Chapter 3
Three
Ethan sat in the uncomfortable chair with his spine as straight as he could possibly get it, his hands pressed together in two tight fists in his lap.
The borrowed suit was itchy as hell, making the whole ordeal of sitting perfectly still a nightmare.
But he would not give the woman on the other side of the desk any reason to think he didn’t have his shit together.
He just kept repeating to himself that in less than an hour, he’d be out of the fancy town house. He would be able to strip out of the suit and climb back into his well-worn jeans and T-shirt. For now, he could suck it up. He needed this job.
Everything hung on him getting this job.
As the woman with the pinched expression reviewed his too-short résumé, Ethan chanced a glance around the austere room.
The walls were plain white and the desk, while nice, was somewhat utilitarian and entirely boring.
There were no pictures on the walls or on the desk.
Just stacks of folders and papers. To one side, he could see a calendar planner that was heavily marked up with notes.
The room had zero personality; it was simply a place of work.
“I’ll be frank with you, Mr. Cline,” the woman said at last. Not a good sign. “Your résumé doesn’t exactly show the qualities I am hoping to find for this position.”
“I know I’ve worked a lot of odd jobs, but at each position, I’ve proved to be resourceful and showed initiative.
I am incredibly organized. It’s the only way I’ve managed to juggle three jobs and keep up with my night classes.
You can call any of my references. They will confirm that I’m always on time for work and meet my deadlines. ”
“You understand that this is just a temporary position as Mr. Varik’s personal assistant.
The bulk of the duties are organizing his home and packing it for the upcoming move.
The movers have been arranged for the majority of the household items, but bonded transport will need to be scheduled for some rare and priceless artifacts.
In addition, this position may require the person to run various errands at all times of the day and night.
This could interfere with your night classes. ”
“I understand,” Ethan said with a quick nod. “I’m taking a semester off to save up money for the last of my schooling.”
“You also understand that you will be working mostly in this house.”
“Yes.”
“Anyone working in the house must keep the window shades and curtains pulled closed during the day. Mr. Varik has a rare skin allergy and cannot be exposed to sunlight.”
Ethan nodded, careful to keep his expression solemn while joy zinged around in his chest. That was such a good sign. He needed this fucking job!
The woman frowned and looked down at his résumé as if she were trying to think of a new reason to scare him from this position. Ethan wracked his brain, desperate to come up with that one thing he could say to tip the scales in his favor. He was so damn close.
Before either of them could speak, there was a sharp knock on the door followed by a man stepping into the room.
Ethan’s breath caught in his throat to see his tall form wrapped in a dark suit.
The ice-blue tie matched his eyes perfectly, setting them off so that they seemed to glow.
His black hair was long, brushing against the tops of his shoulders, and was a little wild as if windblown. Simply, he was stunning.
“Mr. Varik?” the woman said in surprise.
“Janice.” His voice was low and rough, almost like two boulders grinding against each other. “What progress has been made on finding me an assistant?”
“I’m working on it, sir. I was just interviewing an applicant—”
Ethan finally broke from his dumbstruck awe and jumped to his feet, extending his hand to the tall man.
Even standing, Marcus Varik towered over him by at least five inches.
“Ethan Cline, sir,” Ethan introduced. His heart pounded in his chest and he prayed that Marcus couldn’t hear it.
At least his hand didn’t shake when Marcus stared at it for a second before taking it.
His hand was warm. Ethan hadn’t expected that. He’d thought his skin would be cold and clammy, but he was warm. Ethan curled his fingers when their hands parted, as if he were trying to hold on to that surprising heat to study it later.
“Marcus Varik,” Marcus replied. “You’ve been given the details of this job?”
“I was just starting to, sir,” Janice said.
“I’ve moved several times during my life, sir,” Ethan added. “I’ve gotten quite good at properly wrapping, labeling, and packing things away in a quick and organized fashion. I can get all your property safely moved to your new home.”
“And unpacked again,” Marcus said. “The job would require you to briefly relocate to Connecticut. Your living expenses would be covered during that time as well as your travel. You would have to unpack my property and see that it is properly placed around my new home.”
“That’s not a problem. I love seeing new places.”
“You would also be running various errands for me at all times of the day.”
“Not a problem.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes at Ethan. “Even at two in the morning for violin bow rosin?”
Ethan didn’t even let himself blink at the strange request. “I know of an all-night super store that should carry it. I could be at the store and then here inside of an hour.”
Marcus’s brow furrowed as his frown deepened. “Where do you live?”
Ethan’s heart stuttered in his chest, and he fought to keep his smile in place. “In the suburbs. Glenpark. But I can be here by train in about thirty minutes. I’d need to study the schedule for around two a.m., but that’s not a problem.”
“That’s not good enough,” Marcus muttered as if talking to himself. He looked around Ethan to Janice. “I want him no more than ten minutes from the town house.”
“That would require downtown housing. That could be expensive.” She gave a little shake of her head as if realizing at the last second what she was saying. “Of course. It will be handled today.”
“Do you drive?” Marcus said.
“I’m sorry…” Ethan replied, his brain struggling to keep up. Had he just been hired? Was he getting put in a swanky new apartment downtown rather than his rat-infested studio?
“Do you drive?” Marcus repeated. From the sharpness of his tone, Ethan could guess that he was a man who did not like to repeat himself.
