The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

12. Ryan Fairview

W hen the intruder left, he took his ghouls with him. I was a fucking mess. That horrible woman had passed through me so many times I had lost count. I was freezing and could barely feel my fingers by the time I was able to crawl into a hot shower.

Keeping the sage burning in the bathroom with me, the space became so full of steam and smoke that it soon became difficult to breathe, but I didn’t care.

I stood under the steady beat of the boiling hot water until my head felt clear again and my body stopped shaking.

What the fuck had just happened?

By the time I got out of the shower and made my way to my bedroom, the earlier events of the night felt like a fever dream.

Had I really just been held at gunpoint?

Who was that man?

Why did he think I had been abusing Caleb?

Who did he work for?

I pulled on a soft pair of grey drawstring pants and made my way to my antique California King. My mother had insisted on me moving into the main bedroom on the second floor after my father had passed.

She said it was too much space for her, and since I had taken over the business, it was time for me to make the Fairview house my home. I had resisted at first. My childhood room was fine. I rarely spent time in it anyway, but she had insisted.

‘You’ll need the extra space when your dark angel arrives.’ She had said cryptically. So I moved in. The bedroom was set at the front of the house and had massive bay windows and more floor space than anyone really needed in a bedroom.

The furniture was heavy and ornate, all made of a dark black walnut. The walls were covered in deep green antique wallpaper, and the ensuite bathroom was probably one of the most up-to-date parts of the house.

We had it redone a few years ago after the shower had sprung a leak, and Iris had gone full modern goth on the design.

There was a big, black, clawfoot tub that I never used and a walk-in shower with a rain head.

I had to admit, I was grateful for the extravagant fixtures tonight. Thankfully, I was able to get my core body temperature up relatively quickly. I may be able to avoid the aching sickness that usually comes after encounters like that.

However, I had never before had an encounter quite that bad. That man must be a fucking murderer. Why else would he have so many ghouls crawling all over him?

I shuddered as I climbed into bed.

I knew I should call the police, but I felt like shit, and I didn’t want them to find Caleb here.

‘See you in the morning, ginger snap,’ he had said before he left. Was I delusional to hope that he had just said that to scare me? Maybe he wouldn’t come back.

‘You’ve seen my face.’

Fuck.

I should really call the police… but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My eyes were suddenly so heavy, and my bones literally ached.

I just needed to close my eyes for a minute… then I could figure out what to do when I was feeling better.

Waking up the next day with the sun spilling through the bay window, it was easy to pretend that I had imagined the night before.

In the light of day, the horror show of being attacked in my own home by some man who had just felt the right to let himself in felt like a fever dream.

I was feeling almost 100% better. The faint headache I was nursing was really the only evidence that I had been repeatedly violated by that phantom woman.

Although the man had several ghouls stalking him, she had by far been the most violent.

‘ Demon boy! You’re a stain on this earth!’

Considering the man she was screaming about had broken into my house and held me at gunpoint, I was inclined to agree with her.

Getting out of bed, I got to my feet and stretched, running a hand down my face. My clock said six a.m., which was a pretty typical time for me to start my day. But I was usually the only one who got up this early.

Mornings were my favorite part of the day because of how quiet they were. I was a true introvert by nature, so I treasured the hour or so of solitude before the rest of the house woke up.

Days where we hosted services and funerals, while rewarding, were exhausting for me. I often wished I had a partner who was more outgoing than myself to help with that part of the business. My father had been excellent with people. I did my best, but like I said, my social battery often drained before the work was done. It just would be nice to share that load with someone.

Thankfully, we didn’t have anything scheduled today. Ms. Thompson’s service was set for tomorrow so I could take some time to try to figure out what to do about both Caleb and the home invasion I had just suffered.

What a fucking mess.

I slipped out of my room and down the hall to Caleb’s room. The boy was still sleeping soundly. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The one good thing about everything that happened the night before was that I truly didn’t think the child was in danger from that man. He had seemed obsessed with his well-being. My safety, on the other hand… I shuddered.

Ugh! I didn’t want to deal with any of this… Why had that guy chosen my home?

I needed a strong cup of coffee.

