Page 9

8

MAEL

I quietly moved through the parking lot just across the street from Lia’s building, between the parked cars. She had just walked into her apartment, and I would join her there soon, but not yet.

Right now, I had something more… pressing to get to.

The fuckers didn’t even know I was here.

I shook my head in disgust. Were these the kind of men Briggs had employed under him? Were they supposed to be some of the best in the world?

They hadn’t even realized I had been with them these past weeks. At first, I wanted to know why they were watching my girl. Curiosity curbed my need to kill every fucker sent by Briggs in sight. But there were still no signs of why Briggs wanted Lia tailed, and I was running out of patience. Now I was just fucking pissed they were trying to encroach on my territory .

They sat in their car, the windows open, and the scent of cigarette smoke wafted out into the darkened night sky.

The seat belt placement told me they weren’t buckled in. That would make my job easier.

They never saw me coming.

I reached my hand through the window and unlocked the doors.

“What the fuck?—”

The fucker’s words were cut off when I opened the door and pulled him out. He fell to the ground, face-first. I didn’t wait. I pulled him up by the collar of his neck, presenting his ugly mug to me, right before I rounded on him with a right hook. He groaned. I let go of him just as the second fucker came up to me, his gun out.

I grabbed the hand holding the gun and twisted until his grip loosened enough that I could take the gun away. Like taking candy from a fucking baby.

I unloaded the gun, dropped all the parts in the car, and turned to the fucker. He pulled his fist back. I moved out of the way and watched as he stumbled when he caught nothing but air. I kicked the back of his knees, letting him drop to the ground as I rounded on him from behind. I wrapped my hands around his neck and twisted, getting that satisfying crunch as his bones broke, and the fucker slumped forward. I let go of him just as the first one recovered. He took in his dead partner and then the surrounding space around him. It was dark and silent in the night. There was no one around to help him.

I saw the decision in his eyes before he made it. He pushed to the left, but I was on him before he could make the escape.

He struggled in my hold, but it was no use. I pushed him to the ground and pressed my knees to the back of his neck. The sound of his choked breath was like a fucking symphony to my ears. It was almost as good as hearing Lia’s moans the other night as I made her come with my mouth.

I shook away the thought. Now wasn’t the time to let thoughts of my girl distract me.

I eased my weight a bit. “Why did Briggs send you to watch her?” I asked.

“W-Who?”

I rolled my eyes and pressed my knee back down on his neck. He made a half-protest sound that was cut off the harder I pushed down. “Are you playing dumb with me? You think I have the patience for that?”

The fucker raised his hand up and slapped at the graveled ground.

I lifted my knee. “Let’s try this again. Why are you watching Lia?”

“I-I don’t know. We haven’t received any other instructions but to keep an eye on her and report to Briggs where she went and what she does with her day.”

“Hmm. And how do you report to him?”

I let my knee drop when he took too long to answer. He struggled under me, trying to buck me off. Stupid fucker.

“Answer me,” I said, letting him hear the anger in my voice. I grabbed one of his hands and twisted it back.

He stilled, his breathing quickened from the pain. Then he took a deep breath before he answered, “My phone. Briggs provided it to us, and we are to report to him by the end of the night.”

“Is he sending other men to watch her?”

I hadn’t seen any other new fuckers, but perhaps they were changing shifts soon.

“No. No, just us. Lia’s—fuck.” He let out a loud cry when I twisted one finger back, feeling the bone dislocate. I pressed my hand against his lips to muffle his cries.

“Don’t say her name. Got me?”

Just the sound of Lia’s name on this fucker’s lips was enough to send me into a murderous rage.

I felt him nod.

I pulled away to let him answer.

“The girl… she’s easy to follow, so there’s not a need for more men.”

“I see.”

I grabbed his head and twisted, killing him the same way I had his partner. I stayed where I was for a beat, taking in my surroundings. Everything was still silent as it was before. Not a soul in sight.

I stood up and pulled out my phone, texting Theo.

Me: I need a cleanup.

He responded right away.

Theo: On it.

I carried the bodies to their car, making sure to take their phones and wallet with me before I shut the door on them. Then I leaned against the hood and looked at the apartment window I knew belonged to Lia. The lights were on, and I could see her shadow moving in the place.

