Page 38 of Right Number, Wrong Man

COLT

Cody takes a lukewarm beer from the six pack on the scratched coffee table and sits on the tattered sofa. He lets out a huff as he twists off the cap and takes a deep gulp. “Been a while since I had to move a body on the down-low. Maybe I’m gettin’ too old for this shit.”

I laugh and grab a beer, too. “You’re forty-two, man. You got some good years left in you and you pulled off tonight like a pro. Didn’t expect anything less, though.”

He hums, looking at Dad’s ancient hunting trophies hung on the cabin walls. “Yeah, nobody stuffs a guy in a bag and tosses him in the trunk like me.” He winks. “I dunno. Might be time to retire from active service.”

“Retire? You’d die of boredom.”

“It’s not like I’d be sitting at home reading the obituaries in the newspaper. I’m not that old. But I’m too old to get used to some cocky whippersnapper as my new partner.”

“Why would you get a new part—” My thoughts freeze. “I told you I’m coming back in a few weeks!”

His smile softens. “That’s what you said, but your eyes tell a different story. I’ve seen how you look at Hailey, seen what you’re doing for her.” He takes a long drink, gesturing to the basement door.

A crack runs through my chest. “You read me too well, asshole,” I mumble.

Sometimes, my best friend knows me better than I know myself. It’s annoying, but until he said it, I didn’t realize that my mind was already made up.

When I adopted Gracie, I mentioned to Hailey that I might consider staying, but in truth, I know for sure that I can’t leave.

Cody laughs. “I ain’t trying to make you feel bad. I’m happy for you! ‘Scuse me getting all soppy, but I’ve been worried about you. You’ve always been too much of a lone wolf, keepin’ your distance from everybody but me.”

I scoff, smirking. “Not by choice. After I joined the squad, you just wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone. You kept saying that us Southern guys gotta stick together, but when that didn’t pan out, I remember how you tried bonding with me over prisoner interrogations for the first time.”

“Worked like a charm, didn’t it? And it only took six months until you smiled at one of my jokes!”

I chuckle. “You told the guy to consider the upcoming torture session a very aggressive form of group therapy.”

“It was funny!” Cody shrugs. “Listen, you got a good thing here with Hailey. You told me the whole backstory you guys have, but I don’t think she hates you. Not anymore, at least. If I were you, I’d wanna stay, too.”

My lips press into a hard line, emotions clogging my throat. “I needed to hear that. Thanks, Cody. For the past decade serving with you. For your friendship. For tonight. And for this talk. For everything.”

“Goddamn it, Colt! You’re making this sound like a fuckin’ goodbye! Ain’t nobody dying! All I’m telling you is to get laid and make a life with Hailey.” He snickers, draining the bottle before putting it on the table and taking another.

Figuring things out with Hailey ain’t as easy as he makes it sound—not with my secret identity as Jax. I’m tangled in a web of lies and I have no clue how to escape, but I can’t walk away from her again.

I’ll work out the details later. For now, I’m going with the flow and I still have a job to do.

“Who knows,” Cody interrupts my thoughts. “Next year when my contract is up, I might become a businessman. I heard there’s tons of cash in private security."

“Office cost is affordable out here,” I suggest.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I drink my beer before discarding the bottle on the table and rolling up my sleeves. “Time to get to work.” I drop my phone on the sofa next to him. “Do me a favor and tell me if Hailey calls, alright? I get no reception in the basement. Did you check Justin’s bag while I was downstairs preparing?”

“No, I thought you’d wanna do the honors because he threatened your girl.”

I grab Justin’s backpack from under the table and sort through it, taking out something heavy wrapped in cloth. It turns out to be a jar filled with liquid— and eyes .

Cody grimaces. “Sick fuck.”

I slosh the liquid around like a snow globe, shaking my head. “We’re doing the world a favor tonight.”

The rest of Justin’s belongings are boring in comparison.

A wallet with some cash but no ID, car keys, a cheap, off-brand smartphone, and an ancient-looking, leather-bound book. I flip the cover open to find writing in faded ink on the first page .

“From the library of Elizabeth Mary Burns, Granville OH… Another trophy from one of his victims?” I muse.

“I’ll have my people run the name through the database. Might get luckier than with his picture,” Cody says.

I nod, snapping the book shut and leaving it on the table. “Can you get rid of all his other shit?”

“I’ll make a nice little bonfire, but we gotta keep the car keys.

His vehicle must be parked somewhere around Hailey’s apartment and since he doesn’t seem to have a home address, I’d bet it’s an RV.

We don’t want it getting towed and drawing attention.

Before that happens, we have to find it and dispose of it. ”

I rub over my face. “Right. Good thinking.”

“Don’t worry, man. I’m here to help. I’ll deal with the car when I’ve dropped you off at home later. Speakin’ of help, need some assistance downstairs?” he asks eagerly.

“Nah, you taught me well. This one’s all mine.”

Rage flashes in Justin’s eyes as I enter the basement.

He shouts through the gag in his mouth, yanking on the cuffs binding his hands and feet to a metal chair, which is bolted to the concrete floor. In the harsh fluorescent light, the bruises and blood on his face stand out like splashes of color.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. The generator is pretty loud. Come again?” I mock and take his cracked glasses from my pocket, putting them on him. I want him to see me.

This is my arena and I’m in no rush. Hailey is safe at home with Gracie, and I meant it when I promised that I’d make Justin pay.

I give a feral smile, walking to a locked steel closet on the far wall as I speak.

“When I was a rookie, my good friend Cody gifted me a pearl of wisdom. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance, he said. This basement is the perfect example. I always thought I’d need a safe house someday and Dad’s old hunting cabin is ideal.

His back’s too bad to hunt now and not a soul comes this far out.

Renovating the basement to fit my needs was surprisingly easy. ”

I open the combination lock on the closet door and haul out a big storage box.

A flutter rises from my gut as I place it on a simple steel table by Justin’s chair.

Giddy like a kid locked up overnight in a candy store, I take out a car battery and connect it to a portable defib unit before hooking up two electrode patches.

Justin squirms as I rip his shirt in the front and apply the patches to his chest.

I love working with a rifle, but shooting is hands-off. Impersonal. Cody introduced me to my favorite activity: Prisoner interrogations.

Justin ain’t scowling no more. The rage has drained from his face, and I know that expression in his wide eyes. It looks the same in every human.

Pure terror.

I click my tongue. “Lemme guess, asshole. You love torturing women but you ain’t so great at taking the pain, huh? Men like you disgust me. You can’t even call yourself a man. You’re a worm.”

He twitches, brows drawn.

I chuckle. “You must be wondering, what the hell is he doing with that car battery and the defib unit ? Let me enlighten you. See, the human body can only take so much agony before you pass out. When you start to shut down from the pain, I’m gonna give you a zap and— bzzt !

You’re wide awake to feel it all again!”

For the fun of it, I take off the gag. I wanna hear him scream and beg for death.

“You don’t get it! The little whore cheated on me!” He spits.

Rage descends on me like a dark red veil.

My fist flies and my knuckles ache as they smack into his jaw. His head lolls to the side and he slumps, but I grab his hair, ripping him upright.

“Don’t you ever speak of Hailey like that again,” I growl.

“If you think you’ve seen the worst of me, you’re wrong.

I’ll make you wish you were dead long before I grant you death’s mercy.

Because it’s my decision. I’m your fucking God right now!

I decide how long you’ll suffer, and you just added to your sentence. ”