13. A Hard Choice #3
“He was supposed to be,” Jax sighed as he crossed the room. “At least, that's where I had left him. But… that’s why I didn’t expect Jamie to be in the US, let alone in this fucking building.” Jax turned to face them. “...which means he’s been watching us.”
“Do you think he’s part of the attacks?” Deja asked.
“No,” Jax said. “Jamie works alone. He doesn’t report to any Reapers, and no Reaper reports to him. He’s an exile who follows the will of Roselyn. Tracking him is impossible. He’s a ghost in the wind. Which makes him extremely dangerous.”
“If that was really him I was speaking to,” Deja said. “He could have killed me if he wanted to. But he didn’t.”
Jax shook his head. “He’s angry with me. He wants to hurt me. And depending on how long he’s been watching, he knows that the most effective way to hurt me… is through you. I will not allow that. I can’t fight and worry about you.”
“Then don’t worry about me,” Deja said, grabbing Jax’s hands and looking into his eyes. “I won’t get in your way. I won’t be a liability. Because of you, I have my own body count. You’re not doing this without me, Jax.”
Jax looked at her, both irritable and impressed. Caleb snorted. “This man has a body count longer than the Bible, yet still, you can’t even say ‘no’ to her.”
Jax smirked. “Can you?”
Deja glanced at Caleb, who sharply exhaled and rolled his eyes. “Fucking sorcery, I swear to god,” he muttered as Ian laughed.
“Literally what I said!” Keith snickered.
Deja smirked. “So what’s the plan?”
***
“If that skirt gets any shorter, I might think you’re flirting with me.”
Nora looked over her shoulder at her coworker locking up the register. Rolling her eyes, she packed away the receipts and stood to her feet. “Don’t be a perv, Benji.”
“Or what? You’ll call HR?” he mocked. “Get the fuck over yourself and learn how to take a compliment. I’m going to the back to take inventory. Lock up and clean up the dressing rooms.”
“Um, no? Mr. Reinhart said that I could leave at 9 to catch the last bus,” Nora protested.
Benji stalked towards her until she anxiously backed up.
“And I said to clean the fucking dressing rooms. Or do you want me to tell him about all those weed breaks you’ve been taking during your shift?
” Nora’s jaws angrily tensed. “That’s what I thought,” Benji smirked. “Now get that tight ass to work.”
Her nostrils flared as she watched him disappear into the back. Snatching the keys, she stormed to the front of the store. The sidewalks were empty, and the streetlights flickered. She frowned, watching the last bus take off down the street. Another day of pay would be spent on a taxi home.
Sighing in frustration, Nora went to close the shades when she spotted a dark shadow standing across the street. She could barely see who it was, so she grabbed her phone to turn on the flashlight. But when she pointed, the shadow was gone.
Twisting her mouth in confusion, she bent down to lock the bottom lock and stood back up when she screamed, startled by the man standing on the other side of the door.
“My apologies,” Ian smiled. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
With her hand on her chest, Nora breathed heavily. “It’s-it’s okay. I um, c-can I help you?”
Ian tilted his head with a smile. “...would you mind unlocking the door?”
Nora nervously bit her lip. He was extremely handsome, but his smile was unsettling. “Um, I’m s-sorry, but we’re- we’re closed.”
Ian looked at the sign on the door. “It seems you are. Well, would you mind giving me a few more minutes?”
Nora hesitated. “I don’t, um, I don’t know if I can-”
Ian held up several bills. “2 grand for your time.”
She blinked, shocked. “Uh, okay.”
Ian smiled as he motioned with his hand. “Thank you! We won’t be long.”
Nora opened the door when she paused. “Wait… we?” She jumped back, startled as 3 other men turned the corner. Her lips parted in shock as they walked in, one after the other, wearing torn, bloodstained clothes. One carrying a hammer. The other an ax. The other a machete.
Nora forgot how to breathe. Her knuckles turned white, clutching the wall as fear overwhelmed her.
But even more curious was the dark-skinned woman who walked in last. She turned to Nora with a warm smile.
“Hi! Thank you so much for this, uh… Nora,” she said, reading her badge.
