Chapter 19
Quinnly
Walking into the coffee shop, I’m greeted with the scent of coffee and the sound of low murmured conversation. Leaning against the counter, the barista and I talk about all the flavors offered when I hear a deep, rich, lilting accent.
“Lincoln, did we have a meeting?” Mr. WannaBeMafia asks. He’s got a coffee in his hand and a smile on his face.
“No,” he snips, clearly not happy to have been outed as knowing him. Lincoln’s eyes meet mine and he smirks, but my eyes narrow.
Mr. WannaBeMafia pulls out a chair, offering one to Lincoln but he doesn’t sit. The idiot waits for several seconds before realizing Lincoln’s not going to sit down, and gets up to leave without another word.
How do they know each other, and why in the hell wouldn’t Lincoln tell me?
The barista clears her throat to catch my attention, and hands me two cups of steaming hot chocolate with extra chocolate and whipped cream. Shoving one into Lincoln’s chest with a hard stare, I walk out with a huff and he follows.
He drives us to a house he must have used before and I storm inside after him. It’s a small house, with only one bedroom and bathroom.
I didn’t say anything for the entire car ride, and I’m about to explode as I throw my bag down onto the bed and head into the bathroom. Slamming the door, I pace, talking to myself and playing out the conversation I wish he and I would have had.
He knows so many things about me it seems, and yet he gets to keep his secrets. Like knowing my next mark personally. Probably worked for him at one point, but I can’t ask that can I? Shadow doesn’t like to talk about himself. All these years.
All. These. Years. He’s watched me, baited me, and the second I get a chance he clams up? Well, he’s got another thing coming if he thinks he can stay that way forever. I’ll get him to spill all his secrets, or I’ll finish what I started four years ago.
Turning on the shower, I step into the spray and wash off all the fucking makeup from last night.
It feels good to use a shower in a home, not a hotel or motel.
Stepping out, I inhale deeply, something smells good.
I hurry to dry off and wrap myself in a towel, walk to the door, and when I leave the room I find him frozen at the stove.
“Are you… making tacos?” I ask, inhaling another breath.
“I am.”
“Well, let’s get to it shall we?” I say, no need for drama.
“Get to what exactly?”
“How do you know, Mr. WannaBeMafia?” I walk over to where he’s standing, and his body goes rigid. Eyeing the meat in the pan, and the spices he’s got resting around the stove I watch him cook.
“I’ve done a few odd jobs for his family.” He stops moving the meat, and turns to look down at me. “It’s going to happen, Menace.”
Jumping up to plant my ass on the counter, the towel rides up my legs but I don’t care. I do, however, notice he quickly looks away from my legs where I’ve exposed the healed scars he made.
“He seemed to want to talk,” I say, opening the fridge with my foot and looking in. “What do you do for a living, Shadow?”
He turns away from me, adding the spices and stirring them into the meat. Pretending to focus on his task, he doesn’t speak. So I hop off the counter, pull a bottle of water out of the still open fridge, then take a long sip and choose to practice my patience.
“I take care of problems.”
Nodding I ask, “Is that what I am then? Your problem?”
He sighs heavily and looks at me. I laugh at the tortured expression on his handsome face, and undo the rest of the towel that’s hanging on, letting it fall to the ground at my feet. I stand there, naked, and he growls before turning back to the pan back on the stove and shoving it away.
“Quinnly,” he warns, holding onto the counter and squeezing so hard the edges are firmly embedded into his palms.
“Yes,” I sing-song, walking to his side and eyeing the mess he made. “What did that hamburger ever do to you?”
Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, he shakes his head and turns my way. “You’re testing my patience, Menace, and I don’t have a lot of it.”
I lean against him, palms resting on his chest and rising to my tippy toes.
“I’m counting on it.” I draw out, rubbing my nipples against his arm.
He stiffens, even more than normal. Breathing against him, I wait him out.
Anticipation crawls along my nerves but I remain against him.
If he wants space, he’ll have to create it.
Besides, I’ve never been good with ‘personal space’ as it is.
Looking down at me, his eyes stick to mine. His shoulders rock back, and he pulls away from me as if I burned him. Backing him into the wall, his jaw clenches and he turns his face up.
“Besides, I think you know by now that the only thing I’m willing to wait for is you.”
Attraction, I’ve often found, is simple. It’s people who are not.
I know he wants me, I could see it through the latex pants he had on back with Mr. DirtyBucks, and I can see it now.
The sweat that collects on his upper lip.
How his jaw’s shut so tight he may crack his teeth.
The way his eyes dart from my breasts, and back up to my eyes, like he is at war within himself.
“You can’t win this game.”
“Oh, but I really like playing,” I say, pressing my body into his. He’s hard, like I knew he would be. His breaths come in rapid succession and when I lean up on my toes again, his hand comes up to wrap around my neck.
