Chapter 17
SABLE
"They're in here," Leif said over his shoulder before he stepped into the room.
For a moment, I expected a group of men, but it was only him, followed by Forrest.
Leif started toward me, then stopped at the sight of the corpse lying against the wall.
"Looks like you two got busy while you were here," he said easily.
He could say that, but I knew he was referring to the senator. There was no way he could know what Woody and I did. I wasn't sure how I'd tell either of them. How did you even bring up something like that? Hell, if I waited long enough, Woody would probably blurt it out.
"Yeah." I glanced down at all the blood that was pooling around the dead man. His skin was paler now. Jaw slack. The blood around where his eyes had been was starting to dry, caking around the ruined sockets
Leif wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. "Good work."
"Thanks," Woody said dryly.
"It was mostly him," I said, "Don't worry, he didn't enjoy himself too much." I didn't know how I could be light at a moment like this. I was starting to think I was more broken than I realized.
Given the company I was currently keeping, I shouldn't be that surprised.
"That doesn't sound like Woody," Leif said with a laugh. "He usually gets a kick out of this."
"Not as much as you do," Woody told him."
Leif grinned. "True facts are true. Thank you for leaving enough of him intact for me." He flexed his hands, like he was ready to get to work.
"Intact," I echoed. I remembered he had an interest in the skin of victims. Forrest warned me I wouldn't want to see.
There was a morbid curiosity there, but that was all. I'd seen enough blood, guts and violence for one day.
Leif took the knife from my hand, then must have felt the gun in my pocket. He reached in, pulled it out, and put it into his own.
"Just in case," he said.
I didn't ask 'just in case what.' I couldn't guess. He was better qualified to carry it, and if the cops happened to turn up, it was better if I was unarmed.
He crouched down in front of the body and rolled him onto his stomach before he started to make an incision in the top of his back.
"Come on." Forrest put an arm around me and led me to the door.
I watched for a moment longer before I let him lead me away. He was right, I really didn't want to see what Leif was doing.
Mostly.
The idea of it should have made me want to throw up, but it didn't. Yeah, I was definitely unhinged in the head.
"Are you okay?" Forrest asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine, more or less," I said.
"Did he…" He let the rest of the question linger, not wanting to push it if I didn't want to talk about it, but clearly hoping I wanted to give him an answer. Hoping, especially, to give him the answer he wanted to hear.
"No," I said quickly. "He didn't touch me." That was all he needed to know for now. I wasn't ready to go into any further details.
"What about you?" I asked. "Did you…" Apparently, not wanting to finish sentences was contagious, not when the answers had the potential to be confronting.
"We have Savannah. She's safe," he said, responding as quickly as I had. "None the worse for wear, either. We got there in time. We left her at my apartment before we came here." He seemed almost apologetic for that, but he had nothing to be sorry for, not if she was safe and well because of them.
I owed them one for getting her out of there. Maybe more than one.
I sagged against him, letting him support me for a few steps before we reached the stairs. "Thank the gods. If anything happened to her, I… I don't know what I'd do."
I glanced back, but I couldn't make out what Leif and Woody were doing. The bed was in the way. I decided that was for the best. They seemed to be heaving the body around like it was a slab of meat. I supposed it was at this point. Ironic, since the senator saw me that way too.
Asshole.
"I don't suppose the senator said anything to you about who was in charge of the auction?" Forrest asked as we made our way down the stairs.
"Woody asked. He claimed he didn't know. We didn't have any other conversations," I said. "Not deep and meaningful ones." Certainly not informative. "I'm guessing you don't know either." Of course not, or he wouldn't have asked me.
"Not yet," he said. "But we will. I have people on the inside. As soon as we find out who they are, we're coming for them." His tone was dark. He was ready to tear them limb from limb with his bare hands. Maybe handcuff them in an old building and let Woody set it on fire.
Was that something they'd do? If Leif liked to remove the skin, he wouldn't get much out of the ashes. No doubt they had something painful and permanent in mind. I was sure they'd share when the time was right.
"They should be shaking in their shoes already," I said. "They weren't any of the people who were at the auction?"
I thought back to all those men in their expensive suits, and the two women who were taking part with as much enthusiasm. I wished I could put it past a woman to be the one behind it all, but I couldn't. Some women didn't believe in supporting the sisterhood.
"As far as we can tell, no." He led me over to the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the cabinet, and poured a glass of water. He handed it to me and leaned against the countertop, his hands pressed to the stone behind him and watched me take a sip.
I could have done with something stronger, but it was good for a start.
"What sort of person does something so twisted?" I asked. "What motivates them? Greed? Power? Arrogance?"
"All of the above," Forrest said. He adjusted his watch and crossed his arms. "They think they can get away with anything they want, because they have for so long.
