His Broken Plaything

arter, or you'll lose m

bone followed by a strangled cry. The man on the ground, Carter, was soaked in sweat, blood streaking down his fa

us money,

up, voice dripping with Arrogan

But their methods? Far too brutal to be

kno

out, his voi

you the money....j

im

ckled, his laughter soun

esh out o

sound of hi

nearby wall. A glint of steel pressed against Carter's neck, and t

had the money," Carte

o pay rent and other stuff came up! I'l

irst dime, and now you're spout

ette snorted, smoke cu

tten aroun

in, a cruel grin

shed somewhere. Lost every penny, didn't you?

That's no

shaking his he

trying to double my money so I could

thoug

uy laughed

ucky and hit the jackpot

hitched as he tr

e. You know, a win-win situation. If I could j

idiot, Ca

an eyebrow, his voice d

t paycheck on so

more time! I'll pay

rs streaming down

Carter, and you

uy chuckl

your first bet. Don't make promises t

n taunted, his grin

aying alive,

I-I rea

Carter's gut, and then a wail that rang throu

you'll have to keep running

r said, t

ss is going to do to you. After he's don

to the ground, gasping, clearly mortified and unaware of h

was Matthew. Now I'm dealing with sadistic task collector. Why did I pick this abandoned construction site as a short

desperate, suffocating, but at least I'd never gotten tangled up with these kinds of peopl

sneaking out of here without getting my face pla

Lyla.

end. That was my out. It was a long way to bolt, but I did

tte

ke a gunshot through the silent room. I froze, lungs

s the

was sharp, slicin

e they'd thin

FUCK IS

roa

u

think twice. I bolted, heels poundin

T H

sprinted for the window. The ground floor loomed closer, but I didn't stop. I

g. Don't lo

red to

outs and footsteps growing louder behind me. Taking a

stumbled back, gasping, str

a wall. It

tall. Stu

n intimidating glare, my insides twisted fearfully. He stood there, calm, sleeves rolled up

wl rumbled

m s-s

y hiding how nerve

. The footsteps were getting closer, and panic hit me hard. Without thi

into the shadows,

see me. Pleas

os

my stomach dropped lik

early to

said, his

it mat

is tone smooth but sharp, like

Not a

d slightly, his gray ey

actly were y

a girl. Tiny thing. We thought maybe we should gra

gaze didn

out the job

dling it, Bo

, thought you c

pted, his voice

I'm paying you t

s! We didn

eep dead weight. If you screw up again,

them paled

s! Got it

oo

d toward them, dis

k to work before putting

, Bo

ing to get away, their footsteps echoin

. Contemplating my next move. Then a steady

come ou

old. I guess this

there he was. The tall, gray-eyed guy. His gaze pinned me lik

gripping my backpack li

m sor

, my voic

my level. And, that definitely made things worse. He was ridiculously good-looking. Pale sk

f a little. Seriously? Now's when I notice he's good-looki

ten yourself kill

while his eyes s

it was me th

hard, my t

n't me

you doing h

a shor

staring a

e I knew they

ead-end construction

ief, and his eyes narrowed ju

uh.

thing came out. He was ri

, my entire body bracing for the worst. But instead of a knife or so

ked. "

ndred b

id fl

t and g

money like it

are y

g your body out of here if you ge

l, like he was commen

efore I chan

bled to grab the cash, my fingers fumb

hanks. I

nreadable look until I turned and bolted, my