“You shouldn’t test me,” he snarls, nostrils flared, eyes on fire.
“Will you kill me, Shadow?” I laugh as he squeezes, cutting my laugh short and making me ache.
My pussy’s slick with excitement and I smile around the small breaths he allows. His mouth lowers to mine and he whispers against my lips as he walks me backward.
“If I did, you’d haunt me every moment, wouldn’t you, Menace?”
“Maybe you’d fuck my ghost then,” I quip, earning a snarl from him once again.
He’s walked us far enough that the bedroom is only a few steps away. “Put some clothes on, and come eat.”
Releasing my neck, he turns and walks back into the kitchen leaving me there with a wet pussy and a whole lot of intrigue. My Shadow wants me, but he doesn’t want to want me.
Pity.
I do as he asks, opting to uncover him layer by layer until I know everything there is to know about him. Putting on a pair of bright purple sweatpants, and a crop top with strategically placed cherries, I pull on my taco slippers and walk out.
Lincoln’s got the tacos set out ready to be eaten with two plates and two bottles of water on the small table off the kitchen.
He doesn’t speak, only sits down and fills his plate.
Joining him, I pile my plate with tacos and inhale them.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a home cooked meal, sometimes I get so caught up in what I’m doing that I forget to eat.
“What’s your secret?” I ask, and he pauses with a taco lifted to his lips. Meat falls and hits the plate as he stares at me.
“I’ve got many,” he says simply.
“Mhmm,” I nod, standing from the table and putting my plate in the sink. “But what about me? I know you’ve been following me, watching me, for a very long time. Why?”
He doesn’t say anything as he finishes his last taco and joins me at the sink. “I don’t need a reason.” Two of his fingers reach down into the sudsy water, and when he pulls them up, he flicks them at my face.
The bubbles hit my cheek, and if I weren’t already looking at him, I’d have probably snapped my neck to glare.
His lip twitches, and my fingers curl around my plate.
I could hit him with it, just a cute little tap on his muscled shoulder, and maybe cut him with the pieces after it breaks. Maybe he’s into that sort of thing.
His eyes close, and he shakes his head. His hand comes out, as if he’s going to lay it on my hip, but it never connects. Instead, he hangs his head and walks out of the house.
What?!
What the hell am I supposed to do for the rest of the day, by myself, with no vehicle?
I’ve always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person, so it’s never occurred to me to plan an actual murder. Usually I just do whatever feels right. However, maybe for Lincoln I can make an exception.
The clock on the wall says it’s only been about an hour of me stewing since he left, and I’m actually kind of impressed. Though, I need something to do with my hands now.
Playing on my computer, I look up where we are and what Mr. WannaBeMafia is up to. If my Shadow doesn’t want to play with me, I’ll have to entertain myself.
After a few short keystrokes, I’ve tapped into the city’s database to watch the cameras. Following him from this morning at the coffee shop, I track him until he’s at the building his family uses as a front for their business deals.
He must still be in there, which means I’ve got time to look some things up. Opening a new window on the other half of my screen I search a few things that make me giggle, and hit order. Typing in the address here, they’ll be delivered tomorrow morning, and I can’t wait to use them.
Movement catches my eye from the other window, and I see Lincoln pull up to the building and smile right at the camera.
Gripping my computer, I scoot close to the screen and yell, “You wouldn’t!”
Lincoln steps out of his car, straightens his jacket, and walks into the building.
There are no cameras inside so I have no way of knowing what’s happening.
I don’t think he would take my kill. That’s like, a rule.
A big rule, right? The serial killer code or whatever, thou shalt not take another killer’s prize or some shit.
He stays in the building for what feels like an eternity, and when he emerges, so does Mr. WannaBeMafia. They shake hands, and I jump up, pacing the floor for what feels like hours until he walks back through the door.
“What in the ever loving fuck, was that?” I ask, throwing my arms wide. “Why would you visit him?”
He crosses his bulky arms and leans his back against the front door. “You wanted to play, Menace. Let’s play.”
“You can’t have him, he’s on my list. I called dibs!” I shout, pointing at said list that’s been crumpled more times that I can count and the ink’s starting to fade. “He’s mine!”
He stalks toward me, leans down into my space and says, “Only if you beat me to him.”
“This is a violation of the killers code of conduct, you dickmuffin.”
Lincoln takes a piece of my hair, and gently tucks it behind my ear as he looks me in the eyes and says, “Killers don’t have a code, Menace. You should know that by now.”
I only have one person per state on my list, if he kills one of them, my whole system will be thrown off. I–I–I can’t think, something ugly swarms in my stomach and my head goes fuzzy. If he is serious then it won’t be him killing me like I thought, I’ll be killing him.
Again.