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

55. Vox Moretti

Alexa, play: Smells Like Teen Spirit - Witchz

I parked several blocks away from Cal’s house and spun a silencer onto the muzzle of my Beretta. Tucking the gun into my hoodie, I hopped out of the car and slid my hands into my pockets.

I had a feeling that Damian had assigned someone to tail Cal and me. There was no way to be sure if he always had us under this much surveillance or if it had started when Cal had clearly become distracted by his new obsession with Ryan.

Either way, I wasn’t taking any chances. Before I scooped Naomi, I was going to have to make sure anyone watching the house was eliminated.

Not that I didn’t think Damian would figure out that I was using Fairview as a base, but I needed to make sure it was clear that I was not fucking around.

If anyone came near Cal’s sisters, I would fucking kill them. The best way to get that message across when you don’t speak is to pretty much just lead by example .

It’s true what they say: Actions speak louder than words.

I was living proof of that.

That being said, I took my sweet ass time meticulously canvassing the neighborhood before entering Cal’s house.

This is where Cal’s and my methods vastly differed. I would stay out here for days if I needed to, making sure all my bases were covered before making a move.

Cal tended to get bored after an hour or two max and would just move right into the action. In his defense, sometimes he was right, and I was being a paranoid little bitch… but you didn’t stay alive in this industry by making mistakes.

Maybe I was a little overly cautious and thorough, but I wasn’t dead yet, so I must be doing something right.

My hard work paid off when it became apparent that the house across the street was vacant.

My assumption was the family was on vacation from how much the mail had piled up at the front door.

This house was tall and narrow, like a townhouse, but it was detached. There were little gravel-filled alleys between it and its neighboring homes. I crept around back and made sure there wasn’t an alarm system that I would need to disable. Happily, there wasn’t anything to indicate there was something more sophisticated than a locked door, so I slipped out my lock-picking kit and slipped inside.

It was quiet, and it felt like no one had been here in a few days, though I wasn’t convinced.

Creeping deeper into the empty house, I kept my back covered in case my suspicions were correct and Damian had someone stationed here to watch Cal’s house.

I quickly but thoroughly cleared the first floor and then set my sights on the stairs.

Holding my gun in a two-handed grip with the silencer pointed at the floor, I started to slowly side-step up the stairs, keeping my back to the wall as I went. It was really fucking quiet. Maybe I was wrong, and there was no one here…

Nope .

There was a shuffling sound upstairs. I tensed and tightened my grip on the gun as I slowly crept forward.

I tested each step carefully before putting my weight on it. The last thing I wanted was a creaky stair to be the reason I got busted.

It was slow going, but by the time I made it to the third floor, I knew for sure someone was upstairs. Peeking over the edge of the staircase, I surveyed the layout of the top floor before fully revealing myself.

The family who lived here had made this floor into a home office, and there was a man sitting in front of the far window with his back to the staircase.

He had a DSLR camera with a long zoom lens next to him, as well as a rifle with a scope. I narrowed my eyes.

What the fuck?

What was the rifle for?

My blood went cold when I realized it might very well be for me. I wouldn’t put it past Damian to order my ass killed, especially after my little microwave explosion.

See? Better Safe than sorry.

I didn’t bother alerting the man to my presence. He was small potatoes. Honestly, the fact that he set up with his back to the fucking staircase meant he deserved to die, in my opinion.

Careless.

I stalked up behind him, pointing my gun to the back of his head as I walked. Idiot didn’t even notice I was there until I was basically on top of his ass.

Before he could turn around, I fired two rounds into his skull. It was messy but quiet, thanks to the silencer.

Blood and brains splattered all over the wall and the window, and I watched with satisfaction as Damian’s man slumped forward, falling out of the chair and onto the ground.

Quickly and efficiently, I cleared the rest of the floor, making one hundred percent sure this guy had been working alone.

Once I was positive he didn’t have a partner, I went to get the G-Wagon, pulling it up to the back of the house. I loaded it up with Buddy’s rifle as well as his camera and his cell phone. The body? I left that for Damian to clean up.

Enjoy, bitch.

Then, I hopped into the wagon and parked it directly in front of Cal’s house in case Naomi made my life difficult.

Sometimes the no-speaking thing was a pain in the ass. It would be a lot easier if I could just go in there and explain what the fuck was happening, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Even if I wanted to speak, I wasn’t sure I could anymore. My mouth didn’t know how to make the words. Besides, I didn’t want to speak. It was a spite thing.

I told my bitch ass mother I would never speak again, and I fucking meant it.

Fuck her, and fuck everyone who had a problem with me not talking.

So, Naomi would have to just deal.

I had keys to their many locks, and I made quick work of them before stepping inside.

“Cal!? Is that you?” I heard Naomi call from the living room. Obviously, I didn’t answer. “Stephanie came over for a Twilight marathon! She just got back from Italy with her parents. You wanna watch with us?”

I rolled my eyes, snorting. Cal would probably watch Twilight with Naomi and eat up every second of it.

Loveable fucking goofball.

Ignoring Naomi, I made my way down the hall to where she was curled up in the living room with her friend.

“Cal?” she called again, though she jumped in surprise when she saw it was me. “Oh! It’s you.” Her tone immediately turned from excitement to disdain when she realized who it was that had just walked in. My lips twitched in amusement, but I just kept on my roll, heading for the stairs.

She was going to need clothes and shit.

“Hey! What are you doing going up there?” she called after me, but of course, I didn’t respond.

“Who’s that?” her friend whispered. Naomi scoffed so hard I could hear the eye roll in her voice.

“My brother’s dickhead friend.”

“He’s hot!” her friend hissed, and I bit back another smile.

