2. BONES

2

BONES

T his is the worst part of the job. The endless waiting around.

Even Dean’s no fun tonight. He’s the only one I partner up with for work. We met through the job, killing people for money. Took on a few contracts together, found we both enjoyed the violence and became friends pretty quickly after that.

Lately, he’s been drifting away thanks to his new pet he keeps locked away at home. I’m not exactly jealous. Okay, maybe I am a bit.

Who wouldn’t want a free-use sex toy waiting for them in their bed every day?

Still, he could at least share with his best friend. Unfortunately, the man is smitten. His dick and heart have formed an alliance. It’s the one thing I vow never to happen to me.

“You never told me what she thought of your pretty dick,” I say and he stops looking out of the car window to frown at me. A huge grin spreads on his face as he realizes I’m talking about the tattoo he got recently.

Running his tongue over the scar on his lip, he says, “She was surprised, but I think she secretly loves it. It makes her look at my dick even more now.” His blue eyes are shining as he talks.

Christ, she’s got him wrapped around her little finger. He’s never had a relationship before and I’m surprised the woman is actually alive since she saw him kill two people. I suppose pussy always wins out.

I don’t bother asking anything else about her. He never tells me much anyway.

Sex hasn’t been fun for a while now. I’ve tried everything and everyone to spice it up, but it only feels like a means to an end.

Pussy, dick, ass, mouth it all feels the same. Soulless .

Yet I can't stop seeking it out.

At least if I had what Dean has I wouldn’t have to waste my time going out for hookups.

We settle back into silence as we survey the street outside the estate of tonight’s target. We're the only ones around and it’s been that way for over an hour now. The only other car on the road is mine, parked a few feet ahead.

We’re waiting on my inside guy to give us the all-clear to head inside, but he’s taking his sweet time and I'm bored.

I’m tempted to rile Dean up by making a joke about his sex slave—girlfriend—or whatever the fuck she is to him. But he’s got one hand clutching the steering wheel like he wants to rip it off and the other running over the blade I know is in his pocket, like he’s trying to jack the thing off.

Maybe things aren’t so good for him after all. I’ll probably get a black eye if I stir the pot too much, but that’s never stopped me from running my mouth before.

“You’re acting weird,” I say.

He ignores me, his mind elsewhere.

“Dean,” I say louder this time and I punch him in the shoulder.

“What?” he groans as he turns to face me with a sour expression like I’m the one pissing him off.

I flip down the sun visor so I can use the mirror to tie my long hair up. As much as I love having it this length, it does get in the way when I’m working. Especially since Dean likes to get messy.

“Something’s off with you. You’ve been weird all night.”

“I’m just keeping lookout. Since you don’t seem to be paying any attention, one of us has to.”

Jeez, what crawled up his ass and died tonight? He’s usually eager to go and kill someone.

No, I know exactly what’s up there. I wonder if he lets her peg him? I didn’t think he was the type, then again I didn’t think he was the type to settle down either.

“Is it your girl? Things not going okay?” I try to hide my jealousy that he’s growing up at the big old age of twenty-six and settling down. Being three years older than him and not being afraid to talk to women like he usually is, I thought it would be me first. Not that I really want it to happen.

In an ideal world, we’d still be causing chaos, just the two of us, until we’re way past retirement. Then maybe we’d find ourselves some sugar babies to take care of our frail old bodies and limp dicks.

“It’s fine. We’re fine. I think...I don’t know, it's hard to tell. I’m not exactly used to needing to know how someone else is feeling.”

Shit, he really is a goner. He could at least let me meet the girl that’s stolen his heart.

“You actually care about her then? I know you said you loved her before, but I thought you were exaggerating how good the sex was. Speaking of, how is it? I’m still thinking about finding my own personal slave. Just the thought of coming home to some sweet pussy and not having to ask her how her day was or worry if I’m going to catch something sounds amazing. Makes my balls ache already.” I make a show of adjusting my dick, pretending that the thought is making me hard. It’s definitely giving me a semi, the thought of sex always does. Sometimes I wonder if I’m addicted to it.

