Chapter 7 #2
Finally, Parker pulls into a dark industrial center, only the light of the moon guiding our way to a deserted parking lot.
Despite the barren surroundings, Parker parks the car at the back of the lot, closest to the exit.
Hayden leans forward in the dark of the car with a plucky smile that sends a shiver of trepidation down my spine.
“Welcome to the shit show,” Hayden sings.
Jacob elbows him in the ribs, which makes Hayden shoot the other man a glare.
“Fuck off, Jacob. Now listen up, perky. Parker is responsible for you on this one, so if you blow it, I’ll punish Parker for at least a month by putting him on protection duty for me, which is his least favorite duty. ”
What? I shake my head at all his words. “Okay?”
“Good.” Hayden leans forward and slips a gun into my holster without touching me. “Safety is on. I know you’ve handled a gun before since you killed your uncle. Have you handled one prior to that?”
“Uh…”
Hayden’s head snaps to Parker. “Are you fucking for real?”
Parker spins in his seat to glare at Hayden. “Stop being a little shit. I said I’ve got his six, that’s all that matters. Got it?”
They stare each other down for a few long moments before Jacob leans forward, effectively jostling Hayden out of my line of vision.
“You got it, Parker. The boss just wants us to be safe.”
Parker deflates a little and nods, then hops out of the car. He makes his way to the passenger door and opens it for me, lines of his body taut, jaw tight. I hop out and stand in front of him, staring up at him in the pitch-black cover for the mission.
“You don’t have to put yourself on the line for me,” I whisper.
Parker’s eye twitches and he glances over the car at someone. “I do though, you just don’t understand why yet.”
“Parker…”
He snaps his head back to me. “Just do as I say in there.”
“What are we doing in there?”
“That’s for us to know and you to stay ignorant of,” Hayden calls out. “Plausible deniability.”
“Not if I kill someone,” I argue.
Hayden winks at me as he passes by with serious swagger. “Well, if someone catches on to tonight, Parker will go down for the murder. That’s the deal.”
My heart catches in my chest. Again? I want to say something, want to…
I don’t know what I fucking want to do, but I want to do something.
But just as I’m working up the courage to utter a word, Parker walks away with a nod of his head toward the building.
All of the guys, including my brother, pause in the shadow of the building.
I follow close to Parker’s back, knowing without being told that he’ll guide me through the evening.
“I’m just pissed you get to kill someone before me,” Reid mumbles to my left.
I glance over at him with an apologetic grimace. “I think he’s only letting me do it because of Uncle Marc.”
Reid shrugs. “Still. I only got a taser.”
“Because I don’t trust you with a gun,” Dante retorts from in front of us.
Reid doesn’t even argue, which surprises me. He just places his hand on the taser in a holster on his hip. I glance down to the gun safely tucked in the holster against my chest. A queasy feeling threatens to overtake me, but I push it deep down.
“Parker and Dante are going to go in first to clear security,” Hayden says when Parker and Dante break formation to head inside.
Five minutes later, the door opens and Dante nods for us to come inside.
Parker squats down beside an unconscious security guard.
When he unfolds his long body to stand, I can’t help but stare.
Parker is always beautiful, but he’s magnificent in his element.
Which happens to be murder. Apparently, murder for pay is his element.
“Yeah, they’re all kind of hot when they’re working,” Reid says with a snort. “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve made Dante fuck me right after a mission.”
I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “Reid, please.”
Reid shoots me a look. “Don’t worry, Mason, you’ll get there too.”
“I’m just here to kill someone,” I lie, because that’s not all this is at all.
Reid snorts again, but this time loud enough to attract the attention of his minder. Dante shoots him a look and lifts a finger to his mouth in the universal sign for shush. But all Reid does is grin real wide, lift his hand, then slowly pretend to wind up his middle finger.
“Sit and spin,” Reid mouths before blowing Dante a kiss.
Dante basically seethes but goes back to tying the security guard’s hands.
“You antagonize him a lot,” I point out.
Reid winks. “He likes it.”
“If you have time to chat, you have time to help,” Hayden says as he walks by us.
Reid rolls his eyes but gestures for us to follow behind Hayden.
The other boys fall in behind us as Hayden leads us down the dark hallway.
Emergency lights come on as we walk, and the quiet hush of the deserted warehouse makes me vaguely uncomfortable.
The place looks empty; there’s no one here for me to kill.
