Free Indulgence by Liz Crowe

me, writhing in pleasure as I
fucked her in her bed, splintered into my mind's eye. Delight. What kind of
fucked up thing was that?
    I stared at my apartment wall, sinking back into the sofa. I
had to get back in the game. Killing was what this was about, after all.
Killing Alison Crawford. I hadn’t even put all the pieces together and I was
almost certain it’d been her and so were the Necromancers. What I needed was a
lead to her whereabouts and the rest would follow.
    Blood. Make her deader than dead. Cross her out.
    Freedom from Royal Blood was inching closer. I needed it. I
needed my life to be programmed to something else.
    The wall was plastered with photos, newspaper articles,
drawings and the entire contents of the envelope. It was the wall of a madman
plotting murder, crossed with lines and marks, important pieces of information
highlighted. Macabre crime scene photos pinned to the plaster.
    I had to pay her home town a visit. There was no way I was
picking up any trail by sitting here burying myself balls deep in Mercy’s
pussy.
    Seeing her in that Necromancer’s ugly fucking arms, a knife
pressed to her throat…my blood seared with something I didn’t understand. I
understood a lot of things, but my ability to feel emotions had been cut from
my body and soul a long time ago. They’d been flayed from me...bled dry.
    What I’d become and what I was becoming were two different
things. It was Mercy Reid’s fault. She’d done something to me. She’d-
    The phone rang, vibrating across the coffee table. Seeing it
was a blocked number, I let it ring for a while before I deigned to lean
forward and pick it up. No guesses who was on the other end.
    Lifting it to my ear, I stared at the photograph of Alison
Crawford as Sykes barked his displeasure at me, not even waiting for me to
answer.
    “You killed five of my men,” he roared.
    “And I’d do it again,” I said, not even taking my eyes off
the photo. “You went back on our terms. A truce between our clubs until this
matter is settled. You sent five thugs into our bar, Sykes. Five men on one
woman with the order to do whatever they pleased to send a message.”
    There was a crash in the background.
    “Greggor has been notified,” I went on. “I’m sure he will
have something to say about the incident.”
    “As long as you play your part, pretty boy, then we won’t
have any more issues.”
    “As long as you stay away from the girl, we have a deal.”
    “I thought you didn’t feel anything,” Sykes said. “Word has
it you’re an emotionless bastard. Seems like you care about something.”
    “Do not presume to know anything about me, Sykes.”
    “The cold and calculating killer, Xavier Blood, brought to his
knees by a woman .”
    “She belongs to Royal Blood,” I snarled. “You mess with our
women, I don’t give a shit who you are, I will deal with you.”
    Sykes started to laugh. “You’re not serious are you? You’re
trying to put this on Royal Blood?”
    I didn’t know who his informant was, but they’d seen way too
much. I’d been careless.
    “When we find your rat Sykes, I’ll be glad to put a bullet
in their head myself.”
    “Good luck with that,” he drawled.
    I tightened my grip around my phone, trying to keep my rage
down to a slow simmer. “Do not threaten me, Sykes. You don’t want to find out
what happens when you cross me.” Seemed like I was losing my grip on a lot of
things lately.
    There was silence on the other end of the line before he
cleared his throat. “You’ve just made a powerful enemy, X.”
    “Lucky me.”
    “If you fail, I won’t just shoot you. I’ll enjoy hearing you
scream as I bleed you dry.”
    The line went dead. Charming.
    The Necromancers would be watching Mercy now from dawn till
dusk. If I didn’t follow through, they’d take her. They’d take her, imprison
her in their fucked up world, and beat and rape her to get back at me. But, I
didn’t