26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

My phone ringing wakes me, but I press the button to silence it. I'm tired as hell, and don't care who is on the other end. When it rings again, I do the same thing. When it rings a third time, I grab it and shout, "What the fuck do you want?"

The voice spits out words faster than I can understand. "Do you remember me telling you about that job I went on that was all fucked up? The guy who I thought was a woman abuser but ended up being a gay defense attorney?"

It takes a moment for the words to process, all while wondering why the fuck Reese is calling me over weird shit. Then I remember he's Reese and this is what he does.

"What?" I snap.

He groans dramatically.. "Do you remember that job—"

"I heard you! What the fuck is this about? I'm trying to sleep. Fuck all you morning people."

"Dude, it's like three in the afternoon."

"Say dude again and I'll block your number."

It's silent for a moment and then he says, "Do you. Remember. Or not." He goes nice and slow, just to piss me off.

"Christ, yes! Jesus, I am going to change my number and not fucking give it to you." I drag a hand down my face and roll over to block out the sun.

"Oh shut up. You love me."

"Get to the point before I put a hit out on you."

He laughs but explains.

"The guy I was supposed to kill was actually killed."

"Someone else picked up the job. Why is this an issue?" My voice is muffled, my face half in the pillow. I'm exhausted beyond words.

"I found out the person who put the job up on the site, the one who lied, is the same guy taking out mafia heads."

Well, that wakes me up. I jolt upright and turn to a sitting position. "What?"

"All right, Justin, you're getting on my nerves now."

I shake my head. "The Piano Man put a job on the boards and lied about the details?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't sound right," I mutter, raking a hand through my hair.

"Oh no? You and the Piano Man best friends now? Do each other's nails? Go out dancing on Friday nights?"

I almost laugh. Because yes. We did. At your wedding.

"The guy goes around killing all these big-name people, only to put hits out on the dark web? And lie about them? Who told you it was him?"

"Banks."

Fuck. If it was anyone else I'd say they were lying or misinformed. But it's Banks and he knows his shit.

Why would Sev do this? And what are the fucking odds that my cousin would pick up the job and not go through with it? None of this makes sense. Was Sev trying to get my attention back then? Did he know me before I was going after him? How long has he been following me? Most of all, why the fuck am I so narcissistic to think this has anything to do with me at all?

Reese sighs, his voice much more serious when he speaks next.

"Justin, what if he comes after me, or worse, my wife, because I didn't do that job?"

"He won't," I assure him.

"How do you know that?"

Because I'll make sure he doesn't.

"Because he would have done it already. The guy obviously has no limits. Maybe he was just fucking with people."

"It was a big payment."

"Okay, and he lied about the details. What is he going to do? Kill you over it?"

"The guy is killing people for no reason!"

Yeah, good point.

"There is a reason. No one has figured it out yet."

The reason is he's a lunatic.

Maybe I should talk to Sev about this. Every time we've been together, I've never asked him the question before. Why is he taking out mafia heads? Had I known the actual answer, I'd be able to calm Reese down. Though, that would mean I'd have to admit I know who he is. That he was at his wedding.

Holy shit… what if Sev was there to kill Reese over this? My stomach turns sour as I pull the phone from my ear, put it on speaker, and do a search on the Piano Man. Sev specifically said he was there to kill two birds with one stone. Maybe he meant me and Reese.

I haven't searched for any new articles on him in a while.

"Well, that makes me feel so much better. Thank you, Justin. Thank you so fucking much."

"Calm down, Reese. Jesus. Since when do you freak out over shit like this?" The words spill from my lips as I scroll through all the articles about the guy. He's fucking famous at this point. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see one dated the day after the wedding, about a murder that took place the day of the wedding. Right around the time Reese was getting married actually, which is why Sev only showed up to the after party. I wouldn't put it past his ballsy ass to have shown up to the ceremony.

Town is in Treble: Piano Man Strikes again!

So it wasn't Reese he was after. It was whoever this Johnny Monroe is. Sounds like a porn star. Kinda looks like one too, honestly. But these headlines. Christ, people get paid for this? Honestly, a five-year-old could come up with better.

Reese snaps back his response and pulls me from the article.

"Since I have a wife who means the fucking world to me, and this psychopath is on the loose and no one can catch him!"

I get up and head to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Clearly I'm not going back to sleep now.

"Would it make you feel better to know the FBI aren't exactly trying their hardest to get him?"

He's silent for a moment. "How do you know that?"

I grab my tooth brush and put toothpaste on it.

"Xander has shared info with me.

"Oh fuck yes! That's awesome, but why?"

I scrub my teeth and speak through doing it so Reese doesn't bitch about me not answering quickly enough. "Reese, Jesus. Use your brain! Why would they stop someone from killing off mafia leaders?"

"Yeah, okay. Good point," he says. Glad we got that taken care of. Until he adds, "This doesn't make me feel better though."

I sigh heavily, finish brushing my teeth, and rinse my mouth. I can't tell him why he shouldn't worry without giving too much away. I'm not ready for anyone to know my secret yet.

"Reese, do you trust me?" I run the water for it to get warm so I can wash my face. I do it quickly, then head to the kitchen. The last thing I want to do is leave the house, so I guess cereal it is.

I can see the hesitation on his face in my mind. He takes fucking forever to answer. "Yes," he says carefully.

"Then listen to me. I'm being honest right now, so please, for just one minute, be serious."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"I can't tell you why just yet. I will one day, but I can't right now, so don't ask questions."

"Okay," he says quickly, like he's gearing up for a game.

"I promise you the Piano Man is not going to go after you over this."

I fill a bowl with Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats and grab the milk, grateful it isn't expired yet.

"I trust you, Justin, but that's really hard to believe."

"There's nothing more I can tell you. Once I get info, I'll share. For now, please just chill the fuck out, okay?"

"Chill as a freezer," he says. Then huffs out a laugh. "Got it."

"Good. Can you leave me alone now?" I grab my bowl and go to the couch.

"Yes, but if I die, just know you're the person I'm haunting."

"Great, but quickly before you go?" I just remembered I never updated him on the Irish. So I do that as quickly as I can. He doesn't ask too many questions. He's probably too stressed over this shit with Sev. Can't blame him for being paranoid. I probably would be too. Hell, I should be.

We end the call, and I eat the bowl of cereal before going back to bed. Only, I can't sleep. I'm wide awake. Fucking Reese. I text Sev, knowing the sooner I get answers, the better.

Me: We need to talk.

I'm not surprised when the response comes back immediately.

Sev: My ring size is 12.

Me: I'm serious

Sev: So am I.

Me: Text me when you're going to be normal-person serious and not psychopathic Sev serious.

I turn my phone off and refuse to open my eyes, forcing myself to fall asleep.