Chapter Sixteen

K ado walks into the living room, his hair still wet from his shower.

"What's up?" I ask from my place on the couch.

He looks at me regretfully and points toward the door.

Pushing off the back of the couch, I sit up straight. "Can I go with you?"

He slowly shakes his head.

"Please, Kado. I've been practicing downstairs in the gym and gun range every day for the last two weeks. I can do this if you let me."

He pulls his little notebook out of his pocket and scribbles on it. He steps forward and hands it to me.

Today's job isn't watching. This is when I do the other stuff.

I look up at him as I hand him the notebook back. "This is when you kill them, right?"

He tips his chin toward his chest as he waits for my reaction.

I make sure to keep my face blank, not wanting him to know how unsure I am of that part. Morally, I shouldn't want to watch him kill someone, right? But at the same time, the idea isn't as repulsive as it should be.

"I promise that if you let me come with you, it won't change the way I feel about you. I'll stay out of your way."

He scribbles in his notebook again.

Why?

"Why do I want to do this?" Taking a deep breath, I choose my words carefully. I need to sell him on this. "I want to be your partner. I hate the idea of you being out there alone without anyone to watch your back while you work. I want to be that person for you. I want to be your sidekick." I feel the corners of my lips twitch. "I want to be your partner in crime. Please?"

Kado looks away, thinking about it. The longer he thinks, the harder it is for me not to fall to my knees and beg him. Finally, he nods.

"Wait, yes? You'll let me help you?"

He lets out a silent, deep breath as he tips his chin again.

"Let me change real quick." I jump off the couch and rush into the bedroom.

What does one wear to a murder? I muse as I open up the dresser. Once again, I opt for an all-black look, much like Kado's. Clothed in all black, I put my hair back in a tight bun.

This is as good as it's going to get , I think to myself as I walk out of the room.

Kado smiles when he sees me and points toward the door.

"Let's go," I say as I take his hand.

We get into the car and head out. I watch as the city passes by out the window, everyone none the wiser about what we are up to.

If only they knew.

Soon we pull up down the street from the house we sat on the other night. Kado shuts off the car and leans toward me, opening the glove box. He pulls out a black face mask and hands it to me.

"What about you?" I ask as I put it on my head.

Kado shakes his head.

Of course, this crazy man lets his victims see his face.

"If they are just going to die, why do I need to cover my face?"

Kado ignores my question and gets out of the car. Following his lead, I jump out, shutting the door as quietly as possible. The street is so quiet, and my heart races, making me feel like the door clicking shut sounded like a bomb went off.

I follow him around the back of the house, keeping to the shadows so no Good Samaritan can see us if they peek outside. Using some tools from his pocket, he unlocks the door. Kado peers over his shoulder at me and raises his finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet.

Quietly, we walk through the house and come up behind the man. He's lying in a recliner, watching porn on the TV while he tugs on his small dick.

Gross. I cringe.

Swiftly, Kado tips the man in the chair back, grabbing him by the throat.

"What the fuck!" the man yells as Kado rolls him onto his back, cuffing him with a zip tie he pulled out of God knows where before our victim can even make a move. Then he secures the man's ankles together so he can't kick him.

That was way hotter than it should be.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man demands.

"Here." I step forward and slide a sock toward Kado with my foot.

I really don't want to know why he had a sock next to his recliner when he has two on his feet.

Kado cringes as he shoves it into the man's mouth with his gloved hand. The man gags on the sock. When I pushed it toward him, I thought he was planning to cover him up, but I guess a gag works too. I wonder if he's ever cleaned it.

I barely withhold my own gag at the thought.

Heart racing, I wait to see what Kado does next.

Is this where we kill him?

He catches me off guard when he pulls the man up off the floor and points toward the door we let ourselves in through.

"Are we leaving?" I ask quietly.

Kado nods, pointing toward the door.

"Should we cover all that up?" I ask, pointing toward the naked man's junk.

Kado shakes his head no.

Okay then. Knowing better than to ask too many questions, I head back out the way we came. In the shadows, I check the road to make sure it's still clear before stepping out to the car. Kado makes a noise in the back of his throat, making me look at him. He tips his chin toward the trunk.

He wants me to open it.

Quickly, I dive into the car on the passenger side and lean over the console and hit the button to pop the trunk that's next to his door.

Holy shit, we have a live dude stuffed in our trunk, I think to myself when I hear the trunk click shut. Kado gets into the car and starts driving. He's careful to go the speed limit as he drives with his hand on my thigh. Reaching down, I flip his hand over, weaving my fingers between his to hold his hand.

We drive in silence. An hour later, when we pull up to a warehouse, I don't know what to expect. Kado gets out of the car, and I follow. I watch as he pulls the man out of the trunk, then I fall into step next to him as he manhandles the man into the building.

The lights flip on as soon as we step inside. It looks like an average warehouse, but I know it's anything but. Kado takes the man over to a table. He looks over at me and tilts his head to the side.

Shit, he wants help.

Rushing over, I grab the guy's ankles and grunt as I lift the dead weight of the man's lower half onto the table.

How the hell does he usually do this alone?

Kado ties the man down to the table. I stand back and watch as Kado walks over to a wall of cabinets. He stays over there for a few minutes, and when he comes back, he's got different tools laid out on a tray.

This is when the fear should kick in and I should be appalled about what he's about to do. Instead, I'm fascinated and I can't wait to see what he does next, and I don't know if that says more about me or him.

Why did I think it was smart to let her come along again?

Oh, that's right. She has my balls in her hands. I can't tell her no.

