Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
DAMON
I’ll kill him. No . Death is too simple. A piece of shit like him doesn’t deserve the easy way out.
Blake picks up speed with each step and as much as it kills me to put distance between us, I’m glad she’s not here to witness this.
The waste of space in front of me stumbles toward the wall and mutters a curse under his breath. “Whaddya want, man?”
I smile wide, showing off my dimples. The docile lamb hiding the sharp-toothed wolf beneath. “Just making sure you’re alright. Weren’t you saying you needed to take a piss?”
“Did I?” he asks. He takes stock of his body and nods. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“I’ll lead the way.”
He plods behind me, holding onto the wall for balance.
Those hands were all over Blake. That body flush with hers. Those sloppy lips kissing her precious skin.
My blood boils with each racing thought. I don’t know how I manage to make it to the men’s room with the red film over my field of vision.
We stop at the door and I push it open, letting him enter first so I can lock it behind us. If he thinks it’s odd that I’m following him inside, he doesn’t say.
They’ve kept much of the original structure of the building with some obvious upgrades like urinals and multiple sinks. My eyes go directly to the vintage cast iron radiator against the wall.
I can smell the heat in the room. Hear the popping sounds from the steaming contraption. I’m already flushed from how warm the space is.
We stand side by side in the urinal and I continue with my friendly small talk.
“So you and your girl looked like you were having some fun.” My eyes stray back to the radiator as my hands twitch.
It takes him a second to respond. Pissing and talking at the same time are apparently too much for him to handle. “Nah, she’s a prude. It wasn’t going anywhere. Was trying to get her back on my good side.”
My nostrils flare as I try to hold it together.
“Yeah? Why’s that?” I ask, tucking my dick away.
“Who knows this time. Bitch is always on me about something.” He grabs the wall for balance while he continues pissing.
I don’t allow him another second. Grabbing him by the throat, I squeeze until he’s gasping for breath. The piece of shit dribbles piss onto my black boots. That won’t do.
He’s too uncoordinated to put up any kind of fight. It’s almost too easy. I hate when it’s too easy. “You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as her,” I seethe. “You’re a waste of fucking space.”
I let go, step back, and punch him in the gut until he doubles over. “What the fuck?” he rasps and coughs, sinking to the tile floor.
“No, no, Ethan. We’re not done here.” He tries to crawl away, but I grab him by his suit jacket and pull him up, wiping my boot against his slacks. His flaccid dick flops out of his unzipped pants. “You must be a real smart guy, medical school and all.”
“Please,” he groans.
“Oh, now you have manners? Too bad you didn’t have any when Blake was telling you no. Now back to what I was saying. You must be a genius to get into medical school… Wouldn’t have anything to do with mommy and daddy? Or how about that brilliant girlfriend who you’ve been leeching off for years? No… that’s all the brainpower of Ethan Porter, future surgeon.”
I drag him over to the radiator and soak in the fear on his face. Much like how Blake looked when I found her in the hallway.
“Tell me, doctor, what happens when skin is held against a balmy 150 degree slab of cast iron?” He tries to pull away but I grip the back of his neck. “I’m no genius, not like you, but I’d guess it’s not a fun time. Shall we experiment?”
“No… no, please,” he begs, as I pull out my gun and press it to the back of his head.
“Try anything and I pull this trigger.” With my free hand I hold his torso against the heated metal, pressing down to ensure his useless dick gets the brunt of the heat. “Let me hear you count. You’re smart enough to do that, right? It’s all in the name of experimentation.” He’s whimpering and pleading so I push harder. “Count, or I shoot.”
“One,” he cries. “Two…” He’s struggling to free himself but I hold tight. I want him to feel the hurt that Blake felt when she found him fucking someone else. His pathetic dick will never hurt someone again.
“Listen to me closely, Ethan.” I lean over his hunched body. “You’ll never go near Blake again. Don’t talk to her. Don’t touch her.” He nods between sobs. “Did I say to stop counting?”
“Ten, eleven…” His body shakes with each heaving word.
“If I find out you’ve disobeyed me… and I will find out, I’ll come for you. Do we have an understanding?”
I wait a few more seconds until he’s nodding vigorously before I toss him to the floor. He curls up in a ball, clutching his dick. My balls shrivel up when I take a peek at the scalded flesh. Ouch.
“Well, it’s been fun. There’s just one more thing,” I say before whacking him across the temple with the barrel of my gun. His head falls to the side as he goes unconscious. “Can’t have you ruining the rest of Blake’s evening.”
