The Tattoo Artist (La Petite Mort #1)

41. Chapter 41

forty-one

Quinn

I wasn't sure if it made me a bad person for killing him, but what I did know was that I enjoyed every minute of it. I was going to hell, but at least I'd be the queen of the underworld with Deimos by my side.

I wasn't exactly sure what came over me, but watching Deimos look so fucking proud flipped a switch inside me.

He was the darkness to my light, and I wanted to be consumed.

Alexander slowed down and parked his bike inside the underground garage to his penthouse. We made it just in time before the sky opened up and rain poured.I loved the rain, especially when I got the chance to listen to it pour against the window.He helped me down and took my fingers against his, dragging me with him.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened as we both walked inside. This wasn't the first time I had been to his home. The last two times I was in his room and bed, I spent most of the time resting, but I took in my surroundings this time. He had floor-to-ceiling windows that gave you gorgeous views of the city. He had dark furniture to match the dark aesthetic he had going on.

This place was huge, and compared to my family's home, this gave me the impression that Alexander Hades came from money. Did killers make a lot of money? What about tattoo artists? I wondered this as I took in the paintings that decorated the walls. I knew Alexander was Deimos, and Deimos was Alexander, but what else did Alexander Hades do?

"What do you do?" I blurted out. My hands came up to cover my mouth. Shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud. He chuckled, walking over to the black leather sofa and sitting on the edge of the arm, crossing his ankles.

I raised a brow at him. "Do tattoo artists make bank?" I asked.

He grinned. "Princess, I only tattooed to get close to you," he said, and I looked at him in confusion. "The shop is a front for what my family does," he added. I raised a brow, giving him the you could continue to look.

"Mafia baby. Specifically, the Greek mafia," I gulped.

I wasn't scared he was mafia. I mean, hello, I was dating a fucking killer. I–I was a killer. I gulped because I could see it. Alexander Hades had the body of a Greek God, but he was all mafia. And damn, did he look fine!

"Come here, Princess," he ordered in that deep, husky voice. And like a good little girl, I listened and closed the gap between us. I stood between his legs and settled my hands on his shoulders. His arms went around my waist, and he breathed in, inhaling my scent. "How are you feeling?" he asked me with genuine concern.

I breathed out, releasing all the build-up tension I'd been holding on to. I rested my chin on top of his chest.

"When I'm with you, I feel like everything will be okay. But I'm not sure how to feel. I should feel guilty, and my conscience should be a mess right now, but I don't feel anything. It's almost like I've done this before," I admitted. He pulled away and gripped my chin with his thumb and index fingers.

"I love you," he confessed against my lips. I couldn't say it back, but I felt it. I love him. I crashed my lips against his, hoping this kiss could tell him all I couldn't say because the lump in my throat prevented me from talking.

Alex and I were lying in his bed. Our breathing was still labored from our recent lovemaking. Alexander was on his back, and I was lying next to him with my head on his chest, and my left leg was slung over his thigh, leaving my core snugly pressed against him. He was lazily trailing his fingers lightly up and down my back, soothing my body into relaxation. It felt so damn good, especially after the night I had.

My hand was on his chest, tracing the tattoos.I noted the time on the clock by the nightstand, spotting that it was only four. I would have to leave soon if I wanted to return to my bed without getting caught.

"Alex, baby," I mumbled, waiting for his attention. "How did we meet?" I asked him, giving him my full attention.

He chuckled before smirking at me. "Oh, Princess, you hated my guts. Our story was enemies to lovers. Sophia had convinced you to go to an underground fight. I was fighting that day, and when our gazes connected, I was distracted, which could have cost me my life. After winning the fight, I was pissed and decided to confront you." He paused for a second before laughing.

"That night proved to me you had a dark side to that Catholic exterior. You might have been dressed like a nun, but that night, I decided I would corrupt you and make you my dirty little nun." I gasped, smacking his chest before giggling. "When I confronted you, I commented about how little girls don't belong here, to which you replied that you weren't a little girl. And when I challenged you, you replied that you were all women. I agreed because, baby, that body was made to sin. Sophie then said that you were both eighteen, and for the first two months, I thought you were eighteen until my sister said you were a classmate, and that's when I realized you were sixteen."

"Why did I hate you?" I questioned curiously.

"Well, for one, you hated my cocky attitude, but you also hated that you thought I was good-looking." I laughed.

"You are cocky," I teased.

"Our relationship moved fast. We were together eight months before I took your virginity, and then six weeks after that, you had the accident that took you away from me. When you were released from the hospital, I watched you. And a month before you turned seventeen, you saw Deimos." I listened to every word Alexander spoke.

Deimos, my devil. I believed that we were all villains in someone's story. It just depends on who was telling you the story. Deimos wasn't a villain in my story–he was my everything.

It had been two weeks since that night, and today, Sophie and I would be going to an underground fight with Owen. I was excited and nervous all in one. I wanted to remember my first encounter with Alexander. When he told me 'I hated his guts,' I couldn't believe what I heard. How could I hate him when he was my everything?

Since I was unsure what you could wear to an underground fight, I decided to wear a black dress just below the knee and a leather jacket. I made sure to display the necklace Deimos had given me. Looking at myself one last time, I smiled, satisfied with my look. Grabbing my cell phone and keys, I went downstairs to meet Sophie and Owen.

Half an hour later, we headed inside the abandoned building, where we were met with people making beats and cheering for their fighters. We walked further in and squeezed our way through to the front. We were met with a black metal cage around an octagon ring. On the other side of the ring stood Alexander's brothers. Sebastian and Aristotle. I could feel Sophie tense up next to me the moment her gaze connected with Aristotle. At the same time, Owen looked shocked when his face connected with the youngest of the Hades brothers, Sebastian. His gaze connected with Owen's, and something in his eyes told me they knew each other.

