Page 8 of Murder & Mayhem (Bloody Desires #9)

DOMINIC

J amie had very pretty eyes. I hadn’t paid much attention to them up till this point because I’d been focused on a million other things, but now that I was waiting for his response, they were all I could see.

They were sage green with specks of gold and thick long lashes that Ari would be jealous of.

Eyelashes that were blinking rapidly as he tried to process my question.

I wasn’t sure if the boy had “killer” in him, but I wanted to at least give him the chance.

After everything this fucker had done to him, no one deserved the kill more than Jamie. Well, besides possibly his brother.

As I waited for the boy to get it together, Ari was busy trying to track O’Malley and therefore Bailey.

Best-case scenario, he’d be at the address that the car was registered to, but since nothing ever went according to plan, I wasn’t very optimistic about that.

Either way, we’d spent way too long at this house and needed to get a move on.

I was about to gently prod for an answer when Jamie finally spoke. “You do it. But, um, can I watch? ’

I grinned. Maybe the boy wasn’t as innocent as I’d assumed. I mean, he had watched me cut the asshole’s dick off and he hadn’t even puked.

“Of course. I wish I could drag it out, but we’ve already been here way too long, and I fucked up the original plan anyway.” I pulled out my favorite serrated blade and stepped onto the tarp.

Joey was still knocked out, which was a shame. He was getting a much easier out than he deserved.

I raised my knife. “Cover your face, for fuck’s sake,” Gideon snapped in my ear. “You don’t have time for a shower.”

Shit. Almost forgot about that. I dug in the bag, pulled out a bandana, and tied it around my face. I’d have to sacrifice my favorite work shirt, but desperate times and all that.

I glanced back at Jamie before doing the deed. “Any last words?”

He shook his head. “No. I just want it over with.”

That was fair. I took one more hard look at the pathetic waste of space who’d terrorized poor kids for way too long unchecked. “You deserve way worse than this. See you in hell.” Then I cut his throat.

Blood spattered over the bandana and shirt, but thankfully, I managed to avoid my hair.

I hated trying to get blood out of my hair.

I didn’t move until the last bit of life drained from Byrne’s face.

Never leave your target before you’re sure they’re dead.

Once I confirmed that, I carefully stepped off the tarp, so I didn’t track blood, before I finally turned to Jamie.

I was unsure what to expect. It was one thing to think you were okay with witnessing a murder and an entirely different thing to do so.

Jamie’s attention was solely focused on the lifeless corpse of his stepfather .

With cautious steps, I closed the distance between us. He didn’t even seem to notice me at all.

“Jamie?”

Nothing.

“Jamie,” I said again, louder and sterner, since he seemed to react well to that tone of voice. He blinked but that was it.

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna touch you. Is that okay?

” His eyes flashed at me. It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no either.

I reached out, tortuously slowly. Jamie didn’t stop me.

My fingers brushed against his cheek, featherlight.

He flinched slightly, but then relaxed and pushed into the touch, just a fraction.

“Are you okay, beautiful?” I needed to stop with the fucking pet names, but something about Jamie had me forgetting all my good sense.

At first, I wasn’t sure if he was going to answer, but I finally got a small nod. “He’s really dead?” he asked.

“Yeah, he is. You can go see if you want. But don’t touch him.”

“Seriously?” Ari deadpanned in my ear.

“No wonder it’s been so long since you’ve been laid,” Gideon added. “Is this your idea of game? Showing off the dead bodies of your lovers’ enemies like a trophy?” Gid guffawed, laughing so hard he started to choke. I ignored both the assholes.

Jamie’s eyes flickered with surprise, but there was interest there. I could see it. Eventually, though, he shook his head. “N-no. As long as he’s dead, I don’t care. I want this to be done.”

I ran my thumb along his cheek. “It will be. Gideon is gonna come here and clean up for us.” Ideally, Gid would come with me as backup since we didn’t know what we were walking into, but time was of the essence.

I’d have to take my chances. “I’m going to change, and then we’ll leave, go find Bailey, and you’ll never have to step foot in this fucking place again. ”

Jamie’s lips twitched. “I wish I could burn the whole thing to the ground.”

“No,” Ari immediately yelled, knowing I was already contemplating it. “That house is a fire hazard waiting to happen and is way too close to the others. The neighborhood would be in flames before the fire department ever had a chance of getting there.”