I drag him into a stall and flop him onto the toilet. He’ll take a nice rest and when he wakes up, I’ll be long gone. And now Blake will have her chance to shine with those pretentious assholes. All night long she’s been hidden in Ethan’s shadow, but not anymore. She’ll get that internship, if she still wants it. Whatever Blake wants, I support her.
Ethan’s phone vibrates in his pocket so I grab it and hold it in front of his face to unlock it.
Aubrey: Still coming over later?
Shaking my head, I swipe away and open his photo app. There’s one of Blake laying in bed with a book propped against her folded knees. A coy look lines her lips as her smokey gaze meets the camera. I swipe again and find a selfie of the two of them. My free hand clenches. Blake’s eyes look lifeless. She’s not happy here. He’s never made her happy. But I will.
I open an album labeled “private.” “Oh, Ethan,” I tsk. “I did the world a favor today, didn’t I.” Photo after photo taken from the internet, teenage girls in varying states of undress fill the album, mixed with nudes of himself and other women he’s slept with. None of them are Blake. Not that I wanted to see those in his phone. Blake’s body is for my eyes only. Seeing these bolsters the choices I made for him. My instincts are rarely wrong.
I drop his phone into the toilet, shut the stall door, and head out into the hallway. The burst of adrenaline that fueled my actions begins to leave as quickly as it came on. My legs shake and my head spins. I need to see that Blake is alright before I leave here. Fuck. I wish I could take her home with me. Tell her how I feel. But it’s not the right time, not yet. I make my way back to the edge of the banquet hall, careful to avoid being seen.
There she is.
My beautiful angel in her silky black dress. Her hair falls over her collarbones and onto her chest in waves. I’d give anything to wrap it around my fists. She’s at the table, biting her plump lower lip, and chatting quietly with the couple beside her. I see that she hasn’t touched her meal and instantly know why.
I pull a young waiter to the side as I step farther into the banquet room. “Hey, you see that woman over there? Black dress, dark hair.” I point discreetly and he nods. “She has food allergies and can’t eat whatever they served.” I pull some bills out of my wallet and hand them to him, clapping him on the shoulder. “Make sure she eats something.”
“Alright, no problem, sir.” He pockets the cash with a grin and walks directly over to Blake.
Leaning against the wall, I watch her face light up as he takes away her untouched plate. Warmth fills my chest. I’m entranced by her. Plain and simple. I could stand here and watch her for hours. But I don’t, not when Ethan could wake up at any moment. I’ll see you later, Blake.
Leon’s bike is once again in our parking space when I pull up to our duplex apartment. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t. Before I climb the stairs, I take a peek through the open blinds of Mrs. Langston’s place and see the TV on but no one watching it.
I’m about to head upstairs when she comes around the corner with a bag of trash. “Mrs. Langston, let me grab that for you,” I say, heading back to the driveway.
Her face lights up when she sees me. “Thank you, handsome.”
She’s in her frayed terrycloth robe and a pair of worn Crocs and her graying hair is twisted up in a bun. “No problem. I’ll just walk this to the can.”
“You’re home early for a Saturday night,” she says with a lilt in her voice. “I saw my favorite cutie leaving earlier. I bet he’s on a hot date.”
I chuckle. She really likes Jasper. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Langston, he’s saving himself for you.”
“Call me Dolores, sweetie. You boys are just the cutest. If Herb and I were blessed with a son, I’d want him to be just like you.” She pinches my cheek right where my dimple pops. “Make sure you remember to make time to clean the gutters soon. Snow will be here before we know it.”
“I’ll make sure. Do you need anything else tonight?”
“No, don’t worry about me. You have a fun night. Blow off some steam.”
Oh, Dolores, if you only knew.
“Okay, I will,” I say, smiling.
She heads back to her apartment downstairs while I take her trash to the can. We struck gold finding a landlady like her. She’s a widow. Quiet and mostly keeps to herself, except for when Jasper comes and goes. Clearly, she’s picked a favorite.
She owns the building and was ecstatic when we told her we’d be happy to clean the gutters and mow the lawn for her. So ecstatic in fact, she didn’t even ask for identification. She handed us the keys and we handed over three months worth of rent in cash.
Leon’s at the kitchen counter, staring at his phone. He doesn’t look up when I greet him. “Everything okay?” I ask. I toss my jacket on the couch and sit down with a groan. Adrenaline crashes fucking suck.
He types something and ignores my question.
Okay then.
I’m starting to think Leon is struggling worse with Bailey’s disappearance than Jasper. He’s barely sleeping, only eating when we force feed him. Every time I’m here, his face is buried in a screen.
