Men. They really were easy to play. All you had to do was be confident enough in yourself, and they’d love to take a bite out of you. Some men would fuck anything that looked at them, and that, to me, made them weak.
When the Best Eastern Hotel came into view and Tod pulled us into the parking lot, Lola directed him toward our room. On the cusp of being a motel, this particular location only had two stories, spread out along the roadside. We were far enough out of the city, in a dumpy area, so it wasn’t like the road would have lots of traffic into the night, and based on how many cars were parked in the lot, in front of their respective rooms, we wouldn’t have any neighbors.
And I’d bet anything that at least one or two of the vehicles around belonged to Lola’s cleanup crew.
I couldn’t lie, as Tod parked the car and we shuffled out of it, my heart did beat faster. I didn’t know if I would call it excitement or if it was something else. The weight of what was about to happen inside that room wasn’t necessarily something I was used to—ironic, given everything I’d been through lately.
Multiple kidnappings. Finding out my Devil had been in front of my eyes all along. Realizing Tessa had been behind it all, that she’d wanted me out of the picture from the very beginning, when she’d first began dating my dad.
Man, you’d think she’d be happy she was the wife of a mayor, but no, she wanted more. To be the wife of the state governor, or the state senator, or whatever. More, more, more. It wasn’t just men who craved power. Women did, too. In a world like this, you couldn’t blame them too much.
No, I didn’t blame her for wanting more, but I did blame her for trying to have me and Kieran killed. Stuff like that is unforgivable.
Our hotel room was on the first floor, so we were able to walk right in. It looked just like any other old hotel room, and smelled like it, too: a queen-sized bed sat against one wall, while an old dresser that had seen better days sat across from it, a tiny TV hanging on the wall above it, all of its wires out in plain view. No mini-fridge. No microwave. Just a room with a bed and a TV, along with a tiny attached bathroom.
Lola practically fell onto the bed, giggling her heart out, and she rolled around to sit on her ass and gaze up at both me and Tod. “Now, why don’t we get out of these clothes, hmm? Get right to it. I want to see what you’re packing under there, hot stuff.”
I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at that. Tod might’ve been cute, but hot stuff? Compared to my guys and Lola’s, Tod was nothing. But to get a man to do what you wanted, you needed to feed his ego, and this man’s ego lapped it up like a hungry bitch in heat.
When Tod glanced at me, Lola lifted a leg and ran her ankle up his side, showing off how flexible she was. “You and I might have to start things. Sometimes she can be shy.”
The smile he wore was gross, and the way he kept glancing at me, as if he was imagining me taking off all of my clothes, made something in me stiffen. “I have something that’ll help relax her—” He reached into his pocket, probably to offer me the same pill he gave Lola, but Lola sat up and stopped him.
“No, once she watches a bit, she’ll join in. She can’t help herself.” She stood and arched her front against his. “She might look sweet and sugary, but deep down she’s a dirty girl.”
How could Tod argue with that? I hung back and watched as he tore off his clothes as fast as he humanly could, while Lolawas much more seductive—even while pretending to be high. Tod was rock-hard by the time he finished getting naked, and Lola instructed him to lay down on the bed, to which he did not bother trying to argue.
Tod was so scummy, he didn’t even ask if we had protection here or if we were on any sort of birth control. The only thing he cared about was getting his dick wet, and that would be his ultimate downfall.
That dick of his would not be getting wet tonight.
Lola shed her shirt and her pants, now in nothing but her bra and panties, her tattoos and scars on full display. Tod didn’t ask; he probably didn’t give a shit. She was about to climb onto the bed, to crawl on top of him, but she stopped herself short.
“I hope you don’t mind toys,” Lola giggled out, leaning over the nightstand and yanking open the drawer. Of course, I already knew what was in there. Tod, however, didn’t, and that was why he tried to lean over and see what she was pulling out, but she reacted fast—too fast for someone pretending to be high.
But Tod, too horny and oblivious, let her push him down.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed, the definition of sultry. “It’ll be a fun surprise, I promise.” Once Tod closed his eyes, she tossed a look over her shoulder at me and gave me an expression that said,Ugh, men, her true face peeking through.
She hated men like this, and honestly? I did, too.
The item Lola pulled out of the nightstand was, as I’d been told, a staple for nights like this. In the past, she’d go home with her prey, let things progress even further, and then make an excuse to run to the bathroom while her prey waited for her to return, typically in his bedroom, naked and hard and ready for her to come back.
Course, when she came back, she always returned with something shiny and sharp from their kitchen.
I watched as Lola straightened out, hiding her toy behind her back as she got comfortable straddling Tod. The knife she had hidden in the nightstand practically glimmered in the dim light of the hotel room, and my heart skipped a beat as I gazed upon it. It was no gauntlet, not like my claws, but it was an omen, a promise of the violence that would come.
Tod had no idea. I’d say poor Tod, but passing out unmarked pills at a rock concert? Come on, man. We could’ve been underaged or alone, and then what would’ve happened?
I knew. Tod would have taken exactly what he wanted from us, and we’d wake up tomorrow with a raging headache and a mess between our legs. And if, by some chance, we wound up pregnant from the encounter, there wouldn’t be anybody to help us. It’d be our fault it happened.
It always was our fault. As women, as girls, we’re taught that from birth. Society taught their girls to be on guard and on watch instead of teaching their boys to behave. How did that make sense? It didn’t, not to me, and the more I hung out with Lola, the angrier about it all I became.
Some might never understand Lola or her lust for blood, but I did. I understood better now, and I was all for teaching some of these pathetic men what it really meant to be helpless.
Lola took on her best sultry voice as she leaned down and whispered, “Are you ready for a taste of heaven?” Beneath her, Tod mumbled something low, something damn near incoherent, too impatient to fuck, and that was all she needed.
With his eyes still closed, Tod didn’t see it happen, but I did. I watched as Lola’s fingers tightened around the grip of the knife. I watched as she lifted that knife up. No hesitation. Not a single ounce of trepidation. That knife came down swiftly, plunging into Tod’s chest, right where his heart was.
