Chapter Seven
Damon
I look down at my phone and confirm that this is the correct address. The brown brick building is situated on a busy street. This job is going to be tricky. I don’t do jobs on my own often, but I needed to do something today. Everyone else is busy, well I guess I wouldn’t count Matteo busy with work. He fucks off way too much. The boys may think I’m a hard ass, but I just want to make sure we are on the same page. Too much is at stake for us to make one mess up and get caught.
I look back at the building and see a man in the window. He has no idea what is about to happen to him. I spot the street cameras and decide my path to the building. I’ll wait until it’s darker, but getting inside while he is gone may be my only advantage. I’ll have to take my time. I watch him fold his tie around his neck and look at himself in the mirror. Disgust hits me like a bus. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I plan on killing him or the fact that he gets this kind of life. I never had a chance.
I don’t get jealous, but once in a while I'll sulk. I’ve
never learned how to knot a tie, but that doesn’t matter. I knew I wouldn’t have the luxury of knowing all the little things parents should teach their kids. I never had parents. They were drug addicts and left me in a roach-infested home and never came back. I was five when I was placed in my first foster placement.
I’d like to blame my upbringing for not having any empathy for people, but maybe that is just who I was wired to be. I don’t feel sorry or remorse for killing these scumbags. They all deserve it, and I try to keep the innocent killings to a minimum, but sometimes there is collateral. I can’t have people seeing me and going to the police. When we kill, we wear our reaper masks to keep our identity hidden.
I thought it was a stupid idea to go around in skull masks, but It gave us our name. We are known as the Reaper boys now and it’s fitting. When we come to collect, we take your life instead of your soul. Most of the people we kill don’t have a soul to begin with.
The target walks out the front door and gets into his BMW. I wait for him to drive off before walking down the street and crossing at the crosswalk like any normal person would. My black hood is up to hide my face, and I walk with my head down. I dip into the alley to the side of the building, surveying the perimeter and looking for any windows or side doors.
I hear a woman talking and I duck down. She has her phone on speaker and she is talking to a woman about the crazy night she had with the doctor. I pocket that information and wait for her to move away from the window. I spot a small window that must lead to the basement. It opens with ease when I push on it.
“Stupid fuck,” I whisper. You always lock every window, regardless of where it leads. I shimmy inside and look around to get my surroundings. Making sure I didn’t move anything, I closed the window. I look around in the dark and find the stairs. What would be the odds that this door is unlocked too? I place my gloved hand on the handle and slowly twist it. Before opening it, I listen for the woman I saw earlier. She should hopefully still be upstairs .
I push the door open a crack and then hear the jingling of keys. The alarm for the front door goes off and then there are clicks. I hurry to close the door.
“Tara, I forgot my office papers. Are you still here?” the man yells. The footsteps on the stairs become louder and she sounds closer.
“Yeah, I was about to head out in a minute. Robert called so I have to head home before he gets suspicious.”
“I’ll walk you out. Wouldn’t want our fun to end,” the man says seductively. I almost push the door open and kill them both. Before opening the door, I wait until I hear the alarm set again. This man is a stupid fuck to have an alarm system and not have any of the basement windows linked to it. What's the point of an alarm system if you’re going to ignore the best place to break in?
“Alright let's see who you are,” I whisper as I walk through the living room. This place is surprisingly cozy for a so-called doctor. I don’t see any family pictures on the tables or walls. This place is something staged straight out of a magazine. There has to be something here. I walk from room to room, surveying all the windows and making sure to stay out of sight. I’m not sure if the cameras outside will pick me up, but it’s better to err on caution.
I walk up the stairs and remember each stair that creaks and the best placement to step. The best part about being able to get inside before killing is planning your chase. I think that may be my favorite part. We are considered predators for a reason, and I sure do love to play with my prey. I walk into the bedroom and the bed is ruffled. It’s the first sign that someone lives here. I rummage through the oversized closet and find nothing .
I follow down the hallway to the other door that opens into an office. There are actual personal belongings in this room. I don’t see why he needs an office here if he works somewhere else. I walk around the room and note the pictures hanging up. This man looks like a douchebag. Of course, he’s a doctor. The wall behind his desk has all of his certificates and diplomas hung perfectly.
