35. Zero
35
ZERO
I t was just after two a.m. when Diesel and Zero finally returned home.
Trying not to wake anyone, Zero carefully unlocked the door and held it open for Diesel to enter.
“Sneaking in after curfew?” a strange voice asked through the darkness.
Diesel jumped back, getting tangled up in Zero’s protective arms. Without thinking, Zero pulled Diesel behind him, taking a protective stance in front of him. He didn’t realize what he was doing until it was too late.
“Glad to see you still got a set of balls on ya, kid.”
The living room light came on, and Zero breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Jesus. You scared the shit out of us, boss. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Giving them both a heavy stare, Marc leaned back on the sofa and crossed one leg over his lap.
“I’m here to get this shit wrapped up. The case has been going on long enough.” Marc’s eyes shifted to the figure standing behind Zero. “Diesel, was it?”
Diesel stepped around Zero, straightening his hoodie and taking a lean against the wall. He nodded.
“Where are the other guys?” Zero asked, stepping into the living room and taking a seat in the armchair next to the sofa.
Marc was sitting on the couch in a pair of black boxer briefs and a sleeveless Deftones T-shirt. His jeans were folded neatly and resting on the edge of the coffee table, while a small decorative pillow sat at the end of the sofa.
“The muscle stripper boy is downstairs sleeping. Someone needs to tell that meathead that the floors in this place aren’t that thick, especially when he’s sex-videoing with his boyfriend. Lover? Whatever the fuck he has. Chase, on the other hand, is out meeting a contact to grab some surveillance equipment we’ll need,” Marc responded.
Diesel snort-chuckled.
It had been a few months since Zero had last seen Marc and his husband, Alex. Marc had recruited him about six months ago to assist Chase with running down the names listed in their Book of Sin .
If Marc was here, that meant that he wasn’t happy with their progress. Fuck. Marc lived in the United States, Brooklyn, to be precise. And if he had come all the way to London… that wasn’t a good sign.
“Hope we aren’t dropping the case,” Zero asked. If the rumors about this guy were true, he wanted to nail this guy’s fuckin’ ass.
Marc’s eyes narrowed. Sometimes, the guy gave off creepy serial-killer vibes. He was odd, mostly quiet, and only spoke when he really needed to. Most of the time, it was his chatterbox husband, Alex, who kept the airwaves flowing with chatter.
“Do you really think I would let that monster get away with what’s he done?” Marc asked, looking at him like he was all kinds of stupid. “I’m here to make sure we nail his ass, then close this fucking case.”
Zero nodded. He could live with that. Supposedly, Marc was some kind of genius when it came to strategizing and finding out information.
“You boys should go get some sleep. We got a long day ahead of ourselves tomorrow,” Marc commented, glancing over at Diesel, who had already lost interest in the conversation.
The next morning, they all huddled in the living room while Marc played around on his tablet, eyebrows scrunching as he searched for something.
Zero sat in the armchair, popping grapes into his mouth, while Diesel sat with his back against the wall, munching on a roast beef sandwich.
“You boys want a drink?” Chase asked, walking into the room with Jared following behind.
“No thanks,” they all mumbled, not bothering to even look up.
Chase plopped himself down on the sofa next to his boss, Marc, while Jared slid in next to his best friend, who was sitting on the floor.
Finally, Marc let out a breath before looking up from his tablet.
“Sorry, guys. If that television wasn’t from the nineteen eighties and ready to die, I would have been able to cast my tablet onto the TV and walk you through my notes. So instead, you’re all going to have to use your imagination and picture it with that special little brain of yours.” Marc growled, seeming annoyed and not happy to be here.
Perhaps he just missed his husband, Alex? For the handful of times Zero had seen them both together, they always seemed attached at the hips.
No. More like he’s pissed that you failed at your mission, and he had to come all the way to London to finish the job , that inner voice scolded.
Zero did feel like a failure. He was hired to help with his investigations, yet here he was, unable to take down one fucking awkward scientist.
“So, we know that there are multiple victims, all with similar backstories. They all woke up in various locations across London, each with bruises, cuts, and other sorts of lacerations, with no memory of where they had been or how they got their injuries. All they remember was attending some fancy party but don’t remember where the party was or how they got there,” Marc began. He swiped at the tablet with his finger. “Victims are both male and female, ranging in age from eighteen to twenty-eight. The only commonality between the victims is that they all like to party. Hard.”
The room fell silent, with all eyes falling on Diesel.
“Kind of like you,” Marc added.
Diesel’s face flushed. “What do you mean, kind of like me ?” He raised his hoodie, placing it over his head as he continued to glare at the man sitting on their couch.
Seeing Diesel raise his hoodie, Zero immediately knew what that meant—Diesel was uncomfortable with Marc’s comment.
Marc wasn’t exactly known for his tact. While being a little odd, he was always direct and wasn’t afraid to call people out on their bullshit. After a night of drinking, Chase had told him once that Marc kidnapped a client just to prove the man wrong about his strength in security. Apparently, Marc also kidnapped his current husband… but that was a story for another time.
“The victims were all heavy drug and alcohol users, which is also why the police never took their claims seriously. Who would believe that a druggie was kidnapped or assaulted? The police just chalked it up to the victims got high, blacked out, then hurt themselves during their drug-induced hallucinations or shit.”
“That’s fucking bullshit.” Diesel huffed. “The cops should take any complaint seriously, no matter who the person is.”
Marc nodded in agreement. “I totally agree. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality we live in. Addicts, prostitutes, and other socially disenfranchised individuals are often ignored or turned away because of people’s biases and misconceptions.” Marc looked back down at his tablet and swiped the surface once again. Apparently, that was enough on that topic for the morning.
“Now, Edwin’s journal entry doesn’t give us much more information. Just a few details on the doc, some information on his personality, and that he suspected the man of doping his victims and having them assaulted. He doesn’t get into details regarding the type of assault or where these acts took place. Zero and Jared were able to snap a photo of an invitation to a private party. We believe that this might be the same party that the victims were all invited to. We will stake out the party and see what goes down. Hopefully, we get enough evidence to confirm our suspicions about the doc.”
“And then what?” Jared asked, his hands folded neatly in his lap as he listened intently.
“Then we take him out.” There was such coldness in Marc’s voice. Like the act of taking someone’s life meant nothing to the man.
Zero always knew that Marc was a little different, but was he secretly one of these super smart, high-functioning serial killers who had a basement or cabin full of body parts? Was he even working for the right side?
Shifting in his seat, Zero glanced over at Diesel, who was playing with the strings of his hoodie, while glaring at the grumbly American sitting on their couch. Perhaps now, Diesel would understand what they all went through when dealing with his growly personality. Diesel wasn’t exactly Mr. Sunshine.
Or perhaps he is conducting his own threat assessment to determine if the man leading this charge is a deranged psycho who suddenly appeared in their house uninvited.
He hoped Diesel realized that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him while he was around.
Diesel’s eyes shifted toward Zero, and the corner of his lips turned upward ever so slightly. The move was barely noticeable, but Zero noticed. He had been studying Diesel’s face these past few weeks and had no trouble catching the slight changes in the sexy man’s features.
Slowly, Diesel pulled down his hoodie, warming Zero’s heart like never before. The man did trust him. He felt comfortable and safe and didn’t need his comfort hoodie when Zero was around.
Somehow, he felt like he’d just won the moon.
Diesel turned his attention back to his sandwich and continued to enjoy his lunch, not giving a shit what the other guys were talking about.