“I doubt you’ll find anyone good enough for your standards, Bones.”

Yeah, because I definitely have standards .

“True,” I sigh. “You want to talk about your problems then?”

“Not a chance,” he says bluntly.

I laugh at his honesty and decide to drop it.

A flash of a torchlight through the driver's side window catches my eye and I nod towards it. “Look, that's our cue.”

The large iron gates across the road creak open and we do a quick final weapons check before slipping our ski masks on.

“How did you manage that?” Dean asks quietly, surprise tinging his voice.

I wiggle my brows at him, making the mask shift on my forehead and he nods in understanding.

Something he’s never cared to learn is how much easier it is to get what you want when you think with your dick rather than your fists.

Why waste your energy fighting someone when you can fuck them into giving you everything you want?

As soon as we step onto the estate, the guard who opened the gate for us comes into view. Dean’s like a vicious attack dog, already cornering him with his gun raised. When I see him switch to his blade, I know things are going to get very bloody very quickly.

“Not him. He's our inside guy.” I pull Dean back in time, but he doesn’t stop staring at the guy like he wants to tear him apart with his teeth.

“Why is he still here?” Dean grumbles.

“He’ll keep our exit clear. Don’t worry, he's good for it. Aren’t you, Donny?” I shoot the guy a wink and he looks like he’s about to piss his pants.

“Uh, it’s Danny. But yes I’m good. I swear. I’ll keep a lookout like you told me to and keep the gate unlocked for you.”

What a good boy. I don’t remember every lay I’ve ever had, but this guy was pretty recent and I have a vague recollection of how quickly he got to his knees for me.

“See? All good.” I shoot Danny an easy grin before patting Dean on the shoulder.

We head up to the front of the house. This place is pretty big, nothing unusual for someone of Tommaso Abato’s status.

I’ve met him a few times at some charity events that my father hosted. Being the heir to his empire of hotels means I have to attend. I don’t mind though, I get to fuck the night away and do a load of coke.

Tommaso is an ex-businessman who used to own a chain of restaurants until they went bust from a suspected drug and sex trafficking ring running through them. Of course, he denies the claims that he had anything to do with the mob. It lost him a lot of money though and I don’t know why he thought running for mayor was a good idea. Guess he wanted to get his good reputation back.

Unfortunately for him, his campaign is about to end before it’s even begun.

Dean silently taps me on the chest and we come to a stop. Considering how distant his mind’s been with his girl, he’s fully focused on the job now and he’s spotted the guard up ahead before me.

We did our best to get the number of feet on the property down tonight by hacking into the security team’s network and rescheduling their shifts. Usually, a guy like Tommaso would have a handful of security, three or four max , not closer to a dozen. It’s odd, but doesn’t matter much for us tonight.

Before advancing we wait for the guard up ahead to move. When I spot an opening, I grab his wrists and yank them behind his back so Dean can come to his front and slice his throat.

He knows exactly where to cut to stop his face from being sprayed with a fountain of blood and instead, it slowly pumps from the gash, creating a waterfall of red down the man’s front.

Once he goes limp we both drag his body to an out-of-the-way spot.

“That was easy,” I say nonchalantly and Dean nods.

It’s been a while since we’ve worked together like this and I really have missed it. We’ve known each other for so long that we know exactly how the other likes to work. Dean's name in the industry is Carver thanks to his first few grizzly kills that caused quite a stir in the city.

I’ve told Dean before that we should team up permanently and become The Bone Carver, but he always looks at me like I’m an idiot for suggesting it. That’s the problem with being the joker, when I want to be taken seriously no one believes me.

The inside of the house is just as quiet as outside. There are no other guards in sight, but we don’t drop our defenses. Upstairs, it doesn’t take too long to find our target’s bedroom.

