I Know You

Beast

I glance down at the picture Summer just sent.

When I gave her my cell number, it was only for emergencies. No one has this number. Other than the phone I used to call in a cleaning crew, I don't use personal cellphones often. I'm not really the calling and texting type. Yet, the odd fluttery and empty feeling in my stomach every time my phone vibrates says otherwise.

I hit the back light on the screen again to re-illuminate the picture she sent. It's a selfie of her and Gabe lying in his bed. I can tell he's getting ready to go to sleep because he's in his pajamas with a silk bonnet on his head. They are both smiling at the phone with their faces close together.

I get that feeling again, the empty stomach one. I had it all day today as I spent time with Summer running errands, even though I had more pressing things to handle.

My phone lights up again, this time with a text message.

Summer:He wanted to say goodnight.

A voice memo pops up and I press play. My son's voice comes through my phone.

"Good night, Hulk. See you in the morning."

I shut my eyes as my pulse races. This feeling is new. One I've never experienced before. I wish I had my brother Lucien here to help me figure it out. It's like my body is out of whack. My brain is fuzzy but still alert. I get the same feeling when I'm near them.

Opening my eyes, I touch the microphone on my text box.

"Goodnight, Gabe." Once I'm done with my voice message, I hit send then place my phone in my pocket.

Going back to my laptop, I once again recheck that I've disabled the camera system on the house in front of me along with the alarm system. Once I've verified my coast is clear, I place the computer back in my bag and slide on my black gloves. Slinging the black duffle over my shoulder I make my way into the large home of Timothy Smith.

The man was still out of the country for the next two weeks, but I wanted to check his home for anything that might give me an idea of how he's connected to the Church.

The house is as grand as one would think a CEO of a Fortune 500 company with old money would have. This is the home he shares with his wife of thirty years. Timothy has two more places in New York, one he shares with his mistress and the other he uses for his temporary flings.

I knew if I wanted to get the most information about him, I would need to check this one first. I entered from the back of the house through the glass French doors into the family room. To my left is an open kitchen.

I make my way through the downstairs area, not really focusing on the decorations. I check the three main bedrooms on the first floor before going into the office. The space is basic. Cherry wood bookshelves and leather furniture.

I rummage through his drawers finding the basics, business and finance logs, a couple of bills, and some receipts. I close the drawers and look on the desk for more information. Hidden under a folder is a black envelope. The front is made out to Timothy but there is no return address.

Opening the envelope, I pull out a black rectangular paper with gold trim. In gold fancy lettering are the words. ‘You're Invited." The date at the bottom of the letter was two months ago.

Whatever event he was invited to has passed, yet he held on to the invitation. Even though there is a shredder in the corner that looks full of shredded documents.

His office and desk are clean and well organized. So why would a man keep an invitation like this if the event has passed? It leads me to believe this invitation is important to him.

Flipping the card over for any more information, I come up short. No details of the event or location. Studying the card a little further, something catches my eye in the bottom left corner.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and turn on the flashlight shining it against the black card. Embezzled into the card is a capital R with a thorny crown above it. I have no idea what it means. I've never seen it before, but I documented the image in my memory.

Placing the card back in its envelope, I place it back where I got it. My next stop is to his computer. I start up the laptop and plug in the hard drive I brought with me. The first and easiest trick I learned from Lucien was how to break into basically any personal laptop. Once you start trying to break into large corporate networks it gets harder, but someone's personal computer is lightweight.

The lockscreen appears and I quickly override the password getting into the home page. As I download the contents of the laptop onto my hard drive, I quickly check the basics.

I search his history, his password keys, and his calendar. His home computer links with his work computer.

A date of interest pops up on his personal calendar. It draws my attention because it's classified as a business meeting, but it isn't on his business calendar. It also stands out because the meeting is at ten o'clock at night. And it looks as if it's two weeks from now. At least I know now where to find him. I finish the scan of his laptop and close out of the computer.

I finish my pass of the house. Searching for anything else that may give me clues as to why this man has a connection to the Church. Once I've checked the home from top to bottom, I slip back out of the house as if I was never there.

I make sure to restart the cameras and the alarm before leaving the property. As soon as I climb back into my stolen car, my phone goes off.

That flutter feeling has me reaching for my phone without checking the caller first.

"Hello," I say expecting to hear Summer's voice on the other side of the line.

However, it's not Summer that replies.

"You killed the bouncer?" the benefactor says with a chuckle.

I don't react. Instead, I pull my laptop out of the bag and plug my phone into it. I go to the app Lucien showed me and press record.

I'm not shocked he knows about the bouncer, the body was found this morning.