Closing Caleb’s door softly, I turned to find my mother billowing down the hall. Her long burgundy hair was in a thick, low braid, and her silk nightdress and robe combo was a butter yellow today. I raised my eyebrows at her in surprise.

“You’re up early,” I observed, and she gave me a dreamy smile.

“The house notified me that we have a visitor. I’m anxious to meet him.” She chimed, and my mood immediately soured.

She wasn’t talking about that man, was she? Was he already back?!

“Mom, stay up here. Maybe we should call the police. I need to tell you about last night, there was an intruder, he broke in and?—”

“The police? Nonsense honey. Don’t be rude.” She brushed me off and began floating down the large front stairwell, her fingers lightly tracing the banister as she went.

I let out a frustrated growl. “You’re not listening to me! It might not be safe. He said he was coming back, and he had a gun!”

Iris completely ignored me and continued to drift through the front entrance of the house toward the swinging door that led to the kitchen. She was humming ‘Angel Baby’ by Rosie and the Originals as she walked, and I had a sudden moment of clarity.

She didn’t think the man that had attacked me was the ‘dark angel’ she had been going on about since I was a child… Did she?

I barreled after her into the kitchen, and my heart dropped. My gaze immediately fell on the guy from the night before.

He was sprawled in one of the chalk-painted kitchen chairs with his combat boots crossed on the table in front of him.

He looked up from his phone with a giant smile on his face, which widened as his brown eyes drifted over my body.

I felt my entire face turn red as he leisurely took in every inch of me, and I suddenly regretted not putting on a shirt before coming downstairs.

His tongue skated over his bottom lip, and he nibbled on his lip ring before meeting my gaze head-on, an unmistakable heat permeating from his eyes.

“Morning, ginger snap. How did you sleep?”

My mouth fell open, and I gaped at him as my mother drifted by, making a beeline for the stove.

“Feet off the table, dear; the house doesn’t like that.” She reprimanded the stranger as if she had known him all her life.

With what seemed to be a great deal of effort, he peeled his eyes away from mine to look at my mother. An amused and almost good-natured grin cocked on the side of his full lips, and he slid his feet off the table, spinning around in the chair so he was straddling it. He crossed his arms over the back of the chair, giving my mother his full attention.

“Sorry, Mrs. Fairview,” he said politely, following her lead and acting like they knew each other.

“Don’t apologize to me, dear. It’s the house you have to answer to.” She put a pot of hot water on and turned around, giving him a dreamy smile. “You’re late, by the way. I was expecting you weeks ago.”

That amused smile on the stranger’s face grew wider, and he sent me a look as if to ask: Do you know what she’s talking about?

I didn’t like him looking at me like that. Like we were on the same team. I waited for him to make fun of my mother or say something mean about her strangeness, but instead, he gave her a warm smile and nodded.

“Sorry. Usually, I’m pretty punctual. Not sure what happened there.”

She patted his arm affectionately and returned his smile. “No matter. You’re here now; that’s what counts.” She frowned and glanced around the kitchen as if looking for something. “It seems your entourage hasn’t followed you today.” She reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a little velvet drawstring pouch.

“Please carry this on you when you’re spending time with my son. He’s a sensitive boy, and the herbs are not very practical, especially outside the house.”

The stranger took the pouch from her curiously and peeked inside, cocking his head to the side before stuffing it diligently into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Sure thing, Mrs. Fairview.” He grinned at her amicably, and she gave him an approving smirk before floating back to attend to her tea.

I was fucking furious.

What the fuck was happening right now? This man had broken into my house! Again! The audacity! And he was just sitting here in my kitchen chit-chatting with my mother like he belonged here?

I scanned him over, trying to see if he was carrying a gun again. I couldn’t tell if he was, not that I was an expert, but he seemed to be unarmed.

He was wearing a similar version of the outfit he had on when he had attacked me the night before: black jeans with clunky combat boots laced at the ankles. He was wearing a black hoodie that said ‘ Don’t bully me, I might come’ in big red letters.

His mop of black hair was thick and healthy. Despite the fact that I wanted to hate him, even I could admit the man was good-looking. It was easy to see he was heavily muscled beneath the large black hoodie. He was tanned too, and his hands and neck were covered in black tattoos.