Weirdly enough this guy's schedule is so rigid that he has ‘bedroom time’ penciled in. If that’s code for ‘ fucking my wife’ then we chose the right night for the job since she’s out at an event, so we shouldn’t have to see any wrinkly old ballsack tonight.

We hover outside the bedroom door, listening for any activity on the other side. It’s deadly quiet. Dean swings the door open, giving me room to rush in with my gun drawn. I’m happy to put a bullet straight into Tommaso’s skull as soon as we have eyes on him, but I know Dean wants to have some fun first. I swear he thinks of himself as an artist when it comes to his kills, using a knife like a damn paintbrush.

I prefer blunt force myself. Hence the name Bones . I don’t care how bloody a kill is, what I like is the feel and sound of bones breaking in my hands or under my boot. There’s just something cathartic about that snap. It’s ASMR for a killer like me.

I hear Dean come in behind me and we both spot Tommaso tucked up in bed. Then we see the person on the floor.

Her raven black hair covers her face and shoulders like a veil. A feeling stirs in my chest that I’ve not felt in a long time. It batters at my heart before dropping to my stomach, making me feel sick.

Images of her come to the forefront of my mind. Her shiny black hair blowing in the wind, her glowing face as she smiles brightly up at me. Then her lifeless eyes boring into mine, carving themselves deep into my memories.

Fuck. No, I can’t think about any of that now.

I take another step towards the woman and look at Dean. He just shrugs, clearly not giving a shit about her as he moves to deal with Tommaso.

What the hell am I supposed to do with her?

We can’t just kill her. Dean may be fine with tying up loose ends that way, but I’d rather not kill an innocent.

She’s naked, her body’s littered with bruises and there’s a chain locked around her ankle, connecting her to the bedpost.

What the hell has the old fucker been doing with her?

Shit. It’s obvious. Why else would she be naked?

I crouch down next to her and brush the hair from her face. My heart comes to a complete stop as my entire world tilts on its axis, tossing me into a place I swore I’d never go.

She's the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.

I’ve only ever thought that about my own reflection, but there’s something about this woman. She has an ethereal beauty about her. Her sharp features and dark hair match mine so closely that I can’t help but think that some cosmic power has left her here for me to find.

The only movement she makes as I stroke her cheek is her chest rising with steady breaths, telling me she’s alive. I notice the bruising around her neck and the angry red needle marks. There are so many of them.

“She’s been drugged.” I can’t hide the anger in my tone.

There’s an urge awakening inside of me that makes me want to protect this girl, to shelter her from the entire world, and also to destroy it for her.

“You know her or something?” Dean keeps his voice low so he doesn’t accidentally wake our target up.

All I can do is shake my head. I don’t know her at all, but I feel like I do. It’s like she’s already a part of me. My soul has latched onto hers just by being in her presence and it’s refusing to let go.

“Why do you care then? She’s probably some whore. Either kill her or leave her.”

Why do I care?

I look back over my shoulder and see Dean about to get to work on Tommaso.

“Wait!” I snap.

“What the hell?” Dean sounds pissed off, but I don’t care. I’m not leaving her like this and if we have time for Dean to cut up the guy however he wants then we definitely have time to find answers.

“We should question him. Find out who she is.”

Dean shakes his head, dismissing me as he moves his attention back to Tommaso.

For fuck’s sake. I’ve humored him at every turn with his captive. Not once have I told him that keeping her is a reckless idea that might end up with him in jail. So why can’t he let me take over here?

Before his blade can do any damage, I rush over and drag him away from the sleeping man.

The jerky movement causes him to wake up and Dean slaps his palm over Tommaso’s mouth before he can get more than two words out.

Both of us only notice his hand on the underside of the nightstand when it’s too late. There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s a hidden panic button there, which means we are out of fucking time.

“Fuck. We have about ten minutes to get out of here. We don’t have time to fucking talk,” Dean quickly says, but fuck that. All we need to know is how to help the girl.

“Where’s the key?” I quickly ask, but my question is ignored as the man starts to fight against Dean’s hold on him. He’s larger than Dean and manages to break free to run for the door. I should really help chase after him, but Dean’s a big boy, he can handle himself.

