13. Eli

Chapter 13

Eli

I leaned against the far wall of the back warehouse, hidden in the shadows, watching her through the open door. My eyes tracked every movement she made as she rummaged through the office Victor had leased months ago. I knew Veronica had found it a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t decide if I was more surprised that she hadn’t visited it sooner or had decided to visit it alone.

Victor had dug into Arizona like a fucking tick, and it was obvious it hadn’t been a rash decision on his part. I hadn’t been here yet but should have checked it before Veronica did. I just hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it. Call it nostalgia or avoidance, but I’d closed the door to that piece of my life, and I just hadn’t found the right time to see what he had been hiding here. Avoiding bad things never worked. I should know better by now.

Six months ago, Victor and I went to California to scout a fighter and set up a venue, and things blew up in my face. He had been erratic and angry, which wouldn’t have been an issue since that was his constant state anyway, but I had gotten to the point where, if I were being honest with myself, I preferred not to work with him.

The last straw had been a sunny Saturday. We’d had a successful afternoon with a new fighter and had recruited him for the next bout. Victor wanted to visit some new kink club down in L.A. but said he had some kind of present for me. This was my first clue that something was wrong. Presents? We didn’t do that sort of shit. We’d never had presents when we were little. Regular people had presents — not street kids. Families had those.

Victor laid a metal box on the table. It was worn around the edges, banged up, and still had dirt clinging to it. I watched the box with dread, knowing that whatever it held was terrible.

“Go on,” he prodded the box. “It’s for you.”

Taking the metal box, I pried off the lid, keeping my face carefully smooth as it clattered to the table. The smell of copper and rot hit me immediately. I knew what that meant — blood. Polaroids lay among severed fingers, ears, and even a patch of skin that seemed to have been a tattoo.

“Is that?” I peered at the pictures. “For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. There were people that I recognized in those photos, which I’m sure was intentional. Victor smirked at me, waiting for praise, but all I felt was my stomach twisting and turning over.

“Yeah, it took me some time to get some of them. The last one was that Francisco fuck. You like?” His chest was puffed out. He was fucking proud of this shit?

“No, man.”

His whole face stilled as he looked from the little collection to me. “It’s not enough?” He started pulling picture after picture out and putting them on the table.

“I don’t even know what the fuck this is, Victor. What should I say?” I said.

“The word today is ‘pleased.’ Tell me you’re pleased.” He dropped his eyes in submission. “Havoc? Tell me you’re appreciative. That’ll be the word.” He licked his lips, and I wanted to vomit in my mouth. He killed these people as some twisted sign of … affection?

I knew that Victor was into guys. So the fuck what? I wouldn’t have cared if he’d told me he’d had a crush on me — not that I would have returned it. This? I couldn’t even fathom what sort of psycho did this.

Shoving the box off the table, I scattered the contents onto the floor. I pushed myself to my feet. Victor and I were well-matched as fighters because we trained together, but I was still better. He was also smaller than I was and sloppier in his technique, wanting to spend more time on other things than training.

“I don’t know what this is,” I growled. “But I don’t want it. Stop using me as an excuse for your sick perversions.” That’s what this was an excuse. He was looking for a reason to torture people.

He stood slowly, flexing and unflexing his hands. “Don’t be upset,” he whispered. Leaning over the table, just as I stepped back, he said, “Wait, I have an idea. You’ll love it.” He stalked out of the bar with absolute purpose while my stomach churned.

The memory washed over me as Veronica’s pale hands glided over the smooth surfaces of the desk and shelves. She moved with a quiet determination, but there was an edge to her, a subtle tension I could sense even from here.

Victor had come to Morinrock to kill the ghosts of my past, and he’d made quite a show of those kills, drawing me out of hiding and straight to my brother. He’d made a mistake, though, threatening Pike. Apparently, I did have some feelings for my brother.

Veronica’s shoulders stiffened slightly when she found something that sparked her interest. I wondered what it was and edged a little closer. She had no idea what she was looking for, but that wouldn’t stop her from digging. She was relentless. That was one of the things that drew me to her.

She didn't fit in this world. Not with her soft hands and wide, pale-blue eyes that were too innocent for what she was trying to uncover. She belonged in the safety of her sister’s house, surrounded by guards and locked doors. Not here, not in this cold, sterile office, poking at things she didn't understand. But that’s what made her fascinating.

I watched as she moved from the desk to the filing cabinet, her brow furrowed in concentration as she bent over. The globes of her cute little ass peeked from the bottom of her shorts. With those thigh-highs and those boots, she was making my cock rock hard. I wanted nothing more than to take her in this place, slide into her and fuck her right here.

She was looking for clues about Victor, but I knew she was after something else—me. It was almost amusing how close she was to finding what she wanted. Perhaps I’d give her a little more than she bargained for…

I shifted slightly, adjusting to stay in the shadows, careful to keep out of her line of sight. I could see the tension building in her body as the feeling of being watched crept over her. She wasn’t stupid; she could sense it, even if she didn’t know where I was.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through more files, her breath coming quicker now. I liked seeing her like this—unsure, on edge, but still determined to press forward. I wanted to watch how far she’d go before she realized she was in over her head. And she was, but she didn’t know it yet.

The office was clean, too clean. Victor had been careful, as always, to cover his tracks. But there were still traces of him here if you knew where to look.

I watched her pause, her head tilting slightly as she stared at the back, clearly sensing something off. The air was thick with her unease, and I reveled in it, feeling my pulse quicken. She didn’t know I was here, but she could feel me — I was sure of it.

Then, as she moved to the door leading to the warehouse section, I felt something shift. She hesitated, her hand trembling on the edge of the door frame. Her eyes scanned the front office one last time before she stepped into the next space.

My lips curled into a faint smile as she crossed the threshold. This was where it got interesting. Beyond was a large, empty room, nothing like the sterile office she had just been in. It was where things had happened— all the chaos Victor had orchestrated in Morinrock. She walked straight into it without realizing how close she was to the truth.

Veronica paused in the middle of the room, scanning the walls and floor, noticing the stark contrast between this back warehouse and what had been the front office. She hadn’t seen me yet but was searching for a light switch.

Standing just a few feet away, I was close now, watching her like a predator sizing up its prey. For a split second, neither of us moved. Her gaze was wide, startled but not scared. No, there was something else there. Curiosity, maybe. Intrigue. And something darker, something she probably didn’t even realize she was feeling.

I let the silence hang between us for a long moment before I finally stepped out of the shadows, just enough for her to see me .

“Looking for something?” My voice was low, almost a whisper, but it cut through the silence like a blade.

She didn’t answer immediately, but she didn’t back down either. That was what I liked about her—she wasn’t afraid, even when she should be.

This was going to be fun.