The Devil's Rose
highlight_author
Tina rose hunt
highlight_reads
198K
highlight_chapters
22
Chapter 1
LUCIFER
I stared straight into the man’s eyes as he took his last deep, rattling breath.
Fuck, I could feel my eyes dilating, taking in every small detail. It’s true what they say—the death rattle is real, and it was always my favorite part of the job. Watching as the soul left their eyes gave me shivers all the way down to my toes.
The power that coursed through my veins afterward gave me a high like no other.
I wasn’t a bad man. I just enjoyed killing people. Was that so wrong? Well, maybe, but at least I was getting paid for it.
Being a hitman had its perks. The main one came in the form of a lot of cash. The only problem was I was told how I was “allowed” to kill them, and that really pissed me off.
I liked death to be slow and enjoyed taking my sweet time. But sometimes the kill—especially if high profile—needed me to be quick and get the fuck out of there ASAP.
This was not one of those times. As I walked away, a satisfied sigh fell from my lips. I’d spent a good hour torturing this one, having cut out his tongue to start with. The prick couldn’t even scream from all the pain he was receiving.
It was a high payoff for a quick night’s work. I wondered what to do with the rest of my evening.
God, I loved these ones. In and out, no one would miss this piece of shit. He’d pissed off too many of the wrong people. He should’ve been grateful he’d lasted this long.
Lucky for me, I took the phone call first. I’d made quite a name for myself with all the high-profile hits I’d accomplished since starting at the ripe age of fourteen. Boss had seen my potential on the streets and had plucked me fresh for the picking.
There wasn’t a job too big or small I wouldn’t take on. I quickly earned my nickname, El Diablo—straight from hell, that was me.
I felt nothing when I took these fuckers’ lives. Only power.
I was sure Mama knew I was a bad one. The name Lucifer fell from her lips right before taking her last breath. I’d already murdered someone and I’d only just been born. Should’ve known I’d cause mayhem.
Boss gave the only love I’d ever known, and that consisted of a smack on the back if I did something good or a punch in the face if it was bad. Good man. His firm now had no rival. We’d worked our way up to the top of the ranks. Boss had a hand in any drugs coming in on this side of south London.
We all knew the brains of his operation was Patrick, though, AKA the Irish. Or as we all sometimes affectionately referred to him, Paddy. Boss couldn’t function without that fucker involved, and we were all pretty sure their relationship ran a bit deeper than business.
Anyone who tried to undercut us or smuggle in without our say got dealt with by “the devil”. I was our resident hitman, taking out anyone who threatened our business and the occasional average Joe who got on the wrong side. Together we were all one big, fucked up, dysfunctional family.
Finally deciding I was going to seek out fresh pussy at our local joint, the Coconut Balm, I headed in the direction of town. The business was a pussy palace, and it was the perfect place to launder our money.
The guys also loved the perks when they’d done a good job and were rewarded with a girl of their choice. I got my pick any night I arrived.
Only Boss and Paddy knew me as the devil. The rest just presumed I was high up on some account. Wouldn’t do to have everyone knowing my face.
Rounding the corner, my mind elsewhere, I crashed straight into a small body. As I looked down, I gazed into the most mesmerizing eyes I’d ever seen.
A shell of green outlined the beautiful blue orbs that were currently staring at me like they were looking into my soul. Her plump lips and perfect nose made her look like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, all wrapped up in the most petite, curvy body I’d ever seen in my life.
Fuck, I wanted to bite those lips.
The auburn hair that had escaped from her ponytail blew curly tendrils all around her face like flames licking in the wind.
I could see from her face she was appreciating me too. With my height at six foot five and muscular build, I was hard to miss. This normally served me well when gathering crucial information but not so great when you needed to get out unseen—this was the reason I always did the job in the dead of night.
What was this angel doing out here at this time and in these quiet streets where anything could happen? There could be bad men around here. Was she crazy?
Anger coursed through my veins and showed on my face. I saw fear creep into her eyes as she noticed, and I realized I was still holding her arms from when I’d walked into her. My grip had been getting progressively tighter as all these thoughts entered my mind.
Hearing a whimper, I let go as if she’d burned me. She took a deep breath.
Say something, goddamn it. I wanted to smooth the lines on her porcelain skin and take all the worry away. Well, also bury myself so deep in her she wouldn’t be able to walk straight for a week, but that was another matter.
I felt my cock stir and stretch my pants as all manners of what I would do to her filled my head.
I saw her eyes drift down to see what had been prodding her in the stomach. I watched her beautiful, plump lips part as she took a small breath.
A flush crept up her cheeks. Fuck, she really needed to stop staring at my cock or I was gonna shove it so deep down her throat…
Right, that was enough. It was getting awkward now, and neither of us had said anything for what felt like ten minutes.
She looked startled when my deep voice came out and asked if she was all right.
Her eyes looked back up and pierced me again. What the fuck was this feeling in my stomach, like worms wriggling around trying to get out? Shit, I’d have to go see the doc first thing in the morning—something was definitely wrong.
As she spoke, her voice shook and lips trembled. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. I’ll just be on my way now.” She tried to sidestep around me, but I found myself stepping in her way.
What was I doing? Get out of her fucking way. But it was like my body wasn’t letting me. The fear was back in her eyes from my actions, and I felt shame and regret.
“I’m sorry” fell out of my mouth. Before she could say anything else, I forced my feet to keep moving down the road.
Fuck, I couldn’t get her face out of my head or stop the worry for her as she carried on walking alone.
Just as I was thinking about following her, a piercing scream filled the air from the road she’d walked down after I’d left her.
Before I could even think, my feet had moved at the speed of fucking Captain America to go rescue my damsel.
Whoever made her scream like that would fucking regret it.
When I rounded the corner, it entered the back of my mind that I was nearing the scene of my crime. When I looked farther down the road, I saw my angel kneeling in front of the slumped body of the piece of shit man I’d ended earlier. Fuck!
She was on her knees, cradling his head and sobbing uncontrollably. Christ, that was a bit much, wasn’t it? But I supposed it wasn’t every day you saw a dead person.
The word “Daddy” echoed around the walls as it was screamed from her mouth. Double fuck! My damsel was the fucking daughter of my hit.
I slowly started backing out of the road, my mind going a million miles an hour. She’d seen my face in the middle of the night, around the corner from where she’d found her dead father.
I was well and truly fucked. There was no way Boss would let this stand. I knew what I had to do—the angel was gonna have to be dealt with.
I felt like I was gonna be sick. Where the fuck had all these stomach problems come from? First the worms, then a physical pain in my heart making me feel like I was gonna puke.
Maybe I was dying. At least then I wouldn’t have to worry about ending the siren I’d met not ten minutes ago.
I jumped into my getaway car that had been parked a couple of streets away and started making an agenda in my head.
First things first—call Boss in the morning and let him know I was handling it. Second, go see the doc and see what the fuck was going on with my body. And lastly, deal with the seductress that was now a potential witness of a hit that I had been hired for.
As I climbed into bed that night, the dreams that came of her resulted in one of the best climaxes I’d ever had in my life. Never had I been able to come without hurting someone or thinking of it.
What the fuck had she done to me?
