Read the Prologue for Selling My Soul

PREQUEL

Daemon

“Get her drunk. Or drugged. Either way, bring her to me when she’s tipsy. I’m fucking her tonight.” I pointed to the beautiful, petite, white-haired beauty dancing with a tall blonde-haired friend on the dance floor.

Elisa.

She was perfect, everything I wanted bowing before me, and yet if she had any clue who I was or what we were up to, she’d die where she stood.

Lanny nodded. “Sure thing, boss.”

“I just have to take care of Diggs first,” I said. “Then I’ll be back.”

“Yell if you need anything.”

I smiled. “If you hear yelling all the way from the back alley, it won’t be me. It’ll be Diggs.”

Lanny laughed. “You think he’s got the money?”

“If he did, he wouldn’t have run.”

“Why do they always run?” Lanny grinned. “The hand of justice always finds them.”

I lifted my fist and laughed. “Goddamn right. Now go warm my girl up for me. I’m gonna collect blood from a stone.”

Lanny walked up to the bartender and pulled something out of his pocket. From the looks of it, it was taking quite a bit more effort and hundred-dollar bills than usual to bribe him. There wasn’t an entertainment establishment in downtown Chicago that didn’t serve my syndicate in some way or another, but we weren’t in Chicago. We were in Boston. Enemy territory where our biggest rivals, the La Rosas, ruled their little empire.

They didn’t know we were here yet, and by the time they did, we would be gone. The only thing left behind would be fear and a reminder to never fuck with the Petrov family.

A lot of scores were being settled in Boston tonight.

***

Martin Diggs knelt in the alley behind the club, the knees of his expensive jeans soaked with grime. His eyes were rimmed red and snot dripped down his nose.

My younger brother Dezzy towered at his side, his pistol trained on the kneeling man’s skull. Dez looked eager to pull the trigger, but he wouldn’t without my say-so. The kid was almost ready to run his own crew, but until then, he took orders from me.

“Funny running into you in Boston.” I came to a stop in front of Diggs. “Were you hoping the La Rosas would protect you?”

“Fuck the La Rosas and fuck the Petrovs,” Diggs spat. “A plague on both your houses.”

I nodded at Dezzy, who cracked Diggs in the back of the head with the butt of his pistol.

“You want to try starting over?” I asked.

Diggs touched the back of his head gently and winced. His fingers came back bloody. “I wasn’t hiding from you, Daemon, I swear.”

“See, just saying that makes me think you were. And Dezzy having to drag your ass out of a rundown motel room under a different name? That feels like hiding, too.”

The man winced like I had hit him again. “It’s not like that. I would never try to avoid you guys.”

“Great, so you have my money then. Why didn’t you just say so?” I grinned at my brother, who laughed and tightened his grip on his pistol.

Diggs glanced nervously at him. “Well, no, hold on. I don’t have your money just yet.”

“Then it was smart of you to hide.” I slapped him across the face with an open palm. His head rocked to the side, and he spat blood from his busted lip. “You should have run farther.”

Diggs glared at me with fury. “How dare you?”

I slapped him again. Harder. “No, how dare you? You made me a promise, Martin. You looked me in the eye, you shook my hand, and you promised to pay back that hundred grand I loaned you.”

“And I meant it. I mean it. I just need a few investments to pay out. Really, if you could just loan me another hundred, I could move some things around.”

“So, what? You can pay me back with my own money? Might as well take my own dick and fuck myself. Is that what you’re telling me to do? To go fuck myself?”

I drove my heel right into his chest and knocked the wind out of him. He crumpled to the slick asphalt, desperately trying to suck in air. I crouched by his face, careful not to kneel in the muck. His wide eyes looked at me like I was a speeding train barreling down on him.

Most people thought I was a heartless monster, an emotionless force of nature that drank blood like wine and snorted violence like coke. They were right. Death was my one true love and the only emotion I wanted from people was fear.

“Do you remember the promise I made to you that day?” I asked quietly.

Diggs nodded. “You promised me that no one escapes the Petrovs’ hand of justice.”

