“And we all know what came after those exhausting events,” Will said then, sighing as he leaned on the bench. “Seriously, must you inconvenience me so?”
God… I had to accept the fact that he was incredibly fast and resilient. I didn’t think I could get anything past him, could I?
“I just wanted fresh air,” I muttered in annoyance.
“All you had to do was ask, Angel,” he said then. “Easy words, too, ‘Hey, Will, I want to go take a walk. Can we go?’”
“I wanted to be alone,” I said, annoyed.
“Ah, yes, and look how amazing that outcome would be.” He gazed up at the man still struggling against the invisible ropes. “Depressing, honestly. I thought there were lesser men like him now. Muggers and rapists are so last year. Especially in such rich neighborhoods. Kidnapping? Ah, yes, okay, but raping in a park right next to a bundle of houses? Stupid.”
I remained silent, but my eyes darkened.
He just stepped around me, hand sliding off my shoulder. “But of course… if you’re hiding something from me, that’s a different story.”
He then flipped his finger out, and the man’s head shot backward, a large snap! from his spine echoing through the neighborhood before his body clattered to the ground.
I wasn’t as affected by it, honestly… it was… less horrific than the last, but still horrific.
Will just cracked his knuckles and yawned, stretching out his arms before looking back at me. “Are you going to talk to me and tell me your issues? Or am I going to have to guess?”
I remained silent, avoiding eye contact.
He just smiled. “Well, I guess I already know part of it, don’t I?”
I gazed up in shock.
“You’re confused and dazed,” he stated, lashes lowering, “about my caring for you.”
“You can read my thoughts,” I realized quietly, “from a mile away.”
“Ah, you guessed it,” he said then, smirking. “Took you a while. You should’ve realized it sooner, Angel.”
I remained silent.
He just dropped his arms and lopped his head to the side, sighing as he stepped toward me. “Alright. I think we need to talk.”
I watched curiously as he stepped over to me and sat down on the bench. “I think we need to find a solution to your issues because you’re clearly confused beyond belief. As per the contract, I must protect you and care for you, and that seems to be troubling you.”
“Because it’s vague and it… you put a lot of work into it that isn’t forced to be there.”
He glanced over at me then. “How about a job title, hmm? How about that? Give me a job title.”
I gave him a concerned look. “What? But… you’re my boss. How can I give you a job title?”
Oh, right… work. I was still on PTO, but it was going to be up soon. Goddamn it.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” he said calmly. “Listen to me.”
I gazed up then.
“I know I’m your boss, but still…” his lashes lowered, “positions can be easily switched.”
“What?” I said then, brows drawing together. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”
He just smiled. “I think you should be the boss, hmm?”
I gazed up then, lashes lowering. “What…?”
“Not at work,” he said then, smirking still. “Honestly… I’d like a downsize. I hate being the boss of such boring people. I think I’ll take another position.”
“What… are you going on about?” I demanded.
“What are the terms of the contract?” he said then. “Toward me?”
I blinked. “Care for me… protect me… do anything I say….”
“Mmhmm,” he said then, gazing up, “what business partner does that?”
I just gave him a look. “Okay, it’s midnight and I’m tired. Can we skip the guessing games?”
“A bodyguard,” he listed, “a secretary, a personal assistant, I can go on.”
“Uh, huh,” I said passive-aggressively.
He just smiled over at me. “To ease your mind of my terms, would you like me to be a servant of some kind?”
I shot him a look then. “No, that’s… no.”
He just smiled, eyes glowing slightly. “Personal assistant it is then. Glad that’s settled.” He stood and stepped further out.
“Wait, what?” I said then. “What…?”
“I said it’s settled,” he responded to me. “I am your personal assistant. It fits the contract. So it’s settled. No complaining.”
I guess it was settled then. He said that word like three times now.
Personal assistant…? Hmm… I might have fun with this.
My lashes lowered in annoyance. “But you’re still going to be a menace?”
“I am a demon,” he said then, glancing back at me with a smile. “It’s in my biology.”
Of course. Of course, he was.
I then just sighed. “Are we going to ignore the dead body lying right there?”
He glanced over to it. “Oh, I was going to dump it in some unfortunate man’s yard. One with very high testosterone. And then record them screaming like a girl.”
I gave him an annoyed look. “You truly are sadistic, aren’t you?”
