Chapter 10 Seven
CHAPTER TEN
SEVEN
I watch Grace from where I’m seated in my office, playing our lunch hour over and over in my mind. She touched me—actually touched me—and I’ve never felt anything more divine than her hand in mine.
Then I recall the man who bumped into her, and anger replaces the lust thrumming through my veins. He ruined my beautiful girl’s blouse. Her favorite blouse.
I might have let him live if he had given Grace a heartfelt apology like I demanded, but I couldn’t let his rudeness stand. He made my Grace uncomfortable, and for that, he had to die.
As soon as I saw the bastard get up to use the restroom, I excused myself from the table and found my way into the supply closet, grabbing a bottle of drain cleaner and slipping into the bathroom before anyone noticed me.
Once I was inside, it was a simple matter of incapacitating the man and pouring the chemical down his throat.
After force-feeding him, I knocked him out cold, leaving him on the floor of the handicap stall while I went back to Grace.
I was hoping he’d be out long enough to bleed out internally, but unfortunately, the asshole got himself together just as we were leaving the deli.
He almost ran into her again, but luckily, I was able to save her in time.
If I hadn’t, I would have had to slit the man’s throat right there and then, which would definitely blow my cover.
I didn’t read the hefty employee manual the company gave me, but I’m sure there’s some policy in there against COO’s going around killing people.
“That was nice,” Grace says as she steps through the doors into the main lobby of LoveBytten. “Thank you again for lunch. And for, you know. Standing up for me.” Her face heats ever so slightly as she says the last part, and my chest warms with pride.
“It was no trouble.” I want to tell her that the man who accosted her is likely dead or screaming in agony at this moment, but I don’t know how well that will go over, so I settle on giving her a smile. “I would be more than happy to pay to have your blouse cleaned.”
“Oh no! That’s so not necessary.” Her blush deepens. “It’s a stupid shirt. I’ll just buy a new one.”
“But it’s your favorite.”
She breathes a laugh. “You heard that part, huh?”
I nod, reaching past her and pressing the button to call the elevator. “I listen to everything you say, Grace.”
She turns away at that, biting her lip as the heat staining her cheeks spreads to her chest. “Elevator’s here.”
There’s a loud ding, and the silver doors slide open. Eloise steps into the lift, shifting to the side to make room for me. “Coming?”
I’m about to follow her when my phone buzzes, calling my attention away. I check the message on the screen, gritting my teeth as a flash of anger lights my veins.
My face twists in apology as I step back off the elevator. “I have to make a call. I’ll see you up there in a few minutes.”
“Oh. Okay.” She gives me a brilliant smile, waving as the doors shut—and it takes some of the sting out of what I must do next.
I gaze down at my phone again, my anger growing as I re-read the text from Dorian.
Dorian
Text me back, Seven. I know you’re getting my messages.
Don’t be a dick.
Dorian is the head Disposer at the Sanctum and a royal pain in my ass—always sending me on useless cleanup jobs and wasting my time. But he’s also my boss and could get me in real trouble with the Sanctum if I continue blowing off his texts. With a snarl, I go to type out a message.
Me
What do you want?
Dorian
Hallelujah. He lives.
I have a job for you.
Me
Fuck you. I’m busy.
Get someone else to do it.
Dorian
No can do. Everyone else is busy getting ready for Seraphina’s wedding or off on other jobs. I need you to do it.
Me
If I say no?
Dorian
Don’t. You’ve ignored your duties for the past week. Fucking suck it up and do what you do best—dispose.
Me
That’s cute.
Not.
Dorian
You’re just a grump. It was funny.
Me
Whatever helps you sleep.
Dorian
So are you gonna do the job?
Me
Fine. Give me the details.
Dorian
Good boy.
Reapers took out an X dealer and his friends while they were attempting a confiscation. The bodies are located in a warehouse on the corner of Cavern and Fosterwood street.
Me
I’ll take care of it.
Oh, and Dorian?
Dorian
Yes?
Me
If you call me a “good boy” ever again, I’ll slit your throat.
Dorian
So testy.
Message received. Only “bad boys” from now on.
I snort, shoving my phone into my pocket as I turn and exit the building. Fucking Dorian.
After loading up my Sanctum allotted “disposal” van, I head to the address Dorian sent me, hoping that the job is a small one so I can get back to my favorite hobby—stalking Grace.
My GPS takes me to an abandoned factory warehouse on the outskirts of the city limits, miles away from any signs of life or civilization.
The main entrance has been boarded up, and there are no windows to speak of—though, someone has been nice enough to cut a human-sized hole through the wall at the back of the building.
Lovely.
Being careful not to snag my clothing on the jagged metal, I climb through the opening into the darkened warehouse.
The smell of cat piss and decay settles around me in a thick cloud, burning my throat every time I take a breath and turning my stomach.