If I had to guess his age, I would say late twenties. He could have easily been an underwear model or something if he wasn’t spending his evenings attacking innocent people in their own homes.

As if he could sense me staring at him, his chocolate gaze found mine, and the corners of his eyes crinkled when he found me staring.

“You look a lot better this morning, ginger snap,” he commented, and I squeezed my fists at my side.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?” I grit out through clenched teeth. It was taking everything in me not to begin screaming at him to get out of my house. However, I didn’t want to upset my mother, who was still humming that old ‘angel’ song while preparing what looked like three mugs of tea.

“How do you like your tea, dear?” my mother asked.

The man beamed. “With milk! No sugar. I’m sweet enough already.” He winked.

Oh, hell no.

This fucker was not staying for tea. I cleared my throat, looking at the intruder expectantly.

“Excuse me? A word, please,” I growled.

“Of course. I’m all ears. What’s up?” the man asked, seeming genuinely thrilled that I wanted to talk to him.

I scowled. “ Alone.”

He brightened even further, leaping to his feet. I tried my best not to actively flinch at how much bigger he was than me.

“Abso-fucken-lutely.” He beamed, stalking toward me. I immediately retreated from the kitchen, walking as swiftly as I could to put some distance between us and my mother.

The second we were alone in the hall, I turned to give this asshole a piece of my mind but jumped when I found he was already crowding me.

“What are you—” I rasped as he thrust me back against the wall hard enough that one of the still life paintings rattled.

The crown molding dug into my back, and the man’s hands slid up my bare abdomen and over my chest as he pushed into me harder. His lips grazed my ear, and he released a low, rumbling sound from deep inside his chest that made my stomach flip over.

“Couldn’t wait to get me alone, baby?” he purred, and he grazed a thumb tenderly over my jaw.

“What the fuck!? Get off me!” I snarled, slamming my hands into his chest and struggling to push him away. He pulled back slightly, meeting my gaze head-on and swiping his tongue over his bottom lip. Instead of letting me go like I had asked, he wedged his leg between my knees and ground his pelvis against me.

“Awe. Come on, Ryan, don’t play hard to get. Where’s that hard-on you had for me yesterday?”

My flesh erupted in goosebumps as my first name rolled off his tongue. It was the first time he had called me Ryan, and my blood flashed cold with fear.

He knew so much personal stuff about me, but I knew nothing about him. I didn’t even know his name or what he wanted from me.

“That wasn’t about you, jackass. I’m straight,” I snapped, though my traitorous dick chose that moment to remind me that it was activated by fear, and this guy was scaring the shit out of me.

I felt myself swell in my soft cotton pants, and it was insanely obvious. I wasn’t even wearing boxers. My face flushed beet red as I realized my mistake.

Why hadn’t I gotten dressed before coming downstairs? He literally told me he was coming back in the morning!

The intruder glanced down between us, where my rock-hard cock was straining against the front of my pants, and he laughed.

He laughed!

“Mmmhmm. SooOOoOoo straight, mortuary boy. Maybe tell that to your boner. It seems to have missed the memo.”

“Get off!” I snarled.

“I plan to.” He smirked.

I shoved his chest as hard as I could. He barely budged, but he moved enough that I was able to cock my fist back and send a punch directly for his face.

He let out a surprised burst of laughter, ducking to the side and causing me to miss.

He used my own movement against me and whipped me across the hall by my wrist, effortlessly pushing me forward into the opposite wall.

I cursed as he barreled into me from behind, twisting one arm behind my back as he pushed me face-first into antique wallpaper.

He crushed his hips into me, forcing my cock to rub against the wall, and a whimper escaped my lips.

He had a hard-on now too, and he ground his dick against my ass in one long stroke before literally nipping my lobe.

“I like that sound,” he whispered in my ear as I struggled against his grip. He chuckled and pressed against me harder. I felt the deep rumble of his voice all the way in my bones, and I caught myself inhaling the musk of his cologne as his breath skated over the side of my neck.

My cock throbbed in response to the thrilling sense of fear that was coursing through me, causing me to groan as he ground into me again. I jerked, trying my best to kick back into his balls, but the way he had me positioned against him made it impossible. I was literally leaking in my pants, and my heart was pounding in terror at the fact that I couldn’t get him off me.

