CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DAMON
Noah had barely been home for the last few days. Always off with Dominik doing some kind of Graveyard King business. Occasionally, they asked me to join them. I always said no.
We all knew it was better for me to keep my distance from the Kings. The night of the barbeque after Athena left, Rebel and I had gotten into a disagreement. He was pissed about the incident with the beer bottle. Worried I would ruin one of their business arrangements.
Rebel was a bit of a hypocrite. If that dick had been flirting with Storm, Rebel would have done the same damn thing. Maybe he and I were too alike in some ways. We couldn’t possibly exist together in the same group.
That’s why I had been taking more private jobs. Stuff I didn’t even tell Noah about anymore. Tonight I would be breaking into a house and stealing some valuables for a man pissed off with his ex-wife. Nothing exceptionally dangerous, although every job had its risks.
After getting dressed, I picked up my phone, staring at the last message from Athena. It had been a long time since we’d messaged one another. I preferred to speak to her in person anyway.
Since I would be heading into a residential neighborhood where everyone had cameras, I wouldn’t be bringing my own vehicle.
I took a rideshare downtown and stole one instead.
It never ceased to amaze me how many people left their keys in their car.
Did they really think they were well hidden tucked in the visor?
Most of the cars I checked were locked and secured. Car number twelve was the winner.
As I drove to Athena’s apartment, I ignored the voice in the back of my head telling me not to be a fucking idiot. Some part of me couldn’t let it end the way it had at the barbecue. I needed to see her. To look into those green eyes while she told me off.
Once I was parked outside her apartment, I sent her a text telling her to come downstairs. I saw her peek out the window, looking down at me. Her reply message came a moment later.
Why the hell would I do that? You really are out of your mind.
I smiled. She’d given me exactly the response I wanted. My thumbs flew over the screen as I typed back: Either you come down or I come up.
The little typing bubbles popped up and disappeared several times before she finally just said: Fuck.
Ten minutes later she appeared. Dressed in gray leggings and a loose fitting T-shirt, her hair pinned up with a clip, Athena made casual look sexy as hell.
She shifted uncertainly from foot to foot before launching into motion.
I leaned over to open the passenger door, making it clear I wanted her to get in the car.
She leaned down to look in at me. “What is going on, Damon? Whose car is this?”
“I don’t know. Get in. We have a job to do.” I patted the seat next to me.
Her eyes widened. “A job? No way. I am done doing jobs with you.”
“Except that you’re not. Get in.” I pinned her with a heavy stare. Was she going to make me get out and physically put her in the car? I kind of hoped so.
Athena started to slide onto the seat, keeping one leg out the open door. “What kind of job?”
“Nothing too wild. Just a little theft.” I shrugged like it was no big deal. Anything to get her fine ass in the car.
“A little theft?” One of her perfect brows arched. “Why do I feel like you’re being vague on purpose? What defines a little theft to you?”
“Well, for starters, I stole this car,” I said, unable to hold back a laugh. “I’ll return it later. Before they even notice it’s gone. Some guy hired me to grab some jewelry he gave his ex-wife. Small time shit. Really. Get in the car, Athena.”
Her gaze darted nervously around the interior. Finally, she got all the way inside and closed the door. “You stole this car?”
I put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb before she changed her mind and tried to get out. There was no escaping me. “Of course. I’m not driving my own vehicle onto a street filled with cameras.”
She nodded slowly. “I see. I suppose that’s smart. Is it really necessary for me to be here, or is this your way of getting close to me after what happened at the barbecue?”
I weighed my possible responses before saying, “Can’t it be both? I need someone to watch my back while I’m inside. Just in case.”
Athena sat quietly while we drove, nodding to herself every so often.
When she spoke again, there was a biting anger to her tone.
“At some point you’re going to get bored with this, right?
With me. Summer is going to be over soon.
I have to move forward with my life. That doesn’t include helping you commit crimes that could land us both in jail. ”
Right on cue, we drove past a cop car, like the universe had dropped it in my path as a reminder that every time I took one of these jobs I played Russian Roulette with my freedom. I’d stopped being afraid of getting caught a long time ago. Maybe my ego wouldn’t allow me to believe it would happen.
“Nobody is going to jail. It’s not like I’m taking you on a hit job. Besides, you fucking loved the last job we did together. You have to admit it got you hot.” I knew damn well that Athena had gotten off on the adrenaline high. That was half the fun.
Pressing her lips tight together, Athena refused to acknowledge my remark. I guess she was still in denial.
