Chapter 5
“Malic.” Wilder's voice barely punctures through the euphoric fog taking over my brain. I swear, everything slows down, taking my manic thoughts with it.
Who would have guessed that I’d find the love of my life sitting in a bar? Certainly not me. Or Wilder. Judging by the way he’s looking at me with twisted brows and lips, like he can’t wrap his peanut brain around the fact that I had sex in the bathroom. Or sex at all.
The memory of her eyes on mine finally after so long, has my dick rising again. Down, boy. We’ll have her again. It’s not like she can run from me. Ever again.
I scratch my chin. Fuck. Was my flirting okay? I’ve never done that before. Never had any sort of interest. In anyone. Ever.
It was always her.
My one and only obsession.
My little ghost.
I smile more, watching her through the door. Or, I would if I could see her. I know she's there, though, like an invisible tether running from my chest to hers.
She's mine.
“Your smile is fucking terrifying. Are we setting someone on fire?”
I whip my gaze to Wilder, who stares at me expectantly like he’s spoken words and I’ve gotten too lost in my thoughts.
I mean, setting someone on fire would be most enjoyable.
Hearing their screams and smelling the flesh burn as it drops from their bones.
Ah, it’s good times, especially if they deserved it.
Actually, that gives me ideas. Whoever harmed Meredith will meet a grisly end. Not only will I drill holes throughout their bodies, but I’ll light them on fire from the inside out.
But no. This smile is all for her. Olivia. My little ghost. She unknowingly signed our marriage license the moment my dick entered its home. And to think, if I hadn’t seen a lonely girl at the bar who looked vaguely familiar, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.
But it was the scent of her hair that pulled me in, reminding me of all the nights I watched from afar.
.. And then got close enough to touch her while she slept.
If her father thought the bars on her windows would keep her inside.
Well, he was wrong. It also didn’t stop me from crawling through her window and watching as she descended into dreamland.
Her scent engulfed me in her presence. Even now.
I had my doubts as I crept along the bar, watching her closely as she stared at her drink. Then I saw them. The scars lining her throat. An injury that should have taken her from this world.
But it didn’t.
Because she’s stronger than she gives herself credit for.
And now she’s back, haunting me all over again. For five years, I’ve waited and waited for her return. Who can truly walk away without getting vengeance against the ones who did them wrong?
No one.
I knew she’d be back. But I didn’t know she’d haunt me so soon.
“You're not paying attention to anything I'm saying,” Wilder grunts, waving his hand in front of my face. “Pay attention, Mal. We're here for a reason.”
Right. A reason.
My brows furrow until I find my boxers and pants bunched up in the corner of the bathroom and pull them on.
“I am.” I grin, zipping up my pants. It's bad etiquette to let your dick hang free in the middle of a conversation. Even though he barged in on my personal time. I think her juices are still clinging to my cock.
I'm never washing him again. Not until I get my hands on her again.
Wait a damn minute. Her words from our conversation ring through my mind.
“She said she's leaving. How am I supposed to find her again if she's leaving?” I growl, gritting my teeth, momentarily forgetting what I planted on her.
A tracker.
Something that will help me watch her every move from afar. I’ve waited patiently for her to return. Now, my little ghost won’t be able to slip between my fingers again.
My shoulders ease. Only slightly. Wilder, who wants to lose a hand, stops my movements. I jerk back from his hold, glaring daggers. He sighs and puts his hands up in surrender.
“Mal!” he barks out, looking me up and down. “Focus! And…” He pales slightly, taking in my wild hair and wrinkled clothes like what I did finally caught up to him. “You actually did it, didn't you? Holy shit. You… And her… and…” His head whips back and forth with his lips popped open.
Honestly, I thought my dick hanging out would have been his first clue. Or maybe the satisfaction on my little ghost’s face when she rushed out of here. Or maybe even the stench of sex. Isn’t that all a huge red flag waving in his face?
He’s really losing his edge.
“Careful, you might give yourself whiplash. Do you want all the sordid details, Wild?” I grin again, but it melts from my face. “On second thought, no details.” I can't have him poking around in my newly awakened sex life.
But only with her.
“Mal. You…”
“Gave it up?”
“But…” Wilder shakes his head. He knows all too well that I've never done the deed.
I barely tolerate being touched. As to why now?
Well, that's my little secret. “I thought you were…” Asexual.
