I See You #3
“No! I saw someone treating you the same way you thought I would and I got angry. Angry because you run into this as your reality and it’s made you hate everyone because of it.
He had the nerve to lay claim on you and tried to warn me away.
” Ori’s eyes were narrowed again insulted by my words and Wilbur’s action.
“But I still shouldn’t have been warned?”
I hated feeling as though someone else was trying to control my steps and not give me the information I needed to protect myself. I hadn’t thought about Wilbur since I hadn’t been at Explicit or on the site.
“You have a problem with me getting people in here to help with disposal?” Avoidance. He wasn’t going to apologize for how he was moving and it only infuriated me more.
“Not at all. You live here as well so have fun with whomever you want to bring here.”
His brow quirked as confusion clouded his harsh features. “Where are you going?”
I laughed and looked down at the mess he’d made on the rug.
“You didn’t think I was going to help you, did you?
Silly man. The way I wanted to do all of this was for it to be a nice controlled death without all the blood splatter.
You broke every bone in his face and turned his hands into mincemeat.
The deep cleaning you’re going to need for this place is beyond what I could do.
I’m just glad this didn’t happen in the living room or the closet. Most of my pieces are one of a kind.”
It was fracturing again. My brain was compartmentalizing everything yet again. I needed space to process this and I wouldn’t get it if I stayed close to him. He would push and hover when I needed silence.
“We’ll check the entire room for blood splatter.”
I appreciated his thoroughness but cleaning was the least of my worries. “Find someone to sage this place too. The last thing I want is his spirit getting trapped here.”
“I’ll kill a ghost if he attempts to stick around and sneak a peek.” An attempt at a joke, which I appreciated but it wasn’t necessary.
“As if I could give a damn about a spirit harming me. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of being in my presence even in ghost form. He doesn’t deserve it. ”
“Guess we’ll be pulling out the haint blue whenever we decorate this room.” He looked around at the bare walls that were dotted with blood splatter and probably brain matter.
“More than happy to leave the task up to you. I’ve got more important things to do right now.”
He focused on me as if now was the moment I was going to fall apart. As if I would so dramatic as to announce it. “Like what?”
“Like, take a bath. Wash my hair from where he was tugging on it. My scalp is slightly tender.”
He was trying to see if I was being truthful, and I held his gaze without issue. “Do you need me?” I was either a good liar or he let me off the hook.
Compassion. I couldn’t handle it right now. It was going to overwhelm me and I had to focus on getting to where I could break down in peace.
“No. You need to get this cleaned up. I’ll be fine.”
I turned and strolled as casually as I could toward our bathroom hoping I could wash the day off of me.
ORI
There was something wrong.
Not wrong in the sense that we hadn’t done a good job with clean up.
That part was fine. What was wrong was that the woman I was set to marry had been lounging away in a tub with only a fleeting “don’t fuck up my parquet floors” as advice before she went to soak.
No one should be that calm. The way she’d taken a knife to him should’ve worried me.
Instead, it made my dick hard. The way I’d taken my fists to him should’ve turned her off.
But the way her nipples were pebbled beneath her shirt I was damn sure she was playing with herself in the tub based on the moans I’d heard when I’d gone to check on her — I’d wager a guess that she’d enjoyed that display of brutality.
Some misandrist.
Of course, she had no issue telling me that men had their use and what she felt like my specific purpose was.
Somehow, I had a feeling it was more than that.
The last of the body parts had been bagged and carried out by Alec’s people who were disguised as party planners.
The tape had already been scrubbed of Wilbur’s presence, as had that of the surrounding homes and stoplights.
This was the reason Asha’s house had been mapped out and surveilled.
In case the need arose for something like this, it was as simple as making a call to execute a line of code that erased his existence from being anywhere within five miles of the penthouse.
“You sure it’s safe for you to be here?”
Alec’s normally joyous face was lined with worry as he glanced down the hall toward where Asha had disappeared.
