21. Verena
21
VERENA
My heart beats erratically at Grimm’s words. The feeling he gives me is unmatched, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Towards anyone, including the man we’re about to–dare I say–grind up.
The shock of Leo’s death has lessened but my anxiety still runs rampant at the possibility of getting caught. My life would be fucking over. All of my plans to make sure the world remembered Ronnie, to make sure I made a name for myself instead of solely being known as my parents’ child. Can’t do that stuck in a 4x4 jail cell.
Grimm leads us down a dark hallway and I know right then, we’re not going back to the room we were in last night. He senses my hesitation and stops. I don’t notice until it’s too late and bump into his chest. When did he even turn around?
“You can wait here if it’s too much. I’ll be quick.” He whispers as his hand reaches for mine. Our fingers intertwine naturally and the warmth of his skin on mine sends chills down my spine. I shake my head in defiance and speak, “We’re in this together. Forever and always.”
The side of his mouth tips up into a grin and a dimple makes itself known. Oh boy, I am in trouble. There isn’t a single thing wrong with this man. Grimm is a character. Funny, caring, unapologetically un-fucking-hinged, and committed. He doesn’t go back on his word and I’m certain he won’t stop at literally anything to make sure I’m happy, healthy, and safe.
He will either make me the happiest woman in the world or ruin my fucking life.
Walking hand in hand, we reach a metal door at the end of the hall and he pulls out a key to unlock the door. We walk in and immediately I’m retching at the smell that floats throughout the room. “Grimm, what the fuck is that smell?!” I ask, my hand covering my nose and mouth, my eyes wide with shock.
“That is Mr. Dipshit in the flesh! I had someone come and hack his body into smaller bits to cut the job in half for us, well me.” He shrugs. How is he talking so nonchalantly about hacked up body parts! My blood runs cold at the mention of someone else seeing and touching Leo’s dead body.
Someone has proof that Leo is dead. Someone knows and if they spoke to Grimm, they know he was involved. How could he be so careless? He told me he’d protect me! In my rising anxiety, I snap. “Grimm! You told me no one would ever know. What the fuck?”
He raises his head to look at me and stares into my eyes blankly. He’s looking at me like I’m the crazy one. I know I split a man in two with a machete but I didn’t hire someone to chop up what was left of him like an onion.
“C’mon, V. This is your third year at Blackwell. You know about the society. I have people who answer to me and once I graduate, I’ll pretty much be untouchable. Same thing goes for my lady.” I blush at his last statement and he notices, another smirk making an appearance and bringing out his dimple right along with it. “Also, my dad is head chief of police. He knows all about it, knows I’m in it. We. Are. Golden. Trust me, please.”
There’s been plenty of rumors circulating about the Red Skull Brotherhood. They’ve been referred to as trained killers and assassins, and it’s said they do the dirty work for higher ups at the university. Last week, there was a group of girls in the bathroom talking about the RSB and how to find out if the rumors were true. They wanted their pick at a man who would protect them from all the suspicious happenings on campus.
Students were going missing and they weren’t taking any chances. Shouldn’t I be ecstatic that I have Grimm in my corner? He has made it crystal clear he’d do quite literally anything I request of him, no matter how unreasonable. Either way, it's not easy to let my walls down when I’m looking at the scattered pieces of the man who shattered everything within me.
How long would it be until someone realizes Leo is missing?
If Grimm wants me to trust him completely, he’ll answer my questions without hesitation. Right?
He gathers Leo’s body parts and piles them by the meat grinder. He digs into a bag and pulls out two face coverings and slides one over each of our faces. Grabbing a plastic bag, he fluffs it out and hands it to me. “Keep this spread open under the mouth of the grinder. Shit can get a little messy.”
I do as he says and waste no more time. “If you want me to stop questioning your motives I need you to answer some questions I have.”
He nods, “Go ahead. Ask away. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, little monster.”