I pouted a little as I relayed Ari’s message. “Sorry, my party pooper brother said that collateral damage is too likely. But we’ll find something to light on fire. Maybe O’Malley’s house?”

This time Jamie really did smile. “Yeah, maybe.” Fuck, he was so cute when he was contemplating arson. I’d known there was a little naughtiness under that good-boy exterior.

“Get the fuck outta there already. Gid’s leaving now.”

Right. I quickly discarded my ruined button-up and tossed it on the tarp. Gideon would get it.

Jamie gasped. I raised an eyebrow at him, grinning as he unabashedly stared at my naked torso. “Like what you see, beautiful?”

Jamie snapped his eyes up to my face, horrified. “Oh god.” His cheeks were so red, he looked like a cherry. An adorable, sweet cherry I wanted to taste. “I’m sorry.”

I licked my lips. “Nothing to apologize for. I know I look good.”

This time, Jamie snorted and rolled his eyes and Ari muttered something snarky.

What? I was telling the truth. I pulled my spare shirt out of my bag.

A long-sleeved black one that should cover any blood splatter that landed on my body.

I hadn’t expected this kill to be so messy, which was why I had worn my suit.

Joey’s death had been supposed to look like a suicide.

He wouldn’t have even known I was there, so there had been no reason to change into my Dexter outfit, like Gid called it, and then I’d gotten too wrapped up in Jamie to bother afterwards.

There was something about taking a life while still in the clothes I wore to the office that was satisfying to me. Plus, I looked fucking good in a suit.

My shoes were also discarded, just in case, and I replaced them with a pair of basic Nikes that everyone and their grandfather had. Hands washed, bag packed, I finally turned my attention back to Jamie.

He was no longer ogling me, but back to staring at Joey. Yeah, I needed to get the kid outta here.

I blocked his view of the body. “C’mon, let’s get going.”

“We’re just gonna leave him?”

I shook my head. “No, Gideon is on his way, remember? He’ll be here in a minute. We’ll take care of everything.”

Jamie looked a little panicked. “The gun. I-I wasn’t wearing gloves. My fingerprints are probably all over it. And, oh fuck, the kitchen, when I was looking for the pot.”

“Jamie.” My tone brokered no argument, and the boy immediately shut up. “I know this is terrifying, but it’s okay. Believe it or not, my brothers and I are really good at this. I swear to you, I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t believe Gid would take care of everything. You’re safe. I promise.”

Trusting was hard. Believe me, I understood. I still wasn’t positive if I could completely trust myself. But sometimes there was no other choice.

Jamie huffed out a breath and angrily wiped back tears that were spilling without his permission. I dug my fingers into my palms so I wouldn’t reach out to wipe them off like I so desperately wanted to. Finally, he nodded.

“Okay, let’s go. If I don’t find my brother, then I won’t survive long enough to spend life in prison anyway. And if I do, then it’ll be worth it. ”

Fuck. My throat was suddenly clogged with emotions as I kind of blindly followed a now determined Jamie to the back door. Not once did he turn around to look at the lifeless husk that had once been his abuser.

“This place better be spotless,” I whispered to Gideon, who gasped dramatically.

“Jeez, I’m not a fucking amateur. I won’t let you or your boy toy go to jail.”

I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn’t see it.

“Don’t worry, Nicky. We got this,” Ari said a lot less sarcastically, proving once again why he was my favorite brother.

“I’m wiping the cameras now. Gideon is around the corner.

He’s going through the front .” That was my hint to make sure I avoided him.

That was ideal for a few reasons. One, in case a nosy neighbor did see something, we didn’t want them to spot us together, and two, because I didn’t want my brother interrogating poor Jamie when he was still so shaken.

It wasn’t his fault my fucked-up brain had imprinted on him.

Jamie stormed out, the screen door slamming back nearly in my face. By the time I walked out into the overgrown yard, he was halfway to the street. That was when he stopped, spinning back to me. “I don’t know where I’m going,” he admitted, sounding defeated.

The whiplash of emotions was giving me a headache. In just minutes, he’d gone from crying and panicky, to pissed, to whatever the fuck was happening now. His lips quivered, and I wanted to pick him up over my shoulder and shield him till he was okay. What a trippy fucking feeling.

“I have a car a few blocks from here. C’mon, beautiful.”

Jamie rolled his eyes at me but followed me in the right direction. “Why do you keep calling me that? It’s weird. And not true.”

“Yeah, Nicky, it is kinda weird,” Gideon inputted .