“Goddamn right.” I pulled brass knuckles from my pocket, and they slid comfortably into my fist. Emblazoned across their spiky front was the word, JUSTICE. “Now, Martin, here’s what happens when you break a promise to me and my family.”

In less than a minute, he was a bleeding, quivering mess. At least two of his teeth lay next to him. Any longer and I would have killed him, which was fine by me, but dead men couldn’t pay their debts.

I wiped my bloody hands off on his shirt. “You’ve got two more weeks. And since you like running, I won’t come looking for you next time. Dezzy here will pay a visit to your mother’s house on Grant Avenue. With the blue door.”

Diggs cried out through the mess of his face. “No, I’ll pay. Fuck me, I’ll pay.”

I nodded. “Just the money will suffice. But to be sure you never forget this lesson, you’re not allowed to fix those broken teeth.”

“What?”

“You heard me. If you get those fucking teeth fixed—if I ever see anything but a snaggle-toothed, Jack-o’-lantern smile in that ugly face of yours—I’ll come back and knock the rest of them out. Understood?”

His tears told me he did. I stood up and readjusted my clothes. Dezzy would clean up the mess back here.

With that done, energy roared through my veins. It was time to fuck.

***

Back in the club, I glanced down at my hands, feeling something sticky between my fingers. Fucking Diggs.

“Hi.” A pretty brunette stopped in front of me wearing a tight blue dress showing too much of her tits. “You need a drink?”

“I do.” I glanced over her shoulder to see Lanny with his arm around both my girl and the redhead’s shoulders. He was a pro. Always had been.

“What’ll it be, handsome?” She cocked her hip and gave me a come eat my pussy smile.

“Whiskey. On the rocks. Squirt of lime.” I slipped my hands into my slacks and turned my attention back to the bar.

One of the guys working under my brother Vin walked up. Terrance stood six seven and was built like a linebacker. “Boss.”

I gave him a quick nod but kept my eyes on my prize. Elisa La Rosa. The only daughter of Alex La Rosa, head of Boston’s La Rosa family. The bastard was only outdone by my own father in his vileness.

Their family ruled the underbelly of Boston like mine ruled Chicago. We were sworn enemies and tonight would seal that deal forever.

“Vin called. The old lady is dead.” He smiled.

I didn’t pay him an attention. “Good. Get lost.”

“Consider it done.” He walked away and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding on to.

It was Vin’s job to pull the trigger most days, and though I felt like something as important as tonight was mine to take care of, my father hadn’t agreed.

“You will go to the club and you will fuck the La Rosa girl. I need her busy. Use your dick and help the family out. You got it?” My dad’s dark eyes bored into mine. “Your brother is our enforcer.”

“I’ll do as you say.” I bowed my head and let my eyes drop. There was no use in fighting him. He’d murder me in my sleep. I was sure of that. “I just wanted to give you my opinion.”

“Well, don’t,” he barked. “I don’t give a fuck what you or anyone else thinks. If I want to know how you feel, I’ll fucking ask you. Got it?”

It took everything inside of me to stand my ground and not shrink away into the darkness.

He’d beat all of us a million times and more. There was no one more terrifying than my father.

No one.

“All done, boss.” Lanny moved to stand beside me. “You got blood on your hands.” He snorted with a short laugh. “Diggs was a bleeder?”

I shrugged. “Everyone is if you know what you’re doing.”

“Alright, sure,” he said. “Let me know how else I can help. I’d have taken out Diggs for you, by the way.”

“Mine to do. Keep an eye on the girls. I’ll be back.” I turned and walked to the restroom, needing to get my hands clean before Elisa was mine. I didn’t want to dirty her pale skin with anything but a few bruises and the scent of my cologne.

The phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and pressed it to my ear. Vin’s voice was throaty and he sounded out of breath.

“Diggs pay up?” he asked.

“What do you think?” I pushed the door open and moved to wash my hands.

“I think most people would do anything not to get shot in the face. Just my thoughts on the matter though.” He chuckled.

