by D. N. Hoxa
“I imagine you’ve read the contract I gave you,” he said, looking everywhere but at me.
“No, I did not.” When he called to give me the job of finding that amulet, he also gave me a contract—an offer to continue my work for the Guild in exchange for a ridiculous amount of money and other benefits. But money had no meaning to me, even if I didn’t have a fortune of my own.
“Mr. Reed, you must know that the Guild needs people—”
“The Guild exploited me at my weakest,” I reminded him. “When I met with your grandfather, he was younger than you are now.” And I remembered Arnold Flinn all too clearly. He was the man I’d made the deal with—my services to him and the Guild, in exchange for Amina’s life. Arnold Flinn was a smart man. He didn’t hesitate to accept, and he had me right where he wanted me. Too young, too naive to think clearly. So he made demands I had no choice but to meet, and he tied me to the Guild for a hundred and fifty years. There’s not a day that went by that I didn’t regret—with every fiber of my being—signing those papers with my blood.
“He was also very smart. He made his demands and I agreed to them because he had leverage over me. He could give me something I needed, but you? You barely have the patience to sit through a meeting with me. You’re so afraid, I constantly have to block your scent. You’re constantly trying to find flaws in my work, trying to hold onto something that would give you the right to extend my contract without my consent.”
He leaned back in his chair, his heart beating even louder now. Too bad I couldn’t shut off my ears, too.
“I’ve always been very professional with you, Mr. Reed. And this is not personal. I’m here on behalf of the Guild, and that contract came from high up.”
Ah, yes. Because he wasn’t in the committee like his grandfather had been at the time. He was just a worker for the high chairs.
I leaned closer to the desk. “Well then, tell the high up that I am not interested in another deal with the Guild. I’m interested in my freedom, and you, as their representative, are going to sign those papers, so I can be on my way.”
His eyes widened in fear. I might have let my eyes grow darker and my fangs extend, just a little bit, so he could see them, but I was in a good mood. I wanted to mess with him. I wanted to see the reaction on his face. It had been a while since I’d taken pleasure in the little things. It was refreshing.
Flinn nodded and opened a drawer under his desk. He brought out a thick envelope and opened it, taking out a folded eighty-page contract from over a century ago, on the last page of which was my blood.
I’d waited so long for this moment that it felt surreal. In a matter of minutes now, I would be a free man, and my team would be, too. John, Zane and Emanuel were part of that contract, too. Over the years, working for the Guild, I’d encountered men and women who made mistakes—crimes that were punishable by death by the people in charge of the world. Where I saw potential, I made offers. If they joined my team, I would keep them fed and clothed, out of jail, and if they lasted until my debt was paid in full to the Guild, they would be free, too. The Guild didn’t have any issues with it. They were happy to add names to that monstrosity of a contract, as long as I continued to do what they wanted me to do.
When he reached the last page, Flinn looked at me once more. Beads of sweat lined his forehead. He pulled his lips inside his mouth, as if he were measuring me to determine if he wanted to push me again.
I smiled and showed him my fangs. I didn’t want to scare him, but…no, I did want to scare him. I would never attack him, not unless he threatened to kill me in any way, but he didn’t know that, did he?
It made up his mind for him. He opened his drawer again and took out an army knife. He left it by the contract and took a pen to write down the magic words at the end of it—that my debt was paid in full.
Then, he cut his thumb and pressed it over his signature.
I took in a deep breath then—my first as a free man after what felt like a million lifetimes. Even the smell of his blood didn’t awaken the hunger in me—I was in too good a mood.
I stood up and offered Flinn my hand. He flinched at the sight of it but shook it anyway.
“Mr. Flinn, you’re a smart man, aren’t you?” He wasn’t but that wasn’t the point. “I can grant you one small favor, as long as we keep it informal. I can allow you to call me for consulting once, when you’re in need.” And he would be in need of me. Too many fucked up things happened in the world, and the Guild didn’t have nearly enough people to handle them. “In return, you do a small thing for me, too.”
He blinked and rose up. “Consulting? You mean like—”
“I mean, when you have a mystery on your hands, someone you can’t find, something you need destroyed, you can call and ask me how to do it.” I couldn’t make myself more clear.
“And in return?”