He glanced over at me. “You’ve only seen that now?”
I rolled my eyes.
He just looked back at the body, sighing in annoyance. “I’ll go get a trash bag. Shouldn’t be long.”
And he suddenly vanished.
I just stared into the darkness, lashes lowering when the wind dusted over my face.
But I heard a sudden voice behind me:
“Little girl, I found you.”
I froze.
It only took a second before I felt myself go flying, and I screamed before I tumbled to the ground.
My arms sliced open when I slid across the concrete, and I finally slammed against a pole of a swing set.
Air forced out from inside me, and I gasped, struggling against the ground as I tried to draw in a breath, but the air was thicker and catching in my throat.
The figure just stepped toward me.
He was large, about six-foot. His muscles were swollen at his biceps, tattoos circling his upper arms and forming skulls and daggers slicing through the bones like paper.
He was a part of that gang… that gang.
I kept struggling to breathe, gasping when his footsteps got louder.
He just smirked, flipping a knife out from a holster, and my eyes widened.
I couldn’t… move. Why couldn’t I move?
The second he got up to me, I remained frozen, staring at him helplessly.
He brought the knife down onto me.
But my body was caught by a sudden force—like arms circling around me—and I was flown backward again.
I winced, preparing to hit the concrete.
But I landed in the same arms.
In the distance, I heard the knife clash with the pole of the swing set, and a “WHAT THE—?”
I gazed up then, opening one eye to see what was happening.
My eyes rounded.
William sat above me, leaning down as he held me in his arms, kneeling, almost.
He smiled down at me. “Hey, miss me?”
I stared, almost not believing it.
Did I really think I would die? With the contract and all?
“YOU!” the man screamed, storming toward us. “I HATE IT WHEN SCRAWNY LITTLE MEN INVADE ON MY TASKS!”
William just sighed, though was still smiling. “I guess I get another dinner tonight. Might as well eat it fresh, you know?”
He brought the knife down again, but Will hopped with me in his arms, and he landed silently on the bench behind us.
The knife ricochet off the concrete, sending sparks through the air and the impact seemed to rattle the killer.
The man shot up then, glancing around before locking gazes with us.
He glared despite being uncertain of Will’s speed. “I have a job to do.”
“Ah, same,” Will said then, “but sadly… she belongs to me, and not you, so I’m afraid your job is done.”
He stepped forward. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“I know,” Will said then, smirking, “that’s your first mistake.”
He gripped the knife tighter. “I’ll kill you.”
Will just laughed, laughed.
He hopped gracefully off the bench and landed on the ground, slick like a cat.
He then set me down onto the bench, lying me down nicely before his eyes locked on mine. “I do not ask much, my angel—”
He broke off, smiling. “Ah, wait. I’m your secretary now, so I should call you something else.”
“He’s going to kill me,” I said then.
“You know I won’t allow that,” Will said then, lashes lowering. “No one can take you from me. No one.” He then looked into my eyes. “I don’t ask much, but I ask this… I do not want to scare you, so please… close your eyes, okay?”
I just nodded, letting my lashes flutter shut as he brushed his thumb along my forehead. “Give me one second.”
His presence then left me, and I clutched tightly onto myself as the cold bit into my skin.
But I suddenly heard his voice… and it was dark… demonic.
“Why standing there? Having second thoughts?”
The man just scoffed. “You don’t scare me, you fiend.”
William just chuckled darkly. “Humans are curious creatures,” he stated boldly. “Interesting, isn’t it? Two arms, two legs, a neck… odd. Steams from the body so easily.”
“What are you going on about?” the man questioned. “Are you mad?!”
“Yes,” Will said then, and I suddenly felt darkness pool around me. “But I was giving you insight on your death. I was being generous, so it wasn’t a surprise. I’m not generous often, you know.”
The man suddenly took a step back. “Your eyes… your eyes are—”
“Red?” Will finished calmly. “I know. They do that when I’m angry. And you pissed me off.”
A long silence stretched along them.
“Humans…” Will continued as I kept my eyes closed, but the world grew colder, “curious creatures. You know, you are one, aren’t you? You have two arms, right?”
I suddenly heard a whoosh! that usually indicated he flicked his hand or his finger.
And a sudden snap echoed through the neighborhood, and the man screamed in a high pitch.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, breaths shaking.