“Ew, Stephanie! He’s, like, twenty-eight. He’s basically a grandpa.”

I snorted.

Fucking teenagers.

Busting into Naomi’s room, I felt my lip twitch again at how inherently Naomi it was. The walls were white, but she had an accent wall with vibrant floral wallpaper. Her soft bed was covered in white and pink linens, and I brushed my fingers on the fluffy rose-print throw blanket she had tossed artfully across the foot of the bed. She reminded me of a little bumble bee, with her yellow hair and obsession with florals.

Her room even smelled like flowers. I inhaled and closed my eyes. Mmm. Like daisies and jasmine.

It was nice.

Frowning at the errant thought, I shook my head aggressively and turned to her closet.

Thinking about how good Cal’s nineteen-year-old sister smelled was bad for so many fucking reasons.

I was just here to get her contained so I could keep all his favorite people out of trouble. That was it.

Ripping open the white slatted closet doors, I pulled out one of her pink suitcases. Making sure to grab the biggest size, I threw it on her bed and started emptying her drawers into it.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I glanced over my shoulder to see Naomi standing in the doorway to her room with her hands on her hips.

I rolled my eyes.

What did it look like I was doing?

What a stupid question.

People didn’t understand why I didn’t speak, but I never understood why people needed to speak so much. Not every thought you had needed to be an outside fucking thought. Sometimes, you would seem like less of an idiot if you kept your mouth shut.

Pretending she didn’t exist, I continued to fill her luggage with all her shit.

“Hey! I asked you a question, asshole! You can’t just come in here and start going through all my stuff!”

I almost laughed out loud.

I absolutely could do that. I was literally doing that right now.

“What’s going on up here?” Naomi’s friend appeared in the doorway, and I swallowed back a growl. She needed to get the fuck out of here.

I rounded on them and pointed at her friend, then jerked my thumb in the direction of the stairs, indicating that I wanted her to leave.

Naomi crossed her arms over her firm but supple chest and glared at me. I forced myself to keep my gaze trained on her face and not glance down.

She was always wearing these cute little floral sundresses, and it was honestly fucking indecent. I don’t know why Cal didn’t make her cover the fuck up.

If she was my sister— I stopped that thought in its tracks and shook my head again. For some reason, it felt even more weird to think of Naomi as my sister. It made my stomach churn.

“You can’t order my friend to leave, Vox. This isn’t even your house!”

I rolled my eyes again and pulled my Beretta out of the holster under my hoodie. Without breaking eye contact with Naomi, I pointed the gun directly at her friend’s face. The girl screamed and bolted, scampering down the stairs as fast as her feet would carry her.

Naomi’s mouth dropped open, and I smirked at her, raising an eyebrow.

Your move, bumble bee.

“What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!” she screeched and threw herself at me. A silent chuckle bubbled up in my throat as she pounded her tiny fists into my chest. I allowed her to continue her adorable little attack while I stepped backward, laying my gun on her dresser.

With my hands now free, I wrapped my fingers around her upper arms, pushing her away from me as she continued to hit and kick at me, spitting and hissing like a feral cat.

I waited a few moments for her to calm down, but the longer I held her, the more angry she seemed to become.

“You fucking psycho vampire! You can’t come in here and point a gun at my friend! Wait until I tell Cal about this! You’re a fucking nutcase! Who do you think you are?”

And on and on and on she went.

After a few more minutes, I finally got sick of her shit and spun her around before slamming her back into me.

You want a vampire, little bee? I’ll give you a vampire.

I sank my teeth into the crook of her neck, biting down hard enough on her soft flesh that she squeaked in surprise.

She froze, then kind of went… limp, like a kitten that had just been grabbed by the scruff of her neck.

“What—Vox…” she murmured, clearly completely shocked that I had bitten her. I simply chomped down harder, and she let out a soft moan that made my dick twitch in a way I didn’t want to analyze too closely.

After another moment passed, and I was sure she wasn’t going to try to attack me again, I released her. Looking down at my teeth marks on her neck, my dick did that illicit twitch thing again. It took more effort than I cared to admit not to drop a little kiss on the mark I had left on her skin.

Stepping back, I allowed her to turn around. She stared at me with a strange look on her face and touched a hand to her neck with trembling fingers. Her cheeks were pink, and I couldn’t stop myself from staring at the way she stroked the tender spot.

“Why are you here? Why are you packing my clothes up?”

I gave her a look that said: why the fuck do you think?

She bit her lip and glanced at her suitcase, then back at me again.

“Is Cal in trouble?” she whispered, and I nodded once.

“Where are you taking me?”

I rolled my eyes. The answer to that was wherever I thought was fucking best.

For now, it was Ryan’s, but that might change if I decided it was no longer safe.

She would find out soon enough.

Snatching my gun up off the dresser, I used it to point to her closet, indicating that I wanted her to start packing or I would need to continue to do it for her.

She nodded and sighed. “Yeah, okay, fine. You owe Stephanie an apology, though. That was fucked up, Vox.”

I smirked at her and shrugged.

Next time, listen to me, little bee.

She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. Heat coursed through my veins at her tiny show of defiance, and I suddenly wanted to bite down on that pink tongue the way I just bit down on her neck.

Ugh. If Cal and I survived this shit with Damian, he would probably end up killing me anyway for creeping on his little sister.

Needing to get away from Naomi before I forgot why I was here and did something even more inappropriate, I stalked out of her room to get her gnome-shaped Squishmallow and anything else I thought she might want while staying at Ryan’s.

Once I had her situated, I could keep an eye on everyone from the car, and she wouldn’t be able to distract me with her skimpy sundresses and stupid daisy clips.

Then, I could start the real work of saving my friend.