Chapter Two, Worst Man Alive #2
Though I still stared down when Blue opened the case. Inside was a full lockpicking kit—tiny metal tools and tension rods that were all familiar for my work.
The sight of all of them made my pulse quicken just a bit.
“What, seriously?” Blue said, still making no moves to get off of me. “Why?”
“One hour.” That was the only answer she got. “If you fail, you stay. If you do it… then I guess someone in this room is going home tonight.” Then the woman just… walked out.
The door clicked shut, leaving me in a room that smelled like dirt, decay and… strawberries.
I could smell fucking strawberries. From the girl who slowly stepped away from me, fingers stumbling over the tools in the kit as she shot me a falsely confident grin.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, Brick. But seeing as I don’t want to stay here, I’m going to pretend to be a badass. So you be a good brick and stay still unless you have something useful to offer me.”
I stared at her hands as she slowly grabbed my arm, twisting it until she could see the cuff lock easier.
My brow twitched. I wanted to snap at her for touching me. I didn’t like being manhandled.
For some reason I just bit the inside of my cheek instead.
She nodded to herself. “Okay, I can do this. It’s easy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. All I gotta do it put the tip in, and this time the tip counts. Anything counts.”
My jaw tensed further, and I pushed back against the wall, trying to fight the urge to be an asshole just because I had the tiniest taste of potential freedom on the tip of my tongue and it was in the hands of someone who didn’t have a clue.
“Keep the pressure light.” I breathed, adding a few more tips and walking her through what she needed to do.
She exhaled and started. The metal was tiny, and she kept fumbling.
The picks slipped. She dropped one. Twice.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered, fumbling to grab it again.
“I’m gonna die because I watched the wrong YouTube videos.
Instead of seeing men build a pool in the middle of nowhere, I should’ve watched stuff about crime.
You know this isn’t the first time I’ve fucked up being a criminal? It’s a habit.”
I shifted, entire body tensing at the prospect of losing my chance at escape over her inability to listen to instructions. “Stop talking,” I ordered, conscious of the invisible ticking clock. “Focus.”
She gritted her teeth and tried again. Pin by pin. Until there was a soft click. Then another.
Then nothing.
Sweat slid down my back. The air was silent except for our breathing. Perhaps a little thrum of my thundering heart.
And just when I was about to give up, the final pin gave out, and the cuff sprang open.
“Ha!” She laughed as she stepped back, grinning from ear to ear. “Look at that! Turns out I’m amazing under pressure.”
The chain fell to the ground, and I lifted my arm, the weightlessness making me twitch.
I rolled my wrist and rubbed at the angry red marks, watching Blue celebrate her success as though it was important to her.
She was grinning, still riding the high of getting the cuff undone like we weren’t trapped in a dirt room under who-knew-what.
Her energy buzzed against the quiet, and for a second, I thought we might actually have a chance to get out because we’d won a game.
Then the steel door opened.
I didn’t need to look to know who it was. The shift in the air was enough. The bitch walked in without hurry; her footsteps dull against the packed ground. I saw the gun in her hand and made no move to jump her, even though she was smaller than me.
“Well done,” she said to Blue, ignoring me completely. “You did it with time to spare.”
The girl lit up like she’d just been handed a gold star. I wasn’t sure what she thought was happening, but the woman in the mask didn’t stop to explain. She took a step forward, reached into her coat, and pulled out a knife.
She held it out, handle first.
“Now kill him,” she said casually. “And you can go home.”
The words didn’t register right away. My brain caught on the edges of them, like they couldn’t possibly mean what they sounded like. I looked at Blue. She was still staring at the knife.
I stayed perfectly still, waiting, trying to work out whether I needed to fight or run or try to talk her down. My chances didn’t look great either way.
Blue glanced at the blade, then at me, then finally stepped forward and picked it up. Not gently. Like it offended her even to touch it.
She turned it once in her hand, testing the weight. Not with any real urgency—just enough to make it look like she was considering it. Then she looked back at me again. Her mouth curled into the faintest smirk.
“Do I get extra points if I do it with flair?” she asked. “Or if I carve his face off gently so you can keep it as a trophy?”
Our captor didn’t answer. Neither did I.