“I know your thoughts on the matter. You start with bullets. I try to get paid first. Don’t worry, he’ll be eating through a straw for a while.” I pressed the phone between my ear and shoulder and looked in the mirror. My eyes were darker than normal. Maybe the human soul did die little by little as it did things that were unworthy of its light.

If so, mine had died a long time ago. 

“Did you take out the woman?” I dried my hands, being careful with the ring on my left hand. It was a family heirloom and the only thing my father had ever given any of us boys.

“She’s dead. And she’ll be delivered to her family so they can quickly understand who they fucked with. I’m headed home. Send the boys with me if you’re done with them.” He cleared his throat. “You fuck the girl yet?”

“No, but I will.” I turned to see a group of guys walk in, hanging on each other, clearly drunk. “I’ll send them home. See you there.”

“Not fair by the way,” my brother yelled as I moved the phone from my ear, uninterested in his rantings. “You get to fuck some girl and I—”

I clicked the button to turn the phone off. There might be pussy in my future, but that was a given anyway. It wasn’t as if I would choose to sleep with my family’s enemy. But my father had hidden knowledge of how everything would play out, and like many times before in my life, I was simply a pawn in his game.

We all were.

I made my way through the smoky room to the bar where Elisa and her friend were drinking with Lanny, but they were hitting their limit. Elisa wobbled a little as she turned to look at me. The smile on her face grew wider and I reached out to grab her as she fell toward me.

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” She pressed her hands to my chest. So small. Everything about her was tiny. Everything but her clear blue eyes and her pretty red mouth.

“All my fault. Here, let me help you to a table.” I nodded at Lanny to get the other girl away. And then called over my shoulder at him. “After you’re done, you guys get back home.”

“Got it, boss,” he called from somewhere behind me.

“How embarrassing.” She hiccupped and sat down at a table with my help. Her little black dress rode up her taut thighs almost to the edge of her mound. “It’s my high school graduation. I’m headed to a big party and then after that, off to Chicago.”

Her comment surprised me. “Chicago. For what?” I asked, trying my damndest to sound more interested than I was.

She hiccupped again. “College, then law school.”

“Your family is going to let you go to school?” I reached down and tucked a long strand of her white-blonde hair behind her ear. She looked like something out of a fairytale. I wanted to corrupt her purity and innocence, which I supposed made me a fairytale villain. If I was the big bad wolf, she was a lost girl in the woods, and I was going to sink my fangs into her tender flesh.

“My family isn’t happy about it, but I’m sure my dad is expecting me to help with the family business once I’m a lawyer.” She smiled at me, blissfully ignorant. The drugs were working. “What’s your name? I’m Elisa.”

“Call me Daemon.” I took the hand she extended and pulled her up where she was flush against me. Her cheeks reddened and she giggled.

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.” I gripped her chin and forced her to look up at me. “My hotel is just next door. Come, let me fuck you until you can’t walk home tonight.”

“What?” Her eyes widened a little.

I reached down and grabbed her hand, sliding it between us so she could stroke my cock. “You heard me clearly.”

Her breath caught and she tried to move back, but I held on tight. “It’s not a request.”

“Yes.” She glanced down and ran her hand down my shaft, which bulged behind my slacks. “Whatever that means. Yes.”

“Good girl.” I gripped her hand tightly and walked toward the entrance to the bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone stand.

“Lanny?” I called over my shoulder.

“On it.” He moved out of the shadows toward the dark figure. Surely one of her many brothers would have been watching out for her at a bar in downtown Boston. Not my problem. Our soldiers wouldn’t have left the bar until I did, no matter what I said about them going home.

They were family.

We slipped out into the cold December night, and I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders before taking her hand again. I didn’t do sweet and gentle, but I could play nice until I got her alone. Behind closed doors, I would make her my little slave.

She jogged with me across the street and into the warmth of the hotel lobby. We made it to the elevator before she spoke again.

