Chapter 2 #2
Hours later, I’m in the city, a smile plastered on my face, three men in suits laughing at a joke the other said.
Something about a stripper and a horse. I stopped paying attention.
Even my drink isn’t much of a drink. It’s all for show.
There’s no alcohol in it. I don’t drink when I’m working. And this is work.
Casius chuckles as he tosses his third bourbon.
My eyes slowly take him in, from the hint of gray around his temples to his pale blue eyes, the same ones he uses to stare at the women he forces against their will. Dozens of them. He even brags about it. Not in so many words, but he says enough to know what he means.
I met him through my business. An owner of a hedge fund. Someone who’s used many of the products I offer my clientele. He’s special. Or he thinks he is.
But I don’t discriminate. Tonight, I will do what must be done. I will rid the world of his evil.
“You’re awfully quiet, Andy.” His attention lines with mine, his irises doused in a red hue from all the alcohol he’s consumed. “I wanted to hear about the new tech you developed. Cameras in pens?”
Of course, I don’t tell them the name my mother gave me. Andy is how everyone knows me. How I stay discreet.
I nod. “Completely undetectable. And the smallest of its kind. Without sacrificing sound or image quality.”
He grins. “I want five hundred.”
“Done.” I toss the rest of my water so they think I’m actually drinking. That I’m one of them.
But I never will be.
He inclines his chin and jerks it toward his right. “Look at that hot piece of ass.”
My jaw tightens, but I turn to face the direction he’s looking and find a woman sitting at a bar, drinking something. Her eyes are absent, and her long, light brown hair lies in waves across her shoulders.
She doesn’t notice us. Doesn’t notice anyone, really. I return my gaze to Casius, seeing the sinister objective in his expression, knowing exactly what he wants to do to her.
“I think she wants to be left alone,” I tell him.
But he continues to ogle her, and I know just what he plans to do to her anyway.
“Be right back.” He rises to his feet as the other two men chuckle, giving each other knowing looks.
They’re aware of what he does. How he doesn’t take no for an answer. He just tosses money at the problem afterward and pays off the women and the cops.
I should kill his friends too. Since they find his actions so amusing.
My hand clamps across my thigh as I watch him rush over to her, almost tripping on his own feet with how inebriated he is.
Unable to peel my gaze from him and the woman, I glare as he smiles, flashing a set of white teeth that does nothing for her except make her face tighten. She shakes her head and tries to look away, but he grabs her arm instead and laughs.
In a flash, she rushes to her feet, flips his arm against his back, and presses herself into him from behind. She leans her mouth close to his ear, her eyes carrying a hint of danger.
I don’t hear a word she says, but if looks could kill…
A cold grin curls around my mouth.
As she lets him go, she snarls and turns on her heels before strutting away.
I watch her go as he returns, still grinning like a motherfucker.
Shaking his head, he drops back onto his chair. “She’s fire. My God…” A whoosh of a breath tramples out of his thin mouth. “I want her. I bet she fights just like that in bed.”
“Pretty sure she didn’t want what you were dishing out.” One of the men shakes his head, laughing as he does. Like this is some big joke.
He chuckles low, like a predator calculating his next attack. “Women don’t know what they want, man. It’s our job to show them.”
My heart pounds, adrenaline bursting inside me, needing to take him right here, right now. My eyes remain glued to him while I grind my teeth, unable to stop the vengeance that pierces through my molecules. He’s gonna die tonight, and I’ll take great pleasure in it.
Hours pass, and it’s just me and him now. The others went home a while ago.
When I got this invitation from Casius, I was pleased. I know how drunk he gets, how easy it’ll be to take him back to my house. I do own a penthouse in the city, but I don’t do this there. That would be a lot less discreet.
He starts to get up, grabbing the edge of the chair as he steadies himself.
“Heading out?” I clasp him on the shoulder.
“Mmm,” he grumbles. “Gonna catch a…uh, you know.” He chuckles, gait tottering.
“A taxi?” My chuckle is low, almost breathy. This is gonna be so easy.
“That’s right.” He scoffs. “I need some s-sleep.”
I nod as we stride out together onto a bustling city street. “How about I take you home?”
Of course I offer my dear friend a ride. How else will I manage to kill him?
He glances with watery eyes, unsure of my proposition. “Yeah?”
“Of course. I have nothing to do anyway.” I grin as he hums a response. “My car is just over there.”
I point left, but before we start toward that direction, I spot the woman from the bar, sitting inside her sedan, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
If I was the kind of man who cared, I’d probably knock and ask her if she’s okay. Maybe apologize for his dickish behavior. But I don’t do a thing except take note of her license plate so I can look her up later.
She remains behind us, growing distant, while together we make it down two blocks until we’re in front of my black SUV.
Nothing special about it. I prefer not to draw unnecessary attention to myself.
I don’t flaunt my money—except the penthouse, of course.
That’s mine. I earned it. Put everything into my work to be where I am.
My mother may have left me in the hands of evil, but I rose to the top by clawing my way out.
I open the backseat for him, because that’s where he belongs. As he starts to climb up, I reach inside my pocket and retrieve a syringe.
He doesn’t register my breaths lingering around his nape, the way my hand moves up slowly, while the other curls around his front before it fastens around his neck.
“What the—”
But it’s too late. The needle punctures the side of his throat, and his words die as quickly as he will.
People dart past us, but no one cares as I subtly shove his body across the seats and shut the door behind him.
I enter the driver’s side and start the car, rolling it onto the street.
Can’t wait until he wakes up so the fun can begin.