“ Dr. Adam Epson,” I read from the diploma. “A
psychiatrist? Well, Doc your mind is going to get fucked up after I’m done with you.” I reach for the drawer on the desk, but my burner phone rings. I look down and see Sawyer’s name.
“ What?” I answer.
“Matteo needs our help,” Sawyer says. His tone is serious.
“ What now?” I sigh.
“He got arrested for a bar fight,” Sawyer says hesitantly.
“For fucks sake, did I not say to not get caught?” I grumble. “I’ll be there in a minute,” I hang up before Sawyer can say anything else. I close the drawer and look back at the diploma hanging on the wall.
“I guess our fun will have to wait Doc.” I head back downstairs and leave the way I came in. Making sure there isn’t anything out of place to show that someone has been through the window. I use my other phone to send a message to the number who hired me for this job.
Job delayed. Will
confirm when done.
You're not getting the other half
until the job is done. Remember
to get evidence of the affair. If I
find out you're fucking this up,
you'll regret it!
Before saying something that will make us lose thousands of dollars, I close my phone. If only this fuck knew who he was talking to, then he would think twice before threatening me. Matteo better of had a good fucking excuse for getting caught.
Sawyer is already waiting for me when I get back to the motel. His laptop is sitting open on the bed and I want to know if he found anything, but it will have to wait.
“Let’s go,” I say sternly. We get into the run-down civic we fixed up when we started staying here. I don’t think Ryker’s father even knows that it was on the property.
“Where were you?” Sawyer asks. I look over at him and then back to the road.
“I was working.”
“ By yourself? Did you finish it?”
I pull into a parking spot across from the police station. Sawyer’s hazel eyes meet mine. I’m the closest to him and for some reason my body has a stupid fucking soft spot for him. I don’t know if it's because he was the first person to not fear me after I lost Sarah or because he is as fucked up in the head as I am. We are truly brothers regardless of our blood. Our brand is proof of that.
“No, I have to go back later to finish it.” I turn the car off and look at the police station. “If this goes well,” I add. I don’t understand how he got caught .
“How did you know he got arrested?” I ask Sawyer. I don’t think Matteo would be dumb enough to call one of us from jail.
“ Mr. Sullivan,” Sawyer says. I don’t think he knows
what his grandson does, but for some reason, he is always there for Matteo. He is all Matteo has of blood relatives. He doesn’t talk about his family much, but his dad was a scum and I only hope he is still alive so Matteo can do the honor of killing him for what he had done to his mother.
I usually don’t give a shit about the backstories of
people, but we all have become close and know each other like we are blood brothers. I think the only one of us who has normal parents is Ryker. He is still odd to me. I don’t know why he wants to help our cause but to each their own.
Sawyer and I walk inside and ask for the information on Matteo. The officer pulls up his charges and I have to try to hide my smirk after realizing the damage he has done.
“ I’d like to pay the bail,” I say. She types into the
computer and I hand over the money. Moments later Matteo is being walked into the waiting area. He smirks when he sees us both. If we weren’t in a police station, I’d kick his ass right here.
“ Let’s go,” I sigh.
We get into the car and Matteo is the first one to talk. “How did you know I got arrested?”
“Your grandfather,” Sawyer answers.
“I told you not to get caught. What the fuck Matteo,” I raise my voice.
“ It's not like I planned on getting caught. I left before
the cops got there, but the bartender had me on camera. I guess he knew me or something because before I knew it the cops were at my grandfather’s house,” Matteo shrugs.
“What were you even doing? You almost killed one of them,” Sawyer asks.
M atteo chuckles. “They deserved it.”
“ Regardless of if they did or not. You know the
precautions to take if you plan to do something. You're stupid if you didn’t check for cameras first,” I say furiously.
“I didn’t think okay. I saw them roofie a girl's drink and couldn’t sit by. It won’t happen again, Damon. I know how important our work is.” Matteo looks at me from the back seat. I nod once in recognition. If what he says is true, I would have done the same thing, but I would have succeeded and killed at least one of them.
“You just cost us a thousand dollars,” I say.
“I’ll do a job and make it back,” Matteo offers.
“ I may need both of you for my next job. Care for
killing a doctor?” I ask. Their smiles are answer enough. Dr. Adam Epson, we’re coming for you.