The Rebirth of Sin (Wicked Trinity Book 2) (37 page)

She argued with her husband, bringing back to memory the bitch I knew her to be. In some respects, her talents helped me. I could only thank her for one aspect of my life. Nadine had broken my virginity, and taught me how to make a woman’s body mine by bringing her untold pleasure. Her brain threw her strongly into lust and tricked her into thinking it was love. I never believed what she taught me would work, but it succeeded with Jayme and many others before Jayme who I invited into my bed. The practice I gained made my ways in the bedroom influence anyone who spread their legs to me. As long I was able to finish the act, I never again had an unsatisfied bedmate. It was solidified in every moment I spent wrapped inside Keaton. The sex I provided was one piece of the lure…but I had many others. Despite her anger earlier in the day after she ascertained my true identity, I knew I had her. She was mine, completely…finally.

Turning back to the car, I watched Nadine and her husband argue. At one point, he was slapped hard enough to emit an echo, a hollow click. Crying, he dropped to his knees to beg for her forgiveness.

I chuckled quietly to myself and shook my head. Many things never change. Adam was the most amenable man Nadine had ever broken. One day in solitude and one evening spent under Nadine’s brutality, and he became irrevocably broken—a man who would do anything Nadine and Noah demanded of him—including fulfilling the demands of a man who succeeded in filling Keaton’s head with misrepresentations of the truth, and ordering the murder of a woman with child in cold blood.

They were both imbecilic for remaining in town after they were caught attempting to kidnap Keaton and murdered one of her closest friends. Nadine was always overshadowed by her large mouth and lessened by her lack of common sense and high intelligence. She would’ve remained a high-priced escort had Noah never taken her under his blackened and poisonous wings.

As she sauntered into the nail salon, I strode toward the car. Ducking down and using the darkness and the scarce amount of parked cars as my cover, I approached the driver’s side, making sure I couldn’t be seen by the driver. I reached up and gently lifted the handle and carefully began to pry the door open.

“What the…?” He looked down at me. “You?” he asked as though I was an imposter. He recognized me as the man who broke numerous bones in his face when he took the life of two innocents. Clearly, he hadn’t the slightest idea of my true identity.

I stuck the needle cover in my mouth and unsheathed the tranquilizer. His lips moved and he seemed stuck in awe. It was remarkably easy to inject the needle into his leg before he could scream. It hit him quickly and he sank forward. I put my hand across his chest to stop him from leaning on the horn. Grabbing the back of his head, I pulled him down to slide onto the gravel beside the car. Reaching around the floor panel I found the trunk release button. 

I looked around, making sure no one was around to notice me. I quickly dragged him into the trunk of the car, grabbed the baseball cap he had worn and closed the trunk.

Shortly after settling into the driver’s seat, I pulled the car into reverse. I parked in the blind spot of the parking lot, facing a quiet residential street, and waited.

I kept my eye on the rear view, waiting an eternity for her return. She looked at the vacant spot where the car used to be and threw up her hands. I retrieved another syringe from my pocket. Multi-tasking, I removed the needle cover and laid on the horn until she found me. As she began to walk over, I switched my knit cap for the baseball cap and put my head down, ensuring the brim sat low enough to cast a shadow over my face.

“You fucking idiot,” she snarled, sliding into the passenger seat and slamming the door behind her entry. “Why the hell did you move when I told you to stay and wait for me?” She wrestled with her bag and placed it in her lap. “Can you hear me dip-shit? I’m talking to you.”

I slowly lifted my chin and the look on her face was worth every agonizing fucking moment of waiting for her to get her nails done.

I assumed many wouldn’t recognize me, even with the return to my normal eye-color. But of all the people I could fool, I knew Nadine would place me. “You! You’re supposed to be dead…and why do you look…”

Pressing my hand over her mouth, I subdued her need to scream. She drew her claws intending to fight back. I immediately shoved the tip into her neck and pushed the plunger. Her arms began to flail lifelessly around her. As time passed, she had less and less control over her limbs and eventually fell into a deep slumber.

Glancing at Nadine, I smiled a little broader. Soon, I would lay the foundation of what the short time leading to the end of their lives, would encompass.

Impatience wasn’t usually an issue, but my guests were taking far too long and possibly impeding on my ability to arrive at Mrs. Mara’s dinner within the specified timeframe. I looked at the time, noting I had exactly three hours to get to Mr. and Mrs. Mara home to have dinner with them and Keaton. I could make it if I called Archie’s assistant to get me something I had to give to Keaton.

After completing the call, one of my guests began to stir, indicating the other two would arise shortly after. He held his stomach, looking alarmingly around his surroundings. His face turned sour and his lips puckered with his cheeks engorged. 

“There is a bucket in the corner of your cell for your convenience,” I told Adam. “Use it.”

Spinning quickly, he dropped to his knees and repeatedly expelled his sick into the bucket. His retching sounds awoke the person I wanted to engage with the most.

Wavering on her feet, she stood and looked around her surroundings. As expected, she stared at the room in the glass case. I stood behind the three wheeled trays containing three food items, covered in cloche covers for my guest.

“You cock-sucking bastard of a whore. You—” She moved forward and was immediately shocked by the live wire. She fell backwards with a hard thump, rendered unconscious for a few moments.

She roused awake and crawled toward the front of her prison cell, her eyes squinted at me. “H-how? You…changed your face?”

“It’s amazing what a nose job and subtle improvements can do.”

