Here’s the full first Chapter.
Sweat beaded from my forehead and down my neck. The cramped bar was sweltering and I needed some cool air, stat. My heavy curls were a nightmare to deal with in the heat. The hair on my head added a few more degrees of heat to my body. I shot back the last remnants of the alcohol in my cup, “I’m heading outside to cool off.” I yelled over the music at the girl standing beside me. She gave me a confused look and shrugged her shoulders. Probably because I’d literally just met her ten minutes ago, and decided to spill my life story in an alcohol induced therapy session. I side stepped a couple drunken dancers and howlers before slamming the metal door to the back of the bar open. The cool air rushed me in seconds, making me groan. I gathered my loose hair in my hands letting the gentle breeze hit the back of my neck. The alley was quiet, the streetlights casted small shadows across the pavement. The faint smell of pot hit my nose and I looked around the lonely space. Dark shadows bathed the corners of the brick walls making it impossible to see. All but the tiny red ember right across from me. I stared at it a moment, wondering if I had more to drink that I thought I did or I was seeing shit. Blinking rapidly I made out the tall body leaning against the brick wall ahead.
“Sorry, I didn’t know someone else was out here.”
“Na, you’re good.” His rasp was muffled by the smoke billowing out of his mouth. That voice triggered an onslaught of deep seeded memories. I shook my head. No, it couldn’t be him.
His body shifted so the sliver of light hit the bottom half of his face. Close cropped facial hair covered the bottom half. The smirk on his lips made my belly flop. There was only one smile that could do that to me. And I refused to think it was him. I must be drunk. Maybe the chick roofied me in the bar.
“Well, goodnight.” I spun on my heel and took a step before his voice made me pause.
“Aw, come ma. That any way to treat an old friend?” My blood ran cold as I turned back around to face the man behind me. He cocked his head giving me a perfect view of his face. I blinked back the shock as I stared into the dark depths of Zander Mesias eyes. It had been years since I’d seen him.
“Little star,” he drawled in that stupidly deep voice of his. The ass hat couldn’t even get my name right after all these years. He leaned back casually against the brick wall of the bar. A joint poised into his mouth, and a tiny sliver of a smirk upturning his lips. His dark hair was perfectly mussed at the top, the sides were clean cut and faded. He took his forefinger and thumb to pluck at the joint. The darkness of the alley obscured his tall body, and his clothing cloaked him perfectly.
“What the hell are you doing here Mesias?”
He took another lung full of smoke before he retrieved a metal case from his leather jacket, and placed it in there before clicking it closed.
“Came to visit a dear friend.” His teeth gleamed in the night like a predator’s. It only made my fists curl in on themselves.
“And yet your Neanderthal brain can’t get my name right.” I bit back.
A slow deep chuckle rumbled from his throat and I swallowed hard at the sound of it.
“Still as fiery I see.” He pulled off the wall and walked toward me. I held my ground, there was no way I’d let the asshole see how much he still affected me after all of these years. Fuck him. The way his tall body walked, excuse me, it was more like a prowl really. Who the fuck prowls? I mean seriously. But, that was the only way I could describe it. He was tall, his shoulders were broad on a lean athletic frame. I tipped my head back to meet his eyes, my nose was filled with his scent. The earthy smell of his joint lingered on his clothes with something else; sweet and faint like sandalwood.
“I asked you a question, what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be running circles on your little bike somewhere in Raymont?”
His smile only grew from there and it infuriated me.
“Is that what you think I do? Run circles on my little bike?” There was a tinge of an accent on the word little as he emphasized it.
“You’ve got something I need.” He mused. My eyebrows crinkled in confusion.
“What could I possibly have that you need?” I retorted. A small little smile graced his lips, “That pretty little brain of yours of course.”
He licked his lips before he continued, “You’re some sort of IT genius, no?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do. And I need you to do a job for me.”
A short burst of laughter bubbled out of my throat followed by a full blown belly laugh.
He cocked his head like a curious puppy, “Something funny?” His face was serious as if he really didn’t understand why I was laughing.
“Your fucking with me right Mesias?”
“Why would I do that?” He asked.
I shook my head and scoffed, “Because you’re the last person I’d do a job for. I’d rather sit my bare ass on an Arizona sidewalk in the middle of a heat wave before I did anything for you. Besides who says I’m still doing that shit anyway?” I shrugged off the question.
