Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Doesn’t change what I did to them.”
“Iblis, you were a child. A child who was drugged to be controlled. At some point, you need to forgive yourself. If you want to get off by being dominated in bed, that’s great. I mean, I think it’s pretty hot. But you have to drop the weight you’re holding with your heart before it takes you under and drowns you. Blessed are those who let go of their past and embrace the people they’ve fought to become. If we allow our past to determine our choices now or in the future, we never stop being victims, and that’s not what we are. We’ve all seen horrific things, been party to them, harmed by them, but we made it through. We survived.”
I take a bite of pasta. “Holy shit. This is great. Like good good. Where did you learn to make sauce like this?”
“The cooking network. When I was detoxing, I replaced dope with cooking and lollipops.”
“Lollipops?”
“Yes, a lot of addicts get hooked on sugar.”
“Sugar, huh?”
Iblis smiles as he gets up and heads over to the counter, opening a drawer and presenting me with a Chupa Chup lollipop. “Yup, lollipops.” He unwraps the sweet and pops it in his mouth. The contrast between the black mask and the children’s treat is startling.
He leans over as he takes the sweet out of his mouth and rubs it against my lips like lipstick before pressing his mouth to mine. The kiss is sweet, chaste even. “When I kiss you, I’m okay with never entering heaven because I’ve tasted paradise on your lips.”
“What are we going to do, Iblis? All four of us are so broken.”
“Are we broken, Eden, or are we bent?”
“Is there a difference?”
“When you’re broken, there’s hope. So you tell me, Eden. Do the four of us have hope?”
“As long as you’re breathing, there’s always hope.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
ASMODEUS
Thomas and Liza Haliburton. A prominent super couple. Pillars of their community and two pieces of shit. They’ve been on our radar for a while, but we had no concrete proof. Not until Eden.
The door opens, and a tall woman wearing a long black gown appears, looking inconvenienced. How appropriate of the one percent. Rape and pillage the peasants, but sneer when they show up at your door.
She frowns. “Can I help you?”
“Sorry, ma’am. Don’t mean to ruin your party,” Abaddon says, turning on his charm.
Unlike me, he doesn’t have a scar that sets people off. He’s still got boyish good looks. Once you cover up all his tattoos, he can pass as a regular Abercrombie & Fitch catalog model—a perfectly acceptable American scumbag.
Usually, we’d wear our masks, but we figured we’d cut through the bodies like sticks of butter until we found her. It’s also more fun when people believe they’re safe.
“I’m not in the mood for chitchat. We just had the worst dining experience, and I want to settle in for the night with a stiff drink.”
She goes to shut the door, but I block it with my foot.
“Excuse me. Remove yourself this instant before I call the police.”
She lands on her ass as Abaddon shoves her, and the door opens, letting us inside.
I lock the door. “Wouldn’t want to be interrupted.”
“What do you want?” she demands. “We have money. More money than you could dream of.”
I bend, peering at her pathetic face. “Sure, we can talk about money, but can I see your tongue?”
Her brows furrow as she does what I ask.
I smirk, gripping the tip of her tongue. “I’d call you a good girl, but there’s nothing good about you, is there, Liza?”
She tries to pull her tongue back, but my grip is stronger. She grips my arm, and I slam the tip of my knife into her tongue, slicing through and pinning her to the elegant Persian rug on her marble floor. “What’s the matter, Liza? Knife got your tongue?”
Leaving her screaming unintelligible words, I scan the room until my gaze lands on the perfect object. A Fulton umbrella. Picking it up, I turn to Liza. “Oh, Liza, you’re creating such a mess on the carpet. Silk, isn’t it? You know how hard it will be to get the blood out?”
I flip up the hem of her dress, exposing her ass in embroidered lace panties that could feed a family of four for a month based on their cost.
“Liza!” a deep voice bellows.
I turn my attention from the whore at my feet to the man on the stairs. “Mr. Haliburton, I presume?”
“What do you want? We have money and connections. I can get you whatever you want. Just leave us alone.”
“We’ll leave you alone once we’ve had a little fun, Thomas,” I spit.
Thomas lunges forward, but Abaddon stalls him with a gun to his temple. “I would be careful making any sudden movements, Thomas. Wouldn’t want my finger to slip and accidentally pull the trigger.”