"You told me to clean up," I say a lot calmer than I was feeling. I have to be mindful of not only what I say, but also how I say it.

"If I didn't know you so well, I wouldn't have guessed who the torso belonged to."

"You know me?"

As always, the benefactor imbeds small nuggets in his conversation.

"Like I know myself, Beastie," I could hear the grin in his tone. "Although, I should tell you. The bouncer didn't rat you out. But I bet you know that already."

"I do."

"Then why kill him?"

"If you know me so well. You tell me?" I ask, attempting to keep him on the phone as long as possible.

He laughs a deep laugh. "See, this is the Beast I wanted to get to know." He pauses for a moment.

It lets me know he isn't worried about me tracing him. Which means he has another burner phone. I expected he'd be too smart to call me on a traceable phone.

"Alright, I'll tell you why," he says. "I didn't put pressure on him. I knew he was lying, but I didn't press for the information. Which you knew. But you thought that if the wrong person really wanted to know about Summer, he wouldn't be as lenient. And pressure burst pipes. So, you killed him because you couldn't trust him to keep that information. It's what I would have done."

I don't agree or disagree. He didn't do anything special, he knew I was going to kill the bouncer before I went to see him. It's why he left him alive. The benefactor wants me to clean up after myself.

However, my interest in the conversation once again piques as he mentions this infamous ‘wrong person'. The way he brings it up and speaks about them rings of familiarity.

"Your silence tells me I'm right."

"Who is the wrong person to you?" I ask bypassing the game he's trying to play.

I knew he had some affiliation with the wrong person from our last conversation. The silence after my question proves I'm on the right path.

"Wouldn't you be more interested in how I got your number?"

He's deflecting. Now I know for sure I'm on the right path. Whoever this wrong person is, is connected to the benefactor. Either by blood or some form of loyalty. It puts me in the mind of how we once were with the Church. Yet, he was adamant about not being affiliated with us.

"Considering my number is unlisted," I say to answer his last comment. "And not under my name, I'm going to say you either got it by going through Summer's line, or you were close enough to me at some point to use a device to scan my phone."

He laughs. "I didn't think about going the Summer route. It would have saved me time."

He's been near me. I scan my brain trying to register all the faces I've seen today. I keep track of them all, memorizing small details. I never know who will be a threat or when I'll have to recall a random face in a crowd.

"Trying to see if you've seen me today?"

I don't reply, not giving him the satisfaction that he successfully guessed my actions.

"Let me help you out," he chuckles. "You didn't. Money can buy many things. Including paying an elderly couple one hundred dollars to walk close enough to you in a grocery store."

I immediately remembered the couple from the store. Summer moved out of the way so they could get by us. I grit my teeth at how close he was.

"Friend or Foe?" I ask, tired of the back and forth.

He sighs, letting out a deep breath. "Not sure yet. But I'll let you know when I've made my decision."

The line goes dead. I disconnect the phone from my laptop saving the conversation to study later. I now know that whoever the benefactor is, he's around. Which means I have to be even more vigilant than before.

Starting the car, I break the speed limit back toward Bronxville where Summer and Gabe are.

After stashing the car back where I got it and making sure I wiped down the insides, I headed back to Summer's. I quietly slip into the house. It's not as late as it was last night when I got back but it's still around one in the morning.

The sound of the TV leads me in that direction. It takes her a moment to look up from her phone to notice I'm here. The moment she does, she pauses, staring directly into my eyes. I know what she's looking for. She's trying to see if there will be a repeat of last night.

The memory of my hands around her neck and the obvious signs of the makeup she used to cover it up this morning cross my mind. I look away from her gaze.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson from last night." I say turning back to her.

The smile on her face releases some of the pressure in my chest.

She shrugs. "You and I both know I'm not really known for making smart decisions."

I fight the tug at the corner of my mouth. I don't want her to get too familiar with me. Last night should have proved to her how dangerous I am. She should have gone to sleep and locked her door. However, even as I think those words, all I want to do is sit down beside her.

"I'm good," I say instead of acting out my thoughts. "You can go to bed."

"Well, I kind of thought you'd get back later. I had a shit ton of black tea not too long ago. And now I'm wide awake."

I hate that she felt the need to make herself stay up for me. I don't want to do anything to inconvenience their life.

"Want to watch something? I'll let you pick?"

I should tell her no. Make her get as far away from me as possible. Yet, instead of doing what I know is right, I take a step into the room and drop my duffle down.

"I don't really watch television."

She rolls her eyes. "Why am I not surprised. Come sit." She taps the seat right next to her.

