Page 6 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy
Five
J aneiro
I felt like a whole asshole. I’d hurt the one woman that had shown genuine interest in me in years.
I royally fucked up. All Erie wanted to do was get to know me.
I hid my emotions for so long that I struggled at times with allowing anybody to get close to me.
Erie was the most beautiful and kindest soul I had ever met.
Yet, all she got was hot and cold vibes from me.
It wasn’t that I intentionally tried to hurt her, but my childhood trauma still had a hold on me. Erie’s get to know me questions just triggered a feeling in me I didn’t like. I felt discomfort.
All I wanted to do was stare into her pretty hazel brown eyes and listen to her beautiful voice. Why did she require more of me? Fuck. The demons of the past ruled me. They intervened with my dreams and my day-to-day routine at times.
I wanted to let the past go, but it was so hard to do when it felt embedded in my soul. The only way I slept good was when I killed. Every bad guy I killed felt like I killed my abuser all over again, except it wasn't enough. Would it ever be enough?
I snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the assignment in front of me.
For months, I’d worked at getting invited to this underground poker game.
It was set up in the basement of a laundromat, one of the most important places that parents brought their children with them while they washed.
I looked around the table at the other six card players.
They were all from different parts of the world, yet they had two things in common.
Those monsters loved poker and trafficking children. Word had gotten around there were quite a few kids missing from this laundromat and neighborhood, and that piqued my interest. My assistant and handler, Dawn, sent me the location. I cased the place while she secured me the invite.
Now, here I was about to end all their lives, and they had no clue. It didn't help that I was a great poker player either. The plan was to kill them, rescue the children they had locked somewhere in here for shipment, then give the kids tonight's winnings.
I scanned my surroundings. There were two buff ass guards by the front and back entrance. There were two guards under the small window and more foot soldiers down the narrow, dark hallway where the bathroom was.
That hallway had to have led to where the children were, or there wouldn’t be any guards back there. The dealer tossed out a few cards, and the guy next to me quickly played his hand. He was the last to go, which worked out in my favor because I won this round too.
“Player four has won again,” the dealer announced.
Groans and murmurs filled the room. Cards were slammed down in anger.
I went to reach for my winnings when a beefy hand landed on top of mine.
My eyes shot to the side and examined the Russian mobster with devilish eyes, a thick beard, and tattoos that covered his neck and hands.
He had no clue how much joy he just brought me.
My opposite hand slid under my blazer and locked onto my semi-automatic with a sixty round magazine clip.
“If you're thinking you are going to walk out that door with all of our money and you’re the new guy, you best think again. You’re not leaving this place,” he warned in his heavy Russian accent.
I leaned closer to him and smirked. “I’m glad you said that because neither are you.”
Quickly, I shot him in his neck. I stood abruptly and snatched him in front of me.
“Argh!” he yelled.
Pop! Pop! I took out the two guards by the front door.
Swiftly, I turned my gun on the guards by the window.
Pop! Pop! The guards by the back door shot at me, but I used the mobster as a shield.
They riddled his body with bullets before I popped both of the guards.
I dropped the mobster and snatched up the Asian crime boss from the table.
My arm wrapped tightly around his neck. He was my new shield.
I turned my weapon on the other traffickers and popped each of them right between the eyes. They all slumped to the floor while the sound of heavy footsteps raced toward us. I turned us toward the dark hallway and shot every dark figure that loomed forward.
“Please don’t kill me. I can pay you!” he screamed.
“Shut the fuck up. I don’t want your dirty money. I could never be bought by a child molester.”
I shot him in the head, and he dropped to the floor. A hail of bullets filled the room, and I ducked and hid by a wall. Those bullets pinged off every area in the roomy basement. The industrial size washing machines and dryers took most of the shots.
The shooter stopped firing, and their hesitant steps filled my ears.
His unsure body awkwardly entered the room, and I popped him right in his temple.
He slumped to the floor, and I fired my way through the hallway, dropping their bitch asses two at a time.
I made it to the end of the hallway. There were three more guards, guarding a room.
In no time, they went from standing to on the floor, bathing in their own blood.
I kicked them out of the way then kicked down the door.
My heart immediately dropped to my stomach.
There had to be over fifty kids crammed in this little ass room.
They all looked dehydrated, tired, and filthy.
There was no telling what these kids endured.
Despite everything, today was the end of their suffering.
“Hurry. Let’s go. Don’t mind the dead bodies. Just run over them,” I directed.
Some kids were able to jump and immediately take flight while others struggled.
I had to assist a few of them. Before we made it upstairs, I grabbed the winnings from the table and continued my trek.
I looked around the busy laundromat then focused back on the girl who looked older than the rest of the kids that were just rescued.
I kneeled in front of her. “Take this burner phone and call the police. Let them know you all were rescued. Afterward, take this money and split it between each other. You all are strong and brave children. Tell the police everything about your guardians that you all can remember so you can make it home safely. Okay?”
She nodded as her tears fell down her face. “I can do it. Thank you, Mister.”
I gave her a small smile before I hastily made my exit.
Usually, I slept like a baby after I’d removed scum from this world, but I had no such luck.
I couldn’t sleep or focus at work right now.
It was all because I needed to see Erie.
She was all I thought about this past week.
It was high time I went to see about the woman I desired.
I locked up my store then walked across the street to her storefront.
She was closed, and all the lights were out except one.
Erie sat in a booth seat with a single hanging light over her head.
Music clearly played because the lights to her old jukebox lit up, and her head moved side to side in rhythm to whatever song played.
I was nervous. The nerves crept up like a thief in the night.
I raised my hand to knock on the glass but quickly lowered it.
My thoughts got the best of me. Did Erie want to be bothered?
Would she allow me in? Did she even think about me the way I wondered about her?
The only way to find out was to knock. So before my nerves could get the best of me, I knocked on the glass door.
Her eyes snapped to the door, and the smile she once held dissolved when we locked eyes.
Erie didn’t look happy to see me at all, yet she put down her E-reader and walked away from her booth.
As her curvy figure stopped in front of the door, I could see the hesitation in her body and unsure look on her face.
Erie released a deep sigh then opened the door to her store.
She motioned for me to enter, and I did.
When the door was locked, she strolled away from me and took her seat in her booth.
Both of us stared at each other. I released a deep breath. From her stern yet passionate eyes, she wanted an explanation and no bullshit. Welp, I was here to give her some of the real.
“If you came here just to stare at me, then you can leave. I have no more patience for your hot and cold treatment. I may be young, but I will not be mistreated or mishandled by anyone,” Erie affirmed. Her eyes bore into mine, solidifying she meant every word.
Erie had every right to feel the way she did. I did mistreat her. I was rude and mean, but all of that was about to change. Here goes nothing.