“Can you point me to the women’s section? ”
Nora’s trembling finger pointed down an aisle. “Thanks, Nora!” Deja smiled before looking back at Ian, who bit his lip with a grin as he instinctively followed her. But Deja put her hand on his chest. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Ian looked at her, confused, when Deja gestured to Nora. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I look at her, and sometimes I forget how to breathe,” Ian chuckled, handing Nora the money.
Nora clutched the money as she watched the 5 strangers disperse around the darkened, empty store. Quietly tiptoeing around one of the aisles, Nora watched 2 of them shed their bloody clothes. Her eyes widened at all the scars that decorated their muscular figures.
“This feels too small,” Caleb muttered.
“Try this one,” Jax said, tossing Caleb a shirt.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Shut up and put it on.”
She hid behind the shelf, watching the men argue.
Her eyes roaming their beautiful scarred bodies, when she heard the woman’s voice on the other side.
Sneaking around the other corner, Nora saw the first gentleman picking out clothes as the woman undressed.
He kissed the woman’s shoulder as his hands possessively roamed over her backside.
“Not a fan of people looking at my woman without my permission.”
Nora panicked. Her eyes widened in fear at the tall, hulking, long-haired blond covered in tattoos towering over her. His sharp blue eyes looked like those of the devil as his hand tightened around the bloodstained machete. “I’m… s-sorry,” she stammered.
Keith lowered his eyes before he looked at Deja.
“She’s a hot fucking thing of beauty. Can’t say I blame you,” Keith smirked.
Nora trembled, watching him stalk down the aisle, before he grabbed the woman’s waist and spun her around until their lips met.
Only their silhouettes in the dark store revealed how the 2 men explored her body.
The sound of a box dropping caught Nora’s attention when it occurred to her…
Benji was still taking inventory. She rushed to the back of the store and found him cursing at a box of broken items as music blared from his headphones.
Turning around, he saw her standing at the door. “You done already?” he asked.
“N-no, um, yes. I… sorry-” she said, turning to leave when Benji grabbed her arm.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where you goin’?” he grinned, pulling her towards him. “You came to check up on me for a reason.”
“Benji, stop! I wasn’t!” she snapped, writhing in his grip.
“Two of us alone in the store. Don’t lie. You’ve been waiting for this moment,” he smirked, trying to kiss her. Nora snarled in disgust as she slapped him hard in the face. Her face instantly fell when she noticed how quickly his face reddened. “You fucking bitch!” he sneered as he backhanded her.
Tears pricked her eyes as her face stung. She crawled backward as Benji stalked towards her. “Benji, p-please-” she cried, crawling backward out of the storage room.
“Now you beg,” he mocked. Nora stopped short, and all the air left her lungs when she noticed a masked man standing on the side, his ax swinging from his hand.
Her mouth dropped open in terror as he raised his ax, and she saw her life flash before her eyes when it violently swung, landing in Benji’s chest.
Nora’s eyes widened in shock as Benji looked at her, startled, stumbling backward into the storage room with the ax still lodged in his chest. The masked man looked down at her before stepping over her into the storage room. “Keith!” she heard the masked man shout.
Nora trembled with fear as the woman ran around the corner and dropped to her knees next to Nora. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Deja asked. But Nora couldn’t speak. “I’m gonna call you a cab home, okay?” Deja said.
Nora was stunned into silence as she watched another masked man walk into the storage room while the other 2 spoke in a different language. One more masked man entered the room before the door slammed shut.
“Nora. Nora!” Deja said, getting her attention. “I need your address, sweetie.”
Nora struggled to give Deja her home address as Jax crouched down in front of her. “Did you see anything here tonight?” he asked firmly. The dark look in his eyes nearly made her soil herself. Was this a trick question? She looked at Deja, who shook her head.
“N-no…” Nora exhaled.
“...did you see us?” Jax asked.
“No…” Nora squeaked.
Jax smiled. “...good girl…”
She could hear Benji violently screaming, begging for his life as the sound of metal tearing through flesh made her blood run cold.
“Don’t worry…” Jax smiled. “They’ll make it look like an accident.”