The Prison (Book 1)

Bluffing

Bluffing 

"Put the gun down," I desperately urged Cain. All the while, my eyes were on Schneizel. I did not dare take my eyes off of him. Not even for a second. I knew that he would not stand idle for much longer, and it was his reaction to Cain holding a gun to my head that I was terrified of.

"No."

"At least don't point it at me!" I pleaded for his own sake, despite a part of me knowing that it was already too late.

Schneizel was going to murder Cain, if the icy, vengeful wrath in his obsidian eyes was any indication. The man radiated murderous intent; it rolled off him in palpable waves. A cloud of black doom hung over the entire beach. The stillness of the wind persisted.

"Keep quiet and let me think," he barked.

Was it just me or was his grip that was holding the gun against my head shaking?

"You can think about your impending doom because you've all but sealed your fate."

Suddenly, a new voice said, "Why don't you listen to him, Cain, and let him go?" It was followed by the sound of a cocking gun from right behind his.

It was Cade! He had snuck up on us, cornering Cain between himself and Schneizel. I'd forgotten that he was with Schneizel, and so had Cain, it seemed.

Big mistake.

After a few moments' hesitation, Cain released me and raised his hands in surrender. Instinctively, I took a few steps away from him before whirling around to see Cade pointing his gun at Cain's head.

"Drop your gun."

Reluctantly, Cain tossed the gun onto the wet sand a few feet away from him and right next to me.

"Aiden."

"Yeah?" I looked at Cade, whose cold eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Cain.

"Give the gun to Schneizel."

I panicked. I knew exactly what that meant for Cain. I absolutely did not want Schneizel to kill him!

My eyes found Cain's cerulean ones. In them, I saw the realization that he was about to perish. There had to be something that I could do to persuade Schneizel and Cade to not harm Cain. There had to be!

"Aiden, the gun." Cade reminded me.

"Right... the gun..."

The answer stared me right in the face.

This is a bad, bad idea.

But it was also my only idea, and until I came up with another one, I could see no other way.

I picked up the gun and tested its weight in my hand. Unceremoniously, a certain memory that I'd long since thought was forgotten surfaced in my mind. In vivid clarity, I recalled wrestling with Billionaire Andrew Stevens after randomly walking into an alleyway and finding him pointing a loaded gun at his beaten wife. I remembered the feel of the gun when it accidentally went off, shooting the abusive billionaire dead. That night started it all, changing my life forever.

I nearly threw the gun on the ground; I loathed the way it felt in my hand. Just holding it was fueling all my nightmares. Then I looked at Cain and decided against it.

"You owe me for this," I told him.

Resolved, I pointed the gun at Schneizel.

Cade sighed. "Aiden, what is it that you think you're doing?"

Cain gaped at me, stunned.

Schneizel threw back his head and roared with laughter.

Shocked, I demanded, "This is not a laughing matter! Let Cain go. Now." My command came out less authoritative than I meant for it to be. I looked down and saw the gun shaking in my hand.

Schneizel laughed still, an equally throaty and melodious laugh that did things to my insides, when it was neither the appropriate time nor the appropriate place. It was like the he'd suddenly turned into a different person, his deadly mood gone, the black cloud of doom hanging over us all but disappeared.

A blush crept up my neck and suffused my cheeks. Indignant, I yelled, "Why are you laughing? I'm being serious!"

I knew why he wasn't taking me seriously, but it still hurt to know that they didn't see me as a viable threat. It hurt my manly pride. So, I blurted out, "I've killed someone before. I can do it again."

That seemed to sober Schneizel up. His laughter died away.

Did I just threaten to kill my own boyfriend? I mentally slapped my forehead. There really was no limit to my idiocy.

I looked into Schneizel's face and saw that I'd really gone and done it this time. His face hardened again and the humor vanished from his dark eyes.

Without warning, he started coming toward me. I began to panic.

"S-Stay where you are!" I ordered, but it came out weak and pathetic again. My heart danced a staccato rhythm against my ribcage, threatening to beat right out of my chest.

He didn't.

"I-If you come any closer, I'll s-shoot! Seriously, I'll shoot! Stop! Why aren't you listening to me?!"

When he was close enough, he grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the gun and raised it in the air, forcing me to stand on my tiptoes.

"Ouch!" The gun slipped out of my fingers and fell to the sand.

Even when I was standing on my toes, I only came up to his throat. He was so close to me that his breath fanned my eyelashes and cheeks, and I could feel the heat of his body. We were practically chest to chest.

I was afraid to look up into Schneizel's obsidian eyes, mostly because I didn't want to see the reprimand and anger in them, but it became inevitable, especially when he tightened his hold on my wrist. When I did, they swallowed me whole immediately; it was like staring into two black holes. How I'd missed this feeling. I didn't find any admonishment or displeasure in them. Instead, I found a tantalizing, scorching heat.

He swooped down for a kiss, capturing my lips with his, all while Cade and Cain watched.

*~~~~~~~~~~~*

Sorry for the delay, I got myself an elbow injury. This is another reminder that this chapter got uploaded up on Ritoria first. So will the next few chapters for the foreseeable future. If you can't wait to read a chapter, check there first <3

If you'd like to read ahead, consider joining my Patreon to gain early access to The Prison's and almost all my other stories' chapters, exclusive NSFW chapters, bonus The Prison short stories, spicy NSFW artwork made by yours truly, and much much more! The Prison is also complete on my Patreon, and I'm uploading the next book in the series by the title The Cage ;D