Take the senator, for example. It wouldn't take a deep search to find a trail of corruption, bribery, and depravity. He deserved exactly what he got."
I sipped and contemplated him. "Why aren't you like that? You could be just as corrupt and depraved as him. You'd get away with it."
"Of course I would," he said. Not smug, just matter of fact. No, there was a hint of irritation there because he shouldn't get away with it.
"A long time ago I was at the crossroads. I had to decide if I was going to be an asshole or not."
"And you chose not," I said.
"Some would say I chose asshole," he replied. "I express it in a way that doesn't hurt innocent people."
"Just guilty people." I finished my water and wiped the glass on the jacket I was still wearing, doing my best to remove fingerprints and DNA before I placed it in the dishwasher.
"We can turn it on when Leif and Woody are finished with the knives," Forrest said. "That will eradicate the rest of the evidence from the murder weapon."
Yes, I supposed it would. If the police turned up, they'd find both knives, but nothing in the way of clues.
"Do you ever regret not going down the bigger asshole path?" I asked. "There must be things you wish you could have gotten away with."
"Not for a minute," he said. "I take out my frustrations on people who think it's acceptable to harm others, especially others who are innocent." He stepped over and put his hands on my cheeks. "I was worried."
"Funny, so was I." I managed a faint smile.
"I didn't want to walk away from you, back in that tattoo place."
"What choice did you have?" I looked into his eyes and saw regret there, and sincerity.
"What would they have done if you tried to stay?" I asked, although the question was rhetorical. "They would have killed you, and you wouldn't have saved Savannah."
"Exactly, and you'd never forgive me." He pressed his forehead to mine. "That would have been the worst part."
"What they did to her wasn't your fault," I reminded him.
Our breath mingled. We'd been physically closer, but this was more intimate somehow. More personal.
"I've made it my job to stop things like this from happening," he said. "We took you in there knowing there was a possibility things would go wrong, then they did, just not in the way I planned. We thought of every contingency, but we missed one very important one: the senator coming after you."
"Is that what you're upset about?" I asked. "You had this big fancy plan all planned out, and it didn't fall into line?"
"Yes," he said. "I like when my plans go to plan."
"That's why we make plans, so the plans can go to plan." I laughed softly.
"Exactly. Things could have gone south badly. We could have lost you."
"Woody wouldn't have let that happen," I said.
Forrest raised an eyebrow, drawing his head back just enough to see me better. "Did you say something nice about Woody?"
I laughed again. "I know. I'm as surprised as you are. If it wasn't for him…" I didn't want to finish that sentence.
"Leif and I would have done what he did," Forrest said firmly. "We would have found a way to get in and get you out."
"Luckily you didn't have to," I said. "I'm safe, and you didn't have to break a sweat."
He leaned in close again and whispered, "I like breaking a sweat with you."
I whispered back, "You're going to make me blush."
"I'm going to make you do more than that when we get out of here," he said. He was about to say something else when Leif and Woody came trotting down the stairs.
A sheet dangled over Leif's arm, wrapped around something, shining with blood.
I don't want to think about what it was wrapped around. I could guess.
"We're done here," Woody said.
"I've called for clean up." Leif's gaze scanned the space. The sun was up, illuminating the two dead thugs to the side of the room.
"We don't have time," Forrest said. "We need to get out of here before someone comes."
I glanced at Woody. Of course Forrest didn't mean that kind of coming, but I couldn't help remembering the way he felt inside me. The way he tried to shield my body with his, to block the view while he fucked me.
"Bummer," Leif said. "I hate to see good hide go to waste."
"I'd instruct the clean-up crew to bring the bodies to you, but I suspect the police will deal with them first," Forrest said with a hint of regret.
"Damn protocols and legality." Leif clicked his tongue. "Oh well, at least I got one hide out of them." He raised the arm with a sheet over it, straining against the weight.
Woody shuffled over to me and smirked. "See, I'm not the most fucked up one around here."
"The jury is still out on that one." I told him, squeezing his bicep, "You did try to turn me into a hot pot."
"I was never going to let you burn." He grumbled as he followed us out the door. "And barbecue is a more accurate description."
I was about to respond, but I was distracted by the sight of the other two thugs lying out in the corridor. One's throat was cut, the other looked to be stabbed right through the heart.
"You're welcome," Woody said sarcastically.
I shot him a smile of thanks. Only a small one, without too much sarcasm.
Was killing five people for me enough for me to forgive him? Maybe, but I'd let him stew for a while longer.
Leif muttered something about 'more wasted hide,' but walked in front of us to the elevator, cradling the senator's over his arm.
I had no idea what he planned to do with it. Honestly, it was better if I didn't give it too much thought. I had enough nightmare fuel to last the rest of my life as it was.