And All Hell Broke Loose (A LIKE HELL collection)

The Last Lover (Part #2)

'So,' Samuel said, trying to keep his voice even. 'This is why you're late meeting me.'

Freddie slid off the bed, still unashamedly naked. He shrugged. 'You made your feelings pretty clear earlier. I thought you were done with me.'

Rage seethed in Samuel's stomach. He forced his features into a mask of lethal calm. 'Not once did I specify that. You know the rules. Once I claim you, you belong to me. Nobody else.' His eyes slid to the girl that cowered in his bed, visibly trembling under the sheets. 'You know he is mine. That he has been for a while. You must be very arrogant to think you can take him from me.'

'No!' the girl squeaked, shaking her head vigorously. 'I didn't know- he said you were finished with him-'

Freddie sighed, shaking his head. 'Come on, Rebecca. All I had to do was invite you in here and you lost your shirt before I'd shut the door.'

Her lips wobbled, and a sob burst from her throat. 'Please – please don't hurt me. I didn't mean it... I know he's yours. Take him. Take him.'

Samuel folded his arms, a sneer on his lips. 'Take him? He's been defiled by a common Dweller. Why would I want that?'

Every muscle in Freddie's body tensed with rage. A cold ache clenched itself around Samuel's heart. He ignored the pain of it, and turned back towards the doorway.

'Inflamers!' he yelled. 'I have a job for you.'

Even as the words fell from his mouth, that strange trickle of feeling that had appeared back in his office was gnawing at his gut.

It's not regret. It's not regret.

He'd let himself get too attached. This was a good thing. A severing of something that was leeching his power from him, leeching his reputation.

'What are you going to do, Samuel?' Freddie said, his face bloodless. 'Drain me in front of the Depths? Torture me with the Inflamers?'

Something inside his chest gave a twang. Fury burst through him at the action. This had to end. It had to end now before he couldn't bring himself to do it at all.

Endelman charged through the doorway, followed by a legion of Inflamers. His eyes went straight to the girl in the bed, and Freddie's defiant face. His nostrils flared, and Samuel knew he could scent the wet heat in the air.

'What would you like us to do, Samuel?' Endelman said, his tongue already flickering out in excited anticipation. 'My Inflamers are hungry. Hungry enough for two.'

'Good,' Samuel said, his face hard. 'I want this done publicly. An example set. Out in the Vent right now.'

The girl screamed, and Freddie swayed where he stood. To his credit, he didn't waver as he said, 'This isn't what you want. I know you better. You think I don't, but I do. This will hurt you, Samuel. Maybe even more than it will hurt me.'

'You know nothing,' Samuel hissed. He jabbed a finger at the door, and turned to the Inflamers. 'Get them up there.'

The Inflamers rushed forward, pinning the girl and Freddie between them. Before Samuel could blink, they were out the door, screaming their way down the corridor.

Samuel waited a full minute before he followed, trying to make his mind as blank as possible.

By the time he reappeared in the Vent, a swarming crowd of Dwellers had appeared, cheering and yelling at the sight that beheld them. Endelman had the two of them forced to their knees, right on the edge of the Pit drop.