Page 15

CHAPTER 15

COUPLES THAT SLAY

Julian

I breathe deeply, in and out, relying on the practice I learned years ago to manage my stress. The urge to put things in their place continues to ride me, but it’s an urge I can control now that I have Nadira’s word.

A soft paw pats my face, and I open my eyes to Leaper’s concerned stare. Surrounded by Nadira’s things and her scent, a sense of peace settles over me.

“I’m alright now.” I pet the cat until she curls up under my sweatshirt and begins to purr.

The vibration has a soothing effect and works to silence the voice inside telling me things are out of place. They aren’t. It’s a battle I’ve won time and again and will have to fight again in the future.

It’s 2 AM but I can’t sleep. I’m wired from my earlier conversation with Nadira asking me to help her recover her memories. Already, I have the perfect place to start; where everything started.

While I’m busy making plans for a visit to the place that holds some of the best and worst memories for me, the phone rings.

“How quickly can you get here, and how many tools can you bring with you?” Nadira’s voice sends a jolt through my system.

“Depends. Are we leaving any traces behind?”

“No evidence.”

“How many?”

“Two.”

“Is this a job?”

“No, it’s very personal. Oh, and I’ll need a wig.”

“I’ll be there in thirty with everything you need.” I hang up and extract Leaper from my sweater despite her vocal protests. “Sorry my girl, but your mama needs me.”

As if she understands, she gives me another meow that sounds like permission and flicks her tail to get me on my way.

A surge of energy revitalizes me. Nadira reaching out to me has to mean she wants me to be a part of her plans. Like when we were kids, she was a lone wolf, working on her own. Especially when someone hurt her friends. She took everything on, meting out punishments without backup. That lasted until I proved I could defend myself. Then we worked as a team.

I try not to get my hopes up, but I’d be lying if I didn’t envision us working side by side again. Yet, her request didn’t specifically ask for my help other than to provide the weapons she’ll need for the unfortunate souls that pissed her off.

With time to spare, I pull up to the service entrance of her hotel and wait for Nadira’s arrival. I don’t wait long before she exits the building, her emotionless mask in place. If anyone looks close enough, they’ll see what I do. Her eyes betray her. Unlike the emptiness that takes her over when something hits her soft emotions, in these early hours of the morning, life thrives in her black irises. Life and death.

“We have to make this quick.” Nadira checks her watch. “I have to return before my friends wake.”

“Tell me where we’re going.”

I follow her directions to a small suburb on the outskirts of the city. During the drive, she changes into the wig, black leggings, and shirt I packed for her.

To break the silence, I say, “They say the couple that slays together stays together.”

“We are not a couple.” Although there is no inflection in her voice, she can’t hide the trembling lips that betray her amusement.

“Yet. Give us a few more murderventures and you’ll come over to my way of thinking.” I turn off the lights and crawl to a stop five houses from our destination.

Our target’s home is dark with two cars in the driveway. All levity vanishes from Nadira’s face. In its place is the same stoic facade from when she entered the car. We break into the home and work fast to shut off the electricity and secure the area in the living room. When everything is ready, I follow Nadira upstairs. Our marks lie asleep in bed. Nadira goes to one side where the woman sleeps and I choose the man’s side. In no time, we have them tied and gagged to prevent them from screaming for help. The whites of their eyes glow in the darkness, while they writhe and contort their bodies to free themselves of their bonds.

Nadira taps the woman’s cheek until she gains her attention. I follow suit with the man and nod toward Nadira when he calms enough to listen.

“Hi there. You don’t know who I am, and honestly after tonight, you won’t need to. But you should know why I’m here. You see, it’s come to my attention that you two need a lesson in consent and how not to assault unwilling women.” She removes her gun and points it at the couple. “Now, be a good boy and girl and walk downstairs. Don’t make me use this because I’ll make sure to shoot you in a place that will cause you the most pain.”

The two frantically nod and writhe until they fall out of bed. They right themselves, but because of having their hands tied to their legs, their stride is awkward. I turn on a flashlight to the dimmest setting so the light won’t draw attention from any nosy neighbors who are awake this early in the morning. On the way downstairs, the couple stumbles into the wall and the railing.

Once we reach the living room, I flash the light on the scene Nadira and I set up. As soon as the couple registers the drop cloths, their eyes bulge. The man falls on his ass when he attempts to run. Before he gets too far, I grab him by the neck and throw him on the barrier as a precaution in case he soils himself before we begin.

Nadira squats in front of the woman, dangling her gun between her thighs. “Royal, is it?”

The woman nods while tears stream down her face.

“Do you know why I’m not in a warm bed sleeping without a care in the world? The way you were before I woke you up?”

Royal shakes her head in the negative and a muffled sob escapes from her duct-taped mouth.