He stepped in closer, “Well for one, I know you're working your little hacking skills to pay your way through college. You hate that your parents wanted to pay off your tuition and you want to break away from the status quo of being the spoiled little rich girl everyone sees you as.”
I ground my teeth, “You couldn’t possibly know that.”
He laughed, making my body feel on edge. “Oh, but I do. You don’t think you’re the same little girl I knew back then? That little rebellious streak in you is still kickin’.” My mouth dropped open and anger rose up in me, “You don’t know shit. I’m making my own way in this life with my earnings and no one else’s. How I get my money is none of your fucking business.”
He tsked at me in a patronizing manner, “Everything you do is my business and will be my business from now on.” He took another step closer, making me relent and take two back. The rough exterior of the brick wall met my hot skin as I stared up at the man I was unfamiliar with now. We used to— he was my— I — my brain seized at the thoughts coming back to me. The memories that I had of him from years ago. When I knew him. When it was us and we were careless and on top of the world. We were so young back then. He looked so much older now, a dark energy striking through him like lightning. He still had that sinful boyish smirk on his face but his eyes held something menacing. Almost inhumane. I knew what he was. I’d be stupid to think his hands weren’t stained with the blood of the people that stood in his way. That’s what he was. A killer. A man who’s only job was to hunt, torture and kill. Being a Hades Hellhound came with a price. And I was convinced he sold his soul to Hades himself to get that look in his eyes. My body shuddered at the thoughts swarming my head.
“Fuck off Mesias. Like I said, I’m not doing shit for you. So go back to your little club and go play bad guy somewhere else. I’m uninterested.”
I began to skirt away from his imposing form before a strong hand clamped down on the back of my neck and hauled me back. The force was so hard it sent my body tumbling backwards, and I crashed into his body behind me. As soon as he steadied my fall, he spun me around and pinned me to the wall. His large tattooed hand covered the base of my throat. I swallowed hard as I met his dark eyes and tracked his arm all the way up to his neck. His hand rippled, fingers tensing making the ink on his skin swirl like smoke.
“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying little star. I’ve got a job for you, you work for me now, and I will use you as I see fit. Entendido?”
The blood in my veins nearly boiled at the anger coursing through my body.
A smile graced my lips, making sure he could see the pearly whites of my teeth. For a flash of a second I swore I could see the confusion on his face. He was quick to school his features though, I’d give him that. I’ve alway been a people watcher, I’ve learned every tick, smile, reaction from the human body. Something that came naturally as an outsider. You had all the time in the world when you were left alone. Even the slightest shudder of the eye was something I caught.
“Make me,” I challenged. My smile was wide and gleaming now. I loved to call people’s bluff.
A sadistic smile quirked his lips and in the next second the cold press of a gun met the side of my temple. My blood ran cold as I felt the hard muzzle against my skin. His hand on my neck didn’t falter, in fact he squeezed harder, giving me a lightheaded feeling.
“I’m not the same person you used to know,” his voice was pitched low and rough, “You thought you knew me back then, but what I do leaves no room for humanity.” The gun moved from my temple and began coasting down the middle of my chest and down my belly. “So when I see you, I feel nothing.” The gun continued coasting lower until it met my pubic bone, making me gasp what little breath I had lodged in my throat. “I could pull the trigger right now and walk away. Leave your body for the next unsuspecting fool to walk upon it.”
My body trembled with his words as I watched the dark pits of his eyes. His leg came up and parted my thighs, high enough for me to feel the rough fabric of his jeans rub my clit over my panties. My body trembled with the action.
He finally pulled the gun away and tucked it back into the holster he wore underneath his jacket. The warmth of his body dissipated all at once as he retreated back a few steps. The light of the street lamp caught his shiny dark hair.
“Great interview, you got the job, little star. Meet me at Hell’s shop next Friday night, I’ll send you the details.” He called out with a picture perfect smile on his face. He turned on his heel and walked down the street until he vanished from my sight. I leaned on the brick wall trying to piece together what the fuck had just happened. The familiar roar of an engine started up and I walked toward the lonely street lamp casting everything in yellow.
I watched as he sped by in a black skull balaclava covering his face, his head swiveled to watch me. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. The cold wind swept the hem of my skirt. The shiny flash of chrome from his bike glinting in the night. Even the way his eyes seemed to stick to me. Seeing Zander again was like a bad Omen. I was fucked.
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