“Sonny Montero. He’s one of the teenagers who were framed for the amulet’s theft. His name will be cleared of all charges, and he’ll be accepted to attend Nova Terra come September.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Reed. He’s wanted for questioning, and I couldn’t—”
“Mr. Flinn, please spare me the details. I don’t know what one has to do to enroll a student at the Academy, and I don’t want to know. You make sure he receives the notice this morning, and my team will be in touch with you for the payment. One call, Mr. Flinn. Any time, for any reason—no restrictions.”
Like I’d physically assaulted him, he fell back on his chair, looking at the wall.
I let out a sigh. “Do I need to make this offer to someone else, perhaps, Mr. Flinn? Someone high up that would be more willing to see the benefit?”
He narrowed his brows. “No,” he whispered. “No, no, there’s no need for that.” Of course not. He knew he didn’t need to tell anyone about this, that nobody needed to know he’d get help from me in the future. “I believe I can manage it, but the payment has to be made in full.”
“Of course,” I said with a nod. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Flinn. A pleasure doing business with you.”
I leaned down to take the contract from the desk, and he pushed himself away until the back of his chair hit the wall. I wanted to laugh. This time, I really didn’t mean to scare him, but sometimes, I didn’t pay attention to my speed. I understood that it looked unnatural to people who couldn’t move the same way.
Putting the contract in the envelope, I left the office.
My team waited for me outside the building. When they saw me approaching, they all smiled.
“Is it done? Is it over?” Moira asked.
I showed them the envelope. “All done.”
“Yes!” Moira shouted in the night and jumped in my arms.
“So we’re free? I’m free?” John asked, a dumbfounded smile on his face. He’d been with me the longest—for over fifty years now.
“Yes, you are. We all are.”
He flinched. “It doesn’t feel any different.”
Moira wrapped her arm around his neck. “Give it some time, you goof! You’re free!”
“So what happens next? What will we do now?” Zane asked. He smiled, but I smelled the confusion on him.
“You can do whatever you want. You’re all free to be on your way.”
My team was my family. They were all part of me, and they always would be. But I couldn’t hold them back any longer. If they wanted to start their lives anew, they were perfectly within their rights. I’d promised them their freedom, and I’d delivered. That was enough for me.
“What way? I don’t have a way,” John said.
“Me, neither,” said Zane in wonder.
“I think we’ll stick together for a little while, if you don’t mind,” Emanuel said with a wide smile.
“Not at all! You’re welcome to join us,” Moira said. “Because let’s be honest, spending all my time with Dam alone is going to be boring as fuck. Somebody needs to keep me entertained.”
“I a
m not boring.” Was I?
She raised her brows. “Your idea of a good time is reading a book.”
“What’s wrong with books?” It was better than killing people.
“Whatever you say, big guy,” she said, patting my back.
“I’m in,” said Zane.
“Me, too,” said John.
“As long as we keep away from Europe,” Emanuel said with a nod. He didn’t like Europe for some reason. He claimed the people there were too touchy.
“So where are we going next?” John asked.
I looked at the Shade around us. I’d never liked this place before, but now? It felt like it had potential.
“Let’s stay here for a while.”
“Cool. I like the penthouse,” said Zane. “And the clubs.”
“But we’re going to need to do something about Emanuel’s disastrous attempts at cooking in that kitchen. The smell, man,” John said with a groan. “I can’t stand one more burned piece of meat.”
“Don’t be an ass, John,” said Moira. She wrapped her arm around Emanuel’s. “His cooking is just fine.”
“No, it’s not,” Zane said, and they turned around to leave the Shade. “It’s disastrous. We’re vampires. Our senses are very sensitive.”
“So don’t breathe! It’s not like you need to,” Moira said.
I took in another mouthful of air. There would be bad things ahead of us. There were always bad things happening in the world.
But there would be good things, too. Sinea was still here, and I had yet to hear an apology from her. I had yet to make her mine—properly this time.
“Coming, Dam?” Moira called when they noticed I hadn’t followed them.
Yes, good things were to come, and I would explore them all as a free man.
—THE END
Thank you for reading! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Sin and Damian’s story if you have a moment to leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads. I would appreciate it very much!
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Sincerely,
Dori Hoxa
Also by D.N. Hoxa
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