Had no interest in either gender? Well, think again.
That's what he thought for all these years we’ve been buddies.
I've never looked at anyone with sexual interest.
Except her.
“Moving on…” I say, waving a hand. My keeper can't stop looking at me like I'm some sort of anomaly standing before him. His lips flap open and closed, but no words come out. Huh. I've finally accomplished shutting him up. Interesting. He always has something to say. Even when we were broody teenagers, coming together because of our boss. We didn’t start off as friends, but now he’s my best—maybe only—friend. We’ve worked hard together, running errands and jobs for the boss man.
“Boys,” Boss Man says when we enter his office. His dark, lifeless brown eyes sparkle with a knowing glint and his mouth tilts into a pride-filled grin as he leans back in his leather chair behind his desk.
“Sir,” Wilder says, tightening his shoulders.
He’s still new in these parts and hasn’t quite figured out how to react when the boss man stares him up and down with a hardened expression. Gone is the smile and the pride. Now, he wants the information.
“The job is done,” I say cooly, shoving my hands in my pockets with a grin.
I feel Wilder’s gaze on the side of my face.
Did we fuck up the mission? Oh, yes we did. But we rectified that mistake by taking out some witnesses. Wilder had a little panic attack, and I had fun digging holes. It was like throwing potatoes into a barrel. Easy peasy.
And the best part?
No one will ever know.
“I’d love to know about the three bodies you buried.” Boss Man leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers expectantly.
Well, then. I take that back. He did find out. Now, which one of his goons followed us like a babysitter? I bet it was that fucker Chris. Or Curtis. Or Cunt. Whatever his name is, he’s on my shit list.
My eyes dart to the smug asshole in question standing in the corner of the room.
I was right. It was Chris the Cunt. I grin, envisioning his death at my hands.
I’ll take him to my playground; AKA the basement of the gym we help clean for the boss man.
The very place I’m allowed to live out my wildest dreams. Cutting off ears and noses and making our victims scream and blab about the bad things they’ve done.
Oh, the joy it brings me.
“They were witnesses,” Wilder says, shaking his head. “We didn’t have a choice.”
We really did. We could have opted to walk away.
Or just scramble their brains. Wilder voted for that.
I, on the other hand, voted for mayhem. Oh, and lots of death.
Besides, we couldn’t have three people walking this earth knowing we sold weapons to our newest allies.
Nope. That’s on the hush, hush. Boss Man thinks we need to keep all our allies a secret.
I concur. But it’s nice to see Wilder having my back.
He’s not too bad, after all.
“They had to die,” I say proudly, smiling at him again.
“Dude,” Wilder breathes with disappointment.
“No, I want to hear this,” Boss Man says, getting to his feet with a stern expression. Even if he buries me in the backyard for my murderous plots, this was all worth it. I only feel bad for Wilder. Poor guy. He doesn’t deserve all that.
“They were witnesses to our crimes. They could have exposed our newest alliance with…” I lean in a little further toward him. “You know who,” I whisper.
“Ah, yes,” Boss Man nods a few times. “That wasn’t mentioned.” His eyes cut to Chris the Cunt, giving him a scathing look.
“You told me to…” Chris explodes. No, literally. Blood splatters everywhere, leaving him an empty shell of a human bleeding on the floor.
“Fuck,” Wilder hisses, gagging and turning away.
Me? Well, I watch as the life drains from Chris the Cunt’s body, grinning as Boss Man tucks his gun into his jacket with a sigh.
“Let’s have dinner and the both of you can go over every detail of what happened. Including the parts he so helpfully left out.” He gestures to the motionless body on the ground, sitting in a pool of blood.
Beautiful.
“What did Nick have to say?” I gesture to the blood lining Wilder's knuckles. He's never afraid to get bloody and dirty for the ones he loves. Like my sister. Me. And our family we've created.
Wilder licks his lips. “He didn't say shit. But I did get this.” He holds up a memory stick, twirling it between his fingers in victory. “Surveillance video from that night.” Well, that's a new lead. They haven't been very forthcoming whenever we've sniffed around.
I guess violence really is the answer to our problems. Next time, I'll burn this bar to the ground with Nick and whoever else is in here tied to the bar.
Alive. Screaming. Begging for me to stop. Oh and there goes my dick. Getting hard and ready to go again at the thought of destruction and death. This is new…