That's the only reason I would ever let her anywhere close to anything like this. Having her here is throwing me off my game. I'm focused as much on her as I am on the man in front of me. It's dangerous for us both. Thankfully, it has all worked out so far, but it's not over yet.

What will she think when she sees me mutilate this man for information?

Will she run screaming from the room? Maybe puke?

I've made a few men puke before. Men Kai wanted me to train. Pussies.

Yet, if she pukes, I'm going to want to cut this short. I may not do everything I need to.

This was a bad idea.

Picking up a hammer and nails, I turn toward the man. I set my handful of nails on the table next to him, just out of reach. Picking up a nail, I place it on the back of his hand and pound it into the table. The man jerks as he cries out, pissing himself in the process. I glance over my shoulder at Lucy to check in. I brace myself for the disgust or horror, but instead, she looks in awe of me.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Shaking my head, I walk to the end of the table and move the bar that's attached to his ankle straps that are holding his ankles down, forcing his legs to bend and his feet to be flat on the table. I place a nail in the top of each foot before doing the same to his other hand.

Once he's nailed to the table, I step back and put the hammer away for now. Again, I look over at Lucy, and this time I see her frowning. I walk over to her and point to the door, silently asking her if she wants to leave before I really get started.

Lucy shakes her head. "I'm staying, but can I ask you a question?"

I nod as I fight the urge to touch her. I can't touch her when my hands are dirty. No, my girl doesn't need to be touched by filth.

"Why didn't you hammer the nails into his feet and hands all the way?" she asks, catching me off guard.

Shaking my head, I pull out my notebook from my pocket.

Because what I have planned next, I will need access to the tops of the nails.

Lucy nods as if that makes sense.

"Do you want me to ask him the questions? If you write it down, I can do it, so that way you won't have to speak."

I never speak to anyone but you.

A pretty little blush covers her cheeks.

"Write down your questions."

Flipping the page, I start writing down the typical questions before handing her my notebook. I hold up a finger, telling her to give me a minute. Walking back to my victim, I slap his cheek, bringing him back to the land of the living.

Sad fucker passed out from a little bit of pain. He's going to really hate what I have planned next. He startles to, and his eyes widen when he sees me. I pick up the scalpel and run the edge of the blade along the side of his face, making him whimper.

"Who do you work for?" Lucy asks from behind me.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. You've got the wrong guy," he hisses.

Lucy scoffs and goes off script. "Seriously? That's your answer? You realize that won't work, right? My man here enjoys a kill, and it's been a little too long since his last. So either you can give us the information we need and he kills you painlessly, or we can do this the hard way and drag out your death."

I try not to frown because of her words. Is that really what she thinks? Does she believe I need to kill? Shaking my head, I get back into what I'm doing and press the blade a little harder into his skin as I drag it down the side of his neck until the blade rests right above his collarbone.

"You're fucking crazy," the man spits out.

I press the blade into his skin, making blood pour out. How dare he call my sweet girl crazy?

"Tell us what we want to know," she demands.

"Fuck you!"

Huffing out a breath, I drop my blade back onto the tray and walk back across the room to grab what I need.

No one speaks to my girl like that. I was planning to take things slow, but the fucker played stupid games, and he's about to win the grand prize.

The man's eyes widen when he sees the machine in my hand. "Wh-what the fuck is that?"

Ignoring his question, I set the portable car jump starter between his feet and start undoing the jumper cables. I attach one to his hand and one to his foot. One on each side of his body. After the machine is primed to the lowest setting, because I don't want to kill him before I get answers, I look back at her to make sure she's still with me.

She's sitting on the edge of another table, swinging her legs back and forth as she watches me. Shouldn't she be questioning her life choices right about now?

Lucy must see the question on my face because she offers me a smile, letting me know that she is in fact present and okay with what's about to go down.

"Now let's try this again. Who do you work for?" Lucy says to the man without looking away from me.

I give him several seconds to speak, but when he doesn't, I turn on the machine and give him a small shock. The man's body twitches as he cries out, and I shut off the machine.

"Are you with the Ukrainians?" she presses.

"Yes," he sobs.

"Where do you keep the girls?" Lucy asks with barely checked anger as she reads the question.

Again and again, we go around. Anytime he doesn't answer her quickly enough I zap him with a little more heat and a little longer each time, until he tells us what we want to know. By the time he finishes answering our questions, he's barely breathing, his pulse erratic.

I walk over to the hose that's attached to the wall and fill up the five-gallon bucket that sits next to it. Lifting the bucket, I carry it over to the man with a one-way ticket to hell and pour it on him, covering him from head to toe. Walking to the end of the table, I pick up the machine and step back as far as the cables will let me before turning it on.

The buzz sounds through the air as the man convulses on the table. It doesn't even take him a minute to die, but I keep it on for another minute, just to be on the safe side. With him dead, I turn off the machine and walk over to his hand, removing the cable from the nail.

Movement out of the corner of my eye has me looking up. I watch as Lucy walks toward me, and I brace myself for her to tell me that this was too much. That she doesn't care for me like she did before all of this.

Instead, she surprises me by undoing the other jumper cable from his foot.

"I take it now we clean up?" she asks.

Disbelief runs through me. That's it? That's all she has to say?

Lucy raises a brow as she walks toward me. "You thought this would scare me, didn't you?"

I nod.

Lucy smiles. "What would you think if I told you that it did the exact opposite?"

I set down the machine and pull her into my arms, kissing her hard.

My hands are still dirty and I shouldn't touch her, but my need in the moment outweighs everything.

She's perfect.