“Now, I don’t care if you like a side of dick with your pussy. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here because you fucked around with the wrong one and I’m making time. When you do a bait and switch on the most pussy-loving lesbian I know, as if you didn’t know she was all about the muff, you have to deal with me. And you, you’re Jadan, right?” Nadira glares at the man who looks at me with beseeching eyes. “I hear you wield a miracle converter so good it’ll turn lesbians into dick riders, whether they want your sorry excuse of a dick or not.”

I shake my head at him in faux sympathy. “I see you want my help, but I’m not calling the shots. First off, that woman is my queen, and as her devout subject, I can only follow orders. You’ve pissed her off, and I’ll let her set you on fire if that’s the only way to appease her anger. Second, rapist pieces of shit like you deserve to feel a lifetime of pain. Are we clear?”

Nadira approaches us but addresses the woman. “It’s a damn shame. From this day forward, the miracle converter will be out of service.”

Nadira steps on the man’s thighs, pinning him to the ground. Then she aims her gun between his legs. While staring into Jadan’s terrified eyes, she pulls the trigger. The silencer muffles the gunshot, but the impact is no less devastating, making minced meat of Jadan’s pride and joy. His writhing dislodges Nadira and she turns to the woman whose screaming intensifies.

She frantically crawls away, but Nadira grabs her by the hair and drags her until she’s even with the man bleeding and weeping on the floor. Then she shoves the woman on him.

I check for the time. “You need to wrap this up to keep to your timetable.”

“That takes the satisfaction out of this, but I can’t have anything blowing back on my friend.” Nadira cracks her neck then presses her foot against Royal’s chest. “It pains me to end things so soon, but you weren’t going to survive more than a few hours, anyway.” With her last word, she empties the gun into both people. With a mournful sigh, she says, “That was so anticlimactic.”

“There’s always the next time.”

She rolls her eyes and begins collecting the spent shells. While she does that, I dismember the bodies. She soon joins me and we complete the work in harmonious silence. As we separate the parts, we throw them into leak-proof duffel bags and check the floor for stray blood splatter.

After we clean the room and wipe all the surfaces from the bedroom to the living room, Nadira stops me with a hand on my arm.

“My time’s up and I have to return to the hotel.” Her stare holds a lot of meaning as she says, “This means, I can’t be with you when you dispose of the evidence.”

When what she leaves unsaid clicks, I close my eyes. I don’t want to see my hopes dashed if I’m wrong. “Are you saying you trust me to do it myself? That you know I’ll protect you from being discovered?”

Her breath fans against my face. “That’s what I’m saying.”

My knees go weak with the power her words release inside me. I don’t care about the bloody clothes and butchered bodies in the car. When I open my eyes, all I see is Nadira. I grab her face and draw her in until our lips are a breath away from touching. Then I press my mouth against her scar, tracing the line from her scalp to the corner of her mouth.

Her breath stutters, and a shudder runs through her.

“Thank you,” I say. “Will you let me kiss you properly?”

She gives me a curt nod. “Ye?—”

I take her mouth before she finishes giving me her sweet consent. It’s my turn to tremble with the first touch of her full lips. I brush against her velvety texture, marveling how much better reality is than any dream I ever had.

Her lips part and I swallow the puff of air that escapes.

“Julian,” she moans with a passion that zaps through me and electrifies my blood as it pools in my cock.

When her tongue swipes against her bottom lip, subsequently swiping against mine, one of the many invisible chains I use to control my need breaks, weakening me. I thrust my tongue inside her mouth, exploring and committing to memory her texture and flavor and the hungry little growls she makes in the back of her throat.

With each plunge, another link breaks. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her body into mine, crushing her soft curves against my hard body.

Nadira sinks her fingers into my hair, scratching my scalp. The sensation races to my cock, causing me to harden even further. I raise her leg over my hip and grind my erection between her thighs. She twists her face away to gulp air, but I have no use for air with Nadira in my arms. I trail my lips down her throat, licking and sucking her skin. This is my air. I nip the vein protruding from her neck. She is my sustenance.

With my need driving me and the last chain on the brink of breaking loose, I grip the neck of her shirt.

“Julian, stop.”

My body seizes at her command. Competing desires rage within me. Between the need to fulfill every fantasy I’ve had since the night I found her at the club and my respect for Nadira, it takes me longer than it should to loosen my grip on her and release her from my embrace.

I swallow hard, wanting to taste more of Nadira’s body. While I focus on breathing to calm the storm inside me and reestablish the chains around my control, I fist my hands, digging my nails into my palms until the skin breaks. The sharp bite of pain allows me to concentrate on what’s important.

Nadira cups my cheek. “We don’t have time for this right now. Please understand, I’m not saying I’m unwilling. I’m saying I don’t want to rush things our first time together.” She trails her hand down my chest and cups my cock. “And when I get you alone, I’m going to drain you over and over until you can’t come anymore.”