Goddess of Pain - Katie May Page 0,37

to do. She would just do it, damn the consequences. This new me hesitates briefly, wondering if there’s a better option. I don’t like inflicting pain, I never have, but this man wanted me dead.

I need to know why.

What if he goes after me again? What if he goes after my men or my brothers? The sooner I can solve this case, the sooner things—

Well, they can’t really go back to normal, can they? I don’t even know what normal is anymore. The Realm of the Gods is where I belong, but my heart refuses to leave the friends and family I made here. My brothers.

They already lost their father—our father. What would they do if they lost me as well?

Shoving those thoughts to the side—to be unpacked at a later date—I channel my power down my arms and to my fingertips, still stroking Burke’s cheeks. And then, I unleash it.

Before he can scream, Helio covers his mouth with his large paw. Still, his body thrashes in a desperate and futile attempt to escape the pain. The agony.

His back arches on the wooden seat, eyes widening in anguish, but it only fuels something inside of me. Something dark and twisted and so incredibly fucked up, I don’t want to look at it too close.

I release the hold on my power, and Burke slumps forward, snot dripping from his nose.

Slowly, carefully, Helio removes his hand from Burke’s mouth.

“Are you ready to talk?”

“I don’t know anything,” he sobs. “Please let me go. I have a wife. Please.”

I lift my hand, fully intending to give him another douse of pain, but he continues talking before my palm can connect. “She…she called me. Gave me the money. Told me I could keep half of it once I hired those specific four on the dark web. Please. I did it for my family. Please. I don’t know her name. I don’t know who she is. Please.”

I turn towards Helio, and he gives me a subtle nod in response. So Burke isn’t lying. He’s not the mastermind behind this, just a pawn.

“You took the money,” I reiterate slowly, “knowing that the price of it was someone’s death. My death. What type of person does that?”

“Well, I do.” Sin moves to stand behind Burke, a wide grin on his painfully handsome face. I can’t help but note that he’s naked again. Really, really bad time for me to focus on his cock. “But then again, I’m not the one on trial.”

Ignoring my eccentric mate, I turn towards Helio.

“Deal with him,” I say firmly, knowing that he’ll use his powers to determine the appropriate punishment.

His powers are different from the Goddess of Justice—his sister. Her punishments usually happen the day of…and usually by her own hand. Helio merely sets a string of events into motion. Sometimes, he’ll be the one to deliver the fatal blow. Other times, he’ll stalk from the shadows, wait until the person has been lured into a false sense of security, and then cause an accident that takes both his or her legs.

You never know when karma is going to come back to bite you in the ass. Could be minutes from now. Could be years.

But he’ll always come for you.

Desmond shifts uncomfortably off to the side as Sin and Helio surround a whimpering Burke.

I meet Avery’s gaze, and he offers me a conspiratorial wink, reading the intentions in my eyes.

Before I can think better of it, I grab Desmond’s hand and stalk towards Avery’s room. Only when I’m inside—with the door shut and locked—do I wheel on my first lover. The first man who ever owned my heart.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I level him with my darkest glare.

“Desmond, I need to know,” I whisper, feeling incredibly small and vulnerable. “Do you not… Do you not love me anymore?”

Chapter 15

Desmond

It feels as if I’ve been sucker-punched.

I stare into the eyes of the only woman I’ve ever loved—the woman who owns my mind, body, heart, and soul—and I feel myself begin to unravel. It’s like she holds the thread to my very genetic makeup and is lightly tugging on the string. Try as I might, I’m torn apart in the slowest, sweetest way imaginable.

I should walk away from her, save us both the inevitable heartache, but I’m too enamored with having her near.

She’s here.

Trying to look past the plethora of emotions threatening to consume me, I force a cheerful smile on my face.

“Why would you think that?” I inquire breezily.

In answer, she places