“Yes. Yes, I’ve got my license. I don’t currently have a car. Between the gas, insurance, and upkeep, it’s just too expensive. But I can drive.” Ethan inwardly winced. He was babbling and didn’t manage to catch himself until it was too late. Marcus Varik didn’t give a damn about his money troubles.
“Fine.” Marcus looked at Janice again. “Add him to the insurance and see that he has access to the black Mini Cooper.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Birds,” Marcus said suddenly, turning his attention back to Ethan. “Do you have any problem with or allergy to birds?”
Ethan struggled to keep his face completely blank in the face of that slightly insane question. Definitely not something he’d ever been asked in an interview. “Umm…no. No problems with birds.”
Marcus nodded and extended his hand. “Be here promptly at ten a.m. tomorrow. I’ll show you around for the first two hours, and then you can get to work.
The rest of the time you will start at noon.
Tonight, you will research potential places to live while you are working for me.
They will need to be within a ten-minute walking distance of the town house.
Have them to Janice before you arrive here tomorrow. ”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Ethan said, nearly laughing at his good luck.
Marcus paused long enough to acknowledge Janice with a small nod before he was gone again.
Janice sat down in her chair and cleared her throat. “I will also be checking your references. This position will remain contingent upon positive reviews, of course.”
Ethan dropped back down in his chair, his knees threatening to give out in his relief. “Yes, of course. I don’t think you’ll have any problems. Is there any price range I should be looking in for the temporary lodging?”
Janice frowned slightly at him. “Not specifically. Mr. Varik is trusting you to use your best judgment and to not waste his money. That being said, he will not approve of you living in a slum either. There are plenty of furnished executive apartments in the area that offer short-term leases.”
Ethan nodded. “I’ll email you tonight with a selection of moderately priced places and organize them according to the shortest distance to the town house.”
“Very good. I’ll meet with you at two p.m. tomorrow so that you have a chance to sign final paperwork and fill out your healthcare benefits.” Janice stood and extended her hand to him, but Ethan just sort of blinked at it in shock.
“Really? I’m getting health insurance? I thought this was only a three-month contract position.” He slowly pushed to his feet, his brain trying to catch up to what she was telling him.
“This position pays twenty-five dollars an hour on the assumption that you will be working a minimum of forty hours a week. Overtime will be paid as well. You are technically a contract worker, but Mr. Varik demands that all his employees have health insurance.”
“That’s…that’s just amazing. You have to fight most employers for health insurance, and contract workers don’t have a prayer.”
“Yes, well, thank you for coming in,” Janice said, giving him a tiny, stiff smile as if the act of smiling at him was painful.
Ethan hurried out of the office, not wanting to give the dour woman any excuse to steal back the job offer without Mr. Varik’s knowledge.
He paused at the grand entrance to the four-story town house and looked around.
As austere as the office was, the rest of the home appeared to be equally decadent and rich.
The gleaming hardwood floors were draped in exquisite Persian rugs.
Paintings covered the walls in heavy, ornate frames.
There were vases and other ceramic pieces on little shelves and pedestals.
Fuck. This was going to take a long time to pack up. No wonder he was given two months.
But it was very unlikely that he was going to unpack all this stuff again.
Slipping out the front door, he hurried down the quiet residential street, immediately loosening the tie around his neck.
He didn’t take a full, deep breath until he was several blocks away and surrounded by a crush of people hurrying from one place to another.
Safe in the idea that he was lost in a sea of faceless nobodies in the bright summer sun, Ethan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number he’d memorized for just this moment.
“Ethan?” a gruff voice demanded after the first ring.
“Yeah.”
“Did you get it?”
“I did,” he said, nearly laughing with relief.
“Excellent. That’s excellent, kid,” Carl praised and Ethan had to clench his teeth. He fucking hated being called kid. He was twenty-six. Not some kid. But then, Carl looked like he was in his forties. Probably old enough to be Ethan’s dad, not that he was. No one was anymore.
Ethan was willing to put up with Carl’s “kid” comments for now if it meant getting one step closer to the fuckers who slaughtered his family.
“When do you start?” Carl asked.
“Tomorrow at ten. I’m being put up in an apartment downtown so I can be close to the town house.”
“Great. Give us the address when you get it. We can set it up as a base of operations.”
Ethan frowned. “We’ll have to be cautious. I don’t know if I’m going to be watched. If too many people are seen coming and going from my place when I’m supposed to be working, Varik might become suspicious.”
“Smart, kid. We’ll save it for staging the final attack.”
He didn’t know about that either, but he wasn’t going to start a new argument with Carl. It wasn’t important right now.
“I saw him today. I shook Marcus Varik’s hand. Stared him right in the eye and he didn’t have a clue,” Ethan practically crowed.
Relief and joy were making him lightheaded. He could have danced down the sidewalk. The first step of the great plan was complete. He was inside Varik’s lair.
“Good job! Varik has no idea that he’s just welcomed his biggest threat right into his home. We’ll talk more later.”
Carl ended the call and Ethan tucked his phone into his pants. He stood on the busy street corner and tilted his face up to the sky. He blinked away tears of relief. One step closer.
His life had been a lonely, endless nightmare since that horrible night when he was only ten years old. All the love and warmth had been ripped out of his existence. Stolen away.
Killing Marcus Varik would be a start, but he knew he wouldn’t feel complete until he found the blood-streaked woman from his darkest memories.
More than sixteen years later, he could still hear her taunting, high-pitched voice.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.