Using the distraction to my advantage, I root around in the nightstand for a key.

Fucking bingo.

It’s right on top, not even hidden away.

Did he really drug this girl so hard he didn’t have to worry about her getting to it?

If Dean wasn’t already on it, I’d be out there snapping the prick’s neck myself. Part of me wants to go and take over, unleash hell on him for hurting her, but I can’t bring myself to leave her alone.

I unlock the metal cuff from her ankle and see how purple the skin is underneath.

Rage simmers deep inside me. I’m tempted to let it burn its way out, have it set my body ablaze, and let this entire fucking building burn to the ground with it.

The fight out in the hall is heating up and once I hear gunshots I know Dean might need my help. A guard walks past the door, not bothering to look this way as his eyes are set on the other end of the hall.

Leaving the girl for now, I sneak out and come up behind the guard, taking him by surprise as I grab his head. I twist it to the side and he tries to shake me off, but I’ve done this enough times to know how to use my victim’s strength to my advantage.

I loosen up my hold just enough for him to think he has the upper hand, then when he swings his head to the side with all his might, I apply an intense pressure to his skull and let his momentum do most of the work. His head twists until his neck snaps with a small yet satisfying crack .

“Shit, Carver, did he get you?” I ask as I spot the bullet holes in Tommaso and the walls surrounding him.

Dean checks himself over and shakes his head, “I think I’m good.”

I really hope he’s not just saying that, but I’m going to have to trust him since we need to already be on our way out of here.

Heading back into the bedroom, I find the girl hasn’t moved at all. Scooping her up into my arms, her head rolls onto my chest and her forehead creases. For a brief moment, everything feels right.

She fits perfectly against me. Her long body curls against mine and it’s in this moment that I realize I don’t ever want to let her go.

“What are you doing with her?” Dean asks as I carry her out of the bedroom. He rolls Tommaso over to recover his knife from the body.

“I can’t just leave her.”

“Please! Please, don’t!” The old fucker opens his mouth, huh, I assumed he was dead. “I have money, you can keep the girl and I’ll give you whatever you want!”

I’m about to ask why he had her in the first place when Dean stabs him in the heart, killing him for good.

After he gets photo evidence of our kill, he turns to me pointing his knife my way. I ignore him and look at the girl in my arms as I feel her fingers twitch against my chest.

“If any of this gets connected back to us, I’m blaming it all on you,” Dean snaps, but his anger rolls right off me.

We make it outside without interruption until Danny stops us at the gate. “Shit.” His eyes are wide as he stares at who’s in my arms.

This little fucker.

“Got something to say?” I ask coldly.

“No—she—” he starts to stammer.

“You knew she was in there?” Dean takes the words right out of my mouth.

He looks between us, clearly unsure of what truth to give us. “Usually she’s in the basement so I didn’t think you’d see her.”

The rage that I thought I’d kept tamed deep inside me is thrashing against its chains.

“Bones, we have to leave. This is your call.” Dean looks at me, clearly impatient to get this done so he can get home. Finally, I think I understand him.

Just as he has his little captive, this girl in my arms is now mine.

Which means I need to know what this guy did to her. “Did you touch her?”

His silence is his death sentence. I don’t need to think twice to know that he deserves to die.

Before I can fully fill my lungs with another breath, I’ve got my gun aimed at his head and I’m pulling the trigger.

After the shot rings out, the only sound is the thud of his body on the ground.

Now, that felt good.

We make our way to our respective cars, there’s no time to pat ourselves on our backs for another finished job. Especially not for one that wasn’t even well done. This was shoddy work that we shouldn’t attach our names to, but it’s too late to worry about that.

I place the girl on my backseat and feel how cold her skin is. Shrugging my jacket off, I lay it over her to help warm her up.

“What am I going to do with you?”

I don’t have a clue how to look after another person, I barely look after myself most days.

Yet for some reason I want to do everything I can for her.