The only positive thing is it's too dark in here to see the bodies, but soon, I won’t be able to escape even that.
“Fucking fantastic,” I grumble, reaching through the hole to grab my kit. “I love my job. It’s just the best.”
“Talking to yourself now, are you? That’s encouraging to see.”
“Tits on a stick!” I whip around, dropping my kit to the ground in my haste. As soon as it hits the concrete, the latch pops open, and dozens of different tools and hardware go clattering into the dark. “Fuck, Viktor! Look what you’ve done!”
There’s a click, and a few overhead lights sputter to life, illuminating Viktor’s bulky form standing in the center of the room, his arms crossed and jaw ticking. His eyes move to the floor, briefly taking in my scattered tools before settling on my face.
“It’s not my fault you’ve gotten lazy and clumsy.”
“Lazy and clumsy?”
“And oblivious.”
My mouth falls open. “Oblivious?”
“Just sharing my observations.”
“You were sitting in the pitch black next to a couple of corpses waiting to scare me! How am I the one getting shit on?”
Viktor scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t even know you were working this job.”
“So you were just sitting in the dark with shit-scented corpses for no reason? That’s even worse!”
Viktor waves me off, turning to rifle through his aged case for a particular tool. “Don’t be so dramatic. I work best in the dark. Look—half the job is already done.”
Sure enough, when I glance over his shoulder, I notice six of the fifteen or so bodies have been dismembered, each body part individually wrapped in a black plastic baggie and duct tape.
Wait… fifteen? I count the bloody bodies one more time to make sure, and let out a low curse.
“Something wrong?” Viktor asks without turning.
“I was just hoping this would be over with quickly. What the hell happened here? It’s a fucking bloodbath.”
He crouches with his bone saw and positions the blade at the shoulder of a partially-dismembered man.
“That new drug that’s been popping up all over the city.
Butterfly Dust. Ezra found out it was being made here.
He took a group of Reapers in to take care of the problem.
” He gestures around the room. “Now you’re all caught up to speed. Pick up a damn saw and get to work.”
“Fine.” I grab a bone saw off the floor. “It’s good to help your elders, after all.”
“I am not old!”
“Whatever you say, gramps.” I turn my back to Viktor, kneeling and getting to work on the first body I see. He grumbles something under his breath, but I don’t care enough to figure out what it is.
The two of us work in silence for some time, neither of us willing to be the first to break the ice. I know Viktor is still pissed with me for last night, and while I want to blame him, I can’t.
Viktor is like a father to me. He basically raised me, took care of me when no one in the Sanctum wanted anything to do with me. Now, he’s in the same position I was. He’s grown older, and some people have even begun to view him as irrelevant—which is a mistake.
I’m one of the few people who know the full truth of Viktor’s story. If anyone knew who he really was, what he was truly capable of, they would never underestimate him.
I gaze at Viktor out of the corner of my eye, my chest clenching with guilt. I shouldn’t give the old man so much shit. He’s only looking out for me. Worried for my safety.
He always has been.
Viktor used to be the head instructor of Disposers-in-training, and though everyone looked down on me and bullied me, Viktor saw something special in me.
He always stood up for me, always had my back, no matter what.
We were close for a long time, but then I graduated from the Disposer program and began working full-time for the Sanctum, and I just…
didn’t have the time for anything. The truly sad part is that Viktor and I drifted apart because we rarely got to see each other—and now, here we are.
Distant strangers that used to be family.
A pair of unwilling coworkers trying not to rip each other’s throat out.
It’s sad, but not unexpected. Especially with everything we had to give up to survive—like our humanity.
I sigh, focusing on my work instead of tragic memories. The past is the past, and nothing will ever change it. I just have to keep moving forward, hoping my next step doesn’t drag me into a pit I can never escape from.
The cleanup takes all afternoon, and I never make it back to work at LoveBytten.
Late in the evening, I part ways with Viktor and head back to my secret apartment next to Grace’s, eager to take a shower, wash the grime of the job off my body, and check my cameras. Though, probably not in that order.
As soon as I open the door, I rush to the bedroom, standing an inch from the center TV monitor.
My eyes take in Grace’s sleeping form hungrily, my head getting woozy from all the blood rushing to my cock.
Reluctantly, I pull away from the screen and hop into the shower, cleaning my body three times before I’m sure all of the gunk is off my skin.
With a satisfied sigh, I wrap a towel around my waist and head back into the bedroom, excited to sit in bed, relax, and watch Grace until I fall asleep.
Just like before, I walk up to the center screen, scouring the feed for my little obsession.
Only, she’s not there. Not anywhere in her apartment at all.
My heart stops, an icy chill working its way down my spine as I realize the worst possible scenario has come true.
Grace is gone.