7. Dante

Chapter seven

Dante

I f Joel had just kept his big mouth shut, we wouldn’t have been standing here now. Me, with a gun against Freddie’s head, handing another to Austin.

But here we were. I’d heard the warning in Conrad’s voice, but the devil in me had had enough. I’d been good for far too long. It was time to have a little fun.

“Take the gun, Austin.”

I offered it to him, and once again, he backed away, shaking his head. Gone was the colour from his cheeks, but right now, I needed him to take the gun.

“Do it, Austin,” a terrified Freddie said. “I don’t want to die.”

“I’m not killing Joel.”

“But you’re lucky. You won’t kill him.”

Austin looked at me, the indecision clear on his face, until, eventually, he took the gun from me.

“I’ve never shot a gun.”

“Just point and shoot. It’s ready to go.”

I cocked my gun, the click loud in the quiet room.

“You can’t make me do this.”

“I can’t, but I can give you some encouragement. Do you want to see Freddie die?”

He turned away from us, the gun dangling by his side.

I didn’t want to shoot Freddie. He seemed most inoffensive. This was about Joel and his smart mouth. If he hadn’t brought that shit up about me being fake, I might have thought about letting them go, but I couldn’t let that slide.

I was the fucking Devil.

And what better way to prove a point than to have his friend do it? That might have seemed cruel, but I owned that shit.

I wasn’t here to make friends.

“Freddie thinks you should do it. Tell him again.” I pressed the gun harder into his head, and he whimpered.

“All right, I fucking heard you.” Austin’s voice broke, and when he turned to us, tears were streaming down his cheeks. He glared at me with pure hatred. “I fucking hate you.”

I shrugged. As if I gave a fuck.

By now, Joel was a blubbering mess, heaving sobs racking his body.

Austin pointed the gun at Joel. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The kick of the gun jolted his arm.

Well, damn. Seems he was lucky after all. Either that or he’d missed.

Joel continued to cry, and Austin opened his eyes, relief clear on his face.

Except he wasn’t done.

“Best of three,” I said.

“What? I did what you asked.”

“And you’ll do it again.”

“I can’t. Shoot me instead.”

“Now, where’s the fun in that? I need to see just how lucky you are. Your friends here think you’re the luckiest person in the world. Why don’t we prove it?”

Conrad removed the gun from Austin’s still-trembling hand. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d missed his target.

“You might only need one more shot. Come on, I know you can do it.”

I nodded to Conrad, and he handed him the gun again, cocked and ready to go.

“God, I’m sorry, Joel.”

“God won’t help you. You’d be better off asking the devil for help.” I winked at him and smiled.

He took a shaking breath and aimed again. He seemed calmer this time, although his outstretched arm shook as he took his next shot.

Joel screamed, and I thought he’d done it this time.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Austin fell to his knees and dropped the gun. “I’m done. No more. I’m not doing it anymore.”

Disappointment sat heavily with me. He’d not killed Joel, and that in itself would have been a fitting end, but the revelation that Austin was indeed more than he seemed pleased me.

What he didn’t know was that I’d loaded the gun and had added two blanks. How on earth had he found them both times? Did it suggest he was as lucky as they said?

Now I had a dilemma.

A devil’s dilemma.

I couldn’t allow Joel’s words to go unpunished, and as Austin had done what I’d asked of him, it would have been cruel of me to kill Freddie.

Wouldn’t it?

“Please just let us go. I promise we won’t do anything like this again. We’ve learnt our lesson.” Austin looked at me pleadingly. I believed he was sorry, but I still couldn’t let it go. I held a grudge. What could I say?

“I’m sorry, Austin. I can’t do that.”

I clicked my fingers, and Joel went silent, his head slumped onto his chest. I had no choice but to show them who was the boss, that they couldn’t do what they’d done and think it was okay.

The room was eerily silent.

“You may think you can win, Austin, that the odds are in your favour. But remember this—the house always wins.”

Conrad removed Joel’s body. He’d dump it somewhere, sending a message to his uncle that I wasn’t one to be messed with. They’d think twice about trying that stunt again.

That left me with Austin and Freddie. Austin was back in his chair, arms bound behind him. Neither said a word, but Freddie cried quietly.

“Who the fuck are you?” Austin finally asked after glaring at me for the last ten minutes.

“I’m your worst nightmare.”

“Why did you kill him?”

“If you don’t know now, you’ll never understand. You think this is all a gimmick?”

“I don’t care. You’re a murderer. You murdered him in cold blood.”

“Did you think I’d be lenient? He’d confessed to his sins.”

“He didn’t fucking sin. His worse trait was listening to his fucking uncle, and now he’s dead.”

As much as Austin wanted me to feel bad, I didn’t have a conscience or any remorse for someone who was out to steal from me, especially as I didn’t know them.

Freddie, I had a little more compassion for. He seemed the type to be easily led, taken advantage of. Yes, I’d threatened his life, but he’d never been in any danger. I’d known Austin would do as I asked.

I’d been testing Austin, testing his resolve, and testing his talents. And he had many. Talents I wanted to know more about.

So I couldn’t let him go. My ego wouldn’t allow me to release him without finding out his inner secrets.

“You mess with the devil, you suffer the consequences.”

“Devil? You’re no more of a devil than I am.”

“You’d be surprised.”

He glowered, his jaw clenched.

“Let Freddie go. He’s done nothing. None of this was his fault. He’s always looked up to Joel and done whatever he said.”

Freddie no longer served a purpose, and Conrad could wipe his memory. He’d have no recollection of tonight at all, unlike Austin. I wasn’t letting Freddie go because he’d asked but because I had no need of him.

