Must be my Reaper.
I slid through the back door and quietly rested on my haunches, listening to the conversation. Two Russians were seated at a table with a white guy dressed in super baggy clothes and big fat gold necklaces like he was a wannabe rapper. I’d seen his picture since it was sent to my phone like Barnaby’s.
The Russians were also on my list, but not today. No, this visit was only for Caleb.
I’d collected some tapes and information from Barnaby’s belongings and learned that Stefanie wasn’t on any of it. Xenon helped dig through the video files and surveillance, but it only showed the two girls found at the Scorpion compound and a dozen others. All of them had been abused in the last year.
I wasn’t the least bit sorry to let the incriminating evidence end up at the police department. They reported a break in the case on the news last night, and it felt good to know that girl from the cross would have closure. They couldn’t hold back now, and the Scorpions would be raided. Hell, they’d probably have to go on the run for a bit, and that was worth it.
Once the Russians were gone, I sprung from the shadows and circled Caleb’s throat with my hand. He lifted off the ground as I tried not to be distracted by my Reaper’s strength.
“You hurt someone I love.”
Caleb’s eyes grew wide. “What the fuck? Put me down, bitch.”
Bitch? I felt the Reaper’s fury as something snapped, and I lost my control. My bond buddy decided to slam Caleb’s head against a nearby cabinet. It would have been okay if it wasn’t too hard or an extreme amount of pressure. Guess I didn’t know quite how to tone it down a bit yet because Caleb’s head popped like a fat juicy tick and exploded. Blood, brain matter, and tissue went everywhere.
The Reaper didn’t find a problem with this.
“How the fuck is this shit getting out of my cut? I’m going to have to throw all of these clothes away,” I fumed, pissed at my Reaper.
I could feel his refusal to agree the situation wasn’t handled well.
“Oh, you want to disagree?”
It didn’t occur to me until about ten minutes later that I carried on a conversation entirely in my head, and now I was probably as close to insane as you could possibly get while still functional.
“How the fuck is this my life?”
The Reaper remained quiet, and I walked outside, knowing I couldn’t ride home like this where the whole city could see my body drenched in dripping blood and Caleb’s goo.
Luckily, I kept a change of clothes, so I just needed a place to clean up. There was an old auto repair parts shop behind one of the local strip malls that didn’t have any customers, so I found a sink in the bathroom and got rid of the evidence. I’d still need another shower when I got home. The smell was horrible. At least no employees saw me enter the place.
Ignoring the feeling of triumph that came from the demon inside, I headed back to the Crossroads to burn the soiled clothes.
I KEPT STARING AT THEtext on my phone, wondering when my contact was going to call. She said fifteen minutes, and that was almost half an hour ago. My teeth clenched together as I paced the length of my room in the Crossroads, relieved I didn’t have to worry about bullshit prospect chores or being at everyone else’s beck and call.
That shit sucked, and I was over it.
It was another ten minutes before I got her call and answered, swiping across the screen with frustration. “What took so damn long?”
“I got a tail.”
“A what?”
“A tail, dummy. Someone is on my ass. I gotta be careful.”
“Okay.”
“We need to meet. Like right now. The usual spot.”
“What the hell is going on? What’s so urgent that you don’t want to risk saying it over the phone?”
“Bad shit. Just hurry up.”
She hung up, and I could tell she was jittery. Maybe she had too much coffee. Who knew?
I took one of the SUVs since the weather was total shit, and I was freezing my balls off too much to risk riding my bike as I drove to Hawthorne and then snuck into a booth at the back of the restaurant. Per the usual, I left my cut inside, but I parked where I could watch the vehicle at all times. We didn’t want anyone to know we met or ate here plenty of times since she contacted me right before Halloween.