Chapter 14 AIDEN
AIDEN
The cast iron burner did a wonderful job of heating the tar and melting it into a smooth, liquid consistency. I’m itching to check on my bug, but I couldn’t bring my phone with me. I even had to remember to toss my smartwatch before coming here.
You can never be too careful.
Luckily for me, this particular job does not require me to strip; low-hanging fruit and boiling tar don’t mix well.
I find myself tracing a finger over my lower lip as I park the tanker, reminded of how easily transformed Katie was when she so desperately wanted to kiss me. Gone was the shy, awkward woman who blushes at the slightest compliment. Instead, she became confident, assertive, and sexy as hell.
I want to do some very naughty things to that woman. The more I watch her, the more I realise just how perfectly she can fit with me if she allows that darker side of herself to come out. I know it’s there. I can smell it, just as easily as I could scent her arousal in that heated moment.
That’s the thing about growing up with abuse or trauma; it can either break you or make you stronger.
In Katie’s case, it seems like she has found her strength but still hesitates to fully embrace her darker desires.
She would be absolutely magnificent if she simply abandoned societal norms and wholeheartedly embraced her authentic self.
It’s a shame to see her holding back, denying herself the pleasure and power that come with embracing one’s deepest desires.
But I’ll be patient, because I know that when she finally lets go, she will be like a phoenix rising from the ashes, unstoppable and untamed.
Does she have it in her to be like me?
I think so.
It will scare her at first, but then again, it always does.
Taking someone’s life is not an easy thing to do at first.
Your own body rejects the act; you puke, you shake, and you see their face haunting your dreams. But once you overcome that initial hurdle, a whole new world opens.
I wasn’t lying when I said that one more trauma could break her.
There are too many monsters roaming about this earth, and she has met her fair share of them.
But she will never have to fear monsters when I’m around, not because I am a knight in shining armour or a guardian angel, but because I am the thing lurking in the dark abyss.
I am the thing that goes bump in the night.
I am the boogeyman, the shadow that creeps along the walls.
I am the embodiment of her fears, and yet, paradoxically, I am also her protector.
In the darkness, I will become her shield, her strength, and her source of courage.
“Stephen,” I croon. “Time for your bath, buddy.” I tap on the boot of my car before popping open the trunk. He’s a sobbing mess. Poor little paedophile.
I couldn’t let it go. When Maria slid her phone across the table and I saw what he had done, my mind was made up. Not even my bug, in all her splendour, could distract me.
He wriggles, thrashing about in the trunk, his muffled cries growing louder. I tighten the restraints, ensuring he can’t escape.
“Baptism by fire, boo boo,” I say with a wistful grin as I remove the pitiful husk from the trunk.
“Look at that,” I point to the markings on the concrete.
“X marks the spot.” I drop him hard onto the ground, relishing in the sound of his body hitting the concrete.
I’m nearly sure I just heard something snap.
Glorious.
He tries to say something, but I can’t make it out over the tape covering his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I pull the tape from his lips, leaning in close to hear his feeble attempts at speech. “What was that? Can’t quite hear you.”
“Please—”
“Nope.” I interrupt him with a chuckle, cutting off his plea.
“No need for pleasantries now.” Walking to the tank beside us, I grab the lever.
“Pull the lever, Kronk.” The tank releases a rush of boiling tar that cascades over his body, face first, melting away his skin and leaving behind only agonised screams. “Wrong lever!”
I wish I could just take a photo of this moment, capturing the pure horror and despair etched on his face before the tar consumes it.
Trophies are the downfall of people in my profession; they become obsessed with collecting evidence of their conquests, forgetting the true purpose of their work. They get fucking sloppy.
Stephen is still screaming in excruciating pain as the tar continues to eat away at his flesh. I was originally going to burn the bastard alive, but my bug’s brilliant idea of making him a speed bump was too good to pass up.
She has a rather brilliant and twisted mind when it comes to punishment.
I’d love to have her here right now to witness this. She is not ready to appreciate the beauty of my work yet, but she will. She will see that the safest place on earth is in the arms of a killer.
Unlike most people who claim they would kill for their loved ones, I will actually follow through with it.
My bug will know this about me when the time is right.
She will trust me completely because there is nothing that I wouldn’t do to protect her.
She won’t run like my ex-wife, and she won’t ever fear me.
Katie will carve out her heart and hand it to me on a silver platter, knowing that I will guard it with my life.
Stephen’s cries turn into muffled whimpers; his mouth was wide open when I pulled that lever. The tar has stripped away his ability to scream, leaving him helpless. He’s still alive; I can see the tiniest movement of his chest as he struggles to breathe.
Hmm.
That won’t do.
I could just leave him here to die slowly, but where is the fun in that?
I could hit him with my car, but then I’d have to burn it out.
What would my bug suggest?
Too bad I didn’t think to get a road roller; I could have squashed him flat. His bones would be crushed to powder, and his organs would burst from his body like grapefruit exploding.
Dammit, I should have lowered him into the tanker and watched him drown in the darkness.
