Chapter 11 SAMAEL
SAMAEL
The day dragged on without much excitement, Chief Matthews channeling his fear and anger into berating me about why I hadn’t been able to find something on The Three Terrors.
He promptly sent me home after our little meeting, telling me that I had a week to figure this shit out or hand in my resignation—as if it wasn’t his stupidity that we were running around so easily.
I didn’t deflect his accusations by spouting more lies and false promises like I usually did. Instead, I just let him yell through the speaker as I leaned back in my chair. Chief Matthews wasn’t just scared, though. He was terrified.
The Unknown had been named as a copycat killer of The Skinner.
I had written up that report after inspecting that crime scene with the technicians.
DNA would show that Killian had been there that night if I hadn’t been so thorough.
The idea that Killian’s return home would save the kid was now no longer an option.
Because Finn had no plans to change anything about himself.
Chief Matthews’ next move would determine if I could trust him, even a little bit.
The right thing would be to turn over his son to the station and step down from his position.
However, a little more digging into Finn’s vehicular manslaughter case told me that Chief Matthews wasn’t as straight laced as I used to think.
They had left to start anew in Primrose, the man I answered to, a mere officer in their last city. I had an inkling that Chief Matthews had a hand in lowering Finn’s sentence and was in charge of changing the kid’s name as well.
The afternoon dragged on as I focused on other cases, trying to find a connection between Finn and crime scenes that hadn’t made sense before.
Finn had to be behind some of them or the cause of them at the very least but there were no leads.
Nothing concrete. Finn’s ability to clean up after himself was nearly as good as mine.
With my focus firmly on making sure that Aeron, Slash, and I were safe, I had lost sight of the business I had started.
No one had seen or heard of The King over the past week, Brent all but running the operation at this point.
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn’t need this comfort like I had growing up.
My younger self needed protection, craved stability, and desired power.
Now? The strength that came with being The King would also be my downfall.
It became easier to sniff me out because only someone with wealth was able to do the things he had.
I had to find a way out and fast. Selling the estate would be the first step.
Finding someone to replace me would be the second and hardest step.
Brent interrupted my concentration as he stepped inside my office and closed the door behind him.
By the tight expression on his face, I knew this conversation had to do with Finn.
I blew out an annoyed breath. “I get it. We fucked up. Lay off it, Brent.” Everyone had their flaws. Killian had… well, Finn.
“You didn’t just fuck up. You pissed him off. He knows everything about you and what do you really know about him? You don’t even know if he truly loves you. Have you guys even-”
My fists slammed down on my desk as I leaned over the dark wood and glared at my guard.
I used to like him. I really did. He shriveled beneath my stare.
“Brent, I’m pretty sure I mentioned before that if you had anything to say about my lovers, don’t.
You’re toying a line you can’t come back from. Back it the fuck up.”
Brent sighed, defeated and slid back out of the office, my feet guiding me to the living room where a large pepperoni pizza sat open on the coffee table.
Aeron was sprawled across one of my couches, dress pants hanging loosely on his hips, his eyes focused on whatever nonsense was playing on TV.
The cannibal had cleaned up a bit—courtesy of Slash no doubt—his hair a natural platinum again, the man looking some version of normal and innocent with those deep sea-green eyes.
Slash offered me a small smile; his eyes glazed over with the after-effects of alcohol.
They weren’t dealing with this well and to be honest, neither was I but it was my job to make sure my resident psychos were taken care of.
I gestured to Aeron, Slash shaking his head as I approached and crouched down by the cushions.
In a parallel universe, the vast expanse of bare skin would have turned this scene into a very different situation.
“Aeron, baby, you have to eat something.”
The cannibal startled at my words, sitting up as his gaze darted around the room. It took him a moment to settle before grabbing a piece of pizza and stuffing his face, sauce dripping down his lips.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Slash blurted out.
Aeron tensed and then stared at the food in his hand, watching the pepperoni and cheese slowly slide off into a gloop on the floor.
His whole face clenched as if he was thinking too hard and the pain that radiated through his face was too much for me to bear.
“Aeron, what’s going on in that head of yours?
You haven’t made any of your usual meals and even with Gwen’s lungs in your fridge, you haven’t touched them. ”
Aeron shrugged, taking another hearty bite of the pizza.
It had been a long fucking time since I had watched him eat real food and it was a little unnerving.
“Waiting for Finn to show up. He mentioned wanting to have dinner but I need him to tell me that to my face. I’m not wasting a good curry on him because he wants to play games. ”
That didn’t even make any sense.
“Aeron, that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge yourself.”
“Doesn’t feel right without him here with us. Yes, I know he’s a fucking loose cannon and dangerous as hell but it’s the four of us.”
I swallowed nervously, taking a seat beside him and let out a heavy breath.
“And what if I told you that Finn’s been around for longer than we thought?
Remember Sylvester?” They nodded. “Well, Finn had been that teenage driver that killed him. He slipped up and mentioned that he’s been protecting us and I did a little digging.
I think Finn’s obsession with us goes much deeper than our obsession with him. ”
Slash glared in my general direction. “That actually adds more questions to the equation than it answers. What did his dad say after you mentioned Finn to him?”
“Not much. Told me that I have a week to get a lead on The Three Terrors or lose my job.” I ran my hands through my hair and leaned back into the cushions.
“Chief Matthews is terrified of who his son has become—or rather, the alter that has returned? I’m not sure how that all works.
All I know is that he’s going to have to make a choice—turn his son in or cover up for him. ”
Slash snorted as he stood, grabbing a slice of pizza for himself. “I’m guessing we’re not letting the first option happen so what happens when dear old dad tries to protect Killian?”
“I show him that I’m the most well equipped to handle him.”
“He’ll find out who we are. Who you are,” Aeron offered. “How’s that going to help?”
A deviant smile slid across my lips. “Because he wants to protect his image more than anything else. Everything Chief Matthews has ever done, every curfew he’s set, every order he’s put has all been done to protect who he is as a person.
Sure, he wants to protect his son but the ultimate goal is to make sure he, himself, looks good.
That’s why he left Killian’s mother in that mental hospital.
And that’s why appealing to his vanity and his guilty conscience will give us what we want.
” It was a dangerous plan and one that could shoot us in the foot.
“Besides, I’m banking on the fact that he’ll be so blinded by covering up Finn’s crimes, that he won’t have time to make the connections between me and The King. ”
I met my men’s gazes, wondering what was going on in their heads as Aeron stuffed the last piece of pizza into his mouth.
“I think it’s time for a decoy. What? Finn used one.
Why can’t we? Start throwing dear old dad off our scent.
Start confusing everyone in Primrose. Drive up the fear factor.
We’re playing a game with Finn, right? Then let’s fucking play.
As long as he comes to dinner, I don’t really care what happens. ”
Slash and I glanced at each other before looking over at our cannibal. “I thought I was supposed to be the sadistic one,” Slash joked.
It wasn’t a bad idea, though. No one knew what The King looked like. They just knew he moved product occasionally through Primrose and he was usually the culprit for brutal beatings across the city. The King hadn’t been seen in almost a month, so it was time to make an appearance.
Now to find the right person to play me…