As soon as I took care of this cleanup, I would make my way back to her.

Can’t fucking wait.

It didn’t take long for Theo to drive by with a van. He pulled up to where I was standing and looked past me over to the car, his eyes assessing. The bodies weren’t in clear view, but it wasn’t hard to figure out.

He raised one eyebrow in question.

“Briggs’s men,” I said.

“And you what, finally got fed up and killed them?”

I shrugged. “It was bound to happen, sooner or later.”

“But why tonight?”

Because my girl looked fucking sad tonight, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I didn’t say that. Who knew Lia could bring out everything bad in me just from a single look?

I wanted to kill and destroy everything and everyone in sight to make her feel better. I would have, too, if I thought that would help. I knew it wouldn’t, so I settled on killing Briggs’s men.

“Did you leave any evidence behind?” Theo asked, looking around as if he was expecting to see a puddle of blood nearby.

I shook my head. “Too dark to tell, but I don’t think so. I’ll be back at dawn and make sure everything is clean.”

I pulled out one of the phones from the fuckers and handed it over to Theo.

He took it without question. “They’ve been using this to communicate with Briggs.”

Theo smiled. “And you want us to pretend to be his men?”

“For the time being. I want to know what’s going on with them. I also have their IDs. Can you hack into the system and see if you can find out as much about them as possible?”

His smile widened. “I can do that. You think they might have families to report them missing?”

“I doubt it,” I answered. Men who took on jobs to stalk a girl with no skin in the twisted games Briggs and Lia’s father had going on usually weren’t the family-man types. “But you’ll look into that, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Theo answered like I knew he would. Of all the people in the world, I knew I could count on him. Just the way he knew he could always count on me.

“Great, come on. Put the bodies in my van, and you can follow me back in their car.”

I nodded, and we got to work. I could have driven the bodies back to Theo’s place, but there was the risk of running into the cops. All they had to do was run the plate, and this car would be in the system. Plus, Theo’s van had the perfect place to hide the bodies. This car only had a trunk.

And before I got my revenge, we would need to heed all the caution in the world.

* * *

It was a little after ten when I finally got back to Lia’s place, with the hood of my hoodie pulled up over my head and a face mask in place. It wasn’t late enough for her to be in bed, and it wasn’t the time for her to see my face.

Not yet .

I let myself in with the key I had made. I closed my eyes, taking in the comforting, familiar scent that was her.

It was like coming home.

Always like home.

The apartment was quiet when I walked in, save for the sound of running water.

She was taking a shower. And my cock instantly hardened at the thought of water running down her naked body.

Fuck me, but what was it about this girl that even the simple act of her cleaning herself got me hard?

My feet moved automatically, and I found myself getting closer to her, and closer still, knowing it wouldn’t be enough until I could touch her myself.

I stopped when I got to the threshold of the bathroom. The door was cracked enough for me to smell the familiar scent of her body wash. Steam billowed out through the bathroom, and I inched closer.

I could see her through the glass shower door. Her eyes were closed as she pushed her head under the raining water, letting it wash away the suds from her hair. I held still, completely enraptured by the sight.

Every time I saw her felt like the first time. There was always something about the reality of her that my memories didn’t do justice. Perfect. Beautiful. Mine .

I moved further into the bathroom, taking in the fogged mirror. There hadn’t been a time to introduce myself properly, but now could be as good a time as any, I supposed.

I grinned as I ran my gloved finger over the mirror, watching as the letters took shape. A scream erupted just as I got to the last letter, and I turned to see Lia’s terrified eyes as she took me in, her arms crossed over her chest.

“What the fuck? Get out of here!”

I blinked at her through the hood, taking in everything, from her facial expression to the way her body huddled against the shower wall. She shouldn’t be scared of me. I was the last person in the world who would ever hurt her, but she didn’t know that. She didn’t know me.

“I mean it,” she said. “I’ll call the police.”

I smiled beneath my mask. How cute. Did she think the police would be able to do anything to me?

I let my eyes roam over her one last time before I calmly walked out of the bathroom, leaving her apartment the same way I came in and locking it behind me.

I didn’t want any fucker to come in and hurt what was so fucking precious to me, after all.