Page 76 of Embriagado

“Sir,” one of my men said.

Not saying a word and with my eyes still staring ahead, I tilted my head to the side, and he moved to whisper in my ear.

“We caught a man trying to sneak into the party.”

Bitterness filled my mouth, and I clenched my jaw. “Did he see anything?”

“No.”

“Where’s he now?”

“In your office, sir.”

“Keep him there until I’m free.”

Things had gone smoothly thus far, and the last thing I needed was for some intruder to ruin tonight. Still, I couldn’t simply walk away, not when the act was reaching its climax.

“Gentlemen,” I said, despite them being anything but. “I assume by now you’re already familiar with how things work here, but just a reminder, if you’d like to see one of our sirens again, please make sure to hand their name to our hosts; they will take care of the rest.” I forced a polite smile. “Now, then, please proceed to explore your deepest desires, and always remember that the Kallos keeps your secrets safe and your passions fulfilled.”

After giving my monologue, which unfortunately I’d already memorized by heart, I left the room. If only I had it in me to burn those filthy men along with their dirty desires into ashes, but wishing to keep my head attached to my neck, I knew better than to do so.

He named those poor souls sirens, well aware that they weren’t the villains in this horror story. But that was precisely his intention. Pretending these poor souls were there to seduce rather than to be exploited made it much easier for those pigs to stomp on them with their expensive boots. I knew the taste of dirt in your mouth; I knew the burn of cum drying on your face and the feeling of your soul being torn to shreds after you’ve been used again and again like a public toilet. I also knew that all those things were happening right now up there, on the fourteenth floor of this hell. And until I bought myself free, I was bound to wear the devil’s clothes and act the part. It wasn’t fair, but life had never been. Living in this hell, it was one fight chasing another, and by the time you barely escaped with your life, you hardly recognized the bits of you that survived.

You’ll die an ugly, lonely death, just like the rest of us.

I stopped before my office door and took a deep breath. Remembering this nonsense now would do no good, especially when I had other matters to attend to. Smoothing a hand over my black tux, I then straightened the bow tie. The only thing I truly desired at this moment was to shower under boiling water and get the filth off my skin, but that would have to wait.

Opening the door, I walked into my office, unfazed by the armed guards standing there with my intruder in the center, his hands tied behind his back with zip ties.

“Leave us,” I ordered, voice calm.

Quickly enough, all three men left the room, leaving me alone with this semantic error named Santiago Rivas.

Walking straight to my desk, and without looking up to stare at the problem that had dirtied my clean floor with its sweat, I asked, “Mind telling me which part about not wanting to see your face until Monday wasn’t clear?”

I was about to take out my lip balm when the words that came out of his mouth surprised me, and I looked up at him.

“Pardon?”

Swallowing hard, he shifted in his place, his hands moving behind his back. “You’re that guy, aren’t you? The one we beat up.”

“Ha,” I huffed, my lips curling into a smile.

Surprisingly, his little realization came sooner than I’d expected.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” His brows creased, his eyes filling with what I could only assume was a sickening desire to know the whole story.

“You are.”

Pressing his lips together, he nodded, still seeming awfully determined. To be fair, it shouldn’t have been hard to guess it was me, considering I’d practically told him everything that night. Only his stupid little brain was incapable of holding on to that crucial piece of information.

“Ace and Ricky—it was you. You’re the one who shot them. Weren’t you?”

My brows rose, and I had to cover my smile.

He truly is such an idiot.

“You don’t expect me to confess to murder, do you?”