NIGHTMARE

chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

"Come here." His words remained in my mind, and my mouth ran dry.

Holy shit.

What had I just done to myself? I froze at his words, letting them replay over and over in my brain.

He was going to kill Mai if I didn't do what he demanded.

I don't know why I was defending someone who I had only just met by exchanging a few hushed words.

Maybe it was because I thought I stood a better chance than she did.

After all, I remember in the car how there had been discussions about me being 'a good catch' and 'the one'.

Mikey's eyes had studied me with curiosity, and he had glared at Mai in disgust.

Why would he just kill 'a good catch' without even meeting me?

He clearly only thought of Mai as a slave, a prostitute, and a whore.

With that in mind, I suddenly felt brave.

Brave enough to stare down the barrel of a gun and stupid enough to walk towards the man holding the trigger and ready to fire on me.

My steps were rusty, as if my legs were begging me not to move any closer, but I had to.

Mai's life depended on my bravery.

It was survival of the fittest; here, in this world, only the strongest survived.

Mai didn't appear to be strong at all.

But I wasn't ready to see another bullet go straight through someone else's brain today; one death had been enough to turn my stomach on its head; another might send it out my throat.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit My bare feet padded against the floor, the sound echoing off the walls.

The men in the room stood in complete silence, watching the scene unfold.

My steps halted, and the echoing stopped.

My chest was pressed tight up against the gun, and his finger still lingered over that fatal trigger.

I was one moment from death—only one bullet away.

My body began to shake, and my knees wanted to buckle.

My heart pounded against my chest. I'm pretty sure he could hear it, and I definitely could.

Fear.

It left a metallic taste in my dry and cold mouth as I awaited my fate.

My breath hiked and my lips trembled.

I was begging myself not to cry.

My eyes were plastered on his slick black and overly polished shoes, one of which was impatiently tapping the floor.

"Look at me," his cold voice demanded brutally.

I brought my gaze upwards and towards his black eyes, which pierced my soul and made me want to run and hide.

I blinked back tears and begged my body to stop trembling.

Anyone could tell just by looking at this man that he was a killer.

A beautiful killer.

"No?" He stared at me.

I knew he was questioning me; why had I said no?

I gulped down the heavy lump in my throat and realized the weight of what I had done.

I had told the world's greatest bonten boss that no, not even his second-hand man would have the guts to do that, and I'm pretty sure that Sano Manjiro wouldn't have even heard of the word "never" before.