Page 10 of The Black Lotus (Fatal Florals Duet #2)

I pull her head back, tugging her hair enough and her glare locks on my face.

“Once I take care of the man, I will let you do whatever you want to him. Cut him. Skewer him. Even burn him.” Her eyes light up.

“But, if you want to get him to talk, then send him to his grave, you have to listen and be patient with me. Okay?”

She huffs, but her shoulders relax. “Okay.”

I bring my lips to softly kiss her own, a promise that her time will come.

I look around the tree, making sure the coast is clear and that our loud whispers didn’t attract any unwanted attention from our uninvited guest. Seeing nothing but trees and snow, I place my finger in front of my mouth, miming to Serena to be quiet. She rolls her eyes, but walks quietly behind me.

Walking closer to the sheds, it’s eerily quiet.

It doesn’t sound, or look like either door has been pried open.

The sound opening my shed could be heard from where we wait, and neither me nor Serena heard that familiar sound.

I look back at my vixen, her eyes wide and chewing mindlessly on her bottom lip, nerves radiating off her.

I can’t tell from fear or excitement. Maybe both?

I tug on her arm, and her eyes lift to mine, breaking the spell between her and the buildings.

She shrugs, clearly more unbothered than I first assumed.

Realizing my energy was the nervous one, and I was projecting that onto her, a thin laugh slips from my lips, the stress exiting with it.

I need to get my shit together. If my vixen isn’t worried, then I sure as hell shouldn’t be either.

We are in this together and we won’t go down without a fight.

She squeezes my hand softly, mouthing the words, “It’ll be okay.” I squeeze her hand back, letting her know I trust her. More than myself at the moment.

Standing here in the unknown, waiting for anything to happen, hearing nothing but the wind blowing and our cold breaths sets my teeth on edge.

Snap!

Our heads whip towards the sound, and we duck out of sight, crouching behind a bush that has somehow not died with the rest. It sounds like our attacker hadn’t made it to the sheds yet, instead looking in the woods.

My fingers tighten around the syringe, getting ready to strike.

The guy’s getting closer, him being far less quiet than we are.

Makes for an easy target . It’s safe to assume he’s a newer killer playing his hand at getting his name, and who he is, out by fulfilling the hit on Serena.

When we hear him only feet away, we quietly maneuver around the brush and watch as this kid- Shit.

Now that we are closer, I can make out his features, and he doesn’t look older than twenty at the absolute most. Serena notices too, and her face morphs from excitement to worry.

Guess we both weren’t expecting our first victim to be a kid.

How did my mother get her claws into this piece of shit?

What is she promising everyone to make them come after my girl?

They have to know they’d be going up against the Morbid Monet, a feared name even among other killers.

Sure, none of us know who the others are, but when my name is whispered, you can see the fear in their eyes.

Yes, I have my prime victims, my little lambs, but soon the whole world will know that I placed my brush down for a new set of prey.

If they aren’t scared yet, I will make them fear me and my vixen.

Anyone who comes after us will know how their story ends.

With a blue rose and black lotus.

Even before Serena told me her signature, I went ahead and ordered a bundle of black lotuses to a P.O box that has a different name, hoping it was what she would choose. A part of me knowing that would be her choice.

The loud squeak of my shed shatters the silence, and I look up in time to see the bastard flinch and look around.

After a minute of waiting he scoffs and enters my space.

My muscles tighten. “Stay here,” I whisper to Serena.

Her mouth opens, but before she can protest, I place my hand over her mouth, and her nostrils flare.

“ Please , Serena. Once I take him out, you can come help me move his body into your space. Then the fun can begin.”

A muffled, and sarcastic, “Thanks” fills the air, and I chuckle. There’s my bloodthirsty girl. All this waiting has made her more bratty and defiant than usual, and her simple remark has me hoping she’s going to listen so I can keep her alive.

I lean down and kiss her forehead before making my way to the shed.

Watching my steps, I avoid the spots that would make any noise. Before entering my kill space, I take out my phone and turn the camera on to see if I can see where the guy is and what he is doing.

