Chapter 41
I throw the cloth on my toolbox, then pull my phone out from my jeans pocket before reading the texts.
Solo:
sent a photo.
I grind my teeth as I scan Colton’s photo. It’s a selfie, and the asshole is grinning in it. Brown hair, green eyes – he’s a living, breathing cliché. Not for long, though.
Me: And our client?
I look at my crew as I wait for Solo to respond. Varsha is tallying up our monthly finances on the garage’s laptop behind the main counter, whereas Alex is working on a customer’s Kawasaki, and Jayce is changing the tires on a blue Corvette.
I grab a metal chair from next to my work station, then settle down in front of the Honda, just as a new text from Solo comes in.
Solo: Bryce Landers. Him and Colton are seniors at the same college. Mostly acquaintances before the incident, which took place during a party at Bryce’s house last week. His dad’s paying for the kill, and has asked for proof as well.
I smirk as I type my response.
Me: Perfect. I’ll tell the crew.
Solo: Text me if there’s a hiccup. I’ll be waiting for your call.
Me: Got it.
I close the chat page and open the one that’s directly below his.
Me: Wanna help me with a kill tonight? Aurea Vista, 10p.m.
I look up from my phone. “We’ve got a kill tonight, guys,” I address my crew, and when their heads turn to me, I lean back in my chair and relay to them the details Solo gave me. Once I’m done, I clear my throat and add, “I’ve asked Cignette to join us.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” Alex mumbles, and Varsha exhales heavily before shaking her head a little. Jayce, on the other hand, narrows his eyes at me in a way that’s both scrutinizing and threatening.
I click my tongue. “She’ll be fine,” I say.
“Oh, I know,” Jayce counters. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You lose focus when she’s around you, Ledge,” Alex states with a faint smile. “And don’t get me wrong, we adore Cigs–”
“–Adore is a very strong word,” Jayce cuts in, but Alex glares at him and continues.
“Like I was saying…” He gives his husband a look full of warning. “We adore Cigs, but when she’s around you during a kill, shit goes awry.”
I raise my hands in defeat. “That was once. And we’ve already established that it was an accident.”
“Could happen again,” says Varsha. “Besides, this is our first kill after Rizwana. I think we’ll do better if we stick to the usual routine.”
I clench my jaw, but what I instead wanna do is huff in displeasure.
I don’t, though, because the last thing I wanna come across to my crew as, is immature.
They’re only being cautious, despite also being unreasonable.
But I’m a stubborn asshole, and I’m not gonna back down easily.
Well, unless Cignette doesn’t wanna join us tonight, that is.
I scratch the side of my neck as I glance around at my crew. “Look, let’s wait and s–” I stop when my phone rings with an incoming video call from Cignette. I answer it, and grin when her face fills my phone’s screen.
She’s wearing a black silk blouse, and her long hair is braided over one of her shoulders. There’s a faint tint on her cheeks that’s fucking adorable, and her lips are painted red.
“My God, you’re beautiful, Little Swan,” I say by way of greeting, and hear Alex sigh in the background.
“I’m a mess,” she states, just as someone next to her asks, “Is that what he calls you – Little
Swan? What the fuck kind of term is that?”
“Good to see you’re still as dense as yesterday, Maverick,” I snark.
He bends so he can look at me through the screen. “Hey, fuck-face,” he all but chirps, to which Jayce coughs, and Alex and Varsha full-on laugh.
“Y’all suck,” I tell my crew, then focus on the call again. “Kindly take your face off the screen, Maverick. It’s shriveling up my perfectly functional cock.”
Cignette elbows him and shifts her phone away from him, and now that I see it, she seems tired. Mostly annoyed, but tired too.
“You okay?” I ask her.
She exhales with her entire body. “Maybe? I don’t know. My team and I just had a meeting, and I’m on my way to another one with the marketing team. It’s a shithole of a day here, but I’ll be fine.” She pushes some of her errand hair away from her face. “So, who are we killing tonight?”
“Jesus, Nettie; talk a little louder, why don’t you,” Maverick mutters.
She rolls her eyes. “We’re in an elevator, for fuck’s sake.”
I wanna laugh, but it’s something she just said that has completely taken me off guard.
Cignette used the word “we”, and I don’t know why, but it fucking hit me in all the places such a small word shouldn’t. And I’m so damn flabbergasted by it that it takes me a moment to realize that she’s calling my name.
I blink and swallow, then shake my head. “Yeah?”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I hear the ding of the elevator as it stops on her floor.
“Shit, hold on.” I watch as she steps into a posh-looking hallway, and nods at someone I can’t see. She pauses for a beat, then clicks her tongue and looks at me again.
“Yeah, okay. So, Aurea Vista, right – the nightclub at University Ave?” she says.
“Yup. At 10 tonight.”
“Perfect.” She then glances around the hallway. “Tell me about the kill.”
Aaaaand I’m hard, just like that. She’s so invested in this, that I can’t help but feel twice as thrilled about killing the bastard. And my dick really appreciates her intrigue, so that’s a bonus.
I quickly fill her in on the details, then minimize our call so that I can text Colton’s photo to her.
“Got it,” she tells me. “Piece of shit,” she then mumbles.
I chuckle. “Not your type?”
She puts her tongue to her cheek. “Fuck you, Ledger.”
I wink at her. “Wear something easily accessible tonight.”
“For Colton, or for you?” she sasses with a smirk.
A flash of anger cuts through me at her words, and I grit my teeth before glaring at her. “Say that again, Little Swan, and see what happens.”
Her smirk vanishes, and she audibly sucks in a breath while her gaze darkens.
Maverick once again shoves his face in front of the screen. “Was that a threat, Ledger?” He looks pissed, but it’s laughable compared to how I feel right now.
“Move. Your face. Away,” I grit out.
He scoffs and opens his mouth to say something, but the phone is shifted away from him, and Cignette comes into view again.
“I was joking,” she tells me, then rolls her eyes. “You’re going to kill the guy anyway, so I deserve to at least crack a joke on his behalf, don’t I?”
I tilt my head to the side. “On his behalf? Since when have you turned into a martyr for the unlawful?”
“Since when have you turned into a martyr for the unlawful?” she says in a mimicky voice, making the crew laugh.
“You go, Cigs!” Alex hollers. “Stay classy, you queen.”
She chuckles. “Aww, thank you, Alex.” She raises a brow at me. “See? That’s called appreciation.”
“I’ll show you appreciation tonight,” I tell her.
She purses her lips. “Promises, promises,” she sings before smirking at me again. “I’ll see you later, then, princeling,” she says, and disconnects the call, leaving me aching for more of her.
Fuck my life.
“She’s good, huh?” Varsha muses, having noticed my state.
“The best,” I tell her with a shake of my head, then rise before getting back to work.