, staring up at me with panicked piggy eyes.

My foot was on his chest in an instant, pressing hard. He didn’t even try to push me off.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked me. “For her? For that little girl who lied as well as she took cock? She’s nothing!”

“She’s everything, but most importantly—” I leaned over and spat in his face. “She’s mine.”

“But she’s a-a Constantine?” His confusion was obvious. Mine would have been obvious to match just a few days ago.

Voicing it aloud was a whole other league to me. It was a combination of disgusting and fantastic as I spoke the words.

“I’m in love with Elaine Constantine.”

His jaw dropped open, and his eyes were huge white plates as I pulled out the blade from my inside pocket.

“Surely not?” he hissed. “This is some ploy to get close to the Constantines, isn’t it? Let me up from here and I will tell you all you need to know about them. I’ll tell you all about Elaine. We didn’t mean to hurt her. She enjoyed it. She enjoyed being a fellowship girl.”

He was hoping for a miracle.

“I know everything I need to know about her Constantine background,” I told him. “I know everything I need to know about you.”

I pressed my foot to his throat. His hands gripped my ankle as he squirmed, but I wouldn’t budge, just kept my weight at a beautiful enough pressure to make him choke and turn red. Wriggling piece of shit.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” I said, and lowered the blade.

I stripped that man with my knife before I hurt him. I kicked him in the face as he tried to scream, busting his jaw so bad he was a mess, and then I took it slowly. Each slice of my blade was a thrill to me, only this time it wasn’t about my addiction to inflicting pain. This time it was all about the woman I was avenging.

It was about her beautiful eyes and how they must have cried when this man touched her. It was about him punishing her over so much time that she believed she deserved it.

It was about the way he’d touched her, the way he’d whispered filth into her ear when she was too broken to understand what he was doing to her.

It was about the way he’d been in this place, letting other men in for their sick thrills at her expense – my beautiful girl with a heart of gold.

I did things to the sick fuck that made even my stomach turn. He was a gurgling wreck as I finally took the ultimate payback.

I leaned in close, whispering right into his wheezing face.

“This is for Elaine,” I said. “Say hello to the Lord when you get there. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you, you disgusting piece of shit.” I pushed the blade straight through his windpipe and twisted it.