Makes sense when I think about it. Leon’s been in love with Bailey for as long as we’ve known him. They’d finally just started hooking up a few weeks before she was taken. A fact that Jasper knows nothing about. There’s no way I’m saying shit either. That’s between the two of them.
“Hey.” I try to get his attention again. “You eat today?”
Nothing.
I get up and grab the phone from his hand.
“What the fuck?” he responds, finally acknowledging me. “When did you get back?”
I widen my eyes. “Like two minutes ago. Man, I say this as your best friend, you need to take care of yourself. Come on, let’s have a beer, eat some food.”
His shoulders slump. “I’m not hungry. I ate…” He grabs his phone back and checks the time. “Well, fuck me. I ate this morning. I didn’t realize it was after eight.”
“This is what I mean,” I emphasize. “Give me the phone and get your ass on the couch. I’m making dinner.” He drops his phone in my outstretched palm and rubs his temples.
“Fine, but I was just messaging with someone who might know something. I’m working on narrowing down our list of locations to stake out.”
I open the fridge and find nothing but beer and a box of leftover pizza. That’ll have to do. I throw a few slices on a paper plate and nuke them for a minute. While I wait, I open some beers and bring one to Leon.
“That’s good. Hear anything else about the house from the other night?” Blake’s house. My ears perk up as I wait for his response.
“Jasper’s out with that woman tonight, fishing for more info. Otherwise, nothing. Orlov is squeaky clean. I can’t find anything about someone named Sweeper anywhere. Even the cameras Jasper planted the other night have been pretty dull. Just Orlova and some other woman seem to be there most of the time. No sign of a man yet.”
Cameras?
My throat goes dry so I gulp down some beer. I should have realized Jasper would have planted some. He better not have put anything in Blake’s room.
“Damn. When I was in there briefly I was getting tax evasion vibes, not kidnapping. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye. Where did he put cameras?” I feign nonchalance and get up to grab the plate of pizza.
Leon takes the plate with a muttered thanks and bites into the slice like a starved animal. “I guess I was hungry.” He chews, takes a sip of beer, then answers. “Kitchen, living room, entrances. Why? You see something?”
“No, like I said, nothing out of the ordinary. Was just wondering.” I fold my pizza and take a bite.
“I think he put one in the bathroom too, pointed at the shower.” He shakes his head. “Fucking Jasper.”
My hand pauses halfway to my mouth. He can’t be serious? I know Jasper’s an idiot but he’s not a perv. No one gets to see Blake’s body but me. “You’re serious?”
“Wish I wasn’t. Don’t worry, as soon as I saw the feed, I shut it down. I gotta say though, man, that brunette… Fucking hot.”
“Delete it,” I seethe.
He raises his brow. “What?”
“Delete the fucking footage.” I drop my half-eaten pizza and clench my fist.
“I didn’t save it, brother. Calm down.” He narrows his eyes. “What’s with the meltdown?”
“Nothing. It’s just fucking creepy. We’re not those guys. I’m gonna kick Jasper’s ass when I see him.”
Leon sighs. “That makes two of us.” I sit forward with my hands on my thighs. “He told his parents where we are. I heard him on the phone with them earlier. I swear he got hit in the head one too many times playing ball.”
I groan. We’ve decided to keep certain things to ourselves. Mainly, where we’re living. We don’t need Mr. and Mrs. Shea knocking on the door for Sunday dinner and seeing guns and surveillance equipment laying around the apartment. They think we’ve started a consulting business and are helping out with the search for Bailey during our downtime. Yeah, we take on odd jobs here and there. Mainly Leon with his tech shit. But the majority of the time we’re chasing leads. Plus, Leon’s rich British daddy left him a nice, fat bank account when he turned eighteen. Leon hates using the money, but he knows we have no choice, not while we’re focusing so much time on shit that doesn’t pay.
“You think they’ll show up?” I ask. As much as I love the Shea’s, it’s not a great time.
“Nah, or at least I hope not. We’re far enough away that they won’t want to drive to see us.” Leon reaches for his phone again and checks the screen.
“I’m gonna head out for a bit. Check out a couple potential leads,” I say. I’m restless and exhausted at the same time. If I were to try to sleep right now, I know I’d be tossing and turning, thinking of Blake. I get up, throw my plate away, and set my empty beer bottle on the counter. “You want to come? Get some air?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’ll see you later though.” He’s back to typing on his phone so I leave him to it. I’m halfway out the door when he interrupts. “Wait, come back. I just got something.”
Looks like you’ll have to wait, Blake.