Austin was a different matter, and while I couldn’t be sure he’d keep his mouth shut, it didn’t matter. No one had ever got the better of me.

Many had tried and failed. This Nick would be no exception.

No, Austin was a riddle I wanted to solve, and wiping his memory wasn’t an option. How had he won so frequently? What was it that made him special? All these things I needed to learn.

Something inside him called to me, and that hadn’t happened in a long time.

As much as his release wouldn’t cause me any issues, a voice inside me said I needed him, needed to keep him close, and I intended to do just that.

We said no more, but all the while, I felt his gaze on me and even as I tried to settle into my work, it was impossible. My skin prickled, my palms were sweating, and every sinew in my body was taut. I was on edge.

No one ever had me feeling this way before.

It was weird, though. His insistence that he was human didn’t sit right with me. I was usually able to sense a human or a vampire or a shifter. Their make-up was unique; none were like the other. Austin was none of those things, nor was he human, no matter what he said.

When I said Austin was an enigma, I wasn’t lying. I couldn’t get a read on him. He had no defining indicators. Everything was wrong with him.

Yet why did he feel so right?

The door swung open, and Conrad entered.

“All done?”

“Yes, boss. Left him where he’d be found. What do you want to do with him?” He pointed at Freddie.

Freddie widened his eyes, no doubt thinking he was due for the same fate. I had some compassion when I wanted to.

“Do what you usually do and return him.”

“Don’t kill him,” Austin said. “He’s done nothing to you. Not that Joel had either.”

“We’ll wipe his memory and return him. He’ll have no recollection of tonight. Not of me or Conrad, nor what happened to Joel.”

“You’re a bastard.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“What are you going to do with me? You have to let me go.”

“I don’t have to do anything, and especially not because you said so. I have use for you.”

“What the fuck do you want me for? I can’t do anything.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. You can do so much, and I intend to find out your limits.”

Freddie’s whimpers drew my attention away from Austin. Conrad wouldn’t wipe his mind here. He’d probably need the help of another due to what he’d seen and how long it had been since Joel’s death.

The sooner he could wipe it, the more success he’d have, but it had been a few hours.

Reluctantly, Freddie left with Conrad, his cries gradually receding.

Now what to do with Austin?

I rarely kept people alive once they’d visited the basement. Normally, it was a place of torture, but tonight had been different. Did it have something to do with Austin?

Being alone with him now, I couldn’t shake the intensifying sensation he was more than human. I was sure he felt something too.

His heart rate quickened, as did his breathing.

I needed to get out of here, away from his intoxicating scent that fed my arousal. The part of me I’d tried to hide away for years surfaced. The need to possess, to own and control, would and could overpower me if I allowed it.

Just a few hours earlier, I’d told Conrad how bored I was. Tonight had changed that.

The thrill I’d experienced when Austin took control of the gun. I’d seen nothing quite like the luck he had. Anyone else would have taken Joel’s head off.

I’d checked the gun, made sure I’d loaded it correctly so four bullets remained in the chamber. The odds of him shooting both blanks were unfathomable, astronomical even. I was sure I could learn more, and that was my sole reason for keeping him around.

He’d hurt my ego. First, with the amount of money he’d been able to win from the tables, and second, his failure to kill Joel.

I’d unconsciously moved closer until I stood behind him and put my hands on his shoulders.

He tensed beneath my touch, taking shallow, shuddering breaths.

“What do you really want from me?”

“I want…” What the fuck did I want? I had no explanation for keeping him around.

I slid my hands down his arms and undid the ropes securing his wrists.

It was a risk. Who knew what would happen with his luck?

“Get up.”

He rolled his shoulders and complied, standing tall.

I’d give it to him. He had balls. Bigger men than him had cowered at my commands, falling to my feet to beg for my forgiveness.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“No, but I will not release you either.”

I led him to the other door in the room and entered the key code. The door opened with a hiss, and the light came on automatically.

The all-white room was small, six feet by six feet. Enough space for a bed, a toilet, and a washbasin. It wasn’t fair for me to leave him in the other room, but I couldn’t let him anywhere else in the casino either.

Here, I could keep an eye on him because of the cameras monitoring his every movement. Right now, though, I couldn’t trust myself to be around him.

It was time for me to leave.

“You’re leaving me here?”

“Here, where there’s a bed or in the other room tied to a chair. Which would you prefer?”

“I’d prefer to go home. I have people who rely on me.”

I knew he meant his grandfather, but how dependent he was on Austin I wasn’t sure.

“That’s not going to work for me.”

“Staying here doesn’t work for me, but here I am. Your captive.”

“Hey, let’s not use those words. They sound so… illegal.”

“It is illegal keeping me here. You have no right.” His voice rose, and his energy spiked.

Why could I sense his emotions so much?

“I’ll do what the fuck I please. Now sit your arse down and do not shout at me again. You will regret it.”

The time for niceties was over.

Surprisingly, he plopped down with a thump, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I’ll send Conrad in with some food. Make yourself comfortable.”

The door closed behind me with a click. The lights would stay on for a while unless he moved, the lights being on motion sensors.

I was taking a risk keeping him here, and I was doing it for purely selfish reasons.

I was the devil. I could do what the fuck I wanted. No higher power to answer to. I was the higher power.

He’d be safe down here. No one other than Conrad and me could enter either room.

I walked over to my desk and sank down in my chair. I clicked the mouse a few times and brought up the security camera footage.

He sat on the bed, his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. There was no sound, but his lips were moving.

If I were a gambling man, I’d put money on him cursing me out for locking him away. Ironically, I wasn’t. What was the point when the house always won?