Ultimate Harem System

Chapter 24: The pool

“Hope you don’t mind.” Johnny said it like a casual remark, tearing off another piece of toast and shoving it into his mouth as if he belonged in the kitchen. He’d never liked the idea of stealing other people’s food, but etiquette had long ago been replaced by necessity.

The man who’d owned the kitchen sat tied to a chair, mouth taped, hands bound behind the back. Behind him the pool filled the far side of the room, water dark and still—an ugly promise in the dim light. The chair was wedged on one leg, suspended by rope that ran up and across to a pulley on the opposite wall. If the rope was slackened or the chair tipped, the chair would slide—tilt—and then he’d be submerged with his hands trapped to the wood.

Johnny finished the toast, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and peeled the tape from the man’s mouth. He pushed the chair until it teetered.

“You go in the water,” he said simply.

The man’s jaw worked. He was a boss in the way men become bosses—confidence earne