SIN
"No! No, Boss, I'd never…"
I sighed, the sound lost in the girl's frantic sobbing. I pulled the trigger.
Click.
The hollow sound of the hammer hitting an empty chamber filled the room. Her screams followed immediately, sharp and animalistic, as if the bullet had actually passed through her.
I looked at the gun, completely unamused, then back at her. "Hmm. I guess that wasn't it. Let's try again."
"Please, Boss!" She rubbed her hands together, her movements frantic, her tears soaking into the floorboards. "I… I could never betray you. You brought me out of the gutter. You gave me life, I swear, I could…"
"What did he talk about?" I cut her off. My voice was a low, lethal demand that brooked no more lies.
"He… he… he…" she stammered, the words shattered by the sheer force of her fear. "He only asked about you, Boss. He asked for you... and... and..."
"And you were going to sell me to him for cute changes and a little fame?" I asked, my face a mask of boredom.
"No, Boss, I…"
I fired again. Click. Nothing.
By now, she was sobbing so hard her entire body was convulsing. The other girls stood like statues, helpless, their own lingerie damp with shared fear. They were watching a girl drown on dry land.
"So you just wanted his money and his easy fuck, is what you're telling me? So you're saying I misinterpreted your greed." I pointed the gun at her again, the barrel steady as a rock.
She nodded her head violently, hysterically, her hair matting against her face. "Yes, Boss! I just wanted to fuck! I just wanted to fuck him hard! He was offering such good money to fuck, so why not, and I… I agreed! That was it!" She let out a laugh…a raw, fear-driven sound that bordered on insanity.
And again…click. The whole room flinched as one. The tension was so thick you could taste the metallic tang of it on your tongue.
"Please!" she cried out, her voice breaking into a thousand pieces.
"Your last chance, girl." I held the gun steady, perfectly level with her forehead. My finger tightened. This was the moment where the air usually ran out of the room.
She shook, pleading with her eyes, then finally gave in. She collapsed inward, frantic and sobbing. "Okay, okay boss! I… I wanted to… I wanted to sell you out! I'm sorry! He's Matteo Ricci, I couldn't refuse! But it was just a thought for a split second! After thinking of the consequences, I didn't want to! I'm sorry, boss, forgive me!"
She dropped her head back to the floor, her body going limp as she waited for the inevitable crack of the bullet.
The pistol felt heavy and warm in my hand now, an extension of my own will. I tilted the barrel slightly toward the floor, just an inch away from her head.
I fired.
The shot slammed down hard—a deafening, bone-shaking crack that echoed through the entire club. Everyone in the room screamed, covering their ears. But the round hit the floorboards, spitting dust and splinters right next to her curled, shaking hand.
I lowered my hand, the smoke curling from the barrel. I moved toward her. She scrambled upright, her knees knocking together, her expensive lingerie soaked with sweat and terror.
I grabbed her chin…not gently…and lifted her bruised, ruined face to mine. "Get lost," I said. There wasn't a flicker of feeling in my voice. Just cold finality.
"Boss," she whispered, tears carving clean tracks through the makeup on her cheeks.
"You were one of my good earners. You entertained these pigs well. But your tenure here is over, darling."
"Please, don't banish me," she breathed, her voice small and terrified. Without the club, she was nothing, and she knew it.
"You might as well go offer your mouth to that Ricci bastard now," I said, my voice dripping with cold disdain. "He clearly wants it."
She shook her head violently, her eyes wide. "No! I want to serve you! Only you, Boss. Please, I'll do anything. I don't know what greed took over me, I'd never think of such a thing again. Boss, please, I can be of use!"
I reached out and rubbed her bottom lip with my thumb, smearing a streak of black mascara across her skin. The metallic taste of ash and cheap makeup under my nail was sharp and bitter.
"This mouth has been everywhere, asking for every kind of sin," I said, lifting my gaze to meet her fear-glazed eyes. "Don't use it to call me again."
I stepped back, staring down at the shaking mess on the floor. "Consider this the cheapest mercy you'll ever buy. I would have had your fucking head blown out on these carpets for less…it wouldn't be the first time."
I turned my gaze to the rest of the room, letting my stare linger on each of them.
"And know this; if a single word of this gets out, I will find you. It won't be hard…and trust me, there will be no mercy. Only death."
The girl sniffed and nodded so fast her shoulders snapped. She scrambled back, trying to disappear.
"And let this be a fucking reminder for everyone here," I commanded, my voice hitting every corner of the room like a physical blow. "This is my city. This is my club. Always has been. Always will be."