Page 162 of Ruin Me With Lies

As his body goes limp beneath me, limbs twitching as life drains from his eyes, I bound to my feet and swing my attention to Rochi.

He’s suffering.Eyes wide as he chokes on his blood, mouth gaping like a fish.

As the sound of screeching tires fills the air and headlights slice through the gaps between the containers, I walk over to Rochi and end his suffering with a swift twist of his neck.Mercy.

He could’ve been a good soldier.But I recognized the glint of greed in his eyes during confinement rotations.Knew he had no loyalty to him.He was a cheat in every game we played in that hall.

Greed has no honor.

Car doors slam.Footsteps hammer the ground.Seconds later, several members of my team appear, all braking to a halt when I lift a hand in the air.

“I’m good,” I assure them.

Wren—my stubborn, long-limbed, right-hand man—strides right up to me anyway, his frustration barely restrained.“Why didn’t you give the signal?”

I wave him off.“Because I knew I could handle them alone.They’re just idiots with guns.”

He drags a hand down his face.“You’re going to be the death of me, I swear.”

I toss him a wink.“Well, that’sliterallywhat you signed up for, isn’t it?”

My right-hand is not amused.He takes in the two dead men behind me.“So...what do you want to do next?Go back to the villa and play it off?”

“No.Scratch the plan.”I shake my head.“They’re too easily distracted to figure it out in time.Too many blind spots with all the blood ties.If I don’t kick things into gear for them, she will win.She’ll take pleasure in killing him just to stick it to me.And the rest won’t stand a chance without him.Luca’s death will—”

I stop mid-sentence when I notice Devy—the youngest and newest member of the team—is hanging back, ducking behind the others instead of standing shoulder-to-shoulder like he’s supposed to.

With a flick of my wrist, the line parts, giving me a clear view of him.Devy’s eyes widen when he realizes my attention’s on him, and he quickly straightens up, shoulders squared, but keeps his head slightly bowed.

“Lift your head,” I command.

“Oh, r-right.”He snaps his chin up, but stares straight past me.“Sorry, Ray.”

“What the hell is up with you?”I demand.“Lookat me.”

Wren leans in close and mutters, “Go easy on him.You didn’t mute your chip last weekend at Summerlin and, uh...it was his first timehearingyou...”He bites back a smile.“So, he’s a little…you know...”

Ah.I almost laugh.Instead, I nudge Wren aside and address the team.“When this is over, I want each and every one of your accounts of Devy’s reaction to hearing me fuck for the first time.”

A chorus of laughter breaks the dusty night air, layered with a few mocking jabs at Devy’s expense.

“Come here, Devy.”

His steps are nervous but immediate.Even in the dark, the red splotches on his cheeks are noticeable.

When he stops in front of me, I cup said cheeks and tell him, “You’ve been with me for nearly a year now.Get with it.Sometimes I’ll forget to mute my chip, and you’ll hear me having hot, filthy sex andreallyloud orgasms.”

He groans in mortification and the others burst out laughing.

“That’s the job, Devy.You signed up to be plugged into me twenty-four seven.Don’t make me regret bringing on a hetero, yeah?”

“I won’t, Ray.I promise.”

“Good.”I slap his cheek and turn to the others.“As I was saying, Luca’s death will force our man’s hand.With his plan busted and his allies down, he will rage.Blue, Chris, Johnnie, and Terrel, clean up the bodies and execute our initial plan.Do it at the villa.I’ll handle the cams.”

“Yes, Ray.”

“Devy and Sam, you’re on monitoring.”