But before I could question either of the two, the announcer announced the opponent for the next fight. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event. In this corner, weighing in at 218 pounds, undefeated in 66 fights, with 36 knockouts and 16 kills, Alexander Hades." The announcer emphasized Alexander's surname; I could only watch when he entered the ring. His eyes immediately met mine, and we held each other captive for a few seconds. His older brother whispered something into his ear, and Alexander motioned to where I was with Sophia and Owen. A few minutes later, Aristotle and Sebastian joined us, and a few other men, I assume, worked for the Hades brothers.

As I watched Alexander punch his opponent, I couldn't help but realize that the more violent the fight, the bigger the bets. I overheard Sebastian tell Aristotle that if Alexander won by knockout, he would bring in 1.5 million dollars. Still, if he won by killing his opponent, he would bring in 5.5 million dollars. All of the people here came to see violence.

Because of that, the guards at the front made sure to take the phones of everyone in attendance today, so there was no chance someone could record any of the big sharks in the mafia.Security for every single fight Alexander was involved in was overseen by his brothers and the Russians—Nikolai and Alexei.

I stepped a little more to my left to get a better view of Alexander when suddenly I heard a girl commenting about how hot Alexander looked, and I must admit he did look sinfully good.

She continued commenting on how hot his tattooed back looked, with sweat dripping down. "Holy fuck! Look at that back and his tattoo. He's so fuckin' hot." I watched her turn to her friend before she continued.

"Help me distract the security guard so that I can go back. I want him to fuck me," she said, all too excited. I rolled my eyes and felt this rage grow inside me. Who did this bitch think she was? She then proceeded to scream, "Alexander, fuck me. Fuck me, Alexander."

I laughed wickedly. This bitch thought she was going to fuck my man. I would kill her if she even laid a hand on him. No one touched what was mine, and Alexander fucking Hades was mine !

Sophie had convinced me to join her. She was going to an underground fight. We had been here almost an hour, and the main event was about to start. A few girls had talked about a fighter named Alexander Hades, who happened to have reputable skills outside the octagon. I rolled my eyes and stepped a few steps back, not wanting to hear the details.

Alexander Hades made his way inside the cage, his face obscured from my view by the hoodie. He removed his black boxing robe with his back to me, and the tattoo on his back was breathtaking due to the number of details. It looked so realistic. The flames of hell surround the three-headed dog, chained with one paw on top of a skull. The detail was impressive.

While I was busy watching Alexander's back muscles flex and the sweat drip down his spine, I didn't realize someone had come up behind me. I could feel him push himself even closer to me. I moved towards the front of the ring, dragging Sophie along. There was no way I was about to leave her behind with Mr. Pushes A Lot.

Alexander dodged his opponent's left hook, taking advantage of the opening the man just left, and quickly moved. His back was facing the other side. He looked up, and our gazes met. My breath hitched, and I swallowed hard.

The man staring back at me had the greenest eyes I had ever seen. Distracted for a second, he didn't see his opponent's left hook and delivered a punishing jab to his jaw. This caused him to stumble back only momentarily before something overtook him.

His eyes turned darker.

The green in his eyes was almost nonexistent, swallowed up by the black of the pupil, and the smirk on his face was dangerous.

Alexander delivered a punishing jab to the man's ribs combined with a follow-up right hook to the jaw so hard the man dropped to the ground. The whole arena erupted into a frenzied roar, but Alexander didn't stop. He made eye contact with me before he straddled the guy and pounded his face onto the floor. He unleashed punch after punch.

I was captivated, and something inside me awakened.

Several men made their way into the ring, forcing Alexander to stop while two other men dragged the unconscious man out of the ring, and the crowd went fucking nuts. At least, I hope he was unconscious and not dead.The announcer declared Alexander Hades, aka Cerberus, the winner, and the crowd got even louder.

I grabbed Sophie's hand, ready to leave the fight, when suddenly I heard a voice. "Hey! Hey!" he yelled. I turned, curious about what had happened, and saw Alexander approaching me. His face was angry.

"Little girls don't belong here," he spat out in a voice laced with venom. I scoffed. Who the hell did he think he was?

"First off—-" I retorted angrily. My index finger poked at his chest. "I'm not a little girl. And second—" Alexander started to laugh mockingly before smirking.

"Well, Princess, since you're dressed like a nun, I can only assume you're a little girl," he added, his eyes roaming my body from head to toe.

I scoffed.

"I can assure you, I'm all woman," I argued, crossing my arms over each other, causing my boobs to push up. I watched his eyes gawk at my boobs before he swallowed hard.

Exactly! All woman.

He licked his lips, and for some strange reason, I gawked, not wanting to miss his next move. Sophie thenadded that we were both eighteen, and with that, we both walked away from the devil himself.

A push snapped me out of my memory. What the fuck! The bitch from earlier got in my face. "What the fuck are you laughing at?" She shouted. I laughed maniacally for a few seconds before smirking.

"You," I challenged. This bitch had no idea who she was messing with. Before I could do anything else, Alexander got our attention.

"Touch her again, and I'll fucking kill you," he warned her. She gulped, fear displayed all over her face. Suddenly, security appeared to walk them out as I watched with a satisfied smirk.

But I would find her. And when I did, I was going to slit her throat too.

My head hurt from the assault my memories created. I was unable to focus too much on what I had missed out on.The fight only lasted a few seconds more since Alexander didn't allow him to get too far before throwing a quick leg and jab combo, ending with a right hook to his jaw that hit so hard his entire body collapsed to the ground.The crowd went fucking crazy, and I was thrilled to watch him win.

I was proud he remained undefeated.