“Bug,” I sigh as I look down at the man writhing in pain. “You’re making me lazy, baby. I could have had more fun killing this prick if I wasn’t desperate to get back to you.”
I’d burn a hole in the fucking pavement just to get back to her sooner. She’s all alone in that house without me, and it’s driving me crazy.
Oh…burn!
Tar’s flammable, right?
I turn for my car, finding a lighter in the glove box. Perfect.
I haven’t removed my gloves, so tossing this should not be a problem.
If there is anything left, they’ll never be able to pull a print from it.
Flicking the lighter open and sparking the flame, watching it dance before my eyes.
“Goodnight, Stephen,” I mutter under my breath as I toss the naked flame onto the tar, igniting a small fire that rapidly grows.
The flames reflect in my eyes as I turn away, knowing that soon enough, I’ll be back with her.
I stop by the Orion on the way, picking up a change of clothes from my office and grabbing a small bag of essentials. When I turn to leave, a pair of amber eyes on a five-foot-nothing frame stop me in my tracks. “Mrs. Grimsby.” I smile down at her; she’s having none of it.
Instead, she charges into my office, her cheeks puffing up like a beaver. “It’s Greengot!”
“Hard to tell nowadays.” I shrug, closing the door behind her and sealing us in. “Murphy, Quinn, Ryan, Grimsby.” I list every surname she has ever had. “I can’t keep up with all the name changes.”
She huffs and crosses her arms, clearly unimpressed with my attempt at humour. “Are you trying to stitch me up?”
I arch an eyebrow, genuinely confused by her accusation. “Excuse me?”
Her amber eyes narrow as she leans forward, her voice laced with suspicion. “You know exactly what I mean. Are you trying to set me up for something?”
My head tilts to the side, and my confusion deepens. “Are you taking your pills, éabha?”
“Aiden James Quinn!” She roars like a mountain lion. “I’ve already done time for one of your murders; I’m not going back for another!”
“Alleged,” I interject.
“Whatever!”
“Why would I want to set you up? I mean, it’s not like you robbed me blind, broke my heart, and set me up to get violated with a latex glove by a prison guard or anything.”
She pauses briefly, then growls, “I hope he got the whole hand up there.”
“Why do you think you’re being set up?” I ask, walking around my desk and dropping into my seat.
“A lot of Walsh’s associates are going missing. A lot of people we both had ties to, Aiden.”
“I can assure you that the fact that these men belong to Walsh is just a happy coincidence. What makes you think that I’m involved?
” I get up, brushing the hair from her face, to check her ears for a wire or any other listening devices.
Then pull her dress up over her head, revealing a clean slate underneath.
“What the hell!” éabha shrieks. “Get the hell off me! I’m not wearing a wire!”
“Prove it! The bra is next,” I demand, holding her gaze.
éabha’s eyes widen in disbelief, she quickly unclasps her bra and throws it to the ground. “There, satisfied?”
“Ecstatic, just be thankful you chose a thong and not granny panties, or I would have had to take those off too.”
éabha rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, clearly annoyed. “Can we please get back to the matter at hand now?” she demands, pulling her clothes back on and adjusting herself.
“Please do; I have places to be.”
“These men, the ones that are vanishing are,” she pauses, taking my measure. “Just the type you like.”
“I think you’re confusing me with Robbie.”
“Rapists, Paedophiles, the worst of the fucking worst, Aiden. The kind you hunt. The kind you can make disappear.”
“All I’m hearing is that the streets are safer, and that justice is being served,” I shrug.
“But at what cost?” she retorts. “Is it worth selling your soul?”
“You have to have a soul to sell it, éabha. I cashed mine in the very moment that arsehole went down those stairs.”
We both know it.
She was there. She was the only witness, and she kept her mouth shut to protect me.
“Go back to your husband, éabha, he’ll be missing you.”
She growls, stomps for the door, then stops with her hand on the knob. “He’s bigger than you, by the way.”
“And Katie can reach the top shelf in Tesco without needing a ladder.”
She glares at me over her shoulder. “Who’s Katie, AJ?”
“None of your business, éabha,” I get to my feet and grab my bag. “You can leave now.”
She charges at me with fire in her eyes. “Tell me that you’re not stupid enough to drag someone into your fucked-up life!”
“You’re one to fucking talk!”
“She doesn’t deserve it. Whoever the hell she is, she does not deserve your life. She does not deserve your obsession. She does not deserve to have to look over her shoulder every five minutes waiting to catch a fucking bullet!”
“My obsession, as you call it, saved your fucking life, éabha! Without it, you and Jason would be at the bottom of the Liffey with more holes in you than a sieve!” I’m forced to bend to her eye level. “But what thanks did I get? None. Not so much as a pat on the back or a parting blow.”
Her tiny hands strike my chest. “Don’t make me come up there!”
“You know what?” I drop the bag, grab her by the shoulders, and hang her by the strings of her dress on the coat hook on my wall. Her legs kick furiously as she dangles in mid-air. “Maybe this will teach you to have some gratitude.”
“Get me down!”
“Get yourself down, you fucking midget,” I grab my bag and leave, slamming the office door behind me.