32 Mike
We are sitting in a rental car watching the only diner in this shitty town.
It wasn’t hard to figure out that’s probably where Liam met the woman who took his mind enough to make him break every single one of his rules.
He loves diners. He loves watching people live their ordinary lives, like what we do isn’t exciting enough.
Stupid bastard. Ordinary people wish they could live like us, and here he is, thinking they have something better.
The local church is right down the street, and on a Sunday morning after the service, the diner is packed with a crowd.
That alone makes it a day Liam would usually avoid this place, but what do you know?
He is sitting in a booth eating pie and sipping coffee as if he belongs in the damn place.
His eyes are locked on the brunette woman serving customers like she’s the most amazing creature alive.
From time to time, she passes his table with a smile.
To an outsider, I’m sure they just seem polite—a normal relationship between a waitress and a regular.
However, knowing my brother, it is very clear Liam is fucking obsessed with this woman. And that’s a problem.
She is absolutely stunning, I can admit that.
It’s not hard to figure out why he’s keeping her to himself, either.
I can tell why my brother is obsessed with her, just as I can tell she would be the perfect prey for our game.
Which is probably why he hasn't shared his obsession with us. Even a love-stricken Liam isn’t a fool; he knows not to risk her life. She’s no good to him dead.
“He’s been here every day for the past week,” Nate points out.
Not that he needed to tell me. We’ve also been here every day, stalking my brother while he apparently stalks his girlfriend.
It’s a nice little routine we’ve settled into.
We’ve left the dead mother business completely behind us.
The only problem with our situation is that even I know we should have left town by now.
We’ve stayed here too long. People will soon start figuring out that women have been going missing, and when they do, the new guys in town will be an easy target.
Especially when one of them is currently making eyes at a woman who looks very similar to every missing victim.
It’s very easy for a town to become paranoid.
Women who resemble the missing ones will start being a little too careful, and even this one will be alarmed eventually—depending, of course, on how in love she is with my brother.
Which, even from afar, is clearly the case.
No woman gives that much attention to a man she barely knows during work hours unless he’s important to her.
“I know. I’ve been in the same car as you, watching him for the past week, Nate,” I finally say after a long pause.
He’s not happy. This is something he can’t control, and Nate doesn’t appreciate things he can’t control. My man likes his routine as much as my brother does. We all do, actually. Even me—even when I complain about it. Routine keeps us safe, and safe is good.
“I’m sure he has a reason for not telling us about her,” I say, trying to defend my brother while avoiding what I’m truly thinking.
He does have a reason, and it’s called: I don’t want my girlfriend to end up slaughtered by you heathens.
I choose not to share this thought with my clearly irritated boyfriend, because I wouldn’t put it past him to burst into the fucking diner and drag Liam out by his ear like a schoolboy missing class.
“I’m sure he does,” Nate replies, defeated.
I can tell he’s bottling up some serious feelings. Nate has always dealt with his emotions by ignoring them. I deal with mine by killing people, and Liam is either spiraling through eternity or bottling them up, too. At least we’re all fucked up together.
“Where did he go?” Nate yells suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts. I search for Liam in the crowded diner, catching a glimpse of him as he follows the brunette into the back.
“Let’s try the back of the diner,” I propose, and we both exit the car at the same time.
We walk to the rear of the diner, but freeze in our tracks when we hear a moan.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Nate says, and I slap my hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.
“He’s fucking her in the middle of the day in the back of a diner!
” he declares, talking against my hand but keeping his voice lower this time—as if the noises coming from the woman weren’t statement enough.
I remove my hand from his mouth. “Maybe he suffered a recent brain injury we don’t know about, and it’s making him act crazy,” I whisper back.
Nate glares at me like he’s about to shoot lasers out of his eyes.
“Calm down, I’m not the one fucking her,” I joke, but he’s in no mood to appreciate it.
“That asshole is going to get us caught!” He says again, his voice rising, and I gesture for him to keep it down. “We need to leave this town.”
“Or... and hear me out... We can kidnap her and put her in the maze,” I propose instead.
He pauses for a second, but the spark in his eyes is enough of a clue that he’s about to agree with me. I know my man. He loves a good game, and this is going to be hilarious to witness. At the same time, it solves our issue.
“That might work.” He admits.
Good. Finally, we’ll have some fun. It’s been boring lately. The last person I killed was my mother; it’s pathetic.
“Maybe we should stop watching my brother fuck his girl,” I propose.
Nathan looks back at me, confused. I chuckle as I forcibly turn his body around and push him toward the car.
“Come on, big guy. Time to get you back in the car.”
I physically push him while his head remains turned toward the direction of Liam and his girlfriend, still staring. When we reach the car, I open the passenger side and shove him inside.
“Stay!” I tell him, and he frowns. I circle the car and get into the driver’s seat.
“How are you doing, buddy?” He doesn’t reply.
He just glares at me like I killed his mother instead.
He is basically one step away from smoke coming out of his ears.
I start the engine before Nathan can run back to that alley and kill my brother.
I’d like to keep at least one family member alive.