Chapter Twenty-Two
“Well, this is one way to fix the complication,” I mutter to myself, as life drains from Manny’s eyes. Emma is shocked and shivering somewhere behind me, but I had to use what I had on hand, and quite frankly, I feel a little better balanced now.
I no longer have to worry about Manny getting his money. Though, I doubt Ivan will be happy with Manny missing lunch next week—or that he’s dead in general.
I’ll deal with it later.
I consider pulling my good screwdriver out of his neck, but it’s probably better to leave it. This isn’t a mess I can call in for help with. Ivan has too many connections to them. If he decides to go on a rampage looking for Manny, I don’t want them to lead him to my doorstep.
I blow out a sharp breath, stand to my feet, and turn to Emma. “This is my partner, Manny.” Her eyes are wide, and her lips part but nothing comes out. “I need to step out and make a phone call.”
She nods. “O-Okay.”
I can see the terror written all over her face, and I know he touched her—but I don’t know the extent. I’ll have to deal with that after I get Manny out of my basement. It’s been a really fucking long time since I’ve had to do my own clean up, but thankfully, unlike some, Victor made me spend five years on a clean-up crew.
And there’s only one other person who’s been graced with the same experience that I might be able to trust.
“What?” Jude answers the phone on the second ring.
“I need you to come here.”
A few beats of silence follow, and then finally…
“I’ll leave now.”
I hang up the phone, and then turn to Emma. The back of her shirt is soaked in blood, and her eyes are focused on Manny. Her eyes flicker back to mine, and there, amid the blue, I see distrust.
“I need you to undress.” I keep my voice even. I’ve never coached someone through something like this. It’s easier to eliminate witnesses, but now that I’ve killed my partner of over a decade, Emma will fucking live. The deal has been sealed.
“I-I-I,” she stutters, her teeth chattering. Clearly, she’s never seen someone murdered in cold-blooded rage.
“Undress,” I repeat myself. “I want you to clean up before my help arrives. You need to shower and change.”
“I don’t have any other clothes.” Her voice is blank, emotionless, and she’s back to deadpanning.
“I have clothes for you, Emma. Strip down and take a shower.”
She doesn’t move. I swallow the irritation burning in my chest as I approach her, reaching for the bottom of her blouse. She jumps back.
Okay, I’ve scared her. She’ll get over it.
I reach for her again, and this time, she stumbles back so hard she falls to the floor Major slinks out of the way and then goes to her.
“Emma,” I warn her. “I need you to do as I say.”
Shaking, she meets my gaze. “Are you… Are you going to…?”
I furrow my brow. “What?” I offer my hand to help her up, and she looks at me like I’m about to stab her. What kind of fucking shock is this? I just want the woman to get out of the bloody clothes so I can add them to my own pile.
“He touched me.”
I start to see red again at the thought of what I stumbled upon, but I shove it back down. It’s done now. I’ve made my first kill from rage in a long time, and it felt so fucking good that I’m concerned for myself—but I can deal with that another day. Emma will never catch my wrath. Just anyone who looks at her wrong, probably.
“He touched me,” she repeats the words, this time louder than before.
Gritting my teeth, I nod. “I saw.”
“He called me Little Red,” she whispers.
I close my eyes. Deep fucking breath. Lock it away. “I heard.”
“He ruined me,” she says, this time her voice hardly audible at all. “He ruined me for you.”
It hits me then, and guilt extinguishes any flame of anger, like a bucket of water on a candle. I hold her gaze, feeling a new fucking ache as a tear slips from her eye, rolling down her cheek.
“He didn’t ruin you,” I force the words out. “Nothing can ruin you. So, get up, give me your bloody clothes, and wash yourself. I’m going to need your help. We’re in this together now.”
She peers up at me like a child. “W-we are?”
“Yeah,” I grab her hand, squeezing it. “Remember when you ran through the woods with bloody feet?”
She doesn’t pull away, nodding. “Yeah.”
“He might have torn up a part of you that neither of us can see,” I say the words with a feeling I’ve never felt before. “But it’ll heal. No one will ever touch you again if you don’t want them to. I can teach you.” I don’t know why I put the offer on the table, but her eyes flicker with hope that brings me relief.
“You will teach me?”
“Yeah, I’ll teach you. Shit happens like this, but he didn’t win, did he? Because he was coming down here to kill you, Emma. He didn’t get to. He loses. He’s the one who’s dead now. I murdered my partner, and now it’s just us against what’s to come.”
“What do you think is coming?” Her voice gains strength as she lets me help her to her feet.
“Hell,” I answer her. “Hell is coming for us.”
Emma takes a breath and drops my hand. At first, I think she might fall to the floor again, but instead, she reaches down and grabs the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head.