“There are two more security guards before we reach the guy you get the honor of executing,” Hayden says to me over his shoulder. “Orders are to leave guards alive because they’re hired, not aware of what Mr. Hall is getting up to.”
“What is Mr. Hall guilty of?” I ask.
Hayden makes an annoyed sound. “I told you, plausible deniability. Plus, you really don’t want to know.”
Well, okay. We turn a corner to find two tired-looking security guards flanking a steel door.
They jump, unprepared for the sight of us, but Parker moves around us to shoot them with the tranquilizer gun.
Reid’s right. It is fucking sexy watching him work.
Parker shakes his head to clear his vision of the wisps of hair that have escaped the bun on the back of his head.
Dante and Parker break from us to tie the security guards’ arms behind their backs as they lie zonked out on the floor.
“How long do those work for?” I ask, full of curiosity.
“Approximately three hours,” Jacob replies from behind me. “Accidentally tested on me first.”
“That’s why Dante doesn’t get the tranq gun,” Parker calls out.
Dante’s shoulders lift to his ears. “It was an accident.”
“Lessons learned.” Hayden steps forward, presses a button on the steel doors, and they slide open.
There’s a desk ten feet into the room, where a frightened-looking man stands.
“Now listen here. I don’t know who you are, but you are barking up the wrong tree.”
“Do we look like we give a shit,” Hayden says, voice an octave lower, and angrier. “Hand me the computer, and even if you wiped it, we’ll get what’s on it.”
The man swallows loudly and moves to reach under his desk. “Listen…”
“No, you listen. You’re dead anyway, and if you press that emergency button, the police will arrive in time to find you killed and disemboweled.
So stop moving.” Hayden steps forward and holds his gloved hands out, wiggling his fingers when the guy doesn’t budge.
“I said give me the goddamn laptop, you ugly motherfucker.”
The man hands the laptop over with trembling hands.
“Ready?” Parker asks.
I tilt my head to look at him. “I’m not sure. What if he’s not a bad guy? What if it’s a misunderstanding?”
Hayden snorts. “Do you want to see what’s on his laptop? It’ll make you hurl up your intestines.”
Well. That’ll have to be good enough. Parker urges me on with a nod, so I take a step forward, and the guy looks at me in profound disbelief.
“This twink is gonna kill me? I mean, seriously, I deserve at least that one over there to kill me,” he says, nodding toward Dante.
“I’m not a twink. I’m almost six feet,” I argue pitifully.
I look back at Dante to find him pointing at himself, then glancing around. “Trust me, you really want him to kill you instead of me. I use my hands when I kill someone.”
Reid stares up at Dante with stars in his eyes.
I don’t think I’m made for this.
“Take the gun out,” Parker says quietly, voice level and making a shiver work its way through me. “Yeah, that’s it. Now turn off the safety, the button on the left. Good job.”
Everything calms under Parker’s gentle direction.
My mouth is dry and my fingers sweat in the leather gloves as I lift the gun to point it at the man’s chest. He still looks like he thinks this is an elaborate prank, which oddly makes me feel more resolute that I need to do this.
Not only to prove it to the guys, but to this despicable asshole who questions my ability to kill him just by my looks alone.
“Now,” Parker whispers against my ear, sending a rush of heat through me.
“Pull the trigger. There’s going to be blood, but at this position, most of it should scatter backwards.
When he falls to the ground, you’ll step around the desk and aim another shot at his head while he watches. You’re his killer, show him.”
And without a second thought, I pull the trigger, and the guy falls behind the desk just like Parker predicted. I turn my head to grin at Parker, heart racing in excitement instead of anxiety.
“I did it!” I whisper-shout.
Parker’s grin illuminates the dark room. “Yeah, now you get to finish it. Go on.”
I step around the desk, with Parker’s warmth close at my back.
The guy stares up at me, clutching his chest, wiggling as if squirming like a maggot on the ground can save him from his certain destiny.
There is an odd thrill to killing him, knowing he’s done such despicable things, they won’t even sully me with the knowledge.
And it’s an anxiety-riddled six-foot twink who’s going to end his life.
I aim the gun at his head and pull the trigger without a second thought. Some blood sprays up, so I urgently step back, bumping into Parker. His hand comes out to steady my elbow and my body lights up from that one touch. Oh. Parker pulls away like he’s burned me, a flush on his high cheekbones.
“Sorry, it was instinctual, I’m so sorry—”
“It’s okay,” I say, interrupting him, because it was okay. It’s fine.