Holding up a finger telling me to hold my thoughts for a moment, Grimm picks up Leo’s disfigured hand and throws it into the grinder. His flesh and bones crackle through the machine, the sound traumatizing me indefinitely. How the fuck does he sleep at night?
Once every bit makes it through the grinder, he drops his finger, signaling for me to continue with my interrogation.
“Who runs the RSB?”
“Emmett’s dad.”
My mouth drops. “The dean runs the secret society? I guess it makes sense, but what does he have you guys do?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. He’s a businessman and dabbles in some illegal shit. He has enemies like the rest of us. A guy like him doesn’t have the time to take care of everything himself and that’s where we come in. He needs money, we get it for him. Weapons? We do the pickup. Drugs? Us, again. It also helps separate his identity from cult leader to university dean.” He ends with a chuckle.
“If you think it’s a cult, why are you in it?” I ask.
“I’d like to say I had no other choice but that’d be a lie. I never knew what I was going to do with my life. I didn’t have goals or ambitions. I liked to party. I liked to get high. I liked to fuck. The only other thing I was good at was intimidating people. I’m big as fuck. One look at me and both men and women are quivering in their boots, V. The society made my life simple. It gave me purpose and the opportunity to explore doing something I was actually good at. Books and tests weren’t for me.” He shrugs.
“How are you enrolled into the university then? Do you not go to classes? What do you major in? How has no one said anything to you about it before?” I spit out, not getting the answers fast enough.
He repeats the process of grinding another chunk of Leo’s body before responding to me.
“The university doesn’t question me for two reasons. Emmett’s father and mine. I’m the son of the chief of police, there’s a lot I can get away with scot-free and I do, but I promise I’m not a spoiled asshole. But if I do get caught up with the law one day, I’ll have automatic immunity because of the connections I hold and the men I work for. When I graduate I’ll have a liberal arts degree in communications. With that, I’d have the qualifications to be the university’s human resource specialist.”
Grimm has not hesitated after a single question. Is he just a really good liar?
Well there’s another option, Negative Nancy. Maybe Grimm is telling the truth.
In my silence, he’s moved on to grind up a few more chunks of Leo’s body. The first plastic bag fills quickly and when it does, he ties it up and tosses it against the wall, then hands me another one.
As I fluff out the bag, I continue my inquisition. “So, what would you do as the school’s human resource specialist?”
Grimm halts in his movements and looks at me. His body relaxes as he breaks out into a laugh, “Fuck if I know, V!” He’s practically doubled over, his eyes crinkling above his face mask. Gaining his composure back, he continues, “I’d continue my work in the Brotherhood. The job will be filled with a stand-in, but if it’s easier and less expensive to forge paperwork, that’s another option. Usually, the men of the society are majoring in fields that will lead them to more specific paths. Things like finance, marketing, technology, and so on. I told you, I never had goals. I never knew what I wanted to do with my life. I just wanted to be a part of something that I was good at and enjoyed. Since our dads have known each other forever and Emmett and I are practically brothers, he worked something out for me. I can’t do much but be thankful for the opportunity.”
Soon the second bag fills up and we fall into the routine of sealing the bag. Tie, toss, new bag, fluff.
I’m processing everything Grimm shared with me, but he wasn’t done there. “But I’m not always killing people. Like I said, my size is intimidating. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Plus, most assignments are done in groups so I’m always with one of the guys. Emmett is usually my partner in crime but he’s been pretty occupied with Blair lately so I’ve been cozying up with Eli.” He smirks.
Nodding my head, I start to put all of the pieces together. They sit nicely and begin to make sense, the connections forming a web in my brain. A thought settles in my mind and the lead feeling in my stomach dissipates. I really am in the clear.
We finish filling up the last bag and secure it with a double knot. “I’ll have someone take care of those. You don’t have to think about this asshole ever again, V. He’s gone. For good. You’re free.”
Free. I thought “free” was impossible. I thought the only way to be “free” was to be dead. If Grimm hadn’t stepped in when he did, my death would have been the one covered up.
But no, that’s not the case.
I’m free.