“I never liked this shirt anyway,” she says, tossing it to the floor.
A smile pulls at my lips as she sheds the rest of her clothes. My eyes rake over her naked body, drinking in the sight. Her nipples stand erect from the cool, damp breeze, and even though my cock throbs for her, we don’t have that kind of time. I’ll burn away every trace of Manny from her, but he didn’t touch what’s on the line here in my mind. He could’ve raped her until her body gave out, and he’d never touch what I want the most.
I’m finally seeing the whole picture clearly.
The threat never applied to Manny. He was dead the moment he lusted after her, and I’d never blame Emma for what he brought on her. She doesn’t understand the difference between Jared and Manny touching her.
But it’s a striking difference. Jared has aim to catch what I finally realize I want more than anything. Her fucking heart. And if the moment comes that she chooses him—or anyone, for that matter—over me, she’s dead.
I’ll make fucking sure of it.
***
“Holy…” Jude steps into the basement, and the color drains from his face. “You could’ve mentioned… What the hell did you do this for?” He turns to me as I head for the bathroom door. I hold the stack of clothes for Emma in my hand, having heard the water shut off.
“Long story,” I say, opening the door just enough to set the clothes on the counter. I flipped the breaker back on for the basement on my way to greet Jude, and now, the lights make the whole mess look even worse. “Put these on,” I tell Emma as she wraps up in a towel. “Then come out here.” She nods, and I shut the door, turning around to Jude staring at me.
“Who’s in your bathroom?” he deadpans, his eyes jumping to the pile of bloody women’s clothing in a pile.
I shift to my heels. “It’s complicated.”
“No, it’s not. Answer the question.”
“Whatever happens here, you cannot tell anyone,” I tell him. “Not even Henry. I still have a lot to figure out, and this…” I glance down at Manny. “This is going to have big ramifications.” Ivan.
“Right,” Jude mutters, running his fingers through his hair. “Let me guess, you’re going to want me to cover this so Ivan doesn’t track you down.”
“If possible, but you and I both know it won’t keep him away.”
He nods. “Fair assumption.”
“Yeah, so let’s get started. I don’t want to spend all night cleaning this shit up, and when she comes out here, I don’t want her getting bloody. She’s still… She’s still coping with this.”
“I can imagine,” he scoffs, pulling out his latex gloves. As he snaps them in place, the bathroom door opens, and out steps Emma.
“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Jude groans as he shoots me a glare. “You said—”
“I said, I didn’t kill her,” I cut him off. “See, she’s not dead.”
She gives me a bewildered look as she meets Jude’s eyes. I hold my breath, waiting for recognition. I have no idea if they’ve ever met, but thankfully, she shows no signs of knowing Jude. That’s good and buys me time. When word about Manny gets to Ivan, his eyes will be everywhere. Not to mention, there’s still the threat on Emma, and depending on how fast the word moves, I don’t know if we’ll make it to the cutoff date without the hit being passed on to the next.
“Does she know?” Jude turns to me.
“Know what?” Emma asks.
“She knows that her husband is probably behind this,” I say, careful not to mention anything about Lydia or Henry. They have to stay out of it. The fewer who know the better, and Jude can keep them at bay now that he knows.
Jude nods. “I found the connection as soon as you left tonight. He was the source with the information, and it didn’t take long to see he promised five percent of her inheritance to Fury IT.”
“Who’s Fury IT?” Emma asks, her voice strained.
“A fake company well-known on the dark web,” Jude explains. “It’s just one of many, but they funnel the hits. He’s trying to collect your inheritance before your divorce is finalized.”
I eye Emma, expecting her to have another one of those self-blame answers, but instead, she just shakes her head. “He’s always been a really talented liar.”
“He’s living with his secretary in a cute, cookie-cutter neighborhood now,” Jude tells me. “If you want to do something about it.”
Rage rears its head in my chest, and I want to take off right then to take care of him. I knew he’d die at some point, but now that it’s certain, we can just wipe him off the face of the earth—and one problem is solved.
“I don’t want him to die,” Emma’s voice comes out strong.
“Why?” I snap at her, once again pissed that she still cares about the stupid fucker.
“I’d rather him live with the debt he’s cost himself. I think that’s more torturous than death,” she says flatly, meeting my gaze. “Then he’ll have to see my face and know he failed.”
“Damn,” Jude chuckles. “That’s brutal—I like it.”
I don’t.
“How many days until the divorce is finalized?” Jude turns to me, waiting for the answer.
“Thirtyish,” I tell him, my stomach knotting up as I look to Emma. I don’t want Jared to live. He doesn’t deserve it, and while I see the point she’s trying to make, I’m not sure if I believe that’s all it is for her.
And for the first time in my life, I’m actually scared of someone.