“Didn’t think so,” Blue muttered. She let the knife drop. The sound echoed. “I’m not killing him. I don’t murder people for fun, least of all a stranger. If you want Brick dead, then you’re gonna have to do it. I’m not playing this weird little game of yours.”
It happened fast. My tormentor moved in one sharp step and drove the side of her gun against Blue’s head.
The girl crumpled instantly, collapsing in a heap beside me with her arms twisted underneath her.
Her head narrowly missed the floor, and only because I acted on instinct and grabbed her.
Easing her gently to the ground instead.
“What was that for?” My voice was rough as I slowly stood upright again once I was sure she was lying down properly.
The woman looked at me, yanking her mask off.
I was greeted with her black eyes, cruel smile, and pale skin that made her look like a demon or something.
She looked the same as she had on our fake date, only less inclined to pretend she was normal and hadn’t snuck off during the first course, so she could eat out the pretty bartender for fun.
“You can go now, Dominic. Your contract is over.” She didn’t answer my question. Not that she usually did.
I narrowed my eyes, not moving an inch. Her eyes rolled, and she stepped closer to me, fingers twitching on the trigger. “I’m not a patient woman at the moment; if you stay longer, I’ll put a bullet in your empty head.”
I glanced down at Blue, then back up again. “Why?”
“Because killing is fun?” She cocked her head, a tumble of dark hair falling over her shoulder.
“No, why is my contract over? I’m not dead.”
“Oh,” she snorted, “your dad died. Someone burned his house down and turned him into charcoal. He had too much of an attitude and seemed to think he could talk to a lady like garbage. Now he’s a corpse, so I’m no longer getting paid and well…
” She waved around the space, “It’s rather boring here.
I’m tired of being in this dungeon. Plus, I’ve been paid for a better job.
One that lets me get revenge, and be all sorts of petty.
” She laughed loudly enough to make me flinch.
“All of that is more fun than playing games with you. You’re not a very good sport. ”
She stepped back and gestured toward the door. Her hand flicked once, impatiently, like she was already done with me.
I started forward slowly, keeping my face toward her. My wrist still ached, and the air felt heavier than it had a moment ago. I didn’t trust her not to change her mind. Didn’t trust that this wasn’t another game.
The dirt ended just past the doorway. Then the floor turned to concrete, and the walls closed in around me a little more.
The place was plain, with nothing in it but cold air and the faint smell of metal.
There was a set of stairs at the far end, leading up to the outside.
A thing I only remembered because it was the same way she’d dragged my almost comatose form all those weeks ago.
I kept my eyes on her as I crossed the room. She followed a few steps, then stopped, resting in the doorway like she meant to see how far I’d get. I could see past her to Blue, who was still on the ground, unmoving.
At the stairs, I hesitated. My chest tightened, waiting for her to speak, to call me back, to decide she wanted one more round of whatever this had been. But she stayed still.
I placed a foot on the first step, then the next. I climbed without breaking eye contact. When the wall finally rose between us, I let my gaze drop and kept moving.
Then she spoke.
“She spared you.” She called out. “This bundle of rainbow saved your life, and you’re going to leave her here without a single attempt to barter for her life?”
I tasted copper on my tongue as I shrugged. The bitch was smiling. But it was the same smile she wore when she was going to cut lines into my skin for fun.
“Maybe that’s why your own daddy wanted you dead. You’re a shitty human, Dominic.” She clicked her tongue.
I laughed, hand clenching on the railing. “What does that make you?”
“A monster.” She spat. “But at least I have loyalty. At least I would go through fire to save people who cared enough to save me.”
“Guess you’re better than I am.” I spat right back.
I finally turned my back, hurrying up the steps to freedom until I could touch the thick wooden door that was the best thing I’d seen in years.
“Her name is Heaven.” Poison laced words were shouted at my back. “I hope you remember that every night when you sleep. I hope you know you’re the one responsible for her dying all alone in a dirty dungeon.”
My hand remained on the wood. Palm flat. Pulse racing. For a single moment I stopped walking. Stopped opening the door, and tasting fresh and free air on my tongue.
My head turned, heart pounding loud enough to drown out my own thoughts.
Lips parting, breath harsh, I whispered, “Sorry, Heaven. I’m sure your men will come. They can play hero, but I’m not a hero.”
Then I shoved the door open and headed off into the too bright day, knowing without a doubt that I was the worst man alive.
That I had always been nothing, and always would be.