“Ooh-ph,” Will said, “looks like it’s one arm now.”
Another crack burst through my eardrums, followed by a shriek.
“Now none,” Will said swiftly.
I heard soft sobbing, and the man’s voice shook. “What are you?”
“Humans have two legs, correct?” Will continued darkly, making chills slice through me.
“Please, no!” he sobbed.
Snap!
“One,” Will said.
Crack!
“Zero.” Will sighed. “Pity, now you can’t hold that knife and you can’t run from me. Such a dark world we live in.”
The man was screaming now, the scent of blood swarming my senses as I tried to stay calm.
“Really?” Will said, raising his voice over his cries. “Now you’re going to wake the whole city up.”
The man continued screaming.
“Ah,” Will said then, “well, I guess there’s one branch left.”
A final, loud, shearing crack! burst through my every sense, and I winced, shrinking in on myself as my breaths stilled.
And he finally fell silent.
“Pity,” Will said again, “I was having fun. But they always scream, don’t they? Ugh, when can I play with my food, huh?”
There was silence for a moment.
But I felt a hand on my face, and I breathed shakily.
“You can open your eyes now. I cleaned the mess,” Will promised.
I listened, parting my lashes and gazing up at him.
His white shirt was stained red at the collar, but otherwise, he was clean.
I assumed he cleaned the park of his homicidal chaos, but I didn’t dare look.
Will just assessed me. “Are you hurt?”
He then gazed down to my arm, finding the scrapes and bruises spreading across my skin like wildfire.
His lashes lowered in a sudden darkness, and he just scooped me up.
Two minutes later, we were back home in this “house” he bought me, and he set me on the couch before pulling out a first aid kit from the kitchen.
After stepping over to me, he knelt down and lightly caught my arm.
I watched numbly as he cleaned out the wounds and bandaged them, being so gentle which I didn’t know he could do.
“Do you mind explaining who those two men were?” Will asked me, sliding the wrap over my arm to keep the gauze in place. “Something tells me it wasn’t mere circumstance.”
I was silent for a moment, but I just let my lashes lower. “It was my father… he was in business with a lot of men.”
Will kept bandaging my arm, but I watched his eyes darken.
“My father was an addict for a while,” I told Will, voice quiet. “He was addicted to cocaine and heroin, but also to gambling. So addicted that… he joined gangs and sometimes even mafias to get his stash. So addicted that he did horrible things… he hurt women, killed people, and drove our family poor for his drugs.”
Will was now attending to my other arm.
“He eventually lost money,” I continued, “got so sick from the drugs that he couldn’t help them anymore, but he still got the drugs from them. He grew enemies… big enemies and small ones. Gangs, dealers, mafias, military officers, sometimes even… governmental officials.” I was silent for a moment. “He died before paying them back, and they’re pissed now. So they’re coming after me because I have money as well as a somewhat status. Some people want to kill me, some want me as a hostage for the police, and some… just want to kill me and then get my money. It varies.”
“They’ve been after you since?” Will asked me, finishing with the last wrap.
I nodded. “That’s why I liked my apartment so much. It was closed in… safe.”
“You are safe, Suki,” he said gently, gazing up at me. “You’ll always be safe. No one will kill you. I won’t allow it.”
I nodded, keeping silent.
“Now, this,” he said, tapping the bandages, “could’ve been prevented if you told me beforehand that many people are trying to take what’s mine.”
I nodded, keeping silent.
“No more secrets?” he said then, brow arching.
I nodded numbly. “No more.”
“Okay,” he said then, standing and helping me up, “let’s get you to bed.”
I let him guide me up the stairs.
“I’ve been thinking of names I should call you,” he said then, making me gaze up, “because now I’m your secretary and all, so… I was thinking either, ‘mistress’, ‘milady’, ‘miss’, ‘madam’, ‘ma’am’, or ‘lady’. What do you think?”
“Why not stick to your original sappy shit?” I said, annoyed. “‘Angel’, or whatever.”
He just smiled back at me. “Nah, I’ll only call you that when you’ve been a good girl, or I’m happy with you.”
I gave him an annoyed look.
“Hey, I don’t make the rules,” he said then, shrugging.
“Yes, you are. You literally are.”
He just chuckled. “I’ll go with mistress.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes.
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