“Please,” I finally whispered, and he ran the tip of his nose up the back of my neck, his voice laced with heated amusement.

“Please what, ginger snap?” he growled, the mint on his breath feathering across my ear.

“Please, let me go,” I murmured, not wanting to struggle anymore. He was clearly getting off on it… and honestly, I was too, and it was confusing me.

“I like to hear you beg, baby. All you had to do was say please.”

Suddenly, he was gone, leaving me bereft and reeling from the abrupt absence of his touch.

I whipped around to face him, preparing to fight him off again if he came for me, but he was just watching me with a lazy smile and hooded eyes.

My skin was flush with humiliation, and his eyes roamed over my tomato-red chest before dipping down to the throbbing space between my legs. He sucked on his lip ring, shamelessly staring at my dick before palming his own over his jeans and leaning back against the opposite wall.

“That was hot, ginger snap,” he crooned, and I nearly snarled at him.

“Stop calling me that! Get out of my house! Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

He slid his gaze up to meet mine and gave me that crooked smile of his that I was already becoming annoyingly familiar with.

White, straight teeth flashed in the bright morning light, and I noticed how his canine pressed into his full bottom lip on one side.

“I’m Cal,” he said easily, and I sputtered in horror.

“Don’t tell me your name! I don’t want to know anything about you!” I roared. “You need to get the fuck out of here and never come back! You’re trespassing!”

He glanced around, frowning in confusion. “Isn’t this a funeral home? I thought it was open to the public.”

“It’s open to people who are customers, which you are fucking not!” I hissed, taking an aggressive step toward him as my anger got the better of me.

He shrugged. “Not yet… But we’re about to be business partners, you and I.” He flashed me a boyish grin, and I hated the way his smile made my stomach twist with a weird sort of excitement.

It wasn’t quite fear but something else. Something I had never felt before, so I was having a hard time putting a label on it.

My head was spinning.

This guy had been here for five minutes, and I was so overwhelmed and confused by him.

“That’s never going to happen,” I scoffed, and he chuckled.

“I’m afraid it is, ginger snap. I tried to tell you last night, but you weren’t feeling well. You’ve seen my face, which means you’re unfortunately a loose end, at least in the eyes of my boss.”

I froze, and he pushed up from the wall, stalking toward me. I was forced to take a step back for every step forward he took, and before I knew it, he had me cornered again.

He rested his hand on my hip and traced his thumb over the waistband of my pants. I batted him away, but he slammed his other hand into the wall beside my head, leaning in close to my face.

“Now. Lucky for you, I like you… a lot . So, I don’t really have any interest in killing you. But for this to work out, you’re going to need to be willing to work with me.”

“I would never work with a murderer,” I snarled, and for the first time that morning, the amusement seemed to slip off his face.

I swallowed as he showed me the side of himself that I was sure he reserved for his victims. His warm brown eyes went cold and dark. My heart skipped a beat as he slid his hand up from my waist and rubbed his thumb possessively over the stubble on my jaw.

His now dead eyes seemed to look right through me, and his face was suddenly as serious as the grave.

“Never say never, Ryan Fairview,” he purred. The way he said my full name stripped away any hope I had about getting out of this.

He was showing me the truth about my situation, and the truth was that I had no choice. My life as I knew it would never be the same because if I didn’t do what this man said, I would lose my life altogether.

“Now, listen up because I’m only going to say this once. You work for me now,” Cal said, his voice low and dangerous. “If you do what I tell you, we won’t have a problem… but if you cross me, there will be severe consequences. Understand?”

I swallowed, glaring up at him with everything I had. If looks could kill, he would be a very dead man. He just chuckled and stroked my jaw again before dropping a kiss on my forehead like I was a fucking child.

“Good boy. That’s what I thought,” he purred before backing away. He grinned and gestured back toward the kitchen.

“Let’s go have some tea with your mom. Then I can tell you all about your new job.” He winked before throwing his arms over his head in a big, lazy stretch.

“Hope you like dead bodies.” He cackled, leaving me alone in the hallway.