“I bet. Your plastic surgeon needs an award. You look…real and not all plastic and stretched like you’re constantly facing a wind machine like so many other dip-shits who unnecessarily go under the knife do. God. This whole thing makes so much more sense now.”

“Are you hungry?” I asked with a wolfish grin as I padded toward the control panel to turn of the electric charge. “I’m quite sure you are. I had a meal prepared for a woman befitting of your stature—and for your cellmates if you’ll allow it.”

“You think I don’t know the tricks?” she asked, waving a trembling finger at me. “You’re setting up the stage to prove you’re the head bitch in charge. I’m not doing it.”

“This meal will be the only one you will have for the next few days. Do you think it’s a wise decision to piss me off so early? Appreciate the severity of your situation, Nadine. While I was never your god before, you can consider me one right now. Your cellmates’ quality of life will depend on how well you treat me. While I won’t hurt you, I won’t hesitate to hurt them. Believe me, or don’t believe me. If they die before the time table was set for them to expire, all responsibility will point to you.”

“Look at you,” she said with patronizing grin. “All grown up and ready to play with a big girl.” She jumped to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t forget, I remember when you were a virginal one-pump idiot who was so horny for my pussy you came within five minutes.”

I slowly smiled at her. “Things have changed. I’ve evolved. I’m better than I became with you. Do you remember those times, Nadine? The times I fucked you and you learned very quickly that the protégé surpassed the mentor?”

“What hoops do you want me to jump through so you can set up the scene for who’s the dominant one? Go ahead.” She sat on the metal cot and threw her hands across her lap. “Entertain me and show me how much you’ve learned from the masters you could never be: me and Noah.” Throwing her body back, her spine hit the wall with a slam. “Fuck! You’re supposed to be dead.”

“You discounted my connections, as did Noah. You are doing it at this moment…forgetting who has and will always have the upper-hand.”

“Why bother? You said you were going to kill me.”

“Did a reprieve due to stellar behavior ever cross your mind?” I cast a surreptitious glance at the room of comfort beyond the glass that wasn’t meant for her, but I intended to make her think it could’ve been. “You seem to be giving up before the game has truly had a chance to begin.” 

“What do you want me to do, Shiloh?”

“You’ll address me as Mr. Michaels.”

“I’ll address you as asshole if it suits me.”

With a parting nod, I started for the door. “Enjoy your three days without food or water for you or your companions.” 

At my trail, Mrs. Sherman spoke for the first time, whispering from her cell, one cage away, to Nadine. “Play his game. If you do, we can all have time and the energy to get out of here.”

“I don’t have to listen to you,” Nadine ignorantly argued.

“Be wise,” Mrs. Sherman advised her. “I know Noah thoroughly and by association, I know Shiloh—Mr. Michaels. Play along.”

“Wait!” Nadine said quickly.

I slid my foot down from the first step and turned my direction back to Nadine’s cell. 

Slanting her chin toward the ground, her dark hair flooded her face, covering her bright azure eyes. “Fine,” she gave in. “What do you want me to do?”

“Adam had an unfortunate accident—a very bad reaction to the sedative. The scent is going to permeate the basement unless it’s severely diminished. If I had to guess, three spoonfuls might help.”

She looked around her cell. “There is no toilet here. Where am I supposed to store it?”

The corner of my mouth twisted into a smile. “Where do you think I want you to store it?”

She puckered her lips, her porcelain skin turned sallow. She shook her head, gagging profusely.

“Three spoonfuls will feed all of you,” I informed her. “One will feed a single person.”

Reluctantly yielding, she bobbed her head, agreeing to indulge me.

I retrieved a spoon from Adam’s tray and turned off the electrical pulse transmitting to the exterior of the cages. Standing before Adam’s prison, I tossed the utensil into his cage. Without a second of delay, he slid the bucket over to the side facing Nadine’s prison. Scooping a spoonful of his vomit, he handed her a spoon through the opening.

Snarling at him, she roughly seized the spoon from his hand.

Staring down at her appetizer, she continuously gagged.

I drew my gaze down to my watch. “Did I mention I’m short on time?”

She quickly shoved the spoon in her mouth and swallowed it down, retching during her difficulties with swallowing.

Pacing myself, I slid the wheeled cart toward Mrs. Sherman’s cell.

“Wait a minute!” Nadine protested, marching toward the entrance to her cage. “You said one person.”

“I never said who the person would be. You have two more spoonfuls if you want your dinner.”

Muttering indiscernible words underneath a heated exhale, she handed the spoon back to her husband and barked, “Do it. Go faster this time.”

Obediently, she forced down the two spoonfuls, smartly taking less time to taste it. With the three trays pushed close to their cells, I started with Mrs. Sherman. Removing the cover, I revealed what I knew to be her favorite meal—Chicken Marsala—and slid it through the small slot in her cage, perfectly sized for a dining tray. She took it with a thankful look in her eyes.

I moved next to Adam, offering him his favorite; a simple and empty calorie meal of a burger and fries. 

I took my time removing Nadine’s cover. I watched her expression, desiring to see every muscle in her face tense when I removed the cover. 

Her eyes widened in terror and disgust when I presented her with molded bread and sooty water. “You bastard.”

“You have quite a bit to learn about selflessness, Nadine. Maybe you will play the game long enough to remain here until I can teach you the principles I’ve learned.” Turning toward the door, I offered my guests parting words. “Enjoy your meals.”

Everything was coming into place very nicely, but I was far from nearing completion. When it did, everyone who ever wronged me would pay dearly, and the woman who was stolen from me would become my most fatal weapon to kill the individual who wronged me the greatest.

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