When I turned onto the street that was my destination, I parked right outside the house for a quick getaway. My client had given me the security code for the house. According to him, his ex-wife was out of town on business. This should be a quick in and out. Still, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’m going to keep the car running,” I said, reaching into the center console. “You’re going to get in the driver’s seat. Stay ready for anything. If anyone other than me comes to the car, don’t be afraid to use this.”
I laid the semi-automatic handgun on the console. Even in the dim car interior, I saw the color drain from Athena’s face.
“You expect me to use a gun? Damon, no, that’s going too far. I don’t even know how.” Her voice rose considerably with every word.
“Then just wave it around. Most people won’t hang around long enough to find out if you can use it or not. Now sit tight. I won’t be long. And no matter what, stay in the car.”
Athena grabbed for my arm as I started to get out of the car, holding tight. “I thought this job was no big deal. Now there’s a gun involved?”
“It is no big deal,” I assured her. “But it’s always better to be prepared for anything. You’ve got this, cream puff.”
I left her sitting there, staring after me like a deer in the headlights. For the smallest of moments, I was tempted to turn back and kiss her. Since that felt too soft for a moment like this, I kept moving. Tugging on the psycho bunny mask before any cameras got a good look at me.
Getting into the house was easy enough. The ex-husband had given me the door code which immediately disengaged the deadbolt. She must have been awfully trusting not to have changed it after he moved out. I guess this was how she would find out what kind of man he was.
The security system wasn’t even armed despite me having the code.
She sure had grown complacent. I had no problem finding my way through the living room to the staircase that would take me up to the primary bedroom.
Using a small flashlight, I dug through the closet where he’d said her jewelry box would be.
There it was on a small shelf off to one side. My client had sent me a picture of the jewelry he sought. A pair of diamond earrings along with a matching bracelet and her wedding ring. Easy enough.
I pocketed the jewelry and turned to head back downstairs. That’s when I heard a creak on the staircase. Footsteps… as if someone was trying to approach quietly. Fuck. I hadn’t anticipated that.
Did the ex-wife return early from her trip? I glanced toward the bedroom window. It was a hell of a drop to the ground below. Deciding that I didn’t want to take the chance of breaking a leg—or worse—I decided to confront the person on the stairs.
A job like this usually didn’t require violence or weapons. I wasn’t stupid enough to come without them though. I had a second gun tucked into the back of my jeans, which I planned to only use if absolutely necessary. I hadn’t been paid to kill anyone, and cleaning up a body was a hell of a task.
Pausing near the bedroom door, I listened hard. Someone was definitely coming. It seemed unlikely that a woman alone at night would choose to confront someone in her house. The heavier tread made me suspect a man.
I turned the corner into the hallway right in time for a knife to slash through the air toward me. The small nightlight in the hallway glinted off the blade, giving me a split-second to react. I flung an arm up to block the blow. The knife cut through my hoodie sleeve and into my forearm.
“Who the fuck are you?” a man shouted. “What are you doing in my girlfriend’s house? I’ve already called the police.”
Knowing that I didn’t have much time before my blood would flow and leave evidence behind, I snatched up a vase from a nearby table and smashed it over the man’s head. That was starting to become a regular thing for me.
Thankfully, it sent him down to the floor, momentarily stunned. I was able to leap over his prone form and rush down the stairs. Holding my sleeve tight against the wound in my arm, I did my best to keep the blood contained.
I was out the door and in the car in record time. Before I even shouted at Athena to drive, she was already slamming her foot down on the gas. The car peeled away with a squeal of tires.
“Holy shit. I saw him go in the house, but I had no way to warn you. Didn’t think about that, did you?
” She shot me a dark glower. When I pulled up my sleeve to check the wound and she saw blood running down my arm, Athena let out a little shriek.
“Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay? What do we do?”
“You keep driving,” I said, calm as I shrugged out of my hoodie, using it to wrap my arm the best I could. “Cross over the river to that new area on the east side of town. We’ll stop at a drugstore to get some First Aid supplies before we ditch the car.”
“Holy shit. Holy fuck. Oh my God, this is so screwed up. How are you so calm? Do you need a hospital?” Athena carefully navigated the car around a corner.
“Absolutely not. No hospital. I’ll be fine. Take the next right up there, then a left. Take Elmdale Drive across the river.” My main focus was on keeping my wound wrapped so I didn’t bleed all over this car. The sooner we ditched it the better.
Lips pressed tight together, Athena stared straight ahead, her hands tightly clenching the wheel as she drove. I couldn’t help but be impressed. She was handling this quite well, all things considered.
Maybe I would have to keep her around for a while longer than I’d planned.