Does she really want me to sit in that seat? I would be so close to her that my body would brush against hers. My dick hardens at the thought of being that close to her. I shut my eyes trying to fight against the wayward thoughts.

The memory of how warm, wet, and snug she felt on my cock floods my mind. The sounds of her soft moans and curses as I drove deeper and deeper into her. I shake my head clearing the thoughts away. I can't think like that. What happened that night with Summer was a one-time thing. There is no way she would want me to touch her now that she's sober.

Opening my eyes, I walk further into the room. Instead of sitting in the seat she indicated, I take the seat on the other end of the couch. Allowing enough space for another person between us.

"We can find a series to watch together," she says sliding closer to me as if it's second nature, taking away the space I purposely put between us.

My entire body stiffens.

"The whore is trying to tempt you like the devil did Jesus in the desert,"Mother warns.

"Let her tempt you all she wants,"Priest replies.

"Be not moved,"Mother Fumes.

"Be. Fucking. Moved,"Priest shouts.

I have no idea I'm clutching my head trying to quiet the voices until I feel her small hand on my bicep. Lowering my arms and opening my eyes, I look down at her face. She's not wearing makeup, her freckles splatter across her cheeks and her nose. Those almond shaped brown eyes watch me with concern.

"You're not going to Hulk out on me, are you?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Good." She reaches for the table and grabs a small bag off it.

I'm familiar with the green velvet bags. They're the ones she uses for her jewelry. Earlier today, I picked up three boxes from the post office full of those bags.

She turns to me with a hesitant look in her eyes. She shakes her head as if she's disagreeing with something that crossed her mind.

"Okay look," she starts. "I made you something, but if you don't like it you don't have to wear it. I just thought it would be useful. But if you don't—"

"Give it to me," I say, holding my hand out toward her.

She places the velvet bag in my palm. I quickly pull the drawstring and turn the bag over. The beaded bracelet falls out. It's made up of mostly black round beads with four different color stones in the center.

"The onyx," she says, pointing to the black stones. "Not only represents your favorite color, but also helps soothe anxiety and stress. I thought that could be useful for when you're out doing your thing."

She shrugs as if the gesture is no big deal. However, I can barely take my eyes off the piece. The design is simple, but it's perfect for me. More importantly, she took the time to make it for me.

"What about this one?" I ask pointing to the aqua colored bead.

"That's fluorite. Your son picked it out. It's for protection. He said that all superheroes need protection."

I like the way she smiles any time she talks about Gabe. It's different from all her other smiles. Her eyes light up in a way that is more than just happiness.

"The sodalite," she continues pointing to the dark blue stone, "Is for mental clarity. I picked it out for when that bitch starts talking too much."

She chuckles, causing me to smile too.

"The pink one," She goes on to say. "Is rose quartz. It's for calming and umm….friendship."

When I look down at her, she's looking at me. I don't understand the look in her eyes or why she paused. I feel as if she's waiting for me to say something, but I don't know what. I wreck my brain trying to find the emotion in my memory rolodex. The closest I get is expectation. But before I can respond, the moment has passed. She looks back down at the bracelet.

"The ruby I added to represent Gabe," she says. "It's his birthstone. This way no matter where you are you will have him with you."

My brothers and Priest have given me many gifts. They never miss a birthday or Christmas. But nothing they have ever given me has compared to this.

"Thank you," I say placing the bracelet back in the bag and holding it back out to her.

She looks confused.

"It's not finished yet," I explain. "I need you to add one more bead to it."

"Oh," she blinks. "What do you want?"

"Add a birthstone for June."

Her face flushes and a huge smile brightens her eyes. She takes the bag back and places it on the table.

"I'll have it ready for you by tomorrow."

I nod my head. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

She tucks her legs up on the sofa and then pulls the cover down off the back of the couch. She places it over her legs and half on mine. After picking up the remote she starts surfing through the channels. I try my best not to touch her.

She finally settles on a show. It starts with an instrumental beat and what looks like a 3D version of a map.

Summer places the remote down on her lap. She then grabs my arm and puts it behind her head leaning into my side.

"Relax, Gabriel, I don't bite." She smiles up at me, her freckles making her beautiful face stand out. I crave to touch them. To run my finger along the dark spots.

The first night we met she wore make-up. It wasn't until later, as the makeup wore off, that I got to see the smattering of freckles.

"What are we watching?" I ask to distract myself.

"Game of thrones. I heard it's really good. Plus, it has a lot of killing, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

She glances up at me and sticks out her tongue before turning back to the screen. Despite having so many more things I could be doing right now, I lean my head back on the couch and watch five episodes of a fantasy show with Summer. For the first time in forever, I felt normal.