Pearly teeth into black granite

Jeff's throat ran dry, be it the thirst for not damping his damn throat since the night he was knocked down or seeing this man at a close distance. It was not hard for him to recognize Leandre Ragnant, the renowned ex-football athlete. Also, he studied with Leandre in the same school. His sass and sharp tongue were far beyond the talks. When everybody thought Leandre would soon mark his name in football history, he quit and chose civil forces, breaking the hearts of his fans.

When Jeff was still in the process of connecting the dots between Leandre and his kidnapping, he heard uneven footsteps, and his eyes immediately snapped at the door. His jaw dropped seeing the familiar faces.

Dustin, Knox, and Xanth!

His head spun miniature rounds seeing his schoolmates one by one walk towards him. Why did these people kidnap me? Money? It can't be! All of them are filthy rich to come behind his fortune. Fun? That's not their motto, right?

''Hello, old friend. It's been a long time since we met. How are you?'' Xanth waved his hand, sporting a dark smile, and sat next to Jeff, making the latter uncomfortably shift his body.

"How is your acting career? Heard you got an offer from Hollywood for a comedian role?" Xanth asked, fishing a pocket knife stashed in his shoe lining. Jeff almost screamed, assuming Xanth would slice his throat with the sharp object. Instead, he cut the ropes off his legs and arms. "Don't worry." He chuckled, patting his calloused cheek, now hardened by dirt. "We still have time for action. We will wait until you get the satisfaction of uttering your last words."

"And I brought your favourite last meal to feed you before slicing off your tongue." Knox lifted a take-out package, flashing a smile.

Jeff stiffened, feeling heavy in his stomach hearing these people talking about skinning his parts like a child's play. "Why...why did you kidnap me!" Surrounded by four sturdy men, he shuddered, realizing there was no escape.

''Oh, it's because I wanted to ask you where you got the face surgery.'' Knox stroked Jeff's cheek and retreated his hand immediately when Dustin knocked his shoulder hard, giving him a death stare to focus on the work. Mouthing a curse at his friend, Knox occupied the vacant seat beside Jeff.

"Since my friends have occupied your throat and tongue, I will go with your raping tool," Dustin added, an unfathomable look on his face.

What are these people talking about? Jeff had an ominous feeling. After the night party ended, he went to the parking area to fetch his car. He felt a presence behind his back, and before he turned around to see, he was knocked on his head, and his mind went blank in the darkness. When he woke up, he was in a dark, run-down house, with hands and legs tied up. "Why the hell you kidnapped me? What did I do!"

''What were you doing at Everly's house two nights back?'' If Leandre's menacing voice has terrified Jeff, the Glock he pulled from his hip pocket made his hair across the body on stood end.

Is he going to shoot the bullet into my body?

"I hate repeating the question." He can tolerate criminals and thieves to a certain point, but not child abusers and rapists.

Jeff connected the dots now. So they kidnapped him because of that bitch? Is it a secret operation to make him speak the truth since the police couldn't find his traces in her house? It's not his style to take women forcefully, but the bitch insulted him on the film set, calling him a pervert for staring at her boobs. He boozed at the party until his stomach couldn't take anymore and drove to her home to teach her a lesson. That was the plan initially, but his carnal desires spiked up when he saw her in a sexy one-piece night dress, and he threw every logic out of the window. She screamed, kicked him, begged him, and the urge to take her even by force intensified for some reason.

Even if he molested her, there is no evidence. He lied easily. ''I_I don't know what you guys are talking about. I was in my home for the entire night_Ahhhhh!!"

Leandre's kick landed on Jeff's stomach hard. He screamed and coughed out of pain.

''I don't like lies and liars.'' Leandre leaned back on the wall twirling his Glock, his unfathomable eyes gazing at the whimpering man. When the beast sleeping in him is woken up, Leandre is a savage lion hunting prey.

Jeff coughed, stumbling to Xanth's side; his haggard breathing shuddered like a withered leaf. Dustin's powerful fist jabbed into Jeff's jaw, not letting him rest for a second. Knox's fist landed on Jeff's ear. ''Why did you do that bastard? Would you behave the same if someone did to your sister?"

''No..I did nothing to her..please...leave me_''

"Screw with your pleadings...any last wish? I am okay with anything other than sparing your life."

''Leandre, please leave me,'' Jeff pleaded, kneeling in front of Leandre for mercy. Everly's helpless cries played in his mind. Did she feel the same when she begged him to spare her life? ''I beg you...Please"

''If I leave you, the police will catch you and put you behind bars. Isn't it a waste of money to offer for your food and clothing?'' In a lazy tone but with certainty, Leandre's dominant left hand webbed the Glock between his index finger and thumb.

''Please.'' Jeff whimpered as he saw Xanth, Dustin, and Knox get up and walk away from him. ''I will tell the truth. Please don't kill me. I will apologize to Everly. I will surrender to the police.''

"Too noisy!" Leandre aimed the Glock at Jeff's forehead.

"He is such a nuisance!" Xanth muttered, shaking his head.

"I insisted on killing him in the parking slot," Knox said, thinking of opening the food parcel, but Dustin snatched it from his hands. "There is a satisfaction in killing slow and sensual, Knox, just like how you savour your favourite pizza bit by bit."

''Any last words?"

"Nooooo_"

"Sorry, though! My Glock doesn't want to listen." Before Jeff spoke up, Leandre pulled the trigger at Jeff's lower part with a reverberating bang, changing his mind at the last second. The bullet punched through Jeff's pants, causing a gaping hole that quickly filled with blood. Jeff's scream was a soul dying. He fell on the ground, forming a pool of blood around him, soaking into his clothes.

"People will happily celebrate a death today,"

"Time to go!" Dustin added. Jeff's whimpers still echoed in the room. He assumed it was not long before his heart would stop beating, so his cries. Except for Dustin, everybody made their way out, leaving Jeff on the floor.

After all his friends were gone, Dustin fished out a coin from his pocket, an owl at the centre with different runes covering the coin's edges. Dropping to the floor, he gazed at Jeff's unconscious body from head to toe with a blank expression. Parting his lips, he placed the coin into his mouth, bent down, and whispered something into Jeff's ears.

He later walked out of the house, where a Maybach was waiting along with his friends.

"What took you so long?" Leandre asked, searching his eyes.

"I wanted to see him leave his last breath," He said, getting into the backseat.

But Leandre didnot buy his lies. It's always the same with Dustin, talks in puzzles and swathes in mystery. Without much probing into the details, he hit the gas. ''How much time do we have? The psychopath might have triggered a search operation already."

''To turn us into Rodents?'' Xanth completed.

''Or worse, he will make us taste his signature latte.'' Knox laughed, remembering his first day at the training. He had eaten so many pizzas the night before the training, which slowed down his bowel moment the next morning. After a struggle of unloading, he went to the training ground only to realize he was half n hour late. The director called him into his office for a cup of Latte. Knox wondered if waking up late would have such amazing benefits. When the director gave him the Latte, topped with coconut charcoal and virgin coconut oil, he understood the reason.

''Speaking of the latte, I heard pineapple prepared a sheet,'' Dustin said. ''Knox, according to his statistics, you had the highest amount of Lattes in the training history.''

''I bet my pearly teeth will turn into black granite before the training ends.'' Knox's hilarious joke earned a peel of laughter from the others.

''Speaking of Pineapple, I heard he is poking Zoe."

"Because she is after Leandre?"

....

Xanth pronunciation: Zanth

Knox: Nox.

Liking the friends already? Readers casting votes to Devil's sweetheart, Please shift your power stones to this book. It would be an encouragement to write more.