He’s looking through my drawers, touching my weapons. My hand tightens around the smooth glass, my jaw clenching when he picks up the knife I use to end my little lambs. One I haven’t touched in quite a while.

My feet are moving, my hand raised high overhead, before I register what I’m doing, my anger taking over. “That’s mine,” I growl.

The kid turns around, the knife falling from his hands and clattering to the ground. He fumbles for his gun, but before he can grab the rifle, my needle is in his neck. His hand wraps around the injection site. He coughs, falling backwards and knocking down my table of instruments in the process.

Leaning down, I remove the cover from his face, my nose scrunching in disgust at his cowardly ways. It’s as if he doesn’t take any pride in his kills. He doesn’t crave the fear and dread the rest of us do .

I hear pants from my vixen, her steps becoming louder as she gets closer to the shed. Closing my eyes, I stand, my hand snaps out and closes around her neck, squeezing just enough for her to feel the frustration.

“I thought I told you to wait until I called for you?”

“I thought you were in trouble,” she gasps through my hold, clawing at my hand for the air she so desperately needs.

I force her against the wall, my hold tightening as my body begs for hers. “If you thought I was in trouble, you should’ve run.”

She lifts her chin, challenging me despite our power imbalance. “I will never run,” she strains, face turning red.

Exasperated, I release her, watching as she falls to the floor in a coughing fit, her eyes flaming. She steps up to me, jabbing her finger into my chest. “I would rather die than watch you fall.”

I wrap my hand around her finger, silence all around us. We stay there, eyes locked, neither one of us backing down.

Her chest heaves, the anger coursing through her unable to be contained. I should’ve known my vixen wouldn’t obey me . I should have known she would run in here ready to die for me.

I bring her finger to my mouth, slowly wrapping my lips around it, her eyes watching the movement with rapt attention as she mindlessly licks her own lip.

A small smile tugs at my cheeks, her hand jerking back when my teeth bite into her sensitive flesh.

She cradles her hand to her chest, her forehead wrinkling in shock.

“Next time, it’ll be your clit.”

Her mouth falls open, and before she can respond, I walk away. “We have an assassin to question; I suggest you close that pretty mouth of yours unless you want me to shove my cock down your throat before slitting his.”

I look over my shoulder to see her mouth snap closed, an arrogant smirk breaking through my haze of anger.

Her shoulder bumps mine as she bends down to grab the sleeping fool’s feet.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” she grumpily asks, his feet suspended in the air.

I lean back on the table. “I don’t know; are you going to be a good girl and listen when I tell you to stay put?”

“I’m not a fucking dog.”

Pushing off the table, I bend down to help lift him. “No, but you are my vixen. Even foxes run from danger.”

She grunts, as we walk him to her shed. “I’m not like the other vixens. When I see danger, I walk right up to it, look it in the eye, and say, ‘you chose the wrong girl to fuck with; time to die.’ Then, I’ll slit their throat or something.”

I laugh at how nonchalant she says the last part, almost dropping the fucker. “I don’t pity anyone who dares go against my vixen.”

She smiles. “It’s why you love me.”

I shake my head, chuckling. “Bold of you to assume that.”

“Hey!” She bolts upright, shock and pain painting her face.

“Shit! Serena, don’t drop him!”

She grips his legs tighter. “Don’t say stupid things.”

Sighing, I suck my teeth before giving into her demands. “Yes, it’s one of the many reasons I love you.”

She smiles triumphantly. “That’s better.”

I’m going to have to teach her a lesson later.

We reach Serena’s shed and I carefully toss him over my shoulder. “You’re telling me you could have carried him yourself this whole time?”

Tightening my grip with one arm around his legs she opens the door. “Yep.”

“Then why the hell did you have me help you?” She throws her hands in the air.

“I like watching you struggle.” I shrug.

Her jaw drops. “Asshole,” she mumbles, making me chuckle.

She stomps into the room and I watch as she pulls her favorite three books in order to get into her kill space. Three clicks later, the door opens and we bring the idiot into the room, towards his demise.