It took everything in me not to move to stand in front of his view because I felt so protective over her.
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see or hear a fucking thing happening in our bathroom.
I didn’t want anyone to get a glimpse of what I knew was behind the doors.
“I’m fine.”
I wasn’t fine. I wanted to revive Wilbur and kill him again for the smug look he had on his face when he’d kissed her flesh. The only thing that kept me from going on a rampage was the image of his face as she jabbed the knife into his gut and twisted it.
My girl.
Alec looked behind me again the worry still there despite my assurances. “Ori, not to get in your business—”
I sighed because Alec should’ve known once I made my mind up nothing changed it.
“But it’s clear you’re about to.”
Not bothered to be intimidated by my attitude he stood up straight like he was ready to be the next man I tossed around this house. He would give me a much better fight than Wilbur so I was hoping he’d swing.
“Yeah, as your friend despite you not wanting me to be one. I’ve known you for years so I’m used to how nonchalant you are about everything.
But her? There’s no way a woman, no scratch that a civilian should be as calm as she is about everything.
” He leaned toward me keeping his voice low so she couldn’t hear him.
I appreciated his desire to be respectful toward her even if he thought she was homicidal.
“It’s shock.”
It wasn’t. He was absolutely right. And after his experience with her when I’d accused her of being a killer I was sure he was even more on alert with her behavior.
“No, it’s not. It’s experience. That type of calm comes from being completely unbothered by violence because you’re used to it.
Not experiencing violence but inflicting it.
Sleep with one eye open.” He pointed at me as he spoke emphasizing his words but he should’ve known I wasn’t going to heed them.
“Are you that concerned for your friend, Agent Ortega-Castillo?” She strolled casually back into the room unbothered by being the topic of conversation.
“Alec. There’s no need for formalities you know that.
” He gave her a respectful nod but kept his eyes on me because of what Asha was wearing.
Or rather, the lack thereof. The robe was thick, almost swallowing up her frame and far too warm for the weather.
Asha strolled into the room surveying our handiwork before she gave a nod of approval.
“I guess that’s right since you just cleaned up a murder scene for me. Thank you for ensuring the floors were handled with care. They’re my favorite feature of the apartment.”
“You’re…welcome.” He was concerned. Waiting for Asha to crack in a way that I knew he would never see. She smiled genially on hearing his hesitation.
“As I said, you shouldn’t be worried for your friend.
He’s caused me irritation today but I know he’s not a threat.
I handle threats in an extreme manner. Besides, I wouldn’t benefit from his death since I’m not his wife and I never make a move unless I have it planned out.
” She was grinning, her curly hair framing her face and I knew it was all an act.
Theatre to assuage our concern and to protect herself.
“And tonight. Was it planned?”
She rolled her eyes like the dead body that we’d bagged up had just been a blip in the scheme of her day. “Of course not, Ori. That was a surprise. I’m sure you’ll be able to hear everything on the hot mics all over this house.”
Oh, now she was insulting me. “There’s no need for mics when your entire apartment is under surveillance.”
Her hands went to the ties of her robe and she glanced around betrayed. “Excuse me?”
“Part of the contract I guess you didn’t read.”
The anger returned the happiness draining from her features. “I never gave permission—”
“Your permission was given when you agreed to be a part of our organization. Did you really think your word was going to be sufficient?”
“And who all has access to this place?”
Worry. That was what she was feeling. I understood because she’d built this place as a beautiful fortress in the sky and I was telling her that tonight had shown it wasn’t the impregnable structure she’d thought.
“Me.”
“And?”
My arms went across my chest and I was thankful I’d showered while I’d been waiting for Alec and his people to show up.
“And that’s all. You never have anyone over there.
If you had, alerts would’ve gone up. Two heat signatures or one that is incongruent with your location means that someone is in your place.
That triggers an alert on my phone, which is why I was here so fast. I was already headed home and this quickened my arrival.
Despite what you think, this is for your benefit, not to keep you under our thumb. ”
“I had today handled.”