“D. I don’t even know you. Why am I saying yes to this?” She wobbled and I picked her up and gripped her ass tightly as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

“Because as much as you want to believe you’re a good girl, you’re not, Elisa. You’re a whore.” I ran my fingers under her panties to find a swollen, soaked cunt. “You’re my whore.”

She cried out and moved against me as I slipped a finger inside of her ass. Her moans were loud and guttural. More innocent than any other woman I’d been with before.

I turned and pressed her to the back wall, pressing my lips against hers and fucking her tight hole while teasing her main entrance with my thumb.

“Please,” she whimpered against my mouth.

My body cried out for a long night of loving her, but it wasn’t in the cards. Maybe my father was far more cruel than I thought. Did he know how much I craved a woman’s touch? Not just her touch, but her love. It would never be mine. It was too dangerous.

I was too dangerous.

“Soon.” The door behind me opened and I carried her to my room, my finger still tucked inside of her as she rolled her hips and fucked herself. I managed to get the door open and walked inside, dropping her on the edge of the bed.

She sat up and reached for me, tugging at my slacks as a hunger came over her. The drugs. They worked like a charm every time.

“On your knees, princess.” I swatted her hand away and stepped back. She got on her knees on the bed and pulled her dress over her head. Her breasts were small but perky, her nipples tight and a dusty pink color.

I pulled my zipper down and slipped my slacks over my hips before grabbing my cock. “Tell me you want it.”

“I want it.” She moved toward me on her hands and knees, grabbing me softly and slipping her mouth over the head of my cock. I stifled a moan. So tight and wet. Reaching down her back, I ran my hand over the curve of her ass and gripped the tiny pair of panties she wore before ripping them off of her. I slipped my fingers back into her ass and gripped a handful of her hair with my free hand.

She couldn’t take my dick as good as she thought, but I worked myself deep into her throat and used her body to take myself over the edge. The world exploded and I let my head drop back as she drank me down.

The smell of her arousal rose up around me, and if it wasn’t begging me to fuck her, the soft moans she made were. I was the big bad wolf again, and she was my prey. I would devour her.

I pushed her shoulder and she fell on her back. Roughly, I moved her to her stomach and gripped her hips, pulling her ass into the air. Every part of her was open to me, wet, pulsing, needy.

“I’m gonna fuck your ass then stretch your pussy good for you.” I pressed my dick into her ass and she moved up to her hands and knees, crying out. I ignored her and worked her body for the next few hours, using everything she had to give.

By the time I was done fucking her, I was out of breath. She was in the fetal position, moaning and shaking, her pretty body covered in handprints and bruises from me gripping so tightly.

I dressed slowly and walked around the bed, sliding my fingers into her hair as I knelt beside her. She looked at me through heavy eyelids, drifting into twilight from the drugs and from the things I did to her body.

“Don’t go,” she whispered like a prayer. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Something like pity almost stirred in me, but I hadn’t felt anything but anger and hate since I was a child. I wasn’t about to go soft after a few hours with this little slut, as gorgeous and intoxicating as she might be. 

What the hell was she complaining about anyway? If anyone knew what it was like to be alone, it was me. I had lots of brothers, but my father had pitted us against each other, forced us to fend for ourselves early. Elisa was daddy’s little fucking princess.

Besides, she was a La Rosa. That alone was reason enough to despise her. No one in that family had anything resembling a soul.

“I hope your daddy knows what a little whore you are.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m sure all the boys at your new college in Chicago will help you get that naughty slut inside of you out.” I chuckled deep in my chest. “So tight and good. But soon, after you finish fucking all the rest of the boys, maybe come find me. Maybe then I’ll fit without you crying so much.”

Elisa had dozed off, looking small and fragile and in need of protection. The world was full of devils like me. She needed someone strong to keep her safe, but that person could never be me.

There was nothing I wanted more than to lie down beside her and show her what making love looked like when she woke up, but I wasn’t sure I knew what that was myself anymore.

I pulled the covers up over her naked body, spat in her